Nice at first, frustrating in the long run
Written: Jul 19 '04
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Pros: Camera, trendy-cool features, solid reception, small form factor
Cons: Quiet speaker, unreliable keypad, lack of decent appointment alerts, poor Bluetooth range
The Bottom Line: Get it if you want trendy features over functionality.
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| squirble's Full Review: Sony Ericsson T610 |
Although I was quite happy with my Ericsson R520m, there was one aspect which really frustrated me: it was way too easy to accidentally turn the phone off, because if the power button is held down for 10 seconds, it does an "emergency shut-off" no matter what. As I kept my phone in my pocket, this was an unacceptable blemish on an otherwise amazing phone.
So, when I had an opportunity to upgrade to the T610, I took it. At first I was fairly impressed by the phone, as it was basically the R520m, only smaller, in color (which I didn't care about), and with a camera (which was a nifty toy though, again, something I didn't care about). The reception was on-par with the R520m, while the phone was easily only half the size. Best of all, the power button was recessed into the top, and wasn't active when the keypad was locked.
However, I didn't realize how much I was giving up. The T610's speaker is extremely quiet, there's no speakerphone at all, the address book functionality is less-complete, the task list didn't provide any way of changing a task priority on the phone (though it did still support priorities set on the computer), and although its Bluetooth implementation was more reliable, it also had significantly less range. Also, as a PDA the T610 wasn't nearly as useful as the R520m, because while the R520m was very good at alerting me to scheduled appointments, the T610 falls into the same trap as many PDA-phones, and only makes a brief, quiet, pleasant chime which does nothing to ensure that you actually know about the appointment.
To make matters worse, the T610 joystick pad is extremely flaky. Given the right stresses on it (such as what happens in a pocket or purse), the buttons actually stop operating temporarily. To fix it I found I had to remove the battery and apply pressure inside - not exactly a convenient thing to have to do when I'm unable to answer an important call because the "answer" button isn't working! After two weeks, my first T610's joypad stopped working altogether, and I ended up having to get it replaced; the replacement T610 T-Mobile sent me was a refurbished unit, probably returned for the exact same reason.
The screen is a bit dark in bright sunlight, but it's not as bad as other reviewers make it seem. For me, however, the quiet speaker, the unreliable keypad, and the useless added features at the expense of real functionality make this a phone which does not meet my needs at all.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 150
Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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Epinions.com ID:
squirble
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Reviews written: 2
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