M600i One Day Impressions

[hkanji]

I agree, the jog dial with the lip cover is a poor design, particularly in comparison to a Blackberry.

The quickest way I have found to unlock the phone is to hold the "back" button underneath the jog dial down until it locks the phone. Another shortcut, which may have already been mentioned, is turning the sound on/off by by pushing and holding the jog dial first and then pushing the # key.

I have an unrelated question with regards to ActiveSync: anybody having issues with Calendar synchronization continuosuly failing due to a "Symbian Error [-6]: bad request"?

I have the same problems wth the calendar.

[Tony_Ensemble]

Boy I really, REALLY, want to like this phone; The form factor, the keyboard, the screen, the graphics; so many things to love... BUT, it just isn't there yet. I have been waiting for this phone for so long, but I think I'm gonna switch back to thre Treo or give the Q a try.

Its a shame that they didn't finish this phone cause they got so many things correct. But in the end its the things they didn't get right that are causing me to abandon mine. I 'd list those things but its all the same stuff that has already been talked about.

Maybe in 6 months or a year I'll try it again.

So sad

[Tony_Ensemble]

I almost forgot to ask my question...

I'm getting a connection to Cingular half the time but the other half my phone displays "Emergency calling only".

I live in Dallas TX and Im using the Sim card from my Treo 650 on Cingular.

Any help?

[hkanji]

Boy I really, REALLY, want to like this phone; The form factor, the keyboard, the screen, the graphics; so many things to love... BUT, it just isn't there yet. I have been waiting for this phone for so long, but I think I'm gonna switch back to thre Treo or give the Q a try.

Its a shame that they didn't finish this phone cause they got so many things correct. But in the end its the things they didn't get right that are causing me to abandon mine. I 'd list those things but its all the same stuff that has already been talked about.

Maybe in 6 months or a year I'll try it again.

So sad

So apparently there is a new firmware update. R3A01. Supposed to improve things. I'm skeptical but tomorrow morning at work I'l linstall it.

[Tony_Ensemble]

Funny how two people can have completely different opinons on a phone.

1. Battery life very average especially if you have Exchange sync installed
2. Screen is below average in sunlight
3. Touchscreen I agree with you here. But is it a benefit that the touch screen works like it is supposed to?
3. Keypad is great although they are missing a few buttons that would have changed everything.
4. UI on my phone which I updated to world release 2 was buggy, slow, and crashed three or four times a day. I really think that UIQ 3.0 is pretty but needs major work when it comes to speed and one handed use.

I would compare this to a p910 way before a Treo 650. Yes the Treo lacks multitasking but have just about everything else going for it. I really wanted the m600 to be a good phone for me. It has the size and weight advantage over everything else I have used. Maybe SE will get it right the next time around.

(Going back a few days)

Its interesting that you mention the lack of multi-tasking on the Treo as a liability. I was just talking with a friend who is going through the paces with his new Q. He loves it except for the multi-tasking. If your a casual user you might never even know it multitasks, except that your phone seems to get slower and slower. So we were both going on and on about how Palm OS is superior (in our opinion) specifically because it doesn't multi task. Apllications open instantly anyway but memory never runs out. Multi-tasking on a smartphone seems (to me) like a big marketing idea that has sucsessfully snowballed in the minds of the consumers.

Now back to the m600i: It seems ironic that the only reason I can find to like multitasking is that the apps open up so slowly that you want to leave them open for next time. Doesn't seem like a feature to me... seems like a way to justify an inefficient OS and bloated apps.

I'm interested to see a show of hands (so to speak) from m600 owners...

<<In Your Opinion Is Multitasking>>
(A) a GOOD thing
-or-
(B) a BAD thing

[Indighost]

I almost forgot to ask my question...

I'm getting a connection to Cingular half the time but the other half my phone displays "Emergency calling only".

I live in Dallas TX and Im using the Sim card from my Treo 650 on Cingular.

Any help?

Being a world tri-band phone (regarding GSM frequencies), and not a US tri-band phone, it lacks the 850 mHz band and replaces it with the 900 mHz. Almost all Cingular--and many former AT&T--towers utilize the 850 mHz band. The few towers that do push out at 1900 mhz are too few and far between for you.

The answer? Either move to a different part of the US with solid 3G access through Cingular (or even better, to a different country, you Texan!), or get a new phone, either US-dual (850/1900), US-tri (850/1800/1900), or a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900). Or keep the phone and wait until Cingular beefs up its 3G (CDMA) coverage in your area. Or migrate to a different provider with either enough 1900 towers to get you by, or 3G.

Complicated? Yes. But your problems, like everything else, will be bigger in Texas!

[Tony_Ensemble]

Being a world tri-band phone (regarding GSM frequencies), and not a US tri-band phone, it lacks the 850 mHz band and replaces it with the 900 mHz. Almost all Cingular--and many former AT&T--towers utilize the 850 mHz band. The few towers that do push out at 1900 mhz are too few and far between for you.

The answer? Either move to a different part of the US with solid 3G access through Cingular (or even better, to a different country, you Texan!), or get a new phone, either US-dual (850/1900), US-tri (850/1800/1900), or a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900). Or keep the phone and wait until Cingular beefs up its 3G (CDMA) coverage in your area. Or migrate to a different provider with either enough 1900 towers to get you by, or 3G.

Complicated? Yes. But your problems, like everything else, will be bigger in Texas!

Thanks a bunch,

That was what I suspected the problem is. So I have two big Texas sized questions for you...

(1) Is it possible that (because cingular thinks I am using a quad band Treo) that they have settings on their side that cause my phone to not stay connected to the 850 band.

(2) How do I find out which provider(s) in Dallas have a strong 850 network?

Tony

[Tony_Ensemble]

So apparently there is a new firmware update. R3A01. Supposed to improve things. I'm skeptical but tomorrow morning at work I'l linstall it.

How do I check to see if my phone has successfully upgraded the firmware?

[RxistKJ]

From the Home Screen-->More-->Status

Scroll down and confirm your firmware version R3A004

[Indighost]

Thanks a bunch,

That was what I suspected the problem is. So I have two big Texas sized questions for you...

(1) Is it possible that (because cingular thinks I am using a quad band Treo) that they have settings on their side that cause my phone to not stay connected to the 850 band.

(2) How do I find out which provider(s) in Dallas have a strong 850 network?

Tony

Tony...

1) I think it's highly unlikely. Actually I'm 99% sure there's no 'preferential band' setting (on the network end) for general users. But you could make sure by doing a manual network search when you do get the "Emergency Calls Only" message. If there's a Cingular-titled choice that shows up, then there is such a setting. But again, I'm almost certain there isn't.

2) Remember... you're not only looking for who's got a strong 850 mHz network (850's seen more in rural areas), but you could perhaps forget about 850 all together and look for a company who's got a strong 1900 presence. Again, manual search is what you need to do. Periodically, run a manual network search, and see whichever brand consistently shows up on the 'found networks' list.

Good luck my man! ...your American Bangkok-resident helper

[RxistKJ]

The answer? Either move to a different part of the US with solid 3G access through Cingular (or even better, to a different country, you Texan!), or get a new phone, either US-dual (850/1900), US-tri (850/1800/1900), or a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900). Or keep the phone and wait until Cingular beefs up its 3G (CDMA) coverage in your area. Or migrate to a different provider with either enough 1900 towers to get you by, or 3G.

You probably already know this but I'll state the obvious anyway: the M600i supports 2100mhz UMTS while Cingular's network is 1900mhz UMTS and so Cingular's 3G network will not work on the M600i.

I have read though that the FCC is going to have an auction for licenses for various spectrums including 3G on August 9th. Supposedly, T-Mobile is going to strongly bid on a 3G frequency license.

I guess we'll have to keep waiting or move...

[Tony_Ensemble]

You probably already know this but I'll state the obvious anyway: the M600i supports 2100mhz UMTS while Cingular's network is 1900mhz UMTS and so Cingular's 3G network will not work on the M600i.

I have read though that the FCC is going to have an auction for licenses for various spectrums including 3G on August 9th. Supposedly, T-Mobile is going to strongly bid on a 3G frequency license.

I guess we'll have to keep waiting or move...

Thanks guys, all that is useful information for me.

[Wrk_InProgress]

Can some of the posters who earlier in this thread noted that their M600i felt "incomplete" or were upset by a few key problems with their device, compare their original device with the new firmware ?

From what I've gathered from various boards - the new firmware answers nearly all the problems. From stability to speed to the ability to answer/end calls via the jogdail and back button.

[Tony_Ensemble]

Ok, I tried doing a manual scan for networks.

It comes back and says: 1 NETWORK FOUND: Cingular and I get this message,,,
"Registration to Cingular is Forbidden"

Thi

[hairy bottle]

hello all,
can anyone help advise where i can download new fw or patches for my m600i ? just bought last week but now very disappointed due to the numerous hang issue. kindly advise. thanks