Tomorrow( or within the next week), I'm getting a new phone. It will definitly be on cingular, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice. I would love it to have Bluetooth, and I would like it to be pretty cheap. Any good options?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cingular Cell Phone Advice
- Thread starter Sammis89
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
i recently got a sony w600i. it's got bluetooth and plays back mp3's or aac's, has a 1.3mp camera, etc.
it was $120 though so i don't suppose it counts as cheap.
it was $120 though so i don't suppose it counts as cheap.
Personally I think Motorolas are crap, every motorola my friends/parents have ever had has fallen apart in less than a year. And the buttons that change ringing volume on the side of the phone are soooo stupid because they're really easy to accidentally press in your pocket and there's no way to turn them off. I know my dad has missed a ton of important calls for just that reason.
IMO Nokias are the best. I've had Nokias ever since high school and they're so intuitive when compared to Motorola's shoddy excuse for a user interface. If I was going to get a new phone right now I'd get this one. You can even watch TV on it which is pretty cool.
But as far as cheap, they have some good cheap choices too, you could just go to the compare page and see if they have anything you like. If you have to have a flip phone, they've got some nice options as well, it's definitely worth checking them out. And remember... there's plenty of phones that play MP3s, iTunes is sort of a gimmick unless you've got all your music purchased from the Music Store.
IMO Nokias are the best. I've had Nokias ever since high school and they're so intuitive when compared to Motorola's shoddy excuse for a user interface. If I was going to get a new phone right now I'd get this one. You can even watch TV on it which is pretty cool.
But as far as cheap, they have some good cheap choices too, you could just go to the compare page and see if they have anything you like. If you have to have a flip phone, they've got some nice options as well, it's definitely worth checking them out. And remember... there's plenty of phones that play MP3s, iTunes is sort of a gimmick unless you've got all your music purchased from the Music Store.
My husband and I have Cingular.
When we moved, both of us lost signal strength in our new apartment to the point where we had to stick our heads out the window to use the phones.
He had a Nokia and I had a Motorola.
I swore up and down I would never get another Motorola.
Well, do to lack of choice and high prices, we both ended up with Razrs, and to my surprise, full bars everywhere. Bluetooth works great with all our Macs.
My husband even dropped his outside the store, not a scratch.
When we moved, both of us lost signal strength in our new apartment to the point where we had to stick our heads out the window to use the phones.
He had a Nokia and I had a Motorola.
I swore up and down I would never get another Motorola.
Well, do to lack of choice and high prices, we both ended up with Razrs, and to my surprise, full bars everywhere. Bluetooth works great with all our Macs.
My husband even dropped his outside the store, not a scratch.
mac4drew said:
That's actually the one i was looking at. I have an older nokia now, and its lasted two years with no problems, while i ahve friends on their third or fourth Motorollas in 2 years.
Anyone have anything good or bad to say about the Nokia 6682?
keep in mind if you want to watch tv it's $10 a month + bandwidth costs ($20 for unlimited media bandwidth). it's very cool but not worth $30 a month when you can encode recorded tv at home and put it on your phone, imho
Sony Ericsson is the only real option you have with Cingular. The MOTO and Nokia offerings remain plagued by primitive interface designs among other issues.
You might want to consider the Nokia 9300 also. It's pricy but is is the 6682. And the MobiTV thing sucks bigtime. Don't get it.
homerjward said:
Is the 600i that price @ the cingular store? im guessing thats with a 2 year commitment?
Look at Reviews
I would also run over to www.phonescoop.com. They have reviews of every cell phone I've ever seen and they list things like talk time, standby time, and bluetooth. I was dissuaded from buying one phone because everyone said the phone was great except for lousy voice quality.
I would also run over to www.phonescoop.com. They have reviews of every cell phone I've ever seen and they list things like talk time, standby time, and bluetooth. I was dissuaded from buying one phone because everyone said the phone was great except for lousy voice quality.
Just got myself a Sony Ericsson Z520i, a cheap phone that should work very nice with Mac OS X. I've been syncing my old T68i with Bluetooth for years and expect the Z520i to behave at least as good. It has all the features I wanted as a basic clam shell phone, at a very affordable price. It even have a VGA camera, it only takes 640x480 images, but if I want to take pictures I bring my Olympus digital µ anyway, but it might be nice if something unexpected happens, and it can be a convenient way to add images to all the contacts in the Address Book. It can even play mp3s and aacs (though not protected ones) and use them as ringtones... 
Very nice design, too:
Very nice design, too:
a w600 for 120 bux is a deal. i got the razr for 130(2 first free, the other two 130 each).
i'd go after the slvr or the w600. you'll be surprised at how many times you can be bored and want to blast up the music, only to find out taht you left your nano at home..
i'd go after the slvr or the w600. you'll be surprised at how many times you can be bored and want to blast up the music, only to find out taht you left your nano at home..
I'll jump on board the anti-Motorola bandwagon here for a moment.
I changed to a Telstra cap and they threw in the Motorola V3x (Upgraded V3), I was back using my 1 year old SE K700i within days.
For a start, the V3x won't sync with iSync. The V3 allegedly does, and there are hacks out there for the V3x, but I couldn't get them to work. The whole interface feels unintuitive and clunky, like Motorola have taken everything that I liked about every phone i've ever used and ignored it. For example, on my K700i I could simply hold down # and have it go into Silent mode, so it would only vibrate. On the V3x, it's the same, only silent mode is completely silent, and there is no option to have it vibrate. There is vibrate mode, but I can't have the same quick shortcut, gotta scroll through a menu.
Pros: Great camera and Great mp3 playback, especially the fact that it can take transflash cards.
Cons: I have a 20gb iPod and am gonna shell out for a new digicam soon enough.
Conclusion: Toys and gadgets are all very well and good, but I get phones to make calls and send SMS's, and the V3x does a very good job of making that hard for me.
Incidentally, i'm all for Sony Ericssons, great interface and get the job done.
The V3x looks incredible, and if I could take the guts out of my K700 and stick them into the V3x, i'd be a happy man, but for now, Sony Ericsson reigns.
As for Bluetooth, can't go wrong with Salling Clicker, and once Bluephone Elite lets you use your Mac's speakers and mike to communicate through your phone, then we'll be set. Why oh Why can PC's do this yet Mac's can't, you'd think it'd be a major selling point.
I changed to a Telstra cap and they threw in the Motorola V3x (Upgraded V3), I was back using my 1 year old SE K700i within days.
For a start, the V3x won't sync with iSync. The V3 allegedly does, and there are hacks out there for the V3x, but I couldn't get them to work. The whole interface feels unintuitive and clunky, like Motorola have taken everything that I liked about every phone i've ever used and ignored it. For example, on my K700i I could simply hold down # and have it go into Silent mode, so it would only vibrate. On the V3x, it's the same, only silent mode is completely silent, and there is no option to have it vibrate. There is vibrate mode, but I can't have the same quick shortcut, gotta scroll through a menu.
Pros: Great camera and Great mp3 playback, especially the fact that it can take transflash cards.
Cons: I have a 20gb iPod and am gonna shell out for a new digicam soon enough.
Conclusion: Toys and gadgets are all very well and good, but I get phones to make calls and send SMS's, and the V3x does a very good job of making that hard for me.
Incidentally, i'm all for Sony Ericssons, great interface and get the job done.
The V3x looks incredible, and if I could take the guts out of my K700 and stick them into the V3x, i'd be a happy man, but for now, Sony Ericsson reigns.
As for Bluetooth, can't go wrong with Salling Clicker, and once Bluephone Elite lets you use your Mac's speakers and mike to communicate through your phone, then we'll be set. Why oh Why can PC's do this yet Mac's can't, you'd think it'd be a major selling point.
Get a RAZR, sell it on ebay for like $200 and then buy a SE s710a. I don't think cingular has them anymore, but they are amazing. Great camera, MP3/AAC playback, iSync is awesome, and it's a SE! The UI is way better than any motorola.
nokia 6682
regarding your ? for the nokia 6682, i have had one since the day they came out ( i worked for cingular then) and i have been very happy with the phone and its OS. Since i just got my MBP, i am going to find out tmo how the connectivity is with it. i have no clue yet.. however on the phone itself, you wont be dissapointed
arul
regarding your ? for the nokia 6682, i have had one since the day they came out ( i worked for cingular then) and i have been very happy with the phone and its OS. Since i just got my MBP, i am going to find out tmo how the connectivity is with it. i have no clue yet.. however on the phone itself, you wont be dissapointed
arul
Mitthrawnuruodo said:Just got myself a Sony Ericsson Z520i, a cheap phone that should work very nice with Mac OS X. I've been syncing my old T68i with Bluetooth for years and expect the Z520i to behave at least as good. It has all the features I wanted as a basic clam shell phone, at a very affordable price. It even have a VGA camera, it only takes 640x480 images, but if I want to take pictures I bring my Olympus digital µ anyway, but it might be nice if something unexpected happens, and it can be a convenient way to add images to all the contacts in the Address Book. It can even play mp3https://forums.macrumors.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=2362270s and aacs (though not protected ones) and use them as ringtones...
Very nice design, too:
I ended up getting this phone, and i honestly dont like it that much. First of all, i really dislike the antenna, because it makes it really hard to talk on. I also dont like the camera button being so sensitive. In 28 hours ive had to delete 4 pictures of my pocket.
I'm realy considering trading this thing in for a RAZR, but i hear some bad things and some good things about them. I know that people say that they dont like the UI, bit i havnt liked sony ericcsons that much, and I loved nokias, but none of their phones are that cool or that small.
How do people like their RAZR's?
That phone you got really puts a shame to the UI of Sony Ericsson.
It just semms sluggish, and if we compared it to a Mac, it would be OS 9. The Razr would be like Panther, which would get the job done. And the high end Sony Ericcsoons (s710a, k700i, w800i, k750i) would be Tiger!
However, I think compared to the phone you have now, you'll find the Razr interface somewhat smoother, and the you'll enjoy the larger screen of the Razr.
Like I said earlier in the thread, if you can stand the bulkiness, get the s710a, and if not, spend the cash and get a k750!
It just semms sluggish, and if we compared it to a Mac, it would be OS 9. The Razr would be like Panther, which would get the job done. And the high end Sony Ericcsoons (s710a, k700i, w800i, k750i) would be Tiger!
However, I think compared to the phone you have now, you'll find the Razr interface somewhat smoother, and the you'll enjoy the larger screen of the Razr.
Like I said earlier in the thread, if you can stand the bulkiness, get the s710a, and if not, spend the cash and get a k750!