My first thoughts I have waited some time before writing this review I had mixed feelings when I first got it. I would have given it a bad review had I done it straight away. However, I decided to wait till I was used to it so I could give a comprehensive review rather than a rant. I must admit the real reason for me not liking it was the simple fact that I was used to Nokias. My first ever mobile was a Motorola Memphis (housebrick!) then a Ericsson A1018s (which was great) then it was Nokia after Nokia (3210, 8110 and 8310). So for practically 5 years I had one form or another of Nokia. So I was set in my ways I guess and changing makes was not the easiest of things to do! So what didn’t I like about it at first? I’ll be honest it was texting. Anyone who owns a Nokia or has done in the past will know to get a space you need to press 0. Well with the Sony Ericsson it’s the # button. It doesn’t sound much but as a frequent texter I never ‘thought’ about which buttons I was pressing, it just became second nature. As a result this simple change threw me! It took me a couple of months to get used to but now I’m used to it and would probably have difficulty with a Nokia!
Why did I buy it? Well I wanted a camera phone. My sister has moved to Canada for 6 months (snowboarding!) and I wanted to send her pictures of our cats. I don’t have a digital camera and once I read you could send pictures from your mobile to an email address I was sold. So I
knew I wanted one. But which one? I started to do a bit of research as I knew I didn’t want the Nokia 7250I as I heard it had been having software problems and this was enough to put me off. So I started with a booklet I got from the Orange shop to see which ones I liked the look of. I was still unsure so I got online and came here and read a few reviews. It was here I read a review praising it but I was still unsure. I went ahead and rang Orange as I figured they might be able to advise me. Well the woman I spoke to was lovely but they weren’t allowed to recommend phones. Still she informed me if I wasn’t happy with the mobile I could return it within 7 days. So I thought I’d go for it!
When it arrived As with all new mobiles I had to fully charge it for 12 hours. I also had to register my SIM card all of which was easy. The only downside was having to enter my phonebook in again (how many people do I know!)
Look You must have seen this phone by now. Everyone seems to have it on offer and its been widely advertised. For those of you who have no idea I will try my best at describing it. It’s a small silver phone with the usual buttons. It also has a joystick which you use to scroll through the menus. Its intended use was for games. It has a built in camera so the lens is at the back of the phone. I personally have a leather case which keeps it nice and clean. The lens does still show so you don’t need to take it out of the case to take your pictures! Another great feature is its in colour! It makes it that much nicer when using it. And of course who wants their photos in black and white? For those of you who do this is possible (more later). You can also load your own wallpaper. There is a default picture and this all depends on your network provider. Orange have some kind of box dog chasing cheese! Well that’s what it looks like to me. You can also load your own screensaver. Both these can be downloaded of you can use your photos which is what I have done.
Phonebook As with all mobiles there is a phonebook. You can store a persons name, home number, work number, mobile number, fax number, other number, email address, title and company. This is handy for those using it for business. You don’t have to have all of these visible. If you go into options and then contact info (in phonebook) you can tick or untick the headings you want. Another great thing you can do is assign a ringtone and picture to your contacts. This is a great way of personalising your mobile and you can see who is ringing you and who has texted!
Camera This is the main reason I upgraded to this mobile, It’s very easy to use. There is a button on the side (left) that goes straight into the camera rather than using the menu. To take a picture just press capture! You have the option to discard it or save it (it then gets saved into My Pictures). When saved you can change the name of the picture by going into My Pictures, clicking on the picture you want to change, click on more and then rename. You can change the size of the picture and on to night mode. I haven’t used night mode so I’m unsure how clear the pictures are. There are also various effects you can achieve. Black and white, negative and sepia. Again I have never used these so wouldn’t like to comment on them. There is also a self-timer so you can get yourself in the picture. I’m not sure how this can be achieved though. How would you stand the mobile up? Ah well nice thought though! Most importantly you are able to send your snapshots to other mobiles that are able to receive them. I send mine as emails mostly. A tip: send them to yourself and the forward them. This saves time, as you don’t need to enter loads of addresses and money. As far as I’m aware the cost of sending a photo is approx. 40p. Every network will be different so you need to check.
SMS As mentioned earlier it took some time before I got used to texting. This was only because I was used to a Nokia. I am now used to this mobile now! The phone does have predictive text and you can turn this off if you prefer. When using a word that isn’t in the dictionary your suggested word is then added to save to having to enter it each time. A feature I liked is it saves your sent messages into Sent Items so you can see what you have sent. Great for those with a bad memory. You will have to delete these at some stage as they take up part of the SMS memory. I chose to have delivery reports on so I know when the message has been delivered. This took me some time to find. You have to go into Messaging – Text – Options – Status Request and here you can turn it on or off.
Polyphonic Yes it has polyphonic tones! I love this and at the moment have Sugababes Too Lost In You. Its worth mentioning you can compose your own tunes in Music DJ, this can be found in Pictures & Sounds. Again I have never used this but a bloke from work did and was really impressed.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) This phone has WAP so you can find the latest information on news, weather, sports, train times and much more. It’s easy to use and I use it mainly to check out cinema times when I’m not in my hometown. You can bookmark sites and with Orange you have ‘Your Page’ which allows you to add things to it. I have my local cinema added as this saves time. You can access WAP by pressing the joystick up, pushing the button on the side (right) or from the menu. It is also GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) enabled. This basically allows you to remain connected to WAP all the time but you only pay for the information you download.
Bluetooth I didn’t really understand this so I had to do a little research rather than leaving it out. So what is it? It’s a way of exchanging information with a wireless connection. For example, you can exchange contacts from your phonebook to say a laptop.
Games/Java There are already pre-set games (no not Snake!) but as the phone has Java you can download games via WAP. You are only charged standard WAP service charges. The games: Colourbug - this is a Java game. I don’t really understand it so I gave up! Q*bert – also a Java game. You basically have to jump on all of the squares avoiding the objects that are not green. I have made it to level 2 but only in the name of research! Minigolf – basically you play golf. I found this difficult, as I don’t normally play golf games. I’m not sure whether these games are pre-set to the phone of depend on your network.
Making Calls I nearly forgot to mention this! This is simple to do. You can either go into your phonebook and call that way or if you push the joystick down it comes up with a list of your contacts.
Joystick Up – WAP Down – Call contact list Left – Ring volume Right – Main menu
Call List This stores your missed, received and made calls. This works like any other mobile. One point to note is if you miss a call only the last call from that person is logged with the number of times in total in brackets e.g. Home (10) 16th Jan 04.
Shortcuts You can tick/untick your favourite functions. You can also choose the position number.
Keypad lock This avoids accidental calls. If you want you can have it turn on automatically after 25 seconds (Settings – Locks – Auto Locks).
A downside to the Sony Ericsson T610 is visibility of the screen when it is bright. This may pose a problem when out in direct sunlight. Also I have found the software to be slow on a number of occasions.
Overall though I would recommend this mobile. I hope I have covered all the information needed. Any questions or feedback is welcomed.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Als VikuitiScreen Protectors DQC160Properties of the film:* Transparency: clear* more
Anti-reflective coating: no* Scratch resistance: Pencil hardness 4H .. 5H* Dirt-repellent: strongFor devices with multiple displays 1 film per display in the packageVikuiti Crystal clear screen protector DQC160Invisible protectionThe scratch-resistant surface protects your display for damages of any kind without being conspicuous. With a very high scratch resistance of 4 .. 5H survives the film itself aggressive contact with sharp objects. Due to the dirt surface remain no trace of ball point pens or similar term.Crystal surfaceThe high transparency and optical quality of the film make it virtually invisible. The glossy surface makes images appear to contrast.Easy to mount, completely removableThe film has a little sticky, slightly wetting adhesive layer. Should you sell your unit back to the film at any time easily and completely removable.
Advantages: Brilliant phone customisation, Good size screen with 65K colours (STN screen technology aside), Navigation system, Downloadable Games/Apps, Range of connectivity options Disadvantages: Casing attracts fingerprints and smudges, Hard to view in sunny outdoor conditions, 2MB memory maybe too little, Back and Cancel buttons maybe confusing, Quick Access to WAP services can be costly if accidently pressed.
rayliu 05.07.2003 (07.07.2003)
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Review of Sony Ericsson T610
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