The Last of the Shark Fins
Written: Dec 26 '02 (Updated Dec 31 '02)
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Pros: One of the few remaining high-end handsets that is still just a mobile phone.
Cons: Look elsewhere for java games, polyphonic ring tones, colour screen, cameras, MMS or personal organisers.
The Bottom Line: This is the product for those who prefer their handset to be a mobile phone and just that. Features the classic shark fin design and a plethora of connectivity options.
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| knilaus's Full Review: Sony Ericsson T39m Cell Phone |
The battle for dominance over the field of mobile telephony has opened on a new front: Three rival factions - the Microsoft Smartphone coalition; the Symbian alliance of the classical handset manufacturers and finally the Palm PDA gang - are fighting each other to define what will be the future mobile platform for information, communication and entertainment.
The arsenals of these warring factions are diverse and crammed with 'weapons' as exotic as polyphonic ringtones, java applications, multimedia messaging service, LCD colour displays and so on but their strategies are nearly identical: To cram as many features and as much functionality as possible into a little electronic mini-brick roughly the size of your hand. Supposedly this will make their gadgets indispensable sidekicks for the modern, mobile professional. However, just as often it makes their products overpriced, overly prone to breakdowns and overly attractive objects of illegitimate acquisition.
Fortunately, for those of us who refuse to participate in the race to bloat mobile telephones with superfluous features that nobody ever asked for there is still a way to obtain access to state-of-the-art technology in terms of mobile communications and connectivity packaged in what some would consider a timeless and attractive design.
The answer could well be the Ericsson T39m handset: Quite likely the last phone to sport the characteristic Ericsson shark fin-like design that was introduced with the T28s and further refined through handsets such as the R320, R380, R520 and T29. As most readers will be aware, the Ericsson business unit responsible for the design of new handsets merged with their counterparts in Sony a while back, and the new products resulting from that venture seem to have scrapped the shark fin look in favour of a more soft and rounded appearance.
In short, the T39m is a phone for the mobile professional, who prefers his handset to complement rather than replace the other electronic gadgets that he may have at his disposal.
I will in the following elaborate on my experience with the T39m under the following headings:
1. Motivation for buying
2. Possible alternatives
3. Physical appearance
4. Ergonomics and user interface
5. Communications
6. Connectivity
7. Software
8. Special features
1. Motivation for buying
The need for me to buy a new handset came while I was sitting in the cinema at midnight attending the premier screening of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. During the commercials I had just muted my handset and then found I could not resist the urge to boast to a few friends by sending them text messages about how fortunate I was in having acquired tickets for the opening only a few hours before actual screening took place. Before your imagination runs wild let me assure you that this did not provoke fellow movie-goers to assault my handset: I was very cautious as not to disturb them and had just finished sending my text messages when the unfortunate incident occurred. When closing the flip cover of my Ericsson T20s the hinge actually broke off due to the wear and tear induced over almost two years of use. Subsequently I managed to glue the hinge and cover back together, but I found that this occasion provided me with a nice opportunity to replace my outdated handset with something fresh.
Before going into further detail of my considerations, I must confess that as a user of mobile handsets for over four years now, I have come to develop a strong preference for what I consider to be the "original" brands, i.e. (Sony)Ericsson, Nokia and possibly Motorola. I find the designs of the new players in the market to be bland if not outright distasteful and am reluctant to spend my money on their handsets before I see any of their products performing at the top of the lists of consumer tests. My considerations of possible models to replace my Ericsson T20s were thus pretty much locked to the alternatives offered by (Sony)Ericsson and Nokia.
When trying to focus my search for a new handset, I was quickly faced with a choice of alternative routes: I could choose to acquire a handset that in terms of functionality came as close to what I already had in my T20s or I could choose to aim for the segment one step above my previous "position" on the market taking advantage of the new functionality that has been developed.
It quickly became clear that if I were to replace my T20s handset with something largely similar, the best strategy would be to go for a handset that supported GPRS in order to give me the opportunity in the future to improve my experience of surfing on the net using WAP. The models that came to mind were the SonyEricsson R600 and the Nokia 3510.
Alternatively, I could choose to opt for something that came closer to being "the mobile professional's phone" supporting connectivity to my other gadgets and also sporting a distinguished design. For this strategy GPRS would also be a requirement, but Bluetooth, HSCSD, an infrared connection and a built-in modem would be nice features to have. The phones fulfilling these requirements were the SonyEricsson T39m and R520mc as well as Nokia's gang of cousins the 6310i, 6510 and 8310 series.
After much thinking I decided I was willing to spend the extra money for a handset from the high end, professional segment: It was my impression that the market for mobile handsets had reached a point where I could buy a high end handset that in terms of functionality would last me a few years if only I made sure that the handset I chose was able to connect to the other devices that I have or am about to acquire.
2. Possible alternatives
A quick surf to the website esato.com enabled me to compare detailed breakdowns of the various handsets feature sets. My comparison of the R520 and the three Nokia cousins with the T39 resulted in the following observations:
R520: 150 euros more expensive, identical functionality, 20 grammes heavier and larger.
6310i: 40 euros more expensive, internal antenna, identical functionality, 25 grammes heavier and larger.
6510: 40 euros more expensive, internal antenna and attractive design, identical functionality except no Bluetooth or e-mail support, only dual band, built-in radio.
8310: 70 euros more expensive and slightly more attractive finish otherwise as the 6510.
The R520 was simply too expensive and bulky compared with the T39m. The 6310i came close to meeting my demands in terms of price and functionality, but it was bulkier and uglier than the T39 and slightly more expensive. Neither the 6510 nor the 8310 featured Bluetooth connectivity instead offering a pretty useless FM radio feature. None of them would give me the opportunity to download and send e-mail directly through my handset, and the design although stylish was perhaps just a little too small for my clumsy hands and the distance between my ears and my mouth. Additionally, I was a bit reluctant to opt for a Nokia unit, since the media had been carrying stories about quality issues with some of their phones and the experience of my friends and associates provided similar tales.
Finally, I was able to review a rankings list produced by International Consumer Research & Testing of 47 recent handsets including the T39, R520 and the three Nokia cousins. Among other things, the ranking showed that the Nokia 6510 and 8310 featured slightly poorer sound quality than the T39, R520 and 6310i models.
I thus ended up purchasing the last T39m in stock at my local independent re-seller.
3. Physical appearance
The handset was delivered in a small but solid cardboard box, which contained the handset itself, a battery, a belt clip, instruction manuals in various languages, a three-piece charger (consisting of a cord, a transformer and replaceable power plug) and finally a cd-rom containing the user manual in the portable document format as well as the Ericsson Communications Suite software.
The phone itself in my view is stylish and sleek. Its physical dimensions are 96 x 50 x 18 mm and it weighs in at 86 grammes, which is an improvement of almost 20 grammes compared to its predecessor the T29. It features the characteristic shark fin-like, external antenna, which may be a turn-off to some.
The upper half of handset is covered in a magnesium-style frame that encases the display and the back of the phone. The lower half of the phone is where you will find the flip cover, which opens to reveal the usual 16-keys keyboard. On the right side of the phone you will find the infrared eye whereas the left side of the phone contains a slider to adjust the volume while talking.
The handset is available in the three colours of rose white, light blue and dark blue.
The frame feels solid and the flip cover seems sturdy yet flexible enough to withstand ordinary wear and tear for an extended period. This is one potential weak spot that I will be monitoring closely however.
4. Ergonomics and user interface
I have rather large hands and this handset is just a tiny little bit too small to rest passively in the palm of my hand while I push its buttons. In order to use it satisfactorily I need to 'suspend' it between the base of my pointing finger and the tip of my index and ring fingers while I use the thumb to press the keys.
The keys are fairly evenly spaced and quite receptive to being pressed, although my impression is that the keys of the T20s were of a marginally better quality perhaps because of their size.
The display although rather small features four full lines of text when the font is set to the smallest of three sizes. WAP pages can be viewed on this display but for a better outcome it is recommended that you use some kind of PDA to project the pages.
Because of the flip cover, which unfolds to reveal a microphone the phone is located conveniently close to both your ear and your mouth while talking. Flipping open the cover is performed easily by the tip of your finger. This is probably the part of the handset's ergonomics that I like the best.
The user interface is represented by the usual Ericsson tabbed menus, which have been customary since the introduction of the T28. The response of the menus to keypresses is markedly improved over that model though it is still slightly slower than the T20s and the Nokia menus, which do not show any visible delay between a key being pressed and this being reflected in the menu selection.
The top-level menu contains seven items, which may also be quick accessed by pressing the corresponding number on the keypad:
1 - Phone book
2 - Messages
3 - Call info
4 - Settings
5 - Extras
6 - WAP Services
7 - My shortcuts
The layout appears to be pretty intuitive, although going beyond level two in the menus can begin to get somewhat confusing because of the wealth of options and settings available. For example, at the level just below the top you have 54 different menu items available.
Radiation
Focus has increased recently on the level of eletro-magnetic radiation emitted by mobile phones and on the possibly harmful effects of these waves being absorbed by the organic tissue of the human body. Although the scientific research on the issue seems to be inconclusive at this stage many buyers - and fortunately also most manufacturers - tend to take into account the level of radiation emitted by their prospective handset. This is most often expressed as the so-called Specific Absorbtion Rate (SAR), which is measured in terms of the amount of watts per kilogram that the body is exposed to. Clinical research has documented harmful effects at an exposure of 100 Watts/kg, whereas the legitimate ceiling for mobile phones in the US is placed at 1.5 Watts/kg.
However, it is somewhat difficult to state that a certain handset produces a certain level of radiation, as this is in fact dependent on many variables: Is the phone using the 900, 1800 or 1900 MHz frequency band? Is the user holding the handset in his right or his left hand? Did the user attach the handset with a clip to his belt in order to use the handsfree headset? For all of these scenarios, different SAR-values apply for the same handset.
According to documents submitted by Ericsson to the Federal Communications Commission, the T39 has been shown to emit radiation at a level of 0,78 Watts/kg (1900 band, using right hand) or 0,64 Watts/kg (1900 band, using left hand). A German website specialising in measuring SAR values specifies that the T39 emits radiation at a level of 0,90 Watts/kg on the GSM 900 band or 0,55 Watts/kg when on the GSM 1800 band.
In comparison, SonyEricsson has managed to produce the T68i, which emits only 0,38 Watts/kg when on the GSM 900 band. The Nokias mentioned in the above have been tested to yield the following SAR values:
8310 at 0,82 Watts/kg on GSM 900 and 0,32 Watts/kg on GSM 1800
6510 at 0,81 Watts/kg on GSM 900 and 0,30 Watts/kg on GSM 1800
6310i at 0,82 Watts/kg on GSM 900 and 0,43 Watts/kg on GSM 1800
Thus, the T39 would appear to emit radiation at a slightly higher level than its peers. However, as harmful effects of radiation have only been documented at a level of 100 Watts/kg, I personally feel fairly safe in accepting this trade-off.
5. Communications
Having used the phone for a few weeks now, I can say that it gives me a perfectly clear and lucid connection to whomever I may be talking under most conditions. The signal has to be very weak (i.e. as in a basement, tunnel or shopping centre) and I would have to be moving at great speed in order for the quality to start failing. Most of the time I am unable to distinguish the voice quality from that of a landline. Compared to the T20s however, I do seem to sometimes detect a very slight level of white noise in the background, which however in no way disturbs the conversation.
I have been able to test voice and data telephony using the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency bands. I have not had the chance to test the 1900 MHz frequency band, which I am informed only applies in the US. I do however feel reassured knowing that I will not have to go through the hassle of finding another handset should I ever have to travel to the US.
Regarding data communications, I have been able to successfully establish a 9,600 bps connection from several laptops to the internet using this phone. The connection from my laptop to the handset was established through a serial data cable and an infrared link and neither method caused any errors in communication. The speed is too slow to be useful for anything but sending and retrieving e-mail, doing instant messaging or chatting and perhaps looking up that one bit of vital information that you need on the web. For more prolonged periods of graphics intensive surfing you need the higher bandwidth of HSCSD or GPRS.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to test the HSCSD and GPRS facilities of this phone as my operator will only release these services to the general public during the spring of 2003. I will however test the service at that point and update my review accordingly.
I have been able to establish a WAP connection using this handset. Google provides a nice WML -> HTML gateway, which makes it possible for you to browse most of the content available on the web. However, as long as I have to pay per minute charges for WAP surfing this facility will go largely unused by me. I look forward to GPRS whereby you only pay for the actual amount of data transfered, and it gives me comfort knowing that my phone is actually prepared for this transition.
The battery lifetime seems to be satisfactory. Although the battery in itself does not look like much - small as it is - the cutting edge Lithium-polymer technology ensures that the 600 mAh lasts for about a week with the phone in moderate to light use. I have yet to verify that the talk time is actually consistent with the claims of several hours made by the manufacturer. My usual pattern of mobile phone conversation runs along the lines of perhaps 10 - 15 minutes per day at the most.
6. Connectivity
Apart from the regular communications technology, the T39 handset offers a range of other technologies through which connectivity to your other devices and software is maintained. Oldest of these is of course the interface found in the bottom of the phone into which you may plug various kinds of proprietary devices such as external keyboards, MP3 players, chargers, serial and USB data cables and so on. I have personally managed to use both the Ericsson CHA-10 external keyboard, the Ericsson HPM-10 MP3-player and the Ericsson DRS-11 Enhanced Serial Data Cable with the T39. In the latter case I established a connection to my laptop, which enabled me both to view and edit the configuration of my handset on my laptop as well as to conduct actual data communications on my laptop using the handset as a modem.
Another way of connecting to the outside world of gadgets would be through the little infrared eye located in the upper right corner of the handset. Using the infrared connection I was again able to establish a connection to another laptop, from where I achieved the same functionality as mentioned in the above. I was also able to exchange information from my phone book and calendar with both the laptop, my Palm IIIe PDA and a Nokia 6310 handset using the infrared connection. However, my plans of using the handset as a vessel for the WAP browsers that I had installed in my Palm (in the hope to get a larger display for browsing the WML pages) were thwarted since I found out that reliable WAP browsing over the infrared connection is only supported in versions 3.3 of the PalmOS and beyond. Unfortunately, my Palm IIIe comes with version 3.1 of the operating system, which cannot be upgraded since it is stored in read-only memory. However, this minor grievance certainly cannot be blamed on the handset.
I have unfortunately been unable so far to verify the functionality of the Bluetooth features installed into this handset: I do not own a Bluetooth wireless headset and I do not have access to a Bluetooth-equipped laptop. Using the Nokia 6310 handset that I borrowed I tried to establish a Bluetooth connection to the T39, but for reasons beyond me this failed to work.
Regarding Bluetooth, however, I see more and more devices coming on the market equipped with this feature. Already, USB->Bluetooth adapters are becoming available at prices as low as 40 euro, and I feel comfortable in knowing that my handset supports this standard as well. If I manage to get hold of a Bluetooth adapter for my laptop at some point I will be sure to update the review with my experiences.
7. Software
On the cd-rom included in the package I found a pdf-version of the T39 user manual, Windows drivers for the modem included in the handset (both for infrared, data cable and Bluetooth connections) as well as the Ericsson Communications Suite, which is a portfolio of applications that enable you to review the configuration of your handset(s) in a nice, tree-structure. This way of displaying the configuration certainly takes a bit of the confusion out of the handset's elaborate hierarchy of menus. The Communications Suite also includes applications to type and send SMS text messages from your computer as well as programs to provide synchronisation and integration between your Microsoft Outlook application and the handset's phone book. I found these programs to be useful and intuitive although I would have liked for Ericsson to include programs to provide integration with other PIM applications than Microsoft Outlook.
Unfortunately, the Ericsson Communications Suite does not seem to be available for the Mac platform. However, alternative applications that fulfill the same purpose can be downloaded from off the net.
8. Special features
Finally, a few other features make this phone a very convenient tool in day to day use:
1. Configurable profiles - makes it easy to adapt the phone to being in a meeting, on the go, in the car, at home or whatever you can possible imagine.
2. Voice tags - makes it possible to call your contacts by simply speaking their name. Is however rather sensitive to intonation and background noise.
3. Voice memos - allows you to record up to two minutes of voice messages for yourself or to record a similar amount of conversation (one side of the conversation only, however)
4. E-mail retrieval and sending - allows you to configure your handset to dial an ISP to retrieve a copy of recent mails in your inbox. Allows you to browse and send e-mails while being off-line. Very useful, if you have a dial-up subscription with an ISP. The phone book also stores e-mail addresses of your contacts.
5. Calendar and To-do list - a nice compliment to the features in your PDA. Especially since you can synchronise data between the units. It is not always that I carry around my PDA with me. But the handset stays close to my heart. ;-)
Conclusion
To the mind of a person who prefers to use his telephone for communicating this finely balanced handset contains not a single superfluous feature. The "wow-factor" of this phone lies not in the superficial wiz-bang of colourful or noisy features but rather in the powerful range of sophisticated communications features that the handset makes available to you ensuring its longevity and usefulness for years to come.
The downsides and weak spots of this handset would have to be the ergonomics, which could be somewhat improved when it comes to questions of menu navigation and text messaging. However, these weaknesses could be alleviated by resorting to alternative methods of input taking advantage of the many connectivity options offered by the T39. All in all, I would have to say that this is the best mobile handset I have ever come across and I would not hesitate one second in reaffirming the wisdom of my original purchasing decision.
Links
The Esato website with detailed feature listings, logos and ringtones for the Ericsson T39m and others - http://www.esato.com
Danish version of the International Consumer Research & Testing benchmark study - http://www.fi.dk/test/telefoni/mobiltelefoner_2002/test/
Ericsson document submitted to the FCC documenting SAR levels - https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=139606&native_or_pdf=pdf
SAR values for Ericsson phones on European GSM bands - http://www.handywerte.de/handy/ericsson.htm
SAR values for Nokia phones on European GSM bands - http://www.handywerte.de/handy/nokia.htm
Information about the availability of Google on wireless platforms - http://www.google.com/options/wireless.html
Ericsson Client for Mac OS X - http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/ericssonclient.html
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 340
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Epinions.com ID:
knilaus
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Member: Kristoffer Nilaus Olsen
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 35 members
About Me:
Just out of temporal stasis.
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