Looking for quad-band GSM phone w/ Bluetooth and iSync (Mac) support

R

raman_thunder

New member
Hello everyone,

I'm looking for an unlocked quad-band GSM phone to use on Cingular's network. My primary concerns are:

Phone Size (nothing too bulky)
Great reception (I live in a rural area)
Bluetooth
iSync (Mac) compatible (third party iSync definitions are fine)
Full-featured contact management (ie: multiple numbers per contact)
Organizer/To-Do List

Those are all necessary. Beyond that, web access would be nice, as would a decent camera, but I'd gladly sacrifice both of these for a better phone.

I used to own a Sony Ericsson T610 when I had T-Mobile and liked it quite a bit, but most of the SE phones seem to be tri-band only. I like the SE feature-set and interface, so I'd strongly favor one of their phones. I've never been a huge Moto fan, but will certainly consider any of their phones. I've also been reading a lot about the Nokia N80. Sounds great...and I can afford to wait a few months (if need be) for the phone.

So, all of that said, any thoughts on what I should get???

Thanks,
Rob
 
Thanks for the advice. The D600 does look like a great phone!

What do you all think of the upcoming SE W810i? Worth waiting for? Any idea when it will be available?
 
I have pretty much the same requirements for a phone (looking to upgrade), and this is what I have found out thus far (I am ignoring smart phones such as the HTC Wizard, imate SP5, etc):

The SE 520 and the W600 are both quad band (but no edge for the SE520, and some people complain about the W600's memory and shape). Supposedly the moto SLVR's phonebook ahs been updated so it is usable, but I have no clue if that is true. Nokia has a great phonebook and the 6270 is quad band. The Samsung D600 has gotten great reviews, though I believe its phonebook does not handle addresses.

As for the W810, I am torn myself whether I should wait for it or just get over it and get the W600. The W810 looks great, but I am worried that it might be until the late summer it finally arrives on Cingular--assuming it does. Though if you were planning on spending $4-500+ on an unlocked phone anyway that may not matter (I think the W600 si about $350-400, as is the D600, the Nokia 6270 appears to be about $50 more, and you can get an unlocked SLVR for around $250. I have seen pre-order prices of close to $1000 for the w810).

Anyway, I think I've decided to get a W600 from Cingular ($150, less if you are a new customer) and then just upgrade when the W810 comes out and goes down to a reasonable price.
 
My motorola A630 does all of that with a bit of editing. Works like a charm with iSync. So do the VXXX phones. The only thing really lacking is the organizer but there are java based apps for that if you don't mind using java apps. I mean, there's a calendar but the todo list would be third party.

Doc
 
I guess "editing" is the key word here--depends on how much work one is willing to put in.

I forgot to ask. Do you need quad band because you want 850 or because you want 900? If 850, there are a bunch of tri-band Nokia's that would fit your criteria then. 900 is only really useful in the developing world, but if you do need that you need a quad band (I assume you want 850).
 
I've been looking for a new phone that is Quad GSM and Mac iSync compatible too.

I've read that the Motorola RAZR is compatible with iSync with perhaps some hacking. I'm used to my Nokia's great UI phonebook and it doesn't seem like Motorola is up to snuff with the multiple details entry. It keeps it as seperate contacts for say home phone, work phone, email address unfortunately.

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/motorola_razr_v3_review (iSync reference)
http://www.mobique.com/motorola/v3/ (great in-depth unbaised review)


Other option I was considering is one of the Sony Ericsson Walkman phones. I don't really need an MP3 player becauase that's what my iPod is for. But seems like only the w810 and w600 are quad band in that series.

I haven't really made my decision what to get yet. Quad band is definitely a wooing point for me because Rogers is on 850 but I may be working in London for 6 months so I would like the global mobility in one phone. I'm interested in knowing what you end up choosing too.
 
I dont know about the Razr, but in the V551 you can in fact have multiple numbers/email addresses per contact. It is just a very counter-intuitive set-up.

Regardless, I bit the bullett and went out and got the W600. Firs impressions are that it is not as big and bulky as I expected (coming from a clam shell), and the SE user interface is so nice. Feels like coming home (my first cell was an Ericsson that had the 'folder tabs' just like the new SE interface--a slight update on the T616/T630 one).

I will play around with it tonight and let you guys know how it is.
 
My big turn off for the SE W600 is that when you unfold it, the antenna is pointing downwards. Pretty dumb idea to kill your signal that way... but you could answer the phone without unfolding it and that's a bit of a saving grace. It seems like the camera comes with a covering on top of the lens.

Looks like you can get FM tuner via the headset accessory... but what happens if you want to broadcast the radio on the speaker? This would be great for those hockey games... I was disappointed that my Nokia 3300 could play MP3s via the speakers but not radio on the speakers. The only reason for me to want to broadcast audio at any point is if there was a game going on.
 
Well, so far I got to say the antenna at the bottom has not been an issue. That you have to use the headset to use the radio is kind of dumb though
 
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