cell phone review sites

[cfitz]

Anybody know any good sites that review cell phones?

cfitz

[BuddhaTB]

My dad always seems to like cnet for their reviews on consumer electronics.
http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics ... es.7716980

Go with a Motorola flip phone.

[cfitz]

Thanks BuddhaTB, but I was hoping for something beyond the standard cnet fare. Somehow over the years I have developed a bias against them. I guess I've disagreed with their opinions too many times.

cfitz

[BuddhaTB]

Thanks BuddhaTB, but I was hoping for something beyond the standard cnet fare. Somehow over the years I have developed a bias against them. I guess I've disagreed with their opinions too many times.

That's fair. I've disagreed with them too concerning computer hardware and other things.

Like yourself, I tried searching the net for a good and comprehensive cell phone review site, but was unable to find anything good. I think your best bet might be to read reviews from numerous sites to see which phone fits your needs the best. If I do find a site that does look good and helpful, I'll make sure to post it.

Personally, I don't have a cell phone for myself yet. Like who would call me in the middle of class anyways.

[dodecahedron]

i'm a die-hard Nokia fan.

[F1Pilot]

Heya cfitz...
I'm not sure about any comprehensive review sites. Maybe you can post the features that you're looking for? Maybe then members could post what they have up against what you're looking for?

I just got the Nokia 6340i. Nice...compact. I'm thinking about upgrading in a few months, though...to one of those color ones with the PDA on it. so that I don't have to carry my Palm Pilot that I have now.

[cfitz]

Thanks everyone.

First, it isn't for me, it's for a friend. I'm almost in BuddhaTB's boat. I do have a cell phone, but it is a 5-year old brick-sized (slight exaggeration) analog-only phone that I store in the car for emergencies only (it only cost $20 + $7 a month service plan). My friend has slightly higher aspirations. She was interested in one of these do-everything smart phones - cell phone, PDA, email, web browser. Another friend recommended the Kyocera QC6035 to her, but apparently that is an old model that probably is not for sale anymore. I guess the 7135 supercedes it.

I will keep checking here for additional suggestions.

cfitz

[cfitz]

I suggested that she also look into enhanced phones that include internet and email access along with expanded phone book/address book/calendering/to do lists/PC synchronization, but not full PDA functionality. I figured that subset of features might be sufficient for her needs. So I would welcome input from anyone who has such a phone as well.

cfitz

[egomaniacal1]

hey cfitz check this site:

http://cellphones.about.com/

i love this site becuz they turned me on to my fav. cellie.....the Toshiba/Audiovox CDM-9500!! Check it out

[cfitz]

Thanks egomaniacal1, I'll forward that one as well. I like the little test for your ideal cell phone match feature.

cfitz

[UALOneKPlus]

cfitz, check out www.howardforums.com and www.howardchui.com

[cfitz]

Thanks UALOneKPlus. Another useful resource.

cfitz

[manni]

Club-Siemens and GSMarena.com are very useful sites. Remember when you are buying a phone, Siemens makes quality German mobiles.

[cfitz]

Thanks manni. My personal need for advice has passed now, but it is still useful information for others.

cfitz

[dodecahedron]

i'm a die-hard Nokia fan.

just upgraded my ancient Nokie 6120 of 4 years ago to Nokia 6100.

this phone looks great.
i guess this weekend i'm gonna spend some time messing with it, exploring the options, tinkering etc.

[UALOneKPlus]

I've changed so many cellphones I'm really sick of it.

You'd think there'd be really easy ways to transfer all the contacts from one phone to another (only GSM makes this easy), but NO, you have to do it one by one, or buy an expensive data cable.

I've stopped switching cellphones because of the hassle.

[dodecahedron]

doesn't the vendor do this for you?
or the cellphone company?

[Bhairav]

Woo! Nice phone, dodecahedron! I just got a Nokia 3530.Nice, with a colour screen and polyphonic ringtones+GPRS. I'm posting this using the cell as my computer modem .
cfitz, here's a nice review site you might want to try out:

www.imobile.com.au

[dodecahedron]

the Nokia 3530 is not sold in Israel.

from the recent models, the only ones with a color screen, Java apps, polyphonic sounds (whatever that means) are the 3510i which i didn't like, and now (very recently) the 6100.
the 7210 is to be sold here in the near future, or so rumors say. but i like the 6100 better.

the 6610 looks great too, and for a while it was on the importer's website (as a model that isn't sold in Israel. but if it's on the website it must mean it's being considered for distribution). it was my choice and i was waiting for them to bring it. but then they removed it and put the 6100 instead. so i went for that. 6100 is great too.

anyway i couldn't wait any longer. my ancient 6120 was falling to pieces. tha battery clip was bad, it kept turning itself off at random times (even in the middle of calls! ) and i didn't want to buy a new battery for a phone i'm just waiting to ditch.

in www.nokia.com there are many more models that aren't sold here...only 1 importer AFAIK and he makes his selection...
i don't see a 3530 there, i'm assuming it's similar to the 3510i

[Bhairav]

Yep, it's the replacement for the 3510. It has a colour screen. Polyphonic tones:This basically means that instead of the individual ring-tone notes you hear on older phones like the 3310 are now combined. Makes for a more lifelike musical experience

http://www.nokia.co.in/nokia_apac/india ... 1,,00.html

There's a review for it @ CNETAsia:
http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/handphones ... 00p,00.htm.

It's a nice phone. Cost me Rs 6800, which is about 140$ US, without a service plan.

[F1Pilot]

Does anyone here own a Nokia 3600/3650? I'm tempted to get one...soon.

[dodecahedron]

bhairavp, checked out the Nokia.co.in site (as well as the nokia.com one).
it seems that in India there's a very good selection of Nokia models.

here in Israel, alas, there is only one importer and the selection is rather limited.

the 3530 of yours definitely looks much nicer than the 3510i (although i suspect that the functionality is very much the same).

[Bhairav]

Dodecahedron, that's a pity. I wonder why they don't have a larger presence in Israel? It'd probably be a rather large market, right? What about the "grey" market? That refers to the unofficially imported (smuggled ) handsets. Don't you get those?
The 3530 is better than the 3510 ->colour screen and GPRS! That's pretty important, cos I'm losing my computer connectivity @ MBA school, and I won't get much Internet access time there.

[dodecahedron]

i don't think there's much of a grey market. or more like, any at all.
anyway all (or nearly all) cellphones are sold through the 4 cellular phone companies or their official vendors.

Nokia does have a significant share in the market here.
but still these things are rather expensive. for example, the 3510i costs something like $270 spread over 36 payments. so there's not much point in importing a multitude of different and expensive models. a smaller selection suffices for the importer.

the 3510i does have a color screen and polyphonic sounds and GPRS.

[Bhairav]

i don't think there's much of a grey market. or more like, any at all.
anyway all (or nearly all) cellphones are sold through the 4 cellular phone companies or their official vendors.

Nokia does have a significant share in the market here.
but still these things are rather expensive. for example, the 3510i costs something like $270 spread over 36 payments. so there's not much point in importing a multitude of different and expensive models. a smaller selection suffices for the importer.

the 3510i does have a color screen and polyphonic sounds and GPRS.

Oh, I didn't know that about the 3510i. Anyhoo, that isn't even available in the market here. So I went in for the 3530. Can't afford a 6100 yet