Sony Ericsson T616
Average Ratings
I wanted to like it...
I owned and used this phone daily for almost a year. During that time I traveled from east to west coast US and many states in between for work. Based on this experience I have a good idea as to the phone's reception - or lack thereof.
What you have heard or read about how bad the reception on this phone is true. It's the worst reception phone I know of and I've used a number of phones from different makers.
With that said, I really did want to like this phone. The keys are very well laid out for easy dialing. The navigation button is easy to use. The menu is logical and screen looks great. If the reception were good I would still be using this phone today. But what good is a cell phone that has poor reception?
One last thing noticed is the echo issue other's have commented about. I too experienced this often. It's disconcerting to hear your own voice talk back during a conversation.
Very Good
I am a big fan of Sony Ericsson phones. This is the best one I've had yet and I'm getting another Sony in a week. They are good phones.
Pros:
-Easy Menu(at least for me)
-Joystick makes it very simple
-No Send/End buttons(I've always had trouble w/those but most people prefer them)
-Good camera for the time it was released
-decent reception(in my area)
-pretty customizable
-good looking phone
-custom ringtones with the music dj
-sturdy feeling
-very fast and easy to look at contacts
-simple to put the phone on silent or keyguard
Cons:
-small memory
-easily scratched
-buttons are kind of small but you get used to them
Other than that, I love this phone. I know it's old but I think it's a really good phone and I've banged it up a lot and have had no problems so far.
Overall this phone has been great
I have owned this phone for about year and 1/2 and I am happy to say this phone is in for the long haul. I was a teenager when I got this phone, and I put it through everything and then some. I have dropped it repeatedly, it's been rained on, It has survived many, many drunken nights, I even dropped it in the ocean for a second by accident. Once it dried out It worked perfectly and still does. I have an entire photo album on this phone, and most of the time reception is fairly good. I live in Hilton Head Island, SC and since it is not a densely populated area, reception can be kinda patchy, but everyone who lives here has that problem. (I'm with Cingular) People can usually hear everything I say to them + whats going on in the background. I only have a few complaints. 1. Since it have taken this phone thru things most people would never even dare to do, it has a somewhat scratched case. But it is still in one piece so I guess I shouldn't complain. 2. The camera isn't anything to brag about, but I guess it could be worse. I am overall very pleased with this phone. I have gotten more compliments about this phone than I can remember. I originally bought this phone because not too many people I know have it. I like uniqueness, and this phone is all of that, and then some.
Bluetooth good, UI sucks
Pros:
Bluetooth reliable
Reception good
Battery life acceptable
Icons/screen decent
Cons:
User interface badly botched badly.
Can't stand it.
Background
----------
Bought T616 about 2yrs ago due to rarity of Bluetooth at the time. I consider BT a practical necessity, and I don't like the idea of putting microwaves near my brain (cellphones near my head literally give me headaches). AT&T offered good deal on T616 at the time.
Need replacement now after wrecking microphone, presumably by dropping phone one too many times; I don't think I actually sent the the T616 through washer/dryer like I did the Motorola bluetooth earpiece (which still works, BTW).
Main Complaint
--------------
User Interface too badly badly done to excuse. Too cute for it's own good. Junior engineers didn't do a reality check with consumers or focus groups, it seems.
-A lot nested menus to get to things, with joystick from hell to get you there.
-Camera triggers too easily. I find phone too often in viewfinder mode when I want to make a call, then have to do back-out dance.
-Joystick too sensitive/awkward for practical use; too easy to do something unintentional with it. It just too often fails to do what I want it to or think it logically should do.
For example, certain joystick movements kicks me into M Mode unintentionally; then the back-out dance.
In address book, joystick-up should go to previous name, but often dives down into current name. If I pass a name, too often I have to click forward through the names and wrap around again, and each voice tagged name pauses while it says the name. Sometimes Joystick-Left fixes Joystick-Up, sometimes not. VERY ANNOYING after 2yrs.
I respect engineers who don't just indulge their nerdy whims but do reality checks with focus groups and consumers of their products. Engineers who immaturely impose their idiosyncratic egos on the world like over-eager primadonnas bug me.
Love it
I have Cingular in an area where coverage is questionable, and this phone gets a *much* better signal than the LG L1400 that I had. I also had a T237, and while the phone showed more signal bars than the T616 does, the T616 holds the signal just as well. I'm able to talk on this phone for a while with no droppage or static in my house, where my LG L1400 would drop the call every few minutes.
I literally have no complaints about this phone. Looks great, the joystick is much more usable than the pad on the T237. Nice screen, nice and small, but at the same time, not so small that the keys are hard to hit. All around great phone.
Worth about $1.00
The Sony Ericsson t616 is the worst phone ever because. I use to have it but i swiched it. The phone never got good reception anywhere and trust me it wasn't the service it was the phone. How do I know?
That cause when i got my new cell from the same company it had really good reception. Although i really hate this phone cause it's annoyinng. It freezes like a computer you have to take the battery out and put it back in to get it to work again. It happened so many times that my SIM card almost got messed up. I wasn't all that mad because I got it for about $8 but that was back then i bet i could have gotton the same phone for about $1 today.
Simply a great phone!
I have been using an HTC "Space Needle" Pocket PC Phone with T-Mobile for almost 2 years now, and it has been replaced 4 times due to complete lock-ups. It started to lock up again, and I found out 3 weeks ago that T-Mobile stopped supporting the exchange program for these phones on July 31st, 2005. They gave me a phone number for HTC-T-Mobile, where I have left my number 3 times, but never a return phone call...so it is TIME TO MOVE ON.
I bought this Sony T-616 phone from a friend, and being an AT&T phone, bought a kit to unlock it, and am using it with T-Mobile, and am astounded at what I've been missing while using the Pocket PC phone!
The Pocket PC phone would ring in my house, but I could never answer it. It would lose the signal.
The T-616 ALWAYS works in my home, and NEVER drops calls! I never knew how bad the Pocket PC phone was, until I changed to this one.
The Sound Quality is excellent, the Reception is tremendous, the Battery life is exceptional, the screen is a little small though adequate. And the Camera, well, it is what it is, and it is adequate for a camera phone. There is SO MUCH that is crammed into this little phone, that it is incredible that it does these tasks so well.
I am amazed at the software that is out there that allows you to Sync your Outlook files to this phone. THE ONLY beef I would have here is that the 2 MB of RAM is rather smallish, especially as you approach 500 contacts, as the limit I believe is 512 or so.
Being able to Sync with Outlook is such a plus...I really don't need a PDA when using the T-616, as it does everything that I need it to do.
The Sony Ericsson website is great in that you can type in your phone's setup parameters, and it will send SMS messages that you save to your phone, automatically setting the functions for E-Mail, SMS & WAP zones.
These are a lot of features packed into this very small package, and you will find that they work very well.
Great phone that lacks a little RF
I was given this phone because the previous user no longer had GSM service. It was beaten pretty badly. A new housing and it's as good as new so it can definitely handle a lot of abuse.
This is my favorite phone right now (I own several GSM phones). Menus are quick, it has Bluetooth which is a big plus, and there are a lot of options. Camera's not great, but none of them are right now.
The only weakness I see is the reception. It's slightly better than a t68i, but not nearly as goos as my Nokias. If you live in a populated area, you won't notice, but if you go into fringe areas, you'll be a little dissapointed. I understand that the T637 has much better reception and that you can purchase and install that antenna into the T616.
Games are great -- it comes loaded with a few games which run with no lag. Joystick is a plus, too, for gaming.
Overall, this is a fantastic phone if you live in an area that has great coverage. I would definitely pay $100-$150 for it on eBay.
Most bang for the buck...
There are other phones which have better cameras, reception, features, memory, mp3, video but they cost a lot more. If you want to have more and are willing to cough up the dough, then this is not the phone for you.
If you want the most bang for your buck, I would recommend this T616.
This phone is loaded with features.
Pros: Bluetooth - I love it! Games, Mp3s,
Headsets, Wireless PC
Screen - big, nice colors, great for
games.
Size - pocket size.
Design - one of most fashionable
phones in US
Good Software - fast/easy convert
pics for T616, synchronizing
with outlook, create own
themes/ring tones
Camera - good with close shots, night
shots
Easy to use: my mom could figure it
out
Cons: Already mentioned... screen gets finger smudges easy, not flip phone, low memory, sound quality trebley (talking), no video/mp3
I have a nice digicamera which I use to take pics, then I transfer to T616. They look great on the screen. Can fit about 60 pics or so.
Summary: This camera is good value for someone who doesn't need to have the newest camera, but still wants something with features.
Personally, since mobile technology is moving so fast I am waiting for things to slow down a little. I am not willing to pay $500-$900 for the newest features. Cell phones are easy to lose/break.
Nice phone for the money
Had my T616 for a few months, received it refurb from Rogers for $60 as part of their lost/stolen program..
Pros:
-Small, lightweight
-Bluetooth, IR
-Very nice keypad response, keypad backlight
-Good looking screen inside
-Java, Mophun games
-Great sync with Outlook for contacts, tasks, and calender
-Nice picture caller ID feature
-Decent reception (not the best)
Cons:
-Smudges, smudges, smudges. This phone begs for a nice protective case.
-Very very crappy camera. Sucks for everything but picture caller ID photos. My 3620 takes pictures that are actually decent enough to keep around.
-Incredibly slow for text messaging, too many menus to navigate and too slow to respond when typing
-Slow GPRS
All in all, a great phone for what I paid for it. To be honest, I'm glad I bought the 3620 instead. The T616 is a nice phone but there are far nicer in close to the same price range.
