I would really like to know when the new T608 will be available for SprintPCS customers. Someone here has to have some inside info. Finally a CDMA bluetooth phone!

Hell yeah, I’m in NZ and WAS eagerly anticipating the release of this phone here, however rumour is that Sony Ericsson is pulling out of the CDMA phone market except for in USA and Japan. REALLY disappointing, since I'm a Wireless Data Engineer at work. The rumour has been confirmed by a few sources.
I know someone working for Sony Ericsson in the States, I queried him about the release of the T608 for PCS, which he believes is around late May early June, I asked if he could send me the phone here ,since we wont be getting it.

I must say data over CDMA much better than GPRS, even though the GPRS phones are better, I have a T68i.
Currently the only phone here in NZ offering CDMA Bluetooth is the Ericsson T60c with Bluetooth adapter, this phone is a PITA.

Well good to see someone interested in CDMA Bluetooth

cheers,
Jabz

Since I'm on Sprint, I've never used a Sony Ericsson phone before, how is the reception on those phones that have the internal antenna? I've heard that it's not so good? I currently have a Sanyo 4500 which I've been told (by sprint pcs employees) has the best reception of phones offered by Sprint. I feel that the Sanyo's reception is OK, I still get dropped calls once in awhile inside my house and even outside too. I'm afraid I might be disappointed with the T608's performance.

While we're asking...has anyone used the PCS Vision internet access? I'm mostly wondering how good the coverage and how reliable the speed is.

I use it from my Treo with a data cable periodically. Seems to be about 56k usually.

Well with the T68i which is a GPRS phone, when I first got the phone with the older firmware it was quite bad. At times I would miss calls since the phone; in my pocket was displaying low signal. A Nokia with internal antenna in the same area had better reception!

But after numerous software upgrades, about 5 revisions it is a LOT more stable I hardly get bad reception/call dropouts etc, since GSM/GPRS coverage here in NZ is almost 90% of the country.

It really does depend on the coverage areas of your carrier, in your case SprintPCS. CDMA in NZ is also almost 80% of the country, I don’t see that there will really be reception problems with the T608 especially in Auckland.

Since you say that the Sanyo with external antenna does give you problems, I wouldn’t be confident in recommending a phone with an internal antenna. However to be sure you'd really have to try it for yourself. Since we are comparing apples with bananas i.e. different phone brands different power/reception levels...

How is the reception on those phones that have the internal antenna? I've heard that it's not so good?

I have the T68i and have no problems with the reception. It works great for me. I'm on the cingular network and their coverage is the best I've experienced. I did have a nokia 6590i that had great reception as well. I sold that phone for the bluetooth capabilities of the T68i and I've seen no drop in reception at all. In addition to that, the talk time is amazing. Far superior to the nokia, by the way (not that the nokia wasn't good enough). It has about 7 days of standby time and 7 hours of talk time.





I feel that the Sanyo's reception is OK, I still get dropped calls once in awhile inside my house and even outside too. I'm afraid I might be disappointed with the T608's performance.


I'm afraid this is most likely not your phone. I had Sprint before Cingular and the reason I changed was due to dropped calls. The calls were crystal clear when I had service but the problem was when you change towers riding down the road you would drop a call. This became a problem for me as I use to drive 120-150 miles a day to work and school. I also have a friend who works for Sprint's Communications department and she will tell you the reception is not what it should be. With Sprint I don't think the phone is going to matter to much because of their signal strength.

Do you actualy get 7 days of standby time? My t68i says it'll get 7 days when you unplug the charger, but i don't think it has ever broken 4. Its been this way since I got it, and so it's not the battery. What is odd is that turning on bluetooth lowers the time estimates dramatically but the actual standby time.

Matthew

Do you actualy get 7 days of standby time? My t68i says it'll get 7 days when you unplug the charger, but i don't think it has ever broken 4.

I never go that long without charging it to be honest. I know it says that but it would be interesting to find out. I might have to test that.

What is odd is that turning on bluetooth lowers the time estimates dramatically but the actual standby time.

When I toggle my bluetooth on and off, it does lower and raise both standby and talk times. I usually keep the bluetooth on, though, because with 7+ hrs of talk time and 7 days of standby, who needs to worry about running out of battery? I have a charger at home, work, and a friend's house where I stay quite often. Battery life isn't an issue for me.

I should just learn to plug mine in, I guess. My real gripe is that it takes about four hours to go through the last hundred hours of standby time it thinks it has. This used to catch me every time, but now that I'm used to it, it doesn't bother me. I guess my feeling is that if they're going to make a time estimate, it should at least be vaugely correct.

Matthew

I use the Vision web access all the time on my Sanyo 5300 and its pretty good, it is usually around 56k as was said but it can jump up at times to extremely fast. Using the web access actually onthe handset is actually better than expected its by no means fast, but for simple tasks like weather look ups news, sports, stocks, and some we pages it works well.