Being the best is very relative. Having a very feature rich phone on the other hand though is something else and that is where SonyEricsson come in. The K700 gets my vote....but only when it gets released. Otherwise the T630/Z600 are true winners.

 

Mobilezen - Cingular shows no signs of getting ready to offer the Z600. Strong rumor has it that they will, however, make the Motorola V600 available, beginning in early May 2004. The Motorola is also a Quad band phone. If the Cingular choice remains the V600 or the SE 616 (I also haven't heard that they are going to be upgrading the 616), which of the two would you recommend? Also, if they ever do offer the Z600, how much of a disadvantage is it to have the tri-band Z versus the quad-band V? Thanks for sharing your expertise!

 

OK, Here is what is going on with T616 or T610. Older versions had a noise issue, crackling and stuff. The noise problem seems to be cleared up with a firmware upgrade to the latest version. For those who have had an echo problem, I really don't think it is the phone or the HFL. I bet you have AT&T as your service provider, noff said on that one. Sony Ericsson phone's will give you all the nice things on the display of the car and they are a pretty good performer. If I had to pick the best phone to have with this car it would be the Sony Ericsson Z600 and the next in line would be the T630. The carriers are not offering them yet, but you can buy them on line, unlocked and SIM free, and I would stay away from AT&T (if you don't like echos).

 

I thought I read somewhere that the T630 was the non-US version and the T637 was for the US. Is that correct?

 

Do not get the Motorola Bluetooth phones(V600,V525,V500), they seem to have a problem sending tones fast enough.

 

OK, the T630 may not be offered by any of the US carriers, I'm not sure. It will work in most of the US and can be purchased on the internet (almost all phones can). The T637 is a new model phone just recently anounced and will not be avialible for a while, it's not the same as the T630/T610/T616 from what I hear. It is supposed to have the PTT feature.

 

The T630 will work in the U.S. It supports 900/1800/1900 mhz and T-Mobile is scheduled to pick it up some time I think. The T637 will have 850...that's about the only difference.

 

thanks INMI much appreciated!

 

Rumor has it that Cingular will get a variation of the Z600...the newer model, which is the Z505a. BTW, most of my friends on Cingular (from east to west coast) tried using 1900mhz phones only and their signal went down to almost 1-2 bars...this means that 850mhz is very important in handset selection. In California and NY, Cingular/T-Mobile have roaming agreements so that could help a bit. I have never been a fan of Motorola although their new line is definitely showing some improvement over past handsets. As for crackling, check out this thread for more information.

 

Mobilezen - thanks for the reply. On the rumors regarding the Z505a, any timing aspects to the rumors? I got my TL in early April and I am getting the shakes because I still haven't picked up a bluetooth phone. Since I am only about 6 months into my 2 year re-up with Cingular, I have to pay full price for any new phone I get. From all the reading here and elsewhere, I thought I didn't want to spend $200-300 for the 616 if the quad band Moto v600 was coming out for Cingular soon. Then I read here that you get better information for the TL's MID with SE phones, so I wanted the Z700 rather than the 616 (no sign or rumor of 637), then saw that it doesn't have the 850 band in its triband configuration. All things being equal I would love the flip phone variant, ideally with the SE 505a, but if I have to wait another six months, I'm going to have to bite some kind of bullet, either 616 or v600. From your reply (which I do appreciate), it seems that you think the 850 band is important, which would prevent the z600, but as between the 616 or Moto v600, any preferences? Or should I just hold out for the z505 however long it takes? Thanks for any guidance.

 

Verizon's CDMA coverage is sooo much better than GSM. Many times GSM signals will not work inside many buildings, deep inside stores, etc. but Verizon always does, that's why they are always rated the best. Verizon's first bluetooth phone, the Motorola v710 will be out May 21. Wait a month, it will be worth it.

 

yeah but how much will that v710 be? probably expensive as heck

 

One note which is slightly disappointing: the z500a WILL NOT have bluetooth. I have a couple friends all over PA and they have T-Mobile. They have had no problems with them whatsoever. Now to me..is 850 important? It could be if you live in an area where 1900 is not supported widely. The advantage with 850mhz is that it can penetrate buildings (i.e. metal beams) more effiiciently without much distortion or loss of signal. Most Cingular phones I've seen in signal poor areas switch over to 850mhz for that reason. If there is a T-Mobile store in your area, I would even consider getting one of their prepaid phones and testing it out. (but don't tell them you're testing it out, just buy it and test yourself and don't recharge the account when it is used up.)

I have used T-Mobile for 3.5 years. No problems with signal/customer care, etc etc. They are a good company. With retail though, you have to be careful. They are trained to sell you stuff, so best thing is to get techie with one of the reps. (use jargon such as GSM, 850mhz, bluetooth, etc etc) If they can respond coherently to those words, you have a good person on your hands. Another thing you can do is call T-Mobile customer care and ask them how the coverage is within a given area. If they say its good or excellent, then you should be covered well enough so that you won't need 850. So would I rather have 850 and 1900mhz or solid 1900mhz? Right now I have solid 1900mhz, and where I travel (Dallas/houston/austin), I have coverage. no need for 850mhz...but that's just my area....

addendum: z500a will be out in Q3 of 2004, reiterating no bluetooth

 

Move.