Hi, I am a 27 year old accountant from the south east of England. I hope you find my reviews useful ...
Hi, I am a 27 year old accountant from the south east of England. I hope you find my reviews useful in your own decision making - remember, learn form the mistakes of others :-)
Member since:16.03.2001
Reviews:5
Members who trust:2
------ Update ------
This phone is now out of production and only refurbished units are available, hopefully the new NEC e616 will have a greatly improved menu system, call quality and battery life. However, the 3 network still has no plans to make web surfing available, thus you're still locked into their poorly updated and narrow range of content. Also, note that no 3 handset can be used as a modem for a laptop/PDA, you're very much trapped onboard their boat, going at their pace. I can't fault their pricing though, they offer the best value talk plans by far and their international call charges often undercut BT. Handset subsidies are also very generous - don't pay for your handset, look around, you should be able to get any of them free on a contract.
I've owned the NEC e606 for several months now and included comments on the 3G network because as this is very much a 'package'. NOTE: you cannot 'unlock' a 3G phone for use with say Vodafone or Orange (the SIM cards run on a different voltage). My first e606 was stolen from my car and, thanks to the included insurance, I received a replacement mobile and SIM two week after phoning through the claim (and £40 lighter because of their excess charge). Here's my updated review.
Although it carries a considerable bulk, I allow that as it feels robust and well-made. I'm sure the units will last for years. I purchased my e606 for £200 on the 'three-to-go' pay-as-you-go price plan, which includes a year's insurance.
Playing the network facilities - downloading movie trailers, weather reports, etc. The colour display is much larger than most 2G handsets and the back speaker (on the top cover) was just about loud enough during video playback. However, I was very disappointed when I made my first voice call. The 'ear' speaker (above display) is dreadful, with a tinny shrill sound that's painful. The microphone at the other end isn't any better, and I feel that this phone fails at it's most basic task.
The menu system is also poorly organised. As often with colour screen mobiles, things run slowly and there is quite a delay between selecting the opening of a file (such as the messages inbox) and actually getting there. Also multitasking (where different 'programs' can be open at the same time) seems rather pointless to me - you have to remind yourself to close applications you've used.
Despite the screen size, web access is limited to the 3G services and the organiser is no better than any other mobile's calender function.
As for the main selling point of the device, video calling. Forget the ads on TV, the quality is far from smooth. Both in terms of resolution and, more importantly, frame rate. Also, remember you'll need to be using the handsfree device if the other party is to make sense of what you're saying (and at 50p a minute speak fast..)
The basic cameras work very well. Vastly superior to smaller alternatives (such as the Nokia 7250), though still far behind even an average digital camera.
This phone can now be obtained 'free' as part of a monthly post-pay contract with 3G, which appears good VFM. However, the reception is terrible even in strong 3G areas (the antenna's at the base of the handset - where you hold it!). The screen, though large, isn't a patch on the current Samsung crop. A slow gawky menu system and lack of internet freedom all add up to a frustrating package.
I still rate it '2 out of 5' - it may be good value, but with poor reception, limited (and expensive) multimedia 'surfing' I feel buyers are essentially paying 3G to take part in research and development.
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Great review and a timely one for us, we are victims of the 808 and after a lot of phone calls to 3 we are having the phones updated to this one but what is the point if the still have the problems the 808 has with batteries etc. Add to that the fact that this is a now discontinued model as well this review has helped us a lot.
miss_gill 30.10.2003 23:36
Well i have seen and used the NEC E606, and the features are excellent. The problem maybe the battery life as with all the video mobiles out at the moment.
3 brings together video calling, video clips, location based services and amazing content to browse and download. 3 has great offers and a huge range of the 3G handsets. Visit the 3 Shop to find more info. on offers
Dear Ciao User, We are sorry we can't show you any offers on this page for the product you have selected. You can find offers here: 1 - out of offers for NEC E606
Advantages: Good value (500 mins @ £25 = 5p/min for CROSS NETWORK!), No problems with reception (can always get 3G or 2G), And did I say good value? Disadvantages: Haven't got total 3G coverage yet, Customer Service is poor
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