aashok's Full Review: Sony Ericsson T68IS Cell Phone
My buying decision.
I had to have a new phone. My Nokia 8290 was falling apart and I was going on a 3-week trip to India. I needed a triband GSM worldphone and it had to be unlocked. Most cell carriers prefer to sell phones that are locked (programmed) to use only their service. The third reason was the novelty and cool factor of Bluetooth. The Sony Ericsson T68i seemed to have all of the above and was rated highly by many sources. I also checked out the Sony Ericsson website and found plenty of accessories and connectivity solutions available. I purchased this phone for $329 from romeohifi.com.
List of Features.
· Built-in modem· GSM/GPRS, Tri-Band 900/1800/1900
· Calendar
· Alarms
· Contacts (Capacity: Phone-510, SIM-250)
· E-mail (POP3 & IMAP4)
· Games
· MMS (Multimedia Messaging Services)
· MMS templates
· Mobile chat
· Picture Phonebook (assign a picture to each contact)
· Phone Album
· Sync ML
· Synchronization with PC
· Vibrating Call Alert
· Voice Dialing (Voice commands-50)
· Wallpaper download
· Screensaver (can use JPEG images or GIF animations)
· T-9 Predictive text input
· 12 hours talk time and 360 hours in standby.
The Layout.
Very simple and intuitive layout. The phone has a standard keypad with a five-position joystick. You will mostly use the joystick because it makes it very easy to access menus, various options and functions. There are two additional buttons for ‘Options’ and ‘Clear’. The volume control slide switch is located on the top left side of the phone. This doubles up for scrolling through menus and to turn ringer off while receiving a call. The 8-line color screen is large and clear enough to display thumbnail pictures. The contrast can be adjusted for optimum viewing. Text can also be resized for easier reading.
The Good.
Small Size.
The image of the product does not convey the small size of this phone (100x48x20mm). The attractive and smooth styling of this phone makes it very comfortable to carry, even in a shirt pocket. I prefer the swivel belt holster because it keeps the phone secure and out of my hands as much as possible. It also makes the phone easier to hold and use, for people with large hands. While traveling, I chose to keep the phone in my padded camera bag and keep the Bluetooth HBH-30 headset accessible. This way I could receive and make (voice dialed) calls directly from the headset.
Durable & Sturdy Construction.
Compared to my old Nokia 8290, this phone is built very sturdy. The Nokia would squeak when pressing the keypad buttons.
Color Display.
The display shows 8 lines at a time and is very clear. I downloaded my profile picture and some cool GIF animations, using infrared from my IPAQ. The resolution is 101x80 pixels. So the image quality is not quite the best because I had to compress the picture down to a thumbnail size. You need to do this because the phone has very little built in memory.
Bluetooth Capability.
Since this technology hasn’t become mainstream as yet, most will not be able to justify the additional cost of $150 for a headset compared to a $20 wired one. But it is a lifesaver for people who need to use the phone a lot while traveling, working, driving or exercising. I bought the headset just as a novelty, but now I am hooked. I will never buy another phone, PDA or Notebook without Bluetooth capability. It simplifies the process of synchronization / transfer of data. The Sony Ericsson HBH-30 Mobile Bluetooth Wireless Headset, uses the same charger as the phone.
The not so Good.
Total memory available is less than 1MB. This phone was designed for pictures and images. Considering the premium price, the least Sony Ericsson could have done is either add more memory or have a built in slot for memory stick or SD. I understand that the Sony Ericsson P800 Mobile Camera Phone & PDA, will have all these additional functions but slightly larger at 117x59x27mm. (I can't wait to get it)
Instead of the slide switch on the top left of phone, Sony should have incorporated their patented Jog dial instead. Sony also sells a very sharp looking holster (ICT-13) for this phone.
The Bottom Line.
The capabilities of this phone make it invaluable for people with active lifestyles and some disposable income.
Take, save and send enhanced digital pictures Optical and phone display viewfinder Add effects to your pictures such as stylish frames, falling bubble...More at Amazon Marketplace
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