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| | | | FAQ Revisions | Editors: Kevin  , Optimized
Last modified on 2007-01-18 01:07:27
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3 -AT&T Wireless·Nokia 3595 (GSM) - by howe
·Nokia 6200 (GSM)- by Its_Smee
·Nokia 8390 (GSM) - by elias
·Panasonic GU-87 (GSM) - by ChrisJT
·Siemens S46 (GSM & TDMA) - by Its_Smee
·Siemens C56 (GSM) - by Its_Smee
·Siemens C56 (GSM) - by elias
·Nokia 3300 (GSM) - Its_Smee
·Nokia 6800 (GSM) Review
·Samsung V206 - by Eglsct86
·SonyEricsson T226 (GSM) - Its_Smee
·Sony Ericsson T637 (GSM) - Psyopus
·Nokia 6620 (GSM) - Psyopus
·Nokia 6230 (GSM) - Psyopus
| | | Just went to an AT&T store to look at the phones the other day. Turned out my wife qualified for a free phone upgrade, to a Nokia 6200. Well they didn't have any so they let us take a 3595 for a week. So here are my initial impressions after a couple days...
Doesn't seem like a bad phone. It is larger than the 6200, but overall the same size as the 3360/3390 it is due to replace in that market slot. The 3595 is slightly taller than the 3360/3390, so your cases will almost fit, but will cover the power button-- which is quite hard to press, as you must press it almost right in the middle where the power on logo/circle is.
Ok, probably the biggest features of this phone over the 3390 is the color screen, polyphonic ringtones, and the browser (and AT&T seems more than ever happy to sell you data services). I'm glad to say the polyphonic ringtones are much louder than I had expected, my Motorola T720g is not so loud. The poly ringtones are not as loud as say the mono ringtones on 3390 was at maximum volume, the 3595 is softer, but probably loud enough in most situations if the MIDI file is appropriate.
Now the color screen-- it could use improvement. For an entry level phone it is nice, but compared to something like the screen on the 6200 or the 3650, the 3595 screen sucks when you place those phones side-by-side. It is not very bright, hard to read in direct light and is pretty low resolution, but AT&T was offering it as either a $50 or free phone, so it is hard to complain about the price. I was outside in my car driving with the sun just coming up and couldn't see the screen for the life of me. The screen and keypad are easy to read in the dark, though. I think AT&T also offers the 3590, which I believe is a non-color model of the same phone, perhaps this might be better if color is not needed.
Build wise, the 3595 feels nicer than the 3390. The 3390 had a tendency to creak a lot. The 3595 doesn't seem to creak much, the face plates seem more sturdy. My only complaint is the vertical navigation arrow button below the screen seems to be a little too big for the cutout in the faceplate, so the rubbery button rubs against the plastic face plate and makes some ugly sounds as you move through menus, etc. Perhaps that will lessen as the button is "broken in" so to speak, it doesn't seem to be quite as bad as the first while I used the phone.
Reception seems pretty good on the phone, but seems to noticeably taper off in fringe areas. The ear piece does sound a bit like a tin can and is a bit harsh, along with a noticeable hissing sound-- but the ear piece can get loud if you want (at least louder than my ears can handle while talking to my mother-in-law). My V60g and T720g sound much more natural and smoother in comparison. Outgoing sound quality I've not tested much (just had my wife make a few calls to the house), but I was able to clearly tell my wife was on a cell phone; the outgoing sound quality sounds a bit distant and quiet to the receiving party. In the same fringe areas I use my Motorola's, the 3595 seems to pop a little and tends to break up mildly. I'd say the 3595 seems to have better sound quality than the 3390 from what I remember, but not a whole lot. Haven't tested the 3595 in a noisy environment, like in a car with the sunroof open (an area where the 3390 was awful, sounded like a 100mph windstorm on the other end) and an area where the Motorola's seem do to well in my experience.
I didn't have high expectations for a free phone, but the 3595 seems to do pretty well as a natural evolution of the 3390. Chances are if you liked the 3390, the 3595 will feel right at home with a few updates. The polyphonic ringtones and color screen will be what probably draws most users. AT&T has totally revamped their GSM product line and the 3595 I think is the best buy at the lower end for the geek appeal with color screen, poly ringtones, downloadable apps (phone had 340kB free memory as received, could probably delete sample ringers, images and games to get more), plus the way the keypad and screen illumination leaks around the outside of the phone (looks kinda like what people do when they modify the LEDs on their phones + clear face plates). The phone, with the color screen, seems ready to take advantage of AT&Ts mLife/mMode stuff and it seems easy to get ringtones and wallpaper images from the service. I didn't actually pay and download any but it looked nice and easy. Didn't use the data features other than browsing through the WAP portal (which was just marketing information telling me all about mMode and its advantages to get me to subscribe). Looks nifty at least.
I'd say the 3595 is a great phone if you play around with it and know its weaknesses before buying it. I think one that knows these will be more than happy with the phone. But for the better color screen and probable better sound quality, the 6200 might be a nicer phone to get depending on hardware discounts available to customers. My wife could get it for $69.99 minus a $50 rebate, so for $20 the 6200 seemed like a nice backup phone to have and if you have a PDA the IrDA & EDGE support might be a major feature in favor of the 6200.
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by ehow edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-29 11:01:11 | | | When I first saw this phone all I could think was how expensive it was going to be, but than soon changed AT&T is offering this excellent phone cheap. It is GSM 800/1900/1800 and the first EDGE phone on the market.
The Nokia 6200 is everything the Nokia 7210 should have been and more.
-Phone in general: It has a very sturdy feel to it, which make it comfortable to use. The keypad looks odd like many of the newer Nokias. Rf is excellent
-Screen: Excellent display at 4K colors, perfect size. Since it is the same size as other Nokia's there are tons of nice color wallpapers.
-Keypad: Although it looks odd it is nice and not hard to use at all, buttons press easily.
-Ringtones: Polyphonic is very nice, sounds much better than the old mono. Although this phone only has 8 cord tones they can sound a little muffled, but they are VERY loud.
-Memory: The phone has a small amount of memory for applications, games, images and ringtones.
-Reception: Excellent, on par with my Nokia 3650 and seems better than the 6590i.
-Applications: Came installed with the a convertor with values already entered for such things as temperature conversions, length, and also currency.
-Overall: I like this phone a lot, it is GSM 800/1900/1800 and EDGE capable a perfect phone, that should last for quite awhile. I highly recommend it, it is not to small and not to big, with excellent rf and audio quality.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:05:38 | | | The Nokia 8390
When I first saw the Nokia 8390 on the NokiaUSA.com site, I immediately fell in love. This is apparently the smallest, if not one of the smallest, GSM phone out there.
I had always wanted GSM service regardless. I went to the AT&T store, and inquired about switching to GSM. The transition was painless, and in fact, I was saving $10 per month and getting 100 more minutes!
The phone was great, it had the typical user-friendly-yet-powerful Nokia interface. Battery life was as rated (4 hours talk time), although I do think I've gone more than 4 hours. Not only that, but I saw a 50-100% improvement in RF with GSM, compared to my previous AT&T TDMA service. In fact, it seemed like as time went on, RF got constantly better. Sound quality was a major improvement over TDMA ... GSM sounds like your regular land line.
The honeymoon didn't last too long, though. There were a few quirks that bothered me. Things that seemed like they should work, but didn't. Eventually, I had two more problems: I would hear an echo of myself when I made calls, and the phone would reboot itself.
After a quick call to AT&T, I was sent a replacement phone. This one had a different startup logo. My original phone had an AT&T startup logo, and this one had one saying Welcome to mLife.
Around the same time, my father, having loved my phone, switched to GSM and got the same phone. I compared software versions, and mine was indeed much newer.
So, after going around for just a day, I realized that all the quirks were gone. RF improved significantly, the phone didn't echo anymore, and it's never rebooted since.
I went around for a week, and everything stayed fine. The new firmware really makes a difference: the phones works the way it's supposed to, all the time. It works the way all the other Nokias have worked for me.
I was able to convince my dad to do a warranty exchange on his phone, and now he was the new firmware on his new phone as well. Now he too says the phone works much better, and has better reception.
Overall, in terms of features, size, RF, battery, etc. I give this phone an A (no plus or minus). It's an excellent phone, and I've recommended it to several people that have been quite happy with it.
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by elias edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:03:20 | | | The Panasonic GU-87 was introduced on or around March '03.
The phone is based on GSM/GPRS networking (900/1800/1900 MHz). RF reception is a bit weak compared to the older Nokia 6260 and 8260 digital phones.
The 720mA Li-Ion battery, which provides up to 3 hours of talk time and roughly 150 hours in standby, is a bit weak as compared to other GSM phones available via AT&T Wireless. But if you plan to use the camera often, be sure to have a spare charger wherever you go.
It weighs about 3.6oz at 1.93”(W) x 3.84”(H) x 0.91”(D) (clamshell), double the height when opened. A good size for the pocket. No belt-clips are available for the GU-87 as of this writing. And if you find one, please let me know!
The phone features a crisp 65,536 color, 132x176 pixel TFT display. It's becomes a little difficult to read in bright sunlight conditions.
The built-in 110,000-pixel CMOS camera is a nice novelty and not for those looking for professional or photo-quality images. Resolution comes in 4 flavors: JPEG Fine/Normal/Economy, and PNG. In Fine mode, pics are above average and about 20-30kB in size. Normal mode are average, and size drops to about 2-5kB. You get the picture? While taking these pictures, you have other options such as Twilight Mode (for low-light conditions), 2x Zoom, Effects (Sepia, Monochrome, Negative), Frame (to add a frame style to your photo), and a self timer. All images can be no more than 100%, which is 132x176. The front of the phone also has a convex reflective dome so you can do a self portrait of yourself. Don't even think about vouyeur-type photos. Panasonic has induced a loud "shutter" sound effect whenever you take a snapshot. And there are no settings for this sound effect to be turned off or muted.
Networking features include MMS, SMS, and Internet. MMS pricing plans come in different flavors at this time, as well as Internet access.
mMode is part of mLife from AT&T, which allows you to send and receive multimedia-type messages (sounds, pictures, and text), as compared to the text-only transfers offered in SMS.
You can set the ringtones to any one of the pre-installed 16 polyphonic tones, or create your very own on the phone. Downloads also are available. If you purchase the serial data cable, you can convert any MIDI/WAV/etc into the ringtone format and simply download it to your phone and begin using that as your ringtone. Ringtones can also be assigned to certain callers in your phonebook.
The built-in phonebook can store 200 entries, which include the name, email address, phone numbers (home, work, pager, cell, etc), notes, and if you have a picture of the person, that picture can be assigned to that person.
The phone does not automatically answer a call when you flip it open, nor does it disconnect when closing to a clamshell. I believe Motorola has the patent to this feature.
In the games department, Tetris and Sheep Herder comes standard with this GU-87.
Overall, the coolness-factor of this phone is very high. It looks sleek, and it has a camera. It's fun to show off until a better model becomes available. On the other hand, if you want a high resolution camera phone, then look elsewhere.
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by ChrisJT edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:03:38 | | | I got this phone almost a year ago when AT&T just launched GSM here in Ohio. This phone is an excellent choice for those users who do not want to lose AT&T's existing TDMA coverage, but still want to make use of AT&T's "3G" GSM network.
The phone is very durable, it has been used and abused. Battery life is excellent, and with heavy usage can last 2-3 days before needing to be re-charged. RF is also excellent, the only phone I know of with better reception is my Nokia 3650. The phone is also quite small, and packs a decent amount of features. The phone tends to get warm when talking for long periods of time, which is somewhat odd. One thing it note is if placing a call while using GSM, and GSM coverage is lost while using it you will be disconnected while the phone switches to TDMA, the phone is not a GAIT phone, and AT&T at this time does not support GAIT. Also a misconception this phone does NOT support AMPS (Analog).
Overall I would suggest the Siemens S46 if you are interested in using AT&T's GSM network, but not lose their TDMA coverage.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:04:38 | | | Now this phone really caught my attention on my search for a good backup phone with GSM 800/1900. For it size it is extremely feature rich, polyphonic ringtones, sound recorder, and speaker phone. The phone is small, and as I have said about the Nokia 6590i almost too small.
Sound quality is excellent, as all phones I have used by Siemens have been.
Reception is very good, another good performer about on par with the Nokia 6590i, which I view as being a competitor to the Siemens C56.
Siemens menus can be a little confusing especially for those used to Nokia's user friendlly menus system. Once you get used to them it really is not a problem.
The polyphonic ringtones are nice, it is nice to hear actually music rather than muddled mono tones. Although they can be softer than the mono tones, which make the phone hard to hear at times.
This phone is the same thing as the Siemens CT56, but with all the features, the CT56 has some disabled.
I have not played with the java midlets games yet, but will shortly.
I would highly suggest this phone for someone looking at getting a nice GSM 800/1900 phone with lots of features, it would have been nicer if Siemens incorporated a color screen, which most likely will lead many of you towards the Nokia 3595 ;)
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by BrushedTooth edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:05:12 | | | My brother just got the new Siemens C56 GSM phone from AT&T Wireless. It is a dual band GSM 850/1900MHz phone. My first impression was that the phone was pretty small, and had a nice size and light weight. The overall shape/design of the phone was pretty pleasing. Honestly, the pictures that one sees online don't do the phone much justice. The phone actually has some "chrome" accents, that make it look nice, which you can't tell they're "chrome" online.
Overall, the interface is pretty good, and the phone has many good features. Of note, it has a speakerphone, as well as polyphonic ringtones. In fact, it has a built-in recorder which you can use to record your own ringtones. It also features simple wallpapers and animated screensavers.
As for sound quality and RF, it seems pretty good. We called MovieTickets.com and put it on speaker. Everything sounded pretty good. My only gripe is that the RF signal meter is a bit tricky to understand/decifer. So I really wasn't able to tell how much signal/reception the phone was getting.
The phone boasts 5 hours of talk time, and about 10 days standby. It has Java for games, but I'm not sure if you can get regular Java programs as well. The only thing I'm not too fond of is the orange screen, which can also be found on the Siemens S46.
Overall, I would recommend this phone to someone needing an inexpensive, small GSM phone.
-- Elias
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by elias edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-05-20 20:04:58 | | | On my seemingly never ending quest to find the best cellular provider I once again stumble upon a new mobile phone, the Nokia 3300. There is actually two versions of this phone, one for the US GSM version which has a qwerty keyboard and supports GSM 850/1900, and a European/Asian model which looks more like the upcoming Nokia N-Gage and supports GSM 900/1800.
When first seeing pictures of the Nokia 3300 it appears to be huge and I was quite suprised when I saw it in person and how small it really is. This phone is an excellent deal as all the accessories it comes with.
-Phone in general: It has a very sturdy feel to it, which make it comfortable to use despite its odd shape.
-Screen: Excellent display at 4K colors, perfect size. Since it is the same size as other Nokia's there are tons of nice color wallpapers.
-Keypad: Phone has a qwerty keyboard which makes it handy for sending SMS's and also MMS's. The downside to this is the keyboard is not illuminated and therefore can't be seen int he dark, this also effects dialing numbers in the dark.
-Ringtones: Polyphonic is very nice, sounds much better than the old mono. Although this phone only has 24 cord tones, while most Nokia's are sporting 4-8 cord tones. My favorite option is the ability to have MP3's as your ringtone, no conversion required the Nokia 3300 supports them right out of the box.
-Memory: My phone shows about 6MB of internal memory being free, which is a lot for a phone, and to add on top of that you also get a 64MB MMC card. I believe the device supports up to a 512Mb MMC at this time.
-Features: This phone has a lot of extras which make it very nice, built-in FM radio and MP3 player, qwerty keyboard, expanadable memory, speakerphone, and includes accessories such as a boom headset, stereo headset for listening to the FM radio or MP3's, data cable for transferring files to and from the phone, and an audio cable for recording.
-Reception: Excellent, on par with my Nokia 3650 and seems better than the 6590i.
-Applications: Came installed with the a convertor with values already entered for such things as temperature conversions, length, and also currency.
-Overall: I like this phone a lot, it is GSM 850/1900 GPRS capable, a perfect phone that should last for quite awhile. I highly recommend it, it is not to small and not to big, with excellent rf and audio quality.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-09-26 14:34:55 | | | Its a better phone than I expected.
The full access keyboard is easier to use than I would have imagined. The organization features are very useful and eliminates my need of a PDA. The FM radio eliminates my walkman needs during my daily commute. The internet access is nice but not a mandatory necessity. Reading news headlines and sending IM via the phone is convenient but not the main reason I got this phone.
The functionality and viewability of the phone is great. The GSM service from AT&T is good but there is room for improvement. Volume fades occasionally even when the signal is strong. Overall calls are really clear.
Unfortunately I have no real need to use the email capabilities but I know I have options if I ever need to use it. The infra-red connection to my laptop using the Nokia phone software works like a charm.
If you don't need a camera phone, I highly recommend this all-in-one phone.
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by Eglsct86 edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-10-06 15:43:24 | | | Awesome Phone.
It is a GSM phone that has a full color display with polymorphic ringtones. The menu is easy to navigate. The outside display shows the time/date/signal strength/battery condition plus caller ID without having to open the phone.
Simple to use, sounds incredible, light weight. Camera is very fast and provides great pictures.
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by Eglsct86 edited by Kevin
last modified: 2003-12-22 08:53:30 | | | When switching my Grandmother over to AT&T, I needed to find a simple phone that was easy to use and still got great reception. The phone that fit this was the SonyEricsson T226. It seems lately people bash SonyEricsson phones, but honestly for no reason beyond myths and rumors.
-Phone in general: It has a very sturdy feel to it, which make it comfortable to use. The keys are small, but that shouldn't be a problem unless your hands are huge. rf is excellent, and I mean excellent.
-Screen: Nice display at 512 colors, makes reading numbers and such easier for those who may not have great vision.
-Ringtones: They are loud, and I mean loud. They can distort if set at maximum volume, which is understandable when you hear it.
-Reception: Excellent, on par with my 6590i if not better.
-Overall: I like this phone a lot, it is GSM 800/1900 and would be perfect for someone who gives their phones a beating. I highly recommend it, and it is one of the few phones being offered for free that shouldn't be overlooked. As I said multiple times rf excellent.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Kevin
last modified: 2004-02-17 12:19:35 | | | The Sony Ericsson T637 is the update to the T616, which was more than well overdue, but still has similar quarks
•Phone in general: The phone has a very good solid feel to it, and the keypad is nice for dialing. The phone can be somewhat confusing to those familiar with Nokia UI.
•Screen: Excellent display, top notch TFT and a perfect size.
•Ringtones: Very loud and audible, with a strong vibrate feature.
•Memory: The phone has a small amount of memory for applications, games, images and ringtones.
•Reception: rf is good, but it has a quark of the T616 when it loses a signal it takes a while to regain it. It does hold onto calls in poor service areas very well, but is plagued with the common Sony Ericsson chop in audio.
•Voice Quality: While audio on the users end is excellent, I had numerous reports of the person on the other end say it can sound kind of odd, with cut outs and such.
•Overall: The T637 is a very nice little sturdy phone, and it would be a keeper if they can fix the amount of time it takes it to regain a signal.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Optimized
last modified: 2004-08-28 11:51:57 | | | When looking at images of this phone you really wonder how large it really is, but when seeing it in person it is surprisingly smaller than expected. It is a basic Nokia Series 60 phone, but with EDGE for faster data speeds.
•Phone in general: The phone has a very good solid feel to it, the keypad can be a pain for someone with large fingers. It is very comfortable to hold while in a call.
•Screen: Nice, larger, and clear screen, one of the best I have seen on a phone.
•Ringtones: Very loud and audible, with a strong vibrate feature.
•Memory: Expandable, but came stock with a 32MB MMC card.
•Reception: rf is good, not as good as the Nokia 3650, but still better than others. It held calls in a low signal areas without distortion of the audio for me or the person one the other end, in the same area my Sony Ericsson T637 would cut out badly.
•Voice Quality: It is decent not great, but decent. When in lower signal areas you can hear a warm buzzing sound, most likely do to the transmitter boosting its power.
•Overall: It is a nice phone with a lot to offer, but the firmware was too buggy for me the phone crashed a lot, I sold it after owning it for a couple weeks. For what it does it is good, but honestly for the price there is better offerings coming around the corner.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Optimized
last modified: 2004-08-29 18:30:28 | | | First off like many upcoming Nokia phones there is two versions, one being for the America's and another Eurasian version. The American versions often add "b" to the end of the model number. So needless to say this review is for the Nokia 6230b, but you really wont see it referred as such once it is released.
•Phone in general: For a phone with removable faceplates you expect it to have a somewhat creaky, lose feel to it, but with the Nokia 6230 this is not the case. It has a very sturdy feel to it, and feels good to hold.
•Screen: Very good for its size, at 128x128 it may appear small, but it is around the same size as the Sony Ericsson T6xx lines, mainly because there is no top bar dedicated to showing battery and signal while in menus.
•Ringtones: Very loud and audible, with a strong vibrate feature.
•Memory: Like most newer phones it has expandable memory, mine came with a 32MB MMC with various images, tones, and videos installed on it.
•Reception: rf seems great, but I will put it through some tests this week as my college campus is a virtual deadzone for cellular carriers.
•Voice Quality: Finally Nokia has gone back to their roots, the phone sounds amazing, the audio is crystal clear. This my first phone in a long time that I didn't need to crank the volume to the max. The audio on the users end is better than on the Sony Ericsson line, which is crystal clear, but on the receiving end it is just as clear.
•Overall: One of the best phones I have ever used, and has all the features on want, including the fastest EDGE speeds you can get (it is a class 10 device), bluetooth, camera, mp3 player, fm radio, expandable memory, and more.... This thing will be a hot seller when it comes out, but unfortunately I believe Cingular has the exclusive, but hey they should be one in October.
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by BrushedTooth edited by Optimized
last modified: 2004-08-29 18:32:07 |
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