Ok guys, I want your expert opinions...

[mikey1001]

I'm in the market for a brand new cell phone and almost bought a Sony Ericsson T616 until I read a whole bunch of bad reviews on it...there are too many complaints about a number of things, so I said f*ck it.

Anyway, my next choice is the Nokia 3600. The reviews I read for this model have been good to above average and right now one of the wireless providers is offering $150 off the regular price, so what do you all think? Should I get this one or is it a piece of sh*t? If it is, do you have any suggestions? Thanks!

[yanman]

3600 is quite a big phone... unless size and weight isn't an issue to you then i guess you can go for it, i few of my friend have one, they're pretty happy with it. flaws could be odd keypad layout, 4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic... but then again it has memory expansion slot....

what exactly are you looking for in a phone... more info needed.

[....]

Make sure you get one that you can still use as a phone.

[rant] I hate all the 'extras' on phones. They are silly. Yay, I can take a grainy picture! or Yay I can play pixelated space invaders! [/rant]

[Roger H. Veteran]

wait, what's the bad reviews? The only "problem" you'll hear over and over is it's less than "Nokia standard" reception. But since i live here in a well covered area i don't even notice, full signal everywhere. IF you live out in the boonies then hardly any phone will work right for yah. In Europe coverage isn't a problem either so you shouldn't have that to worry about if you're over there.

[Stunod7]

The screen is HORRIBLE on the T610/T616... I could write for pages about how impossible it is to view the screen in sun light... I mean, didn't they take this phone outside once during beta testing the product? The only way that they looked at this screen and said "Yeah, this will work as a product" is if they tested the phones in deep dark rooms with no lights, then I'm sure the people loved it. But there is no way it was ever taken outside.

I feel the product is sluggy in response time to button pushes. Granted, it's only fractions of seconds (most of the time) but still... I used a Nokia 8290 before this phone and had instant response time when I would hit a button. Okay, the 8290 was a raw interface with no pretty colors or icons but it worked fast.

I am going to be sure that I do a hell of a lot more research before I buy a phone again and it's doubtful I'll ever buy an Sony Ericsson again, which is a shame because I love Sony.

[mikey1001]

3600 is quite a big phone... unless size and weight isn't an issue to you then i guess you can go for it, i few of my friend have one, they're pretty happy with it. flaws could be odd keypad layout, 4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic... but then again it has memory expansion slot....

what exactly are you looking for in a phone... more info needed.

I can quickly get used to the odd keypad layout, that's not an issue for me. But you said it has "4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic". Is it really that bad? I mean, is it so pathetic that I wouldn't bother using those features?

Basically what I want is a phone with some of the newer extras or gadgets on it. If I just wanted a cell phone, there are tons of deals for free phones when you activate with a wireless provider, but I like the camera idea and the recordable video shots. Are there a couple of other models that you might recommend over this one? Something in the same price range? I don't mind putting out a few bucks if it has stuff I'll use now and in the future, but I would hate to buy a phone with features that turned out to be "pathetic". Thanks!

[OrangesOfCourse]

i currently have a T610 and i find it to be great... i get signal every where in Houston :)

[yanman]

I can quickly get used to the odd keypad layout, that's not an issue for me. But you said it has "4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic". Is it really that bad? I mean, is it so pathetic that I wouldn't bother using those features?

Basically what I want is a phone with some of the newer extras or gadgets on it. If I just wanted a cell phone, there are tons of deals for free phones when you activate with a wireless provider, but I like the camera idea and the recordable video shots. Are there a couple of other models that you might recommend over this one? Something in the same price range? I don't mind putting out a few bucks if it has stuff I'll use now and in the future, but I would hate to buy a phone with features that turned out to be "pathetic". Thanks!

ok, so i guess you're nto really fussy with odd layout, size and weight etc.

when i stated "4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic", it's not too bad if you're not fussy. do you get what i mean..? i mean, yeah you can live with it, so can i, a lot of people can, because i know a few people who have it, they love it, but the specs is just a flaw in nokia, they can do better phones. hope that made sense

by all means, buy the phone if you want, it's not a bad phone at all, and i think, i think it comes with a 16mb mmc standard with the phone.. so you'll have about 19.4mb of memory in total, which isn't too bad...

[mikey1001]

ok, so i guess you're nto really fussy with odd layout, size and weight etc.

when i stated "4096 colours only, only a 3.4mb flash memory is installed internally for a digital video camera phone is quite pathetic", it's not too bad if you're not fussy. do you get what i mean..? i mean, yeah you can live with it, so can i, a lot of people can, because i know a few people who have it, they love it, but the specs is just a flaw in nokia, they can do better phones. hope that made sense

by all means, buy the phone if you want, it's not a bad phone at all, and i think, i think it comes with a 16mb mmc standard with the phone.. so you'll have about 19.4mb of memory in total, which isn't too bad...

Thanks man, I appreciate your input.

I think I'll be getting the Nokia, I just hope the camera is of half decent quality. I don't expect a great camera in a phone, if I want a camera I'll go buy one, but I hope this one serves me well for the handful of times I can see myself using it.

Added to that is that fact that I can get this phone relatively cheap right now because of a promotion here. It's $150 off the normal price as long as I sign up for two years, which I would have anyway. Thanks guys!

[Cody]

i have a t616 and i am south of houston, no complaints here