I have a StarTAC which I have been generally happy with. I did quite a bit of research on the web on various cell phones. My research led me to believe that the Nokia 6185 was the best cell phone on the market at the time. Unfortunately, my company has a contract with GTE Wireless so I had to pick a phone that worked with GTE Wireless.
I spoke with my company's GTE Wireless representative and they said that the Nokia 6100 series was flawed and would not work with the GTE network and that Nokia was supposed to be working on the problem and have it resolved soon. That was quite a few months ago. Not holding my breath at the finger pointing I bought a StarTAC.
I have a few complaints about the StarTAC. It's interface is counter-intuitive. While most of the basic features are there, one could not pick up the phone and use all the features with out reading the manual or a lot of trial and error. On a Nokia phone everything seems straight forward to me.
The Battery life on the StarTAC stinks. With only the "standard extra capicity main" battery I get about 24 hours of standby or 3-4 hours of talktime (not actually measured). With the "slim auxiliary" battery in addition I get about a week of use (I don't use a ton of talk time).
The StarTAC is cheaply built. Even before the first time I dropped it one of the clips on the side broke and the phone is slightly coming apart. On that side there is a slight crack and the "1" button is a little indented and more difficult to press. After actually dropping it a few times no additional damage besides slight scratches has occured. I would have tried to get it replaced, but I am sure they would have assumed I had dropped it.
With my advice my girlfriend bought the Nokia 6185 and has been delighted by it. Her battery life is longer than mine even with the auxiliary battery on the StarTAC. With the auxiliary battery on the StarTAC they are about the same size (in different dimensions). The Nokia 6185 seems to have about 5 times the features of the StarTAC and I can pick up her phone and access any of the features that I could only find on the StarTAC after reading the manual.
My girlfriend has dropped her Nokia 6185 MANY more times than I have dropped my StarTAC (twice) and the only damage the Nokia has taken is slight scratches.
Overall I am much more impressed with the Nokia. However, when going to Ren Faire and having to hide my cell phone I have a much easier time putting it in a pouch since with out the auxiliary battery it is much smaller.
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I have a StarTAC which I have been generally happy with. I did quite a bit of research on the web on various cell phones. My research led me to believe that the Nokia 6185 was the best cell phone on the market at the time. Unfortunately, my company has a contract with GTE Wireless so I had to pick a phone that worked with GTE Wireless.
I spoke with my company's GTE Wireless representative and they said that the Nokia 6100 series was flawed and would not work with the GTE network and that Nokia was supposed to be working on the problem and have it resolved soon. That was quite a few months ago. Not holding my breath at the finger pointing I bought a StarTAC.
I have a few complaints about the StarTAC. It's interface is counter-intuitive. While most of the basic features are there, one could not pick up the phone and use all the features with out reading the manual or a lot of trial and error. On a Nokia phone everything seems straight forward to me.
The Battery life on the StarTAC stinks. With only the "standard extra capicity main" battery I get about 24 hours of standby or 3-4 hours of talktime (not actually measured). With the "slim auxiliary" battery in addition I get about a week of use (I don't use a ton of talk time).
The StarTAC is cheaply built. Even before the first time I dropped it one of the clips on the side broke and the phone is slightly coming apart. On that side there is a slight crack and the "1" button is a little indented and more difficult to press. After actually dropping it a few times no additional damage besides slight scratches has occured. I would have tried to get it replaced, but I am sure they would have assumed I had dropped it.
With my advice my girlfriend bought the Nokia 6185 and has been delighted by it. Her battery life is longer than mine even with the auxiliary battery on the StarTAC. With the auxiliary battery on the StarTAC they are about the same size (in different dimensions). The Nokia 6185 seems to have about 5 times the features of the StarTAC and I can pick up her phone and access any of the features that I could only find on the StarTAC after reading the manual.
My girlfriend has dropped her Nokia 6185 MANY more times than I have dropped my StarTAC (twice) and the only damage the Nokia has taken is slight scratches.
Overall I am much more impressed with the Nokia. However, when going to Ren Faire and having to hide my cell phone I have a much easier time putting it in a pouch since with out the auxiliary battery it is much smaller.