Sony Ericsson T68i or Siemens S55?

Mutz

Hey guys, I just want to get some opinions on the above phones.
Does anyone out there have one and if so what do they think of it?

Which one would you Go for?

I cant figure which one to get because they are both quite cool phones.

The T68i is cheaper by €50 but the camera is not included, but the camera is included on the S55.

LINKS:
T68i - EUR 300 : http://www.sonyericsson.com/T68i/
S55 - EUR 350 : http://www.my-siemens.com/MySiemens/CDA/Index/0,2730,UK_en_0_product%253AMW%252FNG%252FS55%252Fdesc,FF.html

Thanks in advance

flywheel

the T68i has been my personal phone since it's release here, only had a brief hands on with the S55

main differences are the S55 has Java, Poly ringtones and the camera is included and has a flash - the T68i has none of those (some operators included a camera - not here though ) - the other major difference is the User Interface of course - depending on who made your previous phone this may be an important factor

having said that I'd wait and go for the SonyEricsson T610, (sorry don't know how long - depends on the operators) it is the T68i's replacement.

The T610, is due out and includes an integrated camera, 65k color screen java, poly ringtones and (optional) clip on flash, BT, IrDA etc...

hth,
BrianG

Ro-76

I'm on my second T68i, (first one got a little shabby, and I got a good deal on the replacement) and while it does have minor issues, i think it's the best phone on the market at the moment. The only feature which I would like is the built-in camera, but I'm hopefully getting an MCA-25 at a good price in the next week or so. (I might be able to get a second, if you're interested - PM me)

Sonyericssons are not as easy to use as Nokias, and in particular there is a split-second delay when navigating through the menus, which can be a little irritating. Apart from that, it works exceptionally well. I use mine for email and internet access using a GPRS connection, directly on the phone, on my Sony Clie PDA, or laptop (bluetooth). There's also a lot of free software to exploit the Bluetooth feature. I can send and receive SMS, pictures, themes, ringtones etc with my laptop, aswell as use the phone as a remote control to control the PC. (powerpoint is the most useful application of this feature)

Ro

.

Mutz

Thanks lads for the advice Much appreciated

I want to see if I can get a Demo somewhere of each phone first before I buy.

Fidelis

I've always liked Siemens' phones and this one ain't too bad. However, I'd probably go for the T68i myself, as it's similar in weight & size to the S55 but has a slightly better user-interface. The menu system on the S55 isn't great and the camera is pretty finicky. You have to look through the 'viewfinder' (which is just a rectangular hole in the clip-on camera) and this makes it quite hard to judge what is actaully going to appear in the picture. The flash on the S55 is superb but it does take a fair bit out of the battery. Up to you at the end of the day!

iwb

Just bought the T68i a few weeks ago and Ken at the Stillorgan Voadfone shop uses one himself so I got a demo before I bought it. I did buy the last one at the shop though. Maybe there are more in now. Their number is 283-1711 I think.
Can't comment much on the phone as it wasn't for me and the guy using it was strictly a phone user and didn't want any other features.
iwb

Tony_ire

The SonyEricsson website prices for phones and accesories are cheaper than anywhere else i have seen. The T68i is €250 (£170).

shurl

I went into the Vodafone shop on Grafton street last week to buy the T68i, (i've wanted one since i first saw a picture of it) :-)

BUT, the guy in the shop said that Vodafone have stopped selling it. Due to "serious problems with the batteries/reception" ;-(
I was not happy.

But i did buy the Nokia 6610, which is damn good.
Although where the hell is the bluetooth! Nokia!

flywheel

shurl wrote
the guy in the shop said that Vodafone have stopped selling it. Due to "serious problems with the batteries/reception" ;-(

for me it's been one of the most reliable and power efficient phones i've had - so was surprised to hear that

had a quick look at vodafone.ie and they still list it and they've been selling it for almost 9 months - would have though it would be taken off the site and removed/recalled before 9 months if it had serious problems

(Fidelis can you shed any light on this?)

BrianG

MiCr0

i got mine directly from vodafone.ie
you can upgrade online - and in my case it was on my desk in 20hours - sweet

MiCr0

i've used dozen's of these phone, on a daily basis and i've never had a problem with them - any one else?

Fidelis

With regards to the availability of the T68i on the streets, I wouldn't be able to tell you anything more than what you & I can see on the Vodafone store website... and that's to say that it looks to be still on sale for €249.

There were a few issues with the T68i, one being that it had a tendancy to power itself off & then back on again indiscriminately. The second issue being general GPRS functionality. It would sometimes freeze on WAP requiring the phone to be rebooted and there were also problems with internet connectivity over GPRS.

This was all back in November '01 by the way. Vodafone approved it for sale in Ireland, but haven't put much effort into supporting it since it's launch, to be honest.

I don't know, DubWireless. As you've said, it wouldn't make much sense to be pulling it out the market only now, after 9 months, if there was such a serious problem present. It could be that they just want to get it out of the way to make room for their new MMS products, as Nokia have done with the withdrawal of the 7650 for the introduction of the 3650. The technical excuse may be just that, an excuse.

flywheel

thanks Fidelis - maybe the guy was trying an excuse if he was getting better comission for selling a new Nokia

could the problems you mentioned have been with the T68? the T68i (Mar '02) fixed a lot of issues the T68 had and added more features (MMS, WAP 2.0, etc...) to the system

if you can, do give a heads up when you get the T610 in - i'm hoping it wil be passed and available in time for my next upgrade

atb,
BrianG

Fidelis

Originally posted by DubWireless
do give a heads up when you get the T610 in

I probably should've put up a thread on it a few weeks ago but anyways! We've had the T610 in for test since mid-February as part of the Vodafone Live project. It's a nice size (image) & the clarity of the screen is quite good. Once the camera is selected, it appears on-screen instantly i.e there's no waiting around for it to initialise. Maximum photo image size is 288x352 (example). Bluetooth, IrDA, a practical polyphonic melody creator and a photo editor with some nice effects & features. Also, general navigation of the phone is nice & fast. For some reason, it feels as though the weight is not evenly distributed but it's probably just me. It seems to be on schedule for Phase 1 countries at the end of the month & Phase 2 countries (that includes us ) for sometime in May.

Fidelis

Originally posted by DubWireless
could the problems you mentioned have been with the T68

Yeah, you got me there. I was reading off the wrong document - oops! The only fault that I can be sure of on the T68i is the one where it powers itself on & off by itself.

flywheel

Originally posted by Fidelis
We've had the T610 in for test since mid-February as part of the Vodafone Live project.

excellent - thanks for the info

happy to see it was the aluminum version - hope they stick with that when it becomes available - much nicer than the blue and red versions

atb,
BrianG