[JFischel]

Hi guys,

I know there are plenty of people out there that love there SONY Ericsson T68i, but I hated mine - it went back on a new Moto v60i. GSM just isn't there yet it major portions of the country. I'm in Philly / South Jersey and the coverage just plain stunk. The sound quality of the phone blew, and while it was a neat trick to sync it w/ my iMac and Bluetooth, I found that tedious at best. The calendar feature again was a nifty idea, but it was impossible to look at that screen for actual appointments. I knew I had a Clie for a reason...Oh well, just curious if anyone else actually DIDN'T like the T68i?

Hasta,

Josh

[Emotionally Fragile Luke]

Most everyone seems to love it but their is always someone who doesn't. Since you already exchanged it I don't know why you want to know if other people hate it.

Just so you know the sound quality of the phone is super excellent. The volume is loud and clear. Much better then any other cell phone I have used.

If you are experiencing poor quality is probably has more to do with the GSM coverage in your area. I know right now that in my city the coverage is bad, it works great outside but in any building it drops right away. Most phone companies are only upgrading the networks now so it will take some time for it to be in full swing.

Enjoy your Mororola.

[misc]

Originally posted by JFischel:
Hi guys,

I know there are plenty of people out there that love there SONY Ericsson T68i, but I hated mine - it went back on a new Moto v60i. GSM just isn't there yet it major portions of the country. I'm in Philly / South Jersey and the coverage just plain stunk. The sound quality of the phone blew, and while it was a neat trick to sync it w/ my iMac and Bluetooth, I found that tedious at best. The calendar feature again was a nifty idea, but it was impossible to look at that screen for actual appointments. I knew I had a Clie for a reason...Oh well, just curious if anyone else actually DIDN'T like the T68i?

Hasta,

Josh

Mot's have terrible coverage here in Cherry Hill. I do need a new cell phone and am waiting until MWSF to see what comes of the iPhone. The Moto Direct Connect really caught my eye.... We shall see!

[slider]

iPhone? What what?

What about accessing the internet using a bluetooth adapter with this phone? I have an iBook 466 so it's on of the only options I have for remote access via a mobil phone.

[Emotionally Fragile Luke]

Originally posted by slider:


What about accessing the internet using a bluetooth adapter with this phone? I have an iBook 466 so it's on of the only options I have for remote access via a mobil phone.

It works fine with the T68i.

iPhone? Don't hold your breath.

[-Q-]

if anything, iPhone will be VoIP with iChat or something. Although I wouldn't object to an Apple-branded cell...

[JFischel]

I didn't mean to come across as bashing the unit totally, although I can see where my post could be seen that way. For me, the combination of the restrictive GSM contract, and the fact I wasn't in love with the phone really pushed me over the edge. Because of the poor coverage in the area, the data portion would never work properly. AT & T charges an outrageous amount of money for the data time, and the time you get for voice is very small. I work for a huge company and we get a discount with AT & T so the GSM plan was discounted I was still paying for something I rarely if ever would use. Under the GSM I was getting 1000 anytime minutes, which would drop to 500 at the end of the first year. That's all the time you'd get and that was $39.00 less the discount -- and the AT & T phones don't roam. No AT & T towers, no connection, not even a 911. I'm on a $34.99 plan that I get 500 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends, plus the plan I'm on you can roam anywhere with no charges.

Regards,

Josh

[Emotionally Fragile Luke]

Well none of those things you mentioned are the phones fault. The hardware does not effect your pricing plan.

[JFischel]

Well, if the phone was compelling enough for me to like, the contract terms would've kept me in the deal. I suppose that's why there's 40 million different types of phones and contracts out there.

Josh

[JB72]

Like quite a few Mac freaks, I'm thinking of getting a t68i. Does anybody have experience with one in L.A. with Cingular? Also, is there any way to change the powder blue and white color scheme? It seems a bit, err, "light" for my tastes.

TIA.

[Peter]

Originally posted by misc:


Mot's have terrible coverage here in Cherry Hill. I do need a new cell phone and am waiting until MWSF to see what comes of the iPhone. The Moto Direct Connect really caught my eye.... We shall see!

I wouldn't hold your breathe over an iPhone, it takes millions to develop a new mobile phone, and as someone mentioned with a newton, there would be too small a user base, I doubt one in ten people would purchase the iPhone and I can hardly see windows users buying one. But we can but hope for one....

[Emotionally Fragile Luke]

Originally posted by JB72:
Also, is there any way to change the powder blue and white color scheme? It seems a bit, err, "light" for my tastes.

TIA.

You can buy some ugly expensive cases on eBay.

I love the look of the case, hi tech.

[misc]

Originally posted by PeterClark2002:

I wouldn't hold your breathe over an iPhone, it takes millions to develop a new mobile phone, and as someone mentioned with a newton, there would be too small a user base, I doubt one in ten people would purchase the iPhone and I can hardly see windows users buying one. But we can but hope for one....

Yeah, I know... I was just saying

I've been looking to get a new phone, a nextel of some sort. Ouchers, just got my verizon bill and i've spent $86 on messages in the last month.. Thats not cool. WIth this Nextel plan I'm looking at it's like $60 a month for enough minutes, 500 direct connect minutes, and unlimited SMS messaging. I asked for it as my Chanukkah present, but since we are still in a contract looks like i'll have to wait a little longer...

Ah well, I am really interested into seeing what Apple can come up with.

EDIT: I can spell....

[aaanorton]

Originally posted by JB72:
Like quite a few Mac freaks, I'm thinking of getting a t68i. Does anybody have experience with one in L.A. with Cingular?

I just went through this in L.A. I ended up with an AT&T contract for 2 years. I would have gotten a longer one if they'd let me. It's $99/month for UNLIMITED calls to/from anywhere in the country. I simply forward all my home calls to it and use it exclusively. This is the first time this has been feasible in the US.
Anyway, I'd go with AT&T over Cingular, because right now they have more towers and I see AT&T building more more quickly.
Sorry for getting OT, but I really like my plan/service, and I've had service from ALL of them out there.

[iDriveX]

I have cingular in the Northern Los Angeles Area (Thousand Oaks). I love it. Cingular customer service is bar none. Also the reception is great. I've never had a problem with it and I have an unlocked T68i from Thailand. Never ever had a problem with it. If you want to know specifics, either PM or e-mail me.

[solitere]

Originally posted by JFischel:
Hi guys,

I know there are plenty of people out there that love there SONY Ericsson T68i, but I hated mine - it went back on a new Moto v60i. GSM just isn't there yet it major portions of the country. I'm in Philly / South Jersey and the coverage just plain stunk. The sound quality of the phone blew, and while it was a neat trick to sync it w/ my iMac and Bluetooth, I found that tedious at best. The calendar feature again was a nifty idea, but it was impossible to look at that screen for actual appointments. I knew I had a Clie for a reason...Oh well, just curious if anyone else actually DIDN'T like the T68i?

Hasta,

Josh

The Ericsson T68i phone is much better techically than most Motorola and even Nokia phones in the same class, even if the model is over a year old. However I cant make any excuses over that America has underdeveloped GSM networks."Even underdeveloped countrys in africa have better GSM coverage than the states" But it´s propably getting better and the GSM phones and Coming generations of them are the future of mobile phones even in the states.

However you complained about the soundquality with the ericsson phone. Was it signalstrength related? or did you have full strengt and it still sounded bad?

My First experience with GSM phones was about 6-7 years ago when I switch from a system called NMT to GSM. First I was astound that the sound from the calls "sounded" so digital and sharp" But after a while it didn´t bother me at all!

[JFischel]

Originally posted by solitere:

However you complained about the soundquality with the ericsson phone. Was it signalstrength related? or did you have full strengt and it still sounded bad?
while it didn´t bother me at all!

I had reasonable signal strength, usually 4 out of 5 bars but I would always hear lots of background noise. It sounded like a digital signal on a carrier or something like that. It did it with the phones in the store too.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. AT & T said they would have full coverage of this area by this time, and they aren't even close. The phone is useless once you get about 15 miles North of Philly until you hit NYC. I know this isn't the phone's fault, it's the piss poor GSM Network. That said, I just didn't like the phone. Oh well...

[Eug]

Originally posted by Emotionally Fragile Luke:
Most everyone seems to love it but their is always someone who doesn't. Since you already exchanged it I don't know why you want to know if other people hate it.

Just so you know the sound quality of the phone is super excellent. The volume is loud and clear. Much better then any other cell phone I have used.

If you are experiencing poor quality is probably has more to do with the GSM coverage in your area. I know right now that in my city the coverage is bad, it works great outside but in any building it drops right away. Most phone companies are only upgrading the networks now so it will take some time for it to be in full swing.

Who did you get it with, Fido or Rogers? It's been said that while Rogers has more GSM coverage, it's also been said that Fido has better coverage in the areas covered. ie. Fido has less area serviced, but services those fewer areas better. With Fido, I find my reception generally very good wherever I go (except deep within some buildings). I use a 3 year old Nokia 6190. Apparently the differences may be due in part to frequency hopping, which Fido implements and Rogers doesn't (yet), and due in part to placement and numbers of transmission towers. I know for West Toronto for instance that the concentration of Rogers towers is low, whereas for Fido it's quite high. I don't know if it's the same with Rogers in some areas, but when ClearNet was starting, a LOT of people had poor reception in many of the areas of Toronto where I had consistent reception. And where they had good reception, I also had good reception. OTOH, I had terrible reception in downtown Vancouver, a place where other PCS providers had great reception.

Here is a site which has maps of cellular towers in Toronto.

He also reviews the audio quality of the T68i. He says the phone is above average, but not great. Then again, he says the V60 doesn't have great sound either.

Another reason I'm wondering which provider you are using is because of the fact that Fido is in big trouble. I've been hearing through the grape vine that this month is make or break month for Fido. If they can't pull thru (and things are not optimistic), then Fido may undergo restructuring in a few months. If so, then I may just replace my Nokia 6190. Even if Rogers were to buy Fido, it's likely that we won't be able to use our old Fido phones unless maybe if we somehow get them unlocked.

[starman]

I don't care how wicked cool a phone is, the carrier is always my #1 priority. I had AT&T and in NJ it just sucked. I went to Verizon and I'll never look back. There's only one "cell phone dead zone" that I know of on Rt. 24 and my friend with another carrier can't get reception there either.

I almost went to Sprint because of their cool color displays, but their coverage map for NJ was just awful. Same with AT&T, and at the time, Cingular wasn't established enough.

I have the Motorola v60 and I love it. Audio is clear, and reception is perfect. If I can get the T68i with Verizon, then maybe I'll consider it in the future.

Mike

[misc]

Originally posted by starman:
I have the Motorola v60 and I love it. Audio is clear, and reception is perfect

You can use a Mot on Verizon's service? How about Direct Connect, that only works on the nextel plan, right?

[starman]

Originally posted by misc:


You can use a Mot on Verizon's service? How about Direct Connect, that only works on the nextel plan, right?

Of course. The Mot is right on Verizon's web site. In fact, I got this phone in March of this year. Not only that, but the phone I had before the v60 was Motorola, and my wife uses the v120. I don't know about Direct Connect.

Mike

[JFischel]

Originally posted by misc:


You can use a Mot on Verizon's service? How about Direct Connect, that only works on the nextel plan, right?

Nextel's patent on the Direct Connect fandango is almost up and other companies are going to start to offer the service. But as of today, you still need a Nextel branded Moto to do direct connect.

Josh

[Emotionally Fragile Luke]

Originally posted by Eug:
Who did you get it with, Fido or Rogers? It's been said that while Rogers has more GSM coverage, it's also been said that Fido has better coverage in the areas covered.

Yup, that's true. Rogers covers something like 95% of Canada while Fido is really only any good if you stick to Toronto. I know people who can hardly use their Fido's in Berry.

BUT, right now Rogers GSM sucks beans. It works great outside but even if I step 10 feet into a 2 story building it drops to 1 bar. I know someone who works for the company and said that they are in the process of switching everything to Ericsson GSM switches so hopefully in a while it will have much stronger signal strength. Actually I have already seen some improvements in the 2 months that I have owned it.

The sound quality of GSM on Rogers is top notch though if you are outside. And the T68i is the best phone I have ever seen or used. It is relatively cheap also considering that crappy Motorola is twice the cost and does nothing more then have that swing around body. The thing I love most about the t86i is the battery life. It gets hours of talk and days at standby even though it is tiny and has a colour screen.
If you shut it off at night and talk about 10 min a day it will last you over a week between charges. Not that I go that long without a charger but it is nice to know that you can go away for a few days and not have to worry about preserving the battery.

I also heard that part of Fido is about to go under and that is scary. To be honest I don’t know anyone that is totally happy with their Cell provider, they all suck one way or another. For me Rogers plan and the t68i made the the least sucky.

IF you have any specific questions about the phone or service just ask.

[Vanquish]

The entire US mobile phone infrastructure sucks IMO. It's a pain when I come over and I can't use my phone everywhere. (And I think I'm not alone here)
What you need to do:

-get away from CDMA (and all those other niche-technologies) and switch to 100% GSM
-you need to have a few national GSM-providers (not all the small and regional providers)
-ditch the supid roaming thing ! I mean come on ! it is 1 country ! roaming is when you go abroad not when you are in your own country, you can't even travel without having problems with you mobile in your own country).
-you need to be able to buy a phone yourselves not a phone that is attached to your carrier. (I understand from various posts that you are limited to the phones your carrier offers with your plan. Am I right ?)

[ja]

Someone please tell me about mobile networks in the US
there are many things which we take for granted in the UK and are very popular with mobile users [just about everyone now]

_ gsm is beautiful because it is so international - it really allows your mobile [cel] to be a powerful device - you can really roam just about anywhere in the world - I have also used local sim cards in my phone in countries where the call charges are [comparatively] very cheap
_ text messages - the T68i is great with bluetooth because of how easily you can send and receive text messages [with 10.2] - I also send loads of messages overseas [apparently over a billion text messages are sent between networks every month in the UK alone]