vB Easy Archive - Does the S66 suck?

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Does the S66 suck?
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Posted by: volcomwrx

im thinkin of buying an S66 but my friend that works at cingular said it sucks and he let me look at a workin model but the battery died on me so i wasnt able to really see if its any good. I know the external memory card sticks out the bottom, to me no big deal. i just want to know if this phone is a good phone or not.

Posted by: Sieman

I'm not quite which Model you were looking at but the SD Memory is at the top of the unit and is flush with the top, ie it does not Protrude.

I havehad mine for overamonth now and am quite happy with it, the issues I have is Bluetooth connectivity, so far this is the only aspect of the 66 I am disapointed with, although I am still working on defining exactly what the issues with BT are.

Posted by: Mr. Kobayashi

S66 is a pretty slick phone really. Cingular reps (in USA) are usually quite ignorant, especially with Siemens gear, and will most often push the outdated overmarketed flip phones. Only good thing about this is that all the seppo, pseudo mobile phone afficianados won't have your phone and whichs makes it that much cooler really.

Therefore you will most likely not get fair or credible information on Siemens, Nokia or any new non-flip phone from the wireless/worthless sales reps. Best bet is to do your own research.

note:S66 runs at GSM 850, 1800 and 1900 mhz. 850 is a reserved frequency usually used in rural areas where an analog signal is converted. Europe and Asia use a 900 and 1800 mhz GSM frequency and therefore if you are traveling there often or you plan not to visit the sticks, you may want to consider the S65, which has more exposure, research, updates, etc and can be found unlocked for not much more than the s66.

Posted by: paul34

^^ 850 MHz band is used extensively in the US, not just in "rural areas."

Get the S66 if you're planning to use it in the US and with a carrier other than T-Mobile.

Unfortunately it still isn't as good as I think Siemens could do, like the S56. It might be good enough for you, however. Just go back and see if you can get your friend to again show it to you. That's the only way you'll know.

Posted by: volcomwrx

so i got cingular and tmobile but im gonna stick with tmobile should i get the s65 instead of the s66 cause i think the s66 is only made for cingular since it has the 850 band. i know tmobile runs on then 900 band woulod i still get decent reception with the s66(850) or do i have to stick with the s65(900)?

Posted by: Mr. Kobayashi

S66 was designed for and is usually sold as, a locked phone for Cingular. Therefore if you are to consider it make sure you are able to find an unlocked version. This being said since you are leaning towards T-Mobile, I personally would go for the S65 as it is a more widely known model and it incorporates the 900, 1800 and 1900 mhz GSM. Plus the S65 comes with more software and has more support since there are more people who have it naturally: was released in August 04 in Europe, definitely a plus when you read some of the minor questions people have. S65 unlocked can be found for almost same price as S66 and I would've bought it if I knew T-Mobile's reception was as reliable or good as Cingular's in my home area/bubble. So I reluctantly continued with AT&T/Cingular, for less minutes but roll over, and chose the S66.

I personally am convinced that the 850mhz is only/mainly used in rural areas: according the most recent Consumer Reports and the basic fact that I used a triband 900, 1800, 1900 Ericsson T68 for years with AT&T ( most recently tested it again last fall) with no problems in USA and Europe.

I'd still give a call to T-Mobile to confirm compatibilty, and the 900mhz vs 850mhz preference. Hopefully you'll get someone who knows something about the phone.

Posted by: paul34

Quote:

Originally posted by volcomwrx
so i got cingular and tmobile but im gonna stick with tmobile should i get the s65 instead of the s66 cause i think the s66 is only made for cingular since it has the 850 band. i know tmobile runs on then 900 band woulod i still get decent reception with the s66(850) or do i have to stick with the s65(900)?

T-Mobile doesn't run on the 900 band in the US. It runs on 1900 MHz band. There is no carrier which runs on 900 band in the United States.

Get the S66 if you're going to be in the US.

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Kobayashi
Plus the S65 comes with more software and has more support since there are more people who have it naturally: was released in August 04 in Europe, definitely a plus when you read some of the minor questions people have. S65 unlocked can be found for almost same price as S66 and I would've bought it if I knew T-Mobile's reception was as reliable or good as Cingular's in my home area/bubble. So I reluctantly continued with AT&T/Cingular, for less minutes but roll over, and chose the S66.

I personally am convinced that the 850mhz is only/mainly used in rural areas: according the most recent Consumer Reports and the basic fact that I used a triband 900, 1800, 1900 Ericsson T68 for years with AT&T ( most recently tested it again last fall) with no problems in USA and Europe.

That is a valid point that S65 will have FW updates whereas you shouldn't expect much, if any, support for the S66.

850 MHz is not used mainly in rural areas; I live in Orlando, and Cingular is completely 850 in this area. New York's Cingular network (formerly ATTW) is all 850 MHz - this also includes areas such as New Jersey. Pennsylvania's Cingular network (including large cities) also run compeltely on 850 MHz. Many, many areas run on 850 MHz.

Posted by: goldhead

I have the Siemens S66 for one day now. I think it's one of the best phones ever! I mean, a megapixel camera (although the picture quality pretty much sucks), video recording and playback, expandable memory thanks to the RS-MMC card slot, lots of nice features and most of all .... the file system is totally open, you can do anything with it if you get a data cable: upload/download pictures, sounds, ringtones, wallpapers, themes.... without having to pay big bux for downloading them!! And not to mention it is the sexiest phone ever made!!!
I had to get the S66 version rather than S65, because one cell phone carrier guy told me I need the 850 band in the city I live in (maybe he was wrong, but it pretty much made sense, since in the entire city you cannot buy a GSM phone without the both 850 and 1900 bands support).
I got a Cingular locked phone indeed, but using a data cable and a article found on the web i managed to unlock it.

I love Siemens phones and this one is the best!

Posted by: volcomwrx

Quote:

Originally posted by goldhead
I have the Siemens S66 for one day now. I think it's one of the best phones ever! I mean, a megapixel camera (although the picture quality pretty much sucks), video recording and playback, expandable memory thanks to the RS-MMC card slot, lots of nice features and most of all .... the file system is totally open, you can do anything with it if you get a data cable: upload/download pictures, sounds, ringtones, wallpapers, themes.... without having to pay big bux for downloading them!! And not to mention it is the sexiest phone ever made!!!
I had to get the S66 version rather than S65, because one cell phone carrier guy told me I need the 850 band in the city I live in (maybe he was wrong, but it pretty much made sense, since in the entire city you cannot buy a GSM phone without the both 850 and 1900 bands support).
I got a Cingular locked phone indeed, but using a data cable and a article found on the web i managed to unlock it.
I love Siemens phones and this one is the best!

so the 1.3 mp camera sucks? what about the external memory card, does it stick out of the bottom?

Posted by: goldhead

Quote:

Originally posted by volcomwrx
so the 1.3 mp camera sucks? what about the external memory card, does it stick out of the bottom?

Well, I read the camera takes better pictures with sufficient light, but I only tried it indoor and the results were not so appealing.
Stick out of the bottom? I don't know what you mean.... Nothing sticks out. Well, I suppose if you used standard size MMC card, it would stick out, but with RS-MMC cards, everything is OK. There is one 32 MB RS-MMC card supplied with the phone BTW.

Posted by: Mr. Kobayashi

Live in Northern NJ (metro NY) and used triband (900, 1800,1900) Ericsson T68 with ATT till 2003 no problem (and again last fall). Read latest consumer reports which explained the introduction of 850mhz for the rural analog crossover. Nonetheless if T-Mobile doesnt use the 850 but the more practical 900 instead, the S65 is a better choice.

Just to confirm, there is no MMC protrusion.

Posted by: bothfly

Hey guys, I wanted to give you my 2 cents on the S65 and how it works with TMO.
I got the phone about 2 months ago and I have to say its a great phone. But like any phone out there it has its problems.
I travel a lot, and I mean all over the country every week and I have never had a problem with a signal and TMO, works great everywhere, main cities that is.
I was lucky to get the phone from a guy on eBay and it came with a software cable that has let me do firmware updates, which was a big plus.
As for the phone, the battery is really bad. I don't talk that much and use all the features, but I usually charge the thing every night just in case. I can get 2-3 days stby and somewhat less with talking but I had a V600 before and I would go days without charging it.
I have a iMac and it works great with iSync.
Its small and light, bought a screen protector for it, so no scratches. The rings and vibes are strong and loud. And you can really customize the phone settings. My phone also has a 256mb memory card so there is a ton of storage on it.
Yes pictures in low light are crappy and the video isn't that great, but it does it all.
7.5 out of 10 from me.

Posted by: paul34

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Kobayashi
Live in Northern NJ (metro NY) and used triband (900, 1800,1900) Ericsson T68 with ATT till 2003 no problem (and again last fall). Read latest consumer reports which explained the introduction of 850mhz for the rural analog crossover. Nonetheless if T-Mobile doesnt use the 850 but the more practical 900 instead, the S65 is a better choice.

Just to confirm, there is no MMC protrusion.

There is no carrier which uses the 900 MHz band in the US.

The 850 MHz reference must be referring to areas which still don't have digital service. However, that doesn't mean 850 is restricted to just those areas.

850 MHz is so widely used, it'd be pretty much a bad idea to get a phone that didn't support it unless you're on T-Mobile - in which case you have bigger things to worry about

Posted by: m-flo

Quote:

Originally posted by goldhead
(although the picture quality pretty much sucks)

I'm pretty sure the software for this has been improved with the latest firmware updates (www.siemens.com)... go on an update your phone (you'll need a data cable DCA-510 I believe) and your low-light shots and the colour in general will look much better!

Posted by: devarshi84

the quality is anyday better than nokia 7610 . Yes it cant beat the 6630 and s700 but then s65 cant be beaten in price. can it be? And it also has firmware updates to solve problems which come up . secondly all company phones have one problem or other. my buddy gave up on s700 after is used to hang every five minutes. My s65 has never hung in the lasat two weeks and I am proud of it. to check picture quality go to club-siemens.net and reviews link for the s65.

cheers
boyracer

Posted by: Flak

Does the s66 have voice dialing? I use voicedialing a lot with bluetooth headsets, but haven't noticed if the s66 had the feature or not.

Thanks,
Flak

Posted by: goldhead

Quote:

Originally posted by Flak
Does the s66 have voice dialing? I use voicedialing a lot with bluetooth headsets, but haven't noticed if the s66 had the feature or not.

Thanks,
Flak

No, it does not.