Best Bluetooth Capable Cell Phone?

masonbrown asks: "I find myself confronted with a profound decision that could significantly affect the next couple of years of my life. As an excited owner of a new Aluminum Powerbook 15-inch, I'm shopping for a Bluetooth enabled cell phone. I've checked Apple's Bluetooth Compatible Device List as a reference, and had some great initial impressions of the Sony-Ericsson T-616/T-610 phone (direct link unavailable), until I read the Amazon reviews that said the display fades in sunlight and the buttons are impossible to maneuver with human fingers. Can Slashdot readers give some feedback on what Bluetooth phones you have, how well they work with iSync, and how happy you are with your phone?"

Comments

I'm happy with my T616

[__david__]

I've got a Sony-Ericsson T-616 and I'm happy with it. Yes, the screen is not very visible in direct sunlight, but it hasn't really bugged me too much at all. I guess I don't use my phone outside too much.

I've got a Mac and a $30 bluetooth usb nub thing and the bluetooth stuff just works. I use iSync to synchronize my iCal and AddressBook with the phone and don't have any problems. I've been impressed with the how well everything seems to work together. It's pretty easy to get the pictures off with Apple's USB file browser. The camera is gimicky but it is fun to play with. :-)

As for the buttons, they seem like every other phone to me, no smaller or unusable than my old nokia. I wouldn't consider them unusable at all really...

The menus aren't quite as fast as my old nokia, but they are zippy enough to not slow me down, or annoy me. My friend has a 68i and its menus are the slowest thing on the planet. It takes a good 5 seconds to get into the address book. The T616 fixes all of that. It also has a sane way of locking the screen that doesn't erase your address book entry if you are in the wrong screen (like the 68i--which causes my friend to scream curses about once a week when he does this).

I definitely recommend it.

-David

fading displays in full sun

[a.koepke]

Amazon reviews that said the display fades in sunlight

This is actually a common problem with most of the new colour display mobile phones. I own the Nokia 6610 (no bluetooth) and do experience this problem when the phone is used outdoors. I have yet to see a colour screen mobile phone that does not have problems being used in full sun.

One thing you need to look out for is there are some phones that are shipping with data-only bluetooth. So if you are planning to use a headset be careful of that. I was looking at the Nokia 7650 at one point but decided not to get it for that reason. The specs list contains bluetooth but I found out later it was data-only.

Sony Ericsson T681

[jpkunst]

I'm happy with my Sony Ericsson T68i. I use it with iSync on OS X 10.3 without problems. It's a basic phone without useless extras like a built-in camera (though you can buy an add-on camera for it, IIRC). I only use bluetooth for syncing, I don't know if you can also use a bluetooth headphone with it.

JP

Re:Sony Ericsson T681

[Ibn al-Hazardous]

I too have a T68i, in fact I'm posting from my iPAQ connected with the T68i. :)

It is a bit bare bones by today's standards - but OTOH it's a bit cheaper for that very reason. So if you're looking for cheap and reliable - I recommend it.

OTOH if you're looking for something with a usefull camera, don't even think about it. I have the separate camera - and it is not very usable. It is slow, yields low quality images (640X480, always blurry), and the integration sucks (eg I can't beam images from the in-cam menu, but have to transfer to the phone first).

Nokia 6310i

[fuzzybunny]

I can't recommend this thing highly enough.

It's got:

-Tri-band GSM
-bluetooth, GPRS/WAP (big deal)
-good sound quality
-great reception
-well-organized display and menu functions
-really well-designed keypad (not soft & mushy)
-good shape (fits into your hand well, very slim, easily slides into and out of your pocket, and is comfortable to talk on
-robust power connector
-no fiddly moving parts to break

In short, it's a phone. It does phone stuff, and does it well. The thing's built like a Russian tank; I have dropped it on concrete at numerous angles, gotten it wet, smacked it around and generally abused it, and like all my Nokia phones, it keeps on chugging.

Don't buy this if you want a toy (MMS, photo, cute polyphonic ringtones, fashionable shape, whatever.) But as a tool, it rocks. In fact, this phone is the best piece of industrial design I've had the pleasure of using this year.

I too have a T610...

[JazzManDRP]

... and while the display isn't ideal, it's certainly not a problem. All it takes is holding the 'phone at a suitable angle and the display is perfectly usable; some of the higher-contrast themes also help.

The buttons I actually find nicer than many units on the market - though it is an irritation that some of the buttons' functions can't be changed from their (never-used) default.

For those Windows users who have this phone, I find floAt's Mobile Agent a most useful piece of software (though occasionally buggy). A useful feature at work is the option to automatically lock and mute your machine as you leave the room (with phone). Useful for forgetful souls (like me ;)

Review

[darkpurpleblob]

The O'Reilly Network has a review of the T610.

Sony Ericsson Z600

[denisb]

The Clamshell edition of the T610 is actually a lot better imho. It is a bit bulkier than the T610, but makes up for it with a better and bigger keypad, a much prettier exterior. Louder ringtones if needed, better screen (which supposedly is better in sunlight). Overall an excellent phone, and using it with bluetooth is a joy :)

As for the direct links to these phones, very simple :
T610
Z600

T68i, T630 or Z600

[Bud]

Funny, I've just been looking for a replacement for my T39m... let's see what this discussion can bring up. Here's some highlights of my "research" to date.

If you're on a budget, look at the T68i and the Nokia N-Gage. I think they are listed at around EUR 250.

• The T68i has a rock-steady Bluetooth implementation. It's what other phones are compared to. I've heard a lot of positive things about this phone, but on the other hand it's getting older (and cheaper!) all the time. If you feel you can survive with the limited (?) feature set, the T68i provides a lot of bang for the buck.
• The nGage is interesting mostly because it's the cheapest Symbian-enabled phone on the market and it's got built-in audio capabilities (FM radio, MP3 playback) and official iSync support. You don't have to be a gaming addict to use it. It'll have that coolness factor for a year or so, and then it'll be very uncool for two years more until it breaks... You'll need to buy a SD-card reader because beaming dozens of MP3 files over Bluetooth is a pain.

If money isn't an issue, the T630, the Z600 or the Nokia 6600 will fit your requirements. These are listed at around EUR 600.

• The T630 and Z600 are supposed to fix the shortcomings in the T610 (washed-out screen, bad antenna, loudspeaker not loud enough etc etc). They've just been released and are currently expensive, possibly getting a price reduction in early 2004. I would say that these phones are the logical upgrade path for T39m and T68i owners. There's a very positive Z600 review over at Mobileburn.
• The Nokia 6600 is a fairly good phone. We have three at my workplace. If you're fed up with the oh-so-limited 7650, or the round-keyboard 3650, or the GPRS-disabled 9210, this is probably the phone for you. Third-party software is abundant. Getting the 6600 to work with iSync currently requires some h4x0ring, but no doubt it'll be officially supported with OS X 10.3.2

Current mobile phones are built for a three-year life span. They are not supposed to last much longer than that. Regardless of what you buy today, it's 50-50 that you're going Christmas shopping for a new phone again in 2006.

It could be a good idea to stick with your current brand, unless you're deeply unsatisfied with the menu layout or the physical quality or something. I've been using Ericssons for a while and have difficulties adapting to Nokia's Symbian UI: the N-Gage is compelling but the UI kind of rules it out.

--Bud

Re:Sony T610 and Linux

[G Money]

You're best bet is Multisync. It's a fantastic app that can sync phones with Evolution,LDAP directories, Palm, SyncML, Opie/Zaurus devices, and Windows CE/ME devices. I use it between my Zaurus, my company LDAP server, Evolution, and my T68i. I'm getting a Nokia 3650 soon and even though it's not completely supported yet (it uses binary ML), I'm hoping it will soon. Multisync is scheduled to be included with the main gnome distribution somewhere around the 2.6 or 2.8 timeframe but is very usable now. Give it a try.

Nokia 3650

[DiscoOnTheSide]

I've had the Nokia 3650 for about two months now. It's an amazing device and if you go to a place thats willing to wheel and deal (like I did) you can end up with the phone for $25 after rebate (yes, twenty five.) There is currently a $150 rebate through T-Mobile on the phone and I was able to talk the places down to $175 from the T-Mobile price of $300 (and T-Mobile is a great service provider as well, I've been using them for over two years now and I've yet to have a problem (with the exception of my first phone with them, the T68m but that wasn't their fault and they were still quick to make things better for me)

Ok, so now I'll run down on the phone itself...

104Mhz StrongARM processor with 4MB of RAM. (Cause every geek loves those stats...)

A very large fairly high resolution screen that fares VERY well in sunlight and any light situation. It's backlit, but only a slight lowering of contrast occurs in sunlight.

The camera that is built in is of amazing quality for a camera and one of the best I've seen. It also records video but it's not as usefull, as the resolution is only 320x240 and the quality is horrible. Good for BS clips but nothing fancy. The camera has actually gotten me rave reviews on my photography skills (more than a regular camera). The two following links are directories full of pictures and videos I've taken with my phone, feel free to browse them at your leisure.
Pictures of the beach by my house
Pictures of the recent snow storm at Rutgers Uni.

Being a Symbian OS based device there's TONS of programs for it, ranging from MP3 players (I used it once, not bad, but I prefer my iPod) to Game Boy Emulators (nothing like playing Mario Bros 1 in class) to usefull applications like file browsers, to Doom! (doom links: here and here) Plus its easy to get files onto the phone be it through bluetooth, infared or taking out the phones 16MB MMC card and putting it on there via flash card reader.

Ringtones for the phone are MIDI files so it's easy to find your favorite song or write your own and place it on the phone.

iSync is supported with the phone, as well as other nifty Mac bluetooth programs such as Salings Clicker which lets you controll your mac from your cellphone. Good for controlling iTunes (I have it set so it plays my music when it sees my phone so I come home to my favorite music) and can be used to control DVD Player or Quicktime, and can be set to perform AppleScripts...

Yes. the circular keypad is odd. It took me about a week to get used to it. After a month and a half with the phone, I'm back up to my previous typing speed on the T68i (I can go faster tho, as Nokia's predictive text is much faster than SE's...) and the only time it's a slight problem is when I'm inebriated, but even then all skillsets go to zero, so it's no so much the phone's fault. :) I put all my numbers into the phone book anyways so I rarely dial numbers.

Battery life and size: The phone is slightly larger than other phones, yes. But after all the times I spent digging in the tinest little crevaces of car seats, classrooms, and dorm rooms looking for the phone, a larger phone is appreciated. Plus it leaves room for a larger battery and antenna (and that's another thing. The 3650 has fantastic reception abilities and some have claimed it has the best of any Nokia phone to date.) and it just feels like less of a toy than other phones. I take pictures all the time and have many 5-10 minutes phone calls a day. I have to charge the phone every 3-4 days, but I just keep it on a car charger when I drive and when I sleep its in the charger, but you can get away with forgetting to once in a while with no worries (plus the batteries are the same as the N-G