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

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.