Hi, I'm Richard, from Austin.
I'm on Cingular. My old V220 was giving me mediocre service in my own home, so I opted to get a SE W600i. Reception problems solved; I just need good equipment. BUT I'm not convinced that I like this particular phone yet. (I just bought it yesterday, so I can always return it.) I'm still searching for something better for me. My needs/wants:
- Not TOO expensive, but I could pay a little more for a phone worth using for a long while. Since the reception at my house is, in fact, decent, I'm now more willing to extend my contract in exchange for a deal. But I can go full-price, too.
- This is my only phone line and I use it fairly often, so good call quality is necessary.
- Don't need a world phone, really, but whatevs.
- Gotta be able to trade files with a Mac, and preferably sync contacts and all that.
- MP3 player: I'd say required, but it doesn't have to be the BEST of the BEST (but not horrible sound quality). Basically, something to distract myself while working out or mowing the lawn for a couple of hours at a time (anything more, like plane rides and such, and I bust out the 12" laptop for music). My own music, so no need for a mobile download service.
- MP3 ringtones = WIN. (But I suspect that'll come with any phone with an MP3 player, anyway.)
- FM radio: I really like having this on my new phone. Not a necessity, but it would definitely help.
- camera: This is a big point against the SE W600i, for my tastes. The 1.3 MP camera on there is okay in bright light, but noise starts to become apparent when the light levels go down even moderately. Focus is difficult; the flash is bright, but not the best. My plan is to take pictures and mostly put them online, so resolution isn't too important, but what IS important is quality, and I'm only seeing higher resolution camera phones produce quality photos. So high resolution, I guess (hey, I could always use it to take press photos of my band(s) and such for print, so maybe I actually COULD use the resolution). I take all sorts of photos all the time, so a versatile camera is key. Good low-light quality is awesome. Maybe one of those fancy new phones with a CCD-based camera?
- video: Any outside videos I'll watch, like with music, will be from my computer, so I don't need whatever fancy mobile TV thing Cingular might have (I don't even care enough to find out if they do). And I don't expect to be watching a WHOLE lot of them, either. As far as capturing, it's not too high on my list, but I kind of expect that a phone that meets some of my other needs will have a decent camcorder function.
- Expandable memory would be nice.
- I have basically no need for multimedia messaging or 3G or any of that data stuff; Austin has something like the most Wi-Fi hotspots per capita of any US city, so if I really need to work online, I'll use my computer. Or a phone with Wi-Fi. So I guess that's an optional feature.
- Bluetooth is cool, but if it can use USB to transfer media, then I'll be alright.
- form: Not too set on anything, but I do keep my phone in my pocket and I worry about damaging screens or lenses or such, so either a flip or something with a lens cover or whatnot. And/or an available utilitarian screen protector or sleeve or pouch or something. Pretty flexible. Style-wise, I don't NEED anything flashy, but I could probably live with a somewhat gaudy model.
- display: Meh, I just want it to at least be readable. I'll probably be viewing pictures on my computer more than on my phone.
- I can wait MAYBE a couple of months for a model to be released, but I think the folks at the Cingular store wouldn't appreciate me buying and returning all these phones in a row month after month.
Sorry for using so many words.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand GO.
I'm on Cingular. My old V220 was giving me mediocre service in my own home, so I opted to get a SE W600i. Reception problems solved; I just need good equipment. BUT I'm not convinced that I like this particular phone yet. (I just bought it yesterday, so I can always return it.) I'm still searching for something better for me. My needs/wants:
- Not TOO expensive, but I could pay a little more for a phone worth using for a long while. Since the reception at my house is, in fact, decent, I'm now more willing to extend my contract in exchange for a deal. But I can go full-price, too.
- This is my only phone line and I use it fairly often, so good call quality is necessary.
- Don't need a world phone, really, but whatevs.
- Gotta be able to trade files with a Mac, and preferably sync contacts and all that.
- MP3 player: I'd say required, but it doesn't have to be the BEST of the BEST (but not horrible sound quality). Basically, something to distract myself while working out or mowing the lawn for a couple of hours at a time (anything more, like plane rides and such, and I bust out the 12" laptop for music). My own music, so no need for a mobile download service.
- MP3 ringtones = WIN. (But I suspect that'll come with any phone with an MP3 player, anyway.)
- FM radio: I really like having this on my new phone. Not a necessity, but it would definitely help.
- camera: This is a big point against the SE W600i, for my tastes. The 1.3 MP camera on there is okay in bright light, but noise starts to become apparent when the light levels go down even moderately. Focus is difficult; the flash is bright, but not the best. My plan is to take pictures and mostly put them online, so resolution isn't too important, but what IS important is quality, and I'm only seeing higher resolution camera phones produce quality photos. So high resolution, I guess (hey, I could always use it to take press photos of my band(s) and such for print, so maybe I actually COULD use the resolution). I take all sorts of photos all the time, so a versatile camera is key. Good low-light quality is awesome. Maybe one of those fancy new phones with a CCD-based camera?
- video: Any outside videos I'll watch, like with music, will be from my computer, so I don't need whatever fancy mobile TV thing Cingular might have (I don't even care enough to find out if they do). And I don't expect to be watching a WHOLE lot of them, either. As far as capturing, it's not too high on my list, but I kind of expect that a phone that meets some of my other needs will have a decent camcorder function.
- Expandable memory would be nice.
- I have basically no need for multimedia messaging or 3G or any of that data stuff; Austin has something like the most Wi-Fi hotspots per capita of any US city, so if I really need to work online, I'll use my computer. Or a phone with Wi-Fi. So I guess that's an optional feature.
- Bluetooth is cool, but if it can use USB to transfer media, then I'll be alright.
- form: Not too set on anything, but I do keep my phone in my pocket and I worry about damaging screens or lenses or such, so either a flip or something with a lens cover or whatnot. And/or an available utilitarian screen protector or sleeve or pouch or something. Pretty flexible. Style-wise, I don't NEED anything flashy, but I could probably live with a somewhat gaudy model.
- display: Meh, I just want it to at least be readable. I'll probably be viewing pictures on my computer more than on my phone.
- I can wait MAYBE a couple of months for a model to be released, but I think the folks at the Cingular store wouldn't appreciate me buying and returning all these phones in a row month after month.
Sorry for using so many words.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand GO.