Any info on the SE T-68i phone?
I'm particularly interested in its ability to communicate with iCal and Address Book via Bluetooth. Anybody used one? I know iSync isn't out yet but there are apps that will let you work with iCal and Address Book, I haven't been able to try any of them yet though. Just wanted to get some opinions before buying the phone.
Comments
I have the T68i, VERY lovely phone!
There's only TWO gripes about the phone....
1. i would've [but not necessarily] wanted polyphonic ring-tones.
2. i wish the menu's were faster [like a Nokia]
When I get my adapter, I'll fill the rest in
<strong>
1. i would've [but not necessarily] wanted polyphonic ring-tones.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Ah, I was actually wondering about that... I can live witout polyphonc ringtones of course but it would have been nice. I want that Low Rider ringtone.
- User interface is slow. Much slower than I would have thought. I have the Samsung A500 and it's more graphically intense then the T-68i yet very very responsive.
- It uses a different type of service connection that isn't widely supported or widely available. I can't complain because my area is fully covered, but if I traveled, I'd be annoyed.
- Service plans are expensive, due to the relative newness of the GRS (?) connection. However, they DO have a plan for unlimited use at 100 dollars a month, which means you can be on the phone the entire month and still pay $100, but it's over-kill for most people and plan options besides that one stink.
The only really cool thing about that phone, really, is bluetooth and it's compatibility with OS X. And it sucks to be me because I have bluetooth adapters on my Mac and Palm and would love to be able to sync my phone with my Palm, with iCal, with my iPod, and Address Book, but I can't justify the price, the sluggish GUI, and the lack of viable plans.
I must admit, I'm VERY happy with my A500, though I can't wait for Samsung to incorporate bluetooth into their designs.
Anyway, two days ago I got a Mitsumi Bluetooth USB adapter; I don't use iCal, but I can say I could painlessly transfer all my phone book to Address Book without a hiccup. I still have to try to transfer it all back to the phone--once I comfortably edit with my Mac's keyboard!--but until now things are going good.
PB + Bluetooth + T68 = great combination, I'd recommend it to anybody...
ZoSo
*sniff*polyphonic ringtones*sniff*
the UI is slow for a phone, i wish it was faster!
BUT
there's SO many other benefits of the phone, that it permisses the slow UI. Bluetooth, Voice Record, multiple phone entries per person [not like Nokia's], NICE screen, decent [not great] reception. etc. etc.
I can't wait to experiment with my d-link adapter & sync my address book & send it pictures/backgrounds/screensavers/etc.
First, Sprint's calls are the clearest and cleanest of all providers. No doubt, they're a bit more expensive then the rest, but I'm really happy with my plan right now. (800 anytime minutes, 5200 night and weekend, 2 meg internet access for 59.99.)
One thing that I REALLY like about Sprint that I CANNOT STAND about anyone else is that if you're out of range or for some reason your phone can't be contacted, Sprint will automatically bring the caller to voice mail. It sounds like common sense, right? Then how come Cingular and Verizon and AT&T and the others haven't figured that shit out? The others, after forty seconds of ringing at times, just tell you that the caller can't be reached; try again later. GOD that is so annoying. And then when you finally get to their voicemail prompt, you have to listen to the Operator tell you they're not there, if you like to leave a message, hold on some more, or, if you like, press 1 to disconnect..... Press 1 to disconnect?? WTF?! If I wanted to disconnect, I'd ****ing hang up! Then you have to listen to the actual message and THEN some services make you listen to the operator again! WHY?!!?!?!?!? With Sprint, let's say you call me, you hear this: *ring* "Hey, leave a message." Beep. No time wasted, no needless time spent on the phone racking up minutes on your own cell phone! The way it should be!
As far as the Samsung phone goes, it's beautiful, y'all should check it out. I always buy Samsung for my phones. Voice record, Calander, Sheduling, Alarms, multiple phone entries per person, fast UI, amazing graphics, cool animations, one touch dialing, voice dialing, digit dialing (where you speak the numbers and the phone dials it for you), email access (to your Sprint account as well as pop accounts), downloadable games and ringers and screensavers and applications, web access and tons more make this phone simply amazing. Most of these features (like voice and one touch dialing, multiple entries per person, email access, fast UI, calander and scheduling, etc) have been standard for years.
What I love about the A500, another awesome feature that Samsung has had for years, is the tiny flip phone enclosure. This is good because it keeps the size small while protecting the main screen, but there's a smaller screen on the outside that shows you time, date, caller ID information, as well as signal strength, voice mail, and battery power. Very cool phone. For anyone interested, I'll include a link.
And to top it off, Sprint's services, while a bit more expensive then the others (though nowhere near as expensive as GPRS) is really top notch and widely available.
Be back with the link.
Check out the really cool Flash demo.
And, apparently, I have polyphormoricicislshic rings, too. What a difference they make, eh?
[ 09-19-2002: Message edited by: Gambit ]</p>
<strong>1. i would've [but not necessarily] wanted polyphonic ring-tones.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Please pardon my ranting, but ringtones should be abolished and outlawed altogether. I can't stand the cacophony of ringtones in public places, polyphonic or not. Get with the times and use vibrating "ringers"!
Otherwise, I've been tempted to pick up a T68i with a basic T-Mobile plan. The promotions Amazon.com is offering on this phone are just amazing. The advantage of synchronizing your desktop PIM with your mobile via Bluetooth is obvious.
For me, the only holdup is GSM/GPRS coverage in the US. The coverage maps on provider websites are not nearly detailed enough. How do I figure out whether T-Mobile's GSM network covers my playground? In other words, is there a way to test coverage without comitting to a one year plan?
Escher
Not sure when you last tried different providers, but since I got my 8290 back in 12/99, Cingular automatically forwarded calls to voicemail when the other party's phone can't be contacted.
[quote]As far as the Samsung phone goes, it's beautiful, y'all should check it out. I always buy Samsung for my phones. Voice record, Calander, Sheduling, Alarms, multiple phone entries per person, fast UI, amazing graphics, cool animations, one touch dialing, voice dialing, digit dialing (where you speak the numbers and the phone dials it for you), email access (to your Sprint account as well as pop accounts), downloadable games and ringers and screensavers and applications, web access and tons more make this phone simply amazing. Most of these features (like voice and one touch dialing, multiple entries per person, email access, fast UI, calander and scheduling, etc) have been standard for years.<hr></blockquote>
While I love some gadgets from Korea, I can't say that I'm a fan of Samsung. Compared to a T68i, the A500 lacks many features, especially bluetooth. Sure bluetooth might be overhyped, but it's just beginning to catch on...that is unless 802.11 can shrink significantly.
<strong>
While I love some gadgets from Korea, I can't say that I'm a fan of Samsung. Compared to a T68i, the A500 lacks many features, especially bluetooth. Sure bluetooth might be overhyped, but it's just beginning to catch on...that is unless 802.11 can shrink significantly.</strong><hr></blockquote>
The only feature that isn't in the A500 that is significant or doesn't have a similar functionality, IS the bluetooth ability. And I tell you what, as happy as I am with my phone and Sprint service, that one feature alone almost caused me to 'switch.'
Bluetooth in the A500 would make it my dream phone, no fooling.
<strong>Gambit: Every service provider that has call forwarding and voicemail service can do this (and they all do, sometimes at a fee). It's sometimes up to the user to configure it, though.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Not here, not from what I've seen. :shrugs:
[quote]Originally posted by tonton:
<strong>
When I read posts like some of the above, I find difficulty holding back tears when I think about the poor, poor souls who are living in such a technologically backward place as the USA.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'll kill you.
Although, when it comes to cell phones, I suppose we ARE behind. I don't know. All I've done is compare it to my phone with my limited experience with it and regurgitated the stuff the Circuit City guy said, as far as service plans are concerned.
However, he was MUCH better than the Sprint guy selling me the A500. I quote, "Bluetooth is a dead technology, and it's not even worth having." To which I promptly turned my back on him and walked away. (I bought the A500 two weeks later at another store.) heh
[ 09-20-2002: Message edited by: Gambit ]</p>
There are a lot of industry rumors about Ericsson wanting out of the deal with Sony because it's cost the company millions of dollars.
The new Nokia phone w/camera looks interesting, though I much prefer the 7650 model available in Europe to the funky 3650 we're getting here.
Yiihhaaa!!!
well... thats what I thought anyway...
Connecting with 10.2.1 was a bit of ahazzle (10.1.5 with the bluetooth 2.1 preview was smoother)... At first 10.2.1 wouldn't recognize my t68i, but after a few restarts it was up and running.
iSync is a must (can't wait)... but the "buletooth File Exchange" app. from Apple works quite well.
I recommend Jonas Sallings app. "Ericsson Client".
with it I've been able to send all my contacts (selct all - drag'n'drop) my icals ( export to .ics - drag'n'drop) and my own pictures on the phone (desktop, screensaver and contacts)...
One problem I've encountered is that my to-do list is transferd each time so I've ended up with multiple itens of the same task on my phone.
Sending files from the phone to my mac was not as easy. I had to disconnect and the reconect from my phone. since there is no way of doing this software wise (I think), I ended up unplugging the Dlink adapter, and then reconecting it again. I then transferd a picture from the phone to my desktop.
A cool sidenote... the screensavers on the t68i are normal gif-animations so there is no end to how much fun you can have customizing this phone. You can also designate a picture to your individual contacts, so that this picture will show up when the call you...
I've also downloaded the "t68 ThemeEdit" by the same Jonas Salling. which looks cool. Any questions? fire away!
[ 09-20-2002: Message edited by: New ]</p>
<strong>When I read posts like some of the above, I find difficulty holding back tears when I think about the poor, poor souls who are living in such a technologically backward place as the USA.
Tell me about it! Just as I'm starting to reach total assimilation after eight years in this country, you raise those second thoughts again.
Escher
<strong>Transfering with the "ercisson Clinet" works great. I transferd a my 93 work contacts at the same time...</strong><hr></blockquote>
New: Thanks for your extensive description of the T68i's actual capabilities with a Mac. They seem to be as good as the marketing people (including Steve Jobs) make them out to be. Here are a few questions:
1. How good is the calendar feature of the T68i? Do you think it could replace a moderately used Palm PDA?
2. How many contacts and calendar events can the T68i store? In other words, can I expect it to store my couple of hundred contacts and schedule for the next year?
3. How good (bad, easy, limited...) is data entry on the phone itself?
I'm resisting an impusle buy. But the more I think about the T68i, the more I think it could fit my needs (and replace my Palm PDA).
Escher
PS: Amazon.com extended its heavy promotion of the T68i/T-Mobile package. The price for the phone went up to US$50 (with rebates) from zero, but it's still a pretty good price.
<strong>Oh sure Belle..only 24,000 Euro's!! :eek: (what's that in dollars? I thought my brother, who went to Germany in July, said it was basically $1=1 euro?)</strong><hr></blockquote>
Hehe. I think it is around $1=1?.
The platinum version is ?24,000. You could go for the steel which is only ?6,000!
At the moment it's clearly a phone user's phone, rather than a gadget freak's phone. No Bluetooth or PDA features or anything. But according to the site, the case is easily separated from the internal electronics, so you can update the internals.
Apparently Gwyneth Paltrow has ordered the gold version for ?14,000. Cheapskate.
[Edit: Oooh, I really like the sound of the <a href="http://www.vertu.com/vertu/gallery/concierge.html"; target="_blank">concierge</a>!]
[ 09-21-2002: Message edited by: Belle ]</p>