s500i vs. w610i vs. u600 vs. Z3 vs. ?

B

~*~ BJ ~*~

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I just recently switched from verizon to at&t in hopes of getting a nice unlocked phone. With the contract I got a Nokia 6126 which is ok, but not really what I'm looking for.

-Quality Camera (At least 2MP, or something to be able to at least view pictures on a pc later)
-Small (generally this would be nice)
-Nice Looking (Generally I don't like how most Nokia's look)

This in mind, I selected a couple of phones I think I might like. (as the title says, SE s500i and w610i, Samsung u600, MOTORIZR Z3). They all seem fairly nice and have nice features, but no phone has everything I want. The u600 seems closest but seemingly has some usability problems like short battery life and a hard to read screen when outdoors. The s500i has no autofocus camera and lacks the walkman 2.0 player, the w610i does not have a QVGA screen, and the Z3 also lacks a QVGA screen.

So can anyone say which phone they think I'd like best? I'm also open to other suggestions on phones, as long as they are quadband and under $400 or so.

Thanks for any advice.
 
SE W610i. A great little phone. Can playback QVGA videos. 2MP Autofocus cam. Or if you want the K790a QVGA screen 3.2MP Xenon flash camera. Not quadband but has the necessary bands for AT&T (850/1900 and EDGE for data)
 
Yeah, I looked at the k790a but it seemed a bit large, and the price is on the very upper end of what I can spend.

The w610i is one of my favorite of the options, it was just the non-QVGA screen that was holding me back.
 
there isn't really a great deal of difference between the resolutions in real terms. the difference is only there when you look for it.

i own the u600, and if i were given the choice i would still pick that one out of the list. you're right about the battery life and the poor visibility in sunlight. i'm thinking of getting a matte screen protector soon to eliminate some of the glare. the touch sensitive keys are pretty nice and easy to use once you adapt to them (only takes a day or 2). other than that, it's a great phone. featurewise, it's technically the best out of your list by quite some distance.
the s500i is a definite "no" until SE fix the issue with the keys. the w610i is nice but it just looks like most other SE barphones, and is a bit ugly.
the Z3 looks nice and is of a similar feature set to the w610i.

maybe you could try them all out in a shop to see which one feels the best. sometimes the decision can be a tactile one.
 
Yeah.. this is exactly why this is so hard. the u600 seems like a great phone with a few pitfalls.

I wish I could try all of them, but unfortunately I live nowhere near a cellphone store that carries these phones (in Dayton, OH if anyone knows of one nearby). I guess I'm probably going to go with the u600, I could probably live with those problems. But I'll probably take even more time to decide.. why can't someone make a small great phone without usability problems?
 
the userbility problems of the u600 can be largely overcome. it comes with a 690maH battery as standard, but you can buy a 1000maH battery for about 4 quid(around 8 USD). that should give it approx 5-6 hours talk time which is quite reasonable.

as for the sunlight glare issue, you can get a matte(make sure it isn't a glossy one such as Martin Fields. Martin Fields come highly recommended, but not for increasing visibility in sunlight because of their more glassy nature) screen protector such as Brando antiglare, boxwave(i've tried to get one of these but i can't find any here), or invisibleShield.
for a slider, i would recommend that you get a screen protector anyway.
there is also a sunlight mode that increases the contrast, but it uses the battery up more.
 
Hm.. where could I purchase said items for the phone? I don't really have any cell phone stores around as mentioned previously.
 
pay for them online. after a quick google, you could try these places:

screen protectors:
http://www.shieldzone.com/item_description/SAMSGHU600S.html

for boxwave, send this guy a PM and he may be able to make a custom one for the u600
http://www.howardforums.com/member.php?userid=107492

NOTE: do not get the crystal case screen protectors because a) they rarely fit properly (i know because i have one. i have only ever found 1 review on the net where the customer had one that fits), and b) they crack after about 2 weeks (i always treat my phones well. they are either in my pocket or on my bedroom floor/table when i'm at home)

battery:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Premium-Battery-Samsung-X820-D830/dp/B000PKKRIU/ref=sr_1_2/203-6290954-4012764?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1185384953&sr=1-2
(i can't find anywhere in america that sells them). all the hits are in the UK.
 
Hmm.. yeah, I can't find any that sell in the US after a couple minutes of quick searching. I'll keep looking but if I can't get the battery (I'm sure I can find a screen protector) that would sort of dampen that option.
 
screen protector options seem a lot more plentiful over there. probably because america is where most of them are based.
 
The U600 hands down has the best camera out of all of these phones, and is the most fashionable too. However, people have complained about the poor battery life. It is the most expensive out of them all too, but if price is not a factor you should go with the U600.

If you decide not to buy the U600, get the W610. The S500's camera is poor, without Autofocus and the only thing that is different is that the phone is stylish. However, the W610 comes with the Walkman 2.0 and a better camera. Overall, better built phone considering people have had keypad's that have broken. Another option, is getting the K550, W610's twin that is Cybershot branded, but without the Walkman 2.0 and flash themes. You could just get the K550 and then flash it to the W610 on Wotan that costs around $10 US. Also, the K550 looks better in my opinion.
 
Hmm. The u600 is only around $50 more than the w610i, but a full $80 more than the k550i (on phonesource-usa.com). I guess I will investigate the k550i before any purchase. I like how it looks.
 
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