vB Easy Archive - Best available phone in terms of voice quality, reception (March 2008)?

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Best available phone in terms of voice quality, reception (March 2008)?
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Posted by: Orbsplateau

I'd really appreciate your opinion on this... especially since I'm in a bit of a rush.

I was just wondering, what is (in your opinion) currently the BEST phone available at Bell, if I ONLY care about
1) voice quality/clarity
2) reception
3) flip phone

other things I care about: build quality, good BlueTooth compatibility, flip phone, and being able to sync phone numbers (either using BitPim, DataPilot, or whatever else is available).

things I DON'T care about... not even a little bit:
hacking, modding, MP3 player, camera, video, texting, "musical" ring tones

I talk on my phone for a few thousand minutes per month... almost always using a headset. When I'm not using a headset, I like the feel of a flip phone (don't have to worry about "locking" buttons, the microphone is closer to my mouth, and the internal display has better protection... I've been using cell-phones since 1996, and they have all been flip phones except for 2 of them... which I exchanged within a few days.)

What do I consider GOOD sound quality?
I liked my Samsung A740 and A460. Near-landline quality. I don't like phones that try too hard to cancel ambient sounds and end-up "clipping" voice calls. If the speaker is whispering because they're calling me from a library, I need to be able to hear them!

Just got an HTC Touch, but will surely return it since it doesn't sound as good as I was made to believe. It has amazing features... that don't help me (I already have a fantastic PDA with great security features).

Please help! I'm dying without a phone!... i have a $250 credit with Bell, so I'd like to use it an buy a new phone... but WHAT?

Considering:
Motorola KRZR K1m - but worried about mixed reviews, reliability issues, freezing, UI bugs... etc. never tested voice, but have been told it's OK

LG Muziq looks nice, haven't tested voice quality.... but have been told it's very good... unsure of reliability since some older LGs had serious reliability issues

Samsung r610 - not a fan of slider phones... know a few people who have slider phones and have broken them rather quickly. Have heard poor reviews about the UI of r610

Motrolla Z6m it's a slider... don't know enough about reliability

HTC Touch just amazing.... but below par voice quality... listener can EASILY tell I'm on a cell phone.

Samsung m510 external display not as bright as A740, or even the M500 - reviews are mixed... voice quality is definitely better than HTC touch, but not as good as A740 or A460... many consider this phone to be "too flimsy" and not solid enough. But other than that... works OK

Samsung m500 similar to M510... slightly older technology. Never used it. don't know about voice quality.

Samsung m610 seriously considering it... not sure of voice quality though... I like the external monochrome display... i can actually see it in daylight

Sanyo 7050 or 7000 works fine... don't know anything about voice quality though. Don't care about its looks, but I'd be willing to take it if I knew voice quality was good enough, anybody has experience with this phone? I like the ruggedness and the monochrome external display

RAZR2 overprice... would take it in a heart beat if 1) voice quality was good enough and 2) it cost $200 less.

please help! I really need a phone... and I could really use some advice.

Any help on this issue would be very much appreciated.

Posted by: Orbsplateau

been reading reviews for the past 2 hours... learning towards the Samsung m510, despite its shortcomings
e.g. new access port for headsets & charger - not compatible with previous Samsungs,
external display not as bright as m500,
very flat keypad,
somewhat unattractive "childish" design when flipped open,
not the "toughest phone",
small navigation keypad,
average battery life
not currently compatible with BitPim or Datapilot (please correct me if I'm wrong)

any ideas? I'd get the m500, but both the m510 and m500 cost the same ($250), might as well get the newer phones... no?

Is this phone comparable to the a920 (THAT was a good phone).?

Posted by: jase88

^^ This is what always irked me about Samsung: Incompatible chargers! I have a box full of old CLA's...mostly from Samsung. And Samsung CLA's aren't cheap.

Posted by: Orbsplateau

well... the a680, a740 and the m500 all use the same audio jack and charger i think... but, the m510 and m300 go in a totally difference direction.
They need to sell some new chargers I guess?

any comments on the phones themselves? I'm still open to suggestions...

LG Music - despite it's "expected" unreliability, the store staff seemed convinced that the phone had great voice quality

KRZR K1M - buggy UI, somewhat unreliable, and fingerprint/smudge prone design... but again, heard good things about voice

ROKR Z6M - not the best layout (top buttons not easily accessible due to slider), not flip, large smudge prone screen always exposed, but again, seems to have good voice..

Samsung M610 / M500 - essentially the same phone in 2 different form factors. Slightly "dated" but still in the running. Slightly prefer M500, but both phones have poor battery life due to their small size.

Posted by: Mark I

Quote:

KRZR K1M - buggy UI, somewhat unreliable, and fingerprint/smudge prone design... but again, heard good things about voice

I've had my K1m for well over a year now and it's still working great. Voice quality is excellent and battery life is still good. I wouldn't say the UI is buggy, but the phone has restarted on occasion when using Java games/apps. The phone is VERY reliable though.

As for fingerprints and smudges, well that's to be expected with such a sleek phone, but I always just wipe them off with my shirt or jacket

Posted by: Sammy740

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbsplateau

Samsung M610 / M500 - essentially the same phone in 2 different form factors. Slightly "dated" but still in the running. Slightly prefer M500, but both phones have poor battery life due to their small size.

I used the Samsung m500 for several months and found it to be a great phone.

To be honest, no phone has had better reception and call clarity than my Blackberry 8830. My Sanyo 7050 comes second to that.

Posted by: Orbsplateau

so.... m500, m510, ROKR Z6M, LG LX570 "MUZIQ", LG 385, BB Pearl 8130?

any more opinions on this? In my experience most Sumsungs and Motorollas have great sound.

Samsungs usually have great voice quality (a990, a920, a740, a860, a460, etc.), but SOMETIMES the noise reduction can be a bit too aggressive, as it was with the a680.

Motorollas sometimes add an artificial loudness to their phones... but not all.. the GSM V400 I tested was ExCELLENT.

how is the KRZR K1M's reception? I've read that based on how the phone is held, the reception varies since antenna is right at the bottom.

Posted by: Geezy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orbsplateau

so.... m500, m510, ROKR Z6M, LG LX570 "MUZIQ", LG 385, BB Pearl 8130?

any more opinions on this? In my experience most Sumsungs and Motorollas have great sound.

Samsungs usually have great voice quality (a990, a920, a740, a860, a460, etc.), but SOMETIMES the noise reduction can be a bit too aggressive, as it was with the a680.

Motorollas sometimes add an artificial loudness to their phones... but not all.. the GSM V400 I tested was ExCELLENT.

how is the KRZR K1M's reception? I've read that based on how the phone is held, the reception varies since antenna is right at the bottom.

krzr has varying reception, but also varying reliability... i'd perosnally just leave it alone... especially since motorola's have some hatable ffeatures (crappy ui, low battery beeping)

M500 and m500 good all around phone I can't argue anything bad I believe these are Bell's best overall phones considering price, reliability, durability, battery life, and reception

Rokr? see krkr review. I prefer this phone more but I think it's just the design and the idea that everybody had the razr/krzr and their so similar

Musiq, I've heard good things, umm.. fm transmitter is a really cool feature, so is the touch media player on the front... mixed reviews on the UI but it seems like standard LG to me, I think at 299 this phone is also a good deal

LG385... skip it... 2 new to give a real review... but it's supposed to be an economy phone, and it's not neccessarily priced that way... I like the look though

8130.. I had a 7130 and loved it using it only voice, but ?I can tell you blackberry's are preeeetttyyy boring without data, that being said blackberry's are soooo dependable and nice given the 'technical' feature set also, don't let the keyboard deter you, you'll quickly get used to it. It's nicer than other berries because you can operate it with one hand (driving, eating, playing chess) it's nice to have the choice

Posted by: mikesnickname

you cant go wrong with blackberry. the 8830 is supposed to have the best sound quality of ANY phone on the market. I love my 8703!! But if you must have a flip I would recommend the fusic (if you can get ahold of one) or krzr.

Posted by: southwestm81

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sammy740

I think your tune about the m500 would change after owning it for 6+ months. I'd say that phone, the a860 (no longer sold) and LG 150 are the phones we see come in the most for service.

Out of all the phones you listed, I'd suggest the following:

PDA/Smartphone:
BB 8130, 8830, 8703e.....chosen for the exact same reasons that others have specified. Blackberry desktop software makes for easy synching.

Regular:
Motorola (KRZR, ROKR, RAZR 2)- I've never liked Moto UI's, we have had some issues with KRZRs freezing (white screen, logo), but otherwise they work awesome for reception and voice clarity. If that is what you are concerned about and don't mind how the keypad is designed or the UI, good choice. Also, all three come with Motorola Phone Tools 4, which allows for contact back up, ringtone creation and other groovy stuff.

Sanyo (7050, 7000)- much nicer UI, reception/clarity is also great, I always think that there are not enough Sanyos in the line up. Rarely see any Sanyos with service issues. I'd say a about a tie with Motorola (Moto may have a slight edge).

LG-I'd recommend the Shine, had a few that would power of when flipped closed, but otherwise great performer. A solid close second for reception. The Muziq, I set up a live one on our demo bar, tried some test calls, incoming sound was very good as was outgoing. People said I sounded clear. Also a good choice me thinks.

Samsung-The m510 is leaps and bounds better than the m500 in terms of design and durability. This phone doesn't feel like it could snap in half at any moment. The r610 has really good voice clarity I found and it would be a good choice as long as you can deal with a) the annoying Bell UI and b) the main display always being exposed. m610 is a good phone too, though some units has ear pieces that crackle and others sound perfect. Hit or miss there.

Posted by: Sammy740

Quote:

Originally Posted by southwestm81

I think your tune about the m500 would change after owning it for 6+ months. I'd say that phone, the a860 (no longer sold) and LG 150 are the phones we see come in the most for service.

I used my Samsung m500 for 7 months.

My friend is now using the same phone I used and loves it.

Posted by: EricMammoth

If voice quality is paramount, then get the 8830 as recommended by others. Sure, it's not a flip phone, but it'll outlast a good lot of them anyways.

Posted by: Linda7609

.....I Started off using the Mtorola Q and I felt like it was cooking my ears , so much overheating, disgusting battery ( extended one was used !), it would freeze...so keep your money. Katana and it was an amazing phone but boring, can't do anything special with it. So amazing really means voice clarity and reception. ( The phone is discontinued though)
So since I work at bell I had my choice and I took the K1m...I love it. No reception problems, I was able to install skins on it, games, ringtones ect.. then the Touch came out and I put my K1m aside for a couple months. I dropped calls and froze but you could do a lot with that phone also.
I think I spent a couple hours on Pockepcthemes.com. Upsides were syncing my emails. whooopi!

So back to the K1m it is.
My boss however has "whored" around many phones and he loooooved his Sanyo 7050, 8830, v9m. He used the touch too but since it was the same phone beind swapped between us he had the same probs. He also had the Rokr for one day and hated it. first night shut off by itself...no battery life whatsoever..could be a dud, i dunno.
Goodluck

Posted by: Rob11

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricMammoth

If voice quality is paramount, then get the 8830 as recommended by others. Sure, it's not a flip phone, but it'll outlast a good lot of them anyways.

Moto Rokr has better sound then the 8830....did a voicemail test from both phones. My 8830 outoing sound was a little muffled - incoming is nice though.

The Moto sounded almost as good as a land line!

Cheers
Rob.