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

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

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 ;)

Fades in sunlight?

[darkpurpleblob]

Why would a /. reader possibly care if the display fades in sunlight?

Review

[darkpurpleblob]

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

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