Mobile Phone choices

[Chewy509]

Hi Guys,

Long story short, I'm in need of a new mobile phone as I'm switching mobile service provider (from GSM to 3G/UMTS).

I'm looking at the Sony Ericsson M600i (since I can get it free on a $29 plan), however can't find any reviews on it. Has anyone come across this phone, or know of any reviews?

My work recently purchased a few Nokia N Series (sorry can't remember the model), and they have been nothing but problematic. I guess reliability is the key, as my current Nokia is running fine after 3.5yrs. (no lock-ups, faulty SIM cards, etc).

I'll also be connecting to 3Mobile (www.three.com.au), as my current provider has sold my mobile account to a 3rd-party without my acknowledgement or consent. (According to the TIO - a provider can switch your service to an alternate carrier providing written notice on the condition that they will no longer provide the service currently being provided. However my old provider still offers mobile service, except only bundled with another home service, eg landline or internet :rant: ).

Or does anyone have any recommendations on an alternate if the M600i isn't a decent phone?

PS. Primary use will be for calls, SMS, MP3s, organisational duties (linked with Outlook 2007) with the occasional tv show watching (on flights) and document review (on flights). And yes the Palm Treo would be nice but don't have the $$$.

 

[LiamC]

Who Chewy?

 

[Chewy509]

Answered in PM.

 

[Tannin]

Initials?

 

[Tannin]

I confess that the idea of a mobile phone locking up is foreign to me. When did they get so complicated that they can not just work?


Whatever: I don't know what brand mine is (I could look, but that's the point - I'd have to look) nor how old it is: sometime early this century, I think. It has three outstanding virtues:

(1): it was cheap
(2): I know how to make it do every single one of the things I want it to do (make a call, hang up, set the alarm clock, read an SMS).
(3): the battery lasts a week without charging.

You too can be a luddite if you want to. Come on in: the water's fine.

I use it, on average, about 6 times a week: once to answer or make a call, three times to answer wrong number calls, and (by far its most important function) twice to wake me up before dawn on Saturday and Sunday mornings (except when the weather is too bad to take pictures of wildlife).

I charge the phone up on Friday nights because I rely on it to wake me up. It can go flat through the week if it wants to (it usually doesn't), and the only thing that is likely to happen is that I won't have to answer a wrong number call.

No need for the alarm clock function any other day - I don't have a watch or a clock in my bedroom: I wake up when I wake up, and get to the office when I get to the office.

Life is good.

 

[timwhit]

No need for the alarm clock function any other day - I don't have a watch or a clock in my bedroom: I wake up when I wake up, and get to the office when I get to the office.

Life is good.

I wish I could do that. I haven't gotten to work on time in weeks.

 

[ddrueding]

No need for the alarm clock function any other day - I don't have a watch or a clock in my bedroom: I wake up when I wake up, and get to the office when I get to the office.

Life is good.

I really miss that. I could, I suppose, still do it. Except that my GF gets up at 7AM on M-W-F to work. On T-Th, she doesn't, but I'm not that flexible, so I get up around 8AM and she sleeps until 11AM.

 

[Chewy509]

Ended up getting the Sony Ericsson K800i.

The M600i has been withdrawn from stores, (no official reason). But after getting into a few reviews on the Internet on the M600i, most user reports were unfavorable about the phone. (Summary: It's a great phone, when it's working...).

 

[Chewy509]

PS. The SE K800i, mounts under *nix as a USB Mass Storage device. Full access to files, pics, mp3s, etc...

The only thing I don't get is ability to modify the contacts in the phone, as this needs the SE software.

 

[ddrueding]

That isn't the problem for me, getting the files from my MicroSD card to the PC isn't hard, it's converting to/from whatever video file they are using that is the issue. Any suggestions there?

 

[Mercutio]

Aren't your files .3GPs or something?
VLC and Media Player Classic play those just fine.

 

[Chewy509]

3GP should be be playable on VLC or the latest Quicktime (Windows) or MPlayer (*nix).

3GP is an encapsulated form of H.263 video stream...

PS. For those using MPlayer: http://blog.chris.de/archives/22_Nokias_3gp_Files.html

 

[ddrueding]

Thanks. I was actually more interested in getting videos into the phone. That would involve downsampling and transcoding I assume.

 

[Chewy509]

Thanks. I was actually more interested in getting videos into the phone. That would involve downsampling and transcoding I assume.

A quick google brings up a heap of shareware apps for Windows that do this (and QuickTime Pro can do this as well), or just use 'mencoder' on *nix and set the codec to 'ffh263'. Then just copy the clip to the correct folder on the memory card, or use the phone software to copy it on...

PS. 320x240 @ 15fps w/ mono sound works fine with my phone.

 

[ddrueding]

Awesome. Thanks Chewy.

 

[ddrueding]

Still screwing with it. Ideally, I'd love VirtualDub to handle it, but I can't find the right settings/filters.

I tried Quicktime Pro 7, and while it has the correct output, it doesn't like my XviD input. I even tried using VDub to output AVI and Quicktime Pro 7 to convert that, but the result is a large, blank file.