 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups General General TopicsGSMBluetoothProviders AlltelATT WirelessCingularFidoNextelSprint PCST-MobileVerizonManufacturers EricssonNokiaMotorolaCountry Specific Australian GroupUK GroupRelated Topics PocketPCPalmMore Topics ... |
Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / ATT Wireless / April 2004T226 vs T68i AT&T swap (my personal experiences)
OK, so AT&T sends me out a free T226 to replace my T68i (actually, to supplement it, since they don't actually require you to send the T68i back). So here's the scoop so far- #1: No question, the T226 gets *much* better reception than the T68i. I don't have any way of knowing if this is because AT&T is already laying in new 850mhz capabilities (which the T226 receives but not the T68i) or if the T226 is simply better with weak signals. (I should point out I live on the San Francisco peninsula; reception elsewhere may vary). #2: The T226 eats batteries for breakfast, lunch & dinner. Two days is about it before you're uncomfortable that it might run out on you. The T68i goes for a week at times, Huge difference between the two. #3: The T226 lacks bluetooth and voice dialing, both very nice features of the T68i. #4: The T226 is a reasonably ergonomic phone. Nice size, fairly easy-to-use buttons & menus. Buttons are a bit harder to push than on the T68i though. So where does that leave me? Reception is obviously a key issue with a phone, and the T226 has shown just how bad the T68i is in that regard, at least in my home (SF Bay Area) region. And, for kicks, I sent in my T68i for unlocking & a firmware update, to see if that would improve reception. Alas, no. The menus work considerably faster with the update, but the reception is just as bad. So for now, I'll be using the T226. The T68i has to stay though, since it has overseas capabilities that the T226 lacks. Ideally, I'd like a quad-band phone that would work both here and in France. Second choice would be a dedicated US (850/1900) phone with good reception & bluetooth. By the way, for any newbies (or simply people who don't know much about phones except how to use them) out there, with a GSM phone (like the T68i & T226), all you need to do to go from one phone to another is to swap out the SIM card that's found underneath the battery. If you keep your phone entries on the SIM, you'll still have access to your phonebook entries too. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > OK, so AT&T sends me out a free T226 to replace my T68i (actually, to > supplement it, since they don't actually require you to send the T68i back). [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > T226 is simply better with weak signals. (I should point out I live on the > San Francisco peninsula; reception elsewhere may vary). Here in Denmark where we have dual band (GSM 900/1800) it works perfectly, I rarely have signal problems with my T68i But maybe that's just because in Denmark we have excellent coverage almost everywhere, I might replace it with an UMTS phone as it seems to be the future, I might wait for the 4th generation... I'm not sure yet... <snip > > T226 is simply better with weak signals. (I should point out I live on the > > San Francisco peninsula; reception elsewhere may vary). > Here in Denmark where we have dual band (GSM 900/1800) it works perfectly, I > rarely have signal problems with my T68i > But maybe that's just because in Denmark we have excellent coverage almost > everywhere, I might replace it with an UMTS phone as it seems to be the > future, I might wait for the 4th generation... I'm not sure yet... I should have been more clear about something... when I had my T68i in France last year, I had no trouble getting a signal in even the remotest moutain regions (I was following the Tour de France and spent a fair amount of time in the Pyrenees, and was astounded that anywhere I wished on the Col du Tourmalet I had perfect reception!). Could be that the current AT&T network in the SF Bay Area is built out only on 1900mhz. In France, the beauty to roaming (via AT&T) is that you have access to all three networks (Orange, Byoung and I don't recall the other), so it gets the choice of whichever has the strongest signal. That could also be a benefit (for any multi-band phone in France, not just the T68i). --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > > OK, so AT&T sends me out a free T226 to replace my T68i (actually, to > > supplement it, since they don't actually require you to send the T68i [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > <snip Do you know how to set up one touch dialing on the t226? > OK, so AT&T sends me out a free T226 to replace my T68i (actually, to > supplement it, since they don't actually require you to send the T68i back). [quoted text clipped - 39 lines] > --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles > http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > Do you know how to set up one touch dialing on the t226? > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles > > http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com By the way ATTWS didnt send you anything. Sony Ericsson did as a courtesy to customers who had their equipment that did not support 850, a band that ATTWS will have overlayed all over their entire nat'l network by june of 04. Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so take it and be happy. > > Do you know how to set up one touch dialing on the t226? > > [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > > > > > So where does that leave me? Helping Sony get rid of a too large stockpile of T226's ? > > > Reception is obviously a key issue with a phone, and the T226 has shown > > just [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so > take it and be happy. >> Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so > take it and be happy.<< It's a free phone with half the features of the far superior t68 (which cost almost $200 IIRC). A fair exchange would have been the T616. Andrea ...and his hair was....perfect > >> Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so > > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so > > take it and be happy.<< > > It's a free phone with half the features of the far superior t68 (which cost > almost $200 IIRC). A fair exchange would have been the T616. Retail is $305 for the t68i with no deals. I will not state how I know that. however... does anyone know where I can buy a replacement LCD for a t68i? I can change it myself. I just need the parts. BTW, do you know if Nokia will be offering the same deal? > Retail is $305 for the t68i with no deals. I will not state how I know > that. however... does anyone know where I can buy a replacement LCD for a > t68i? I can change it myself. I just need the parts. I came across a number of UK companies that sell the LCDs (I believe pricing was under $40) when I was searching for repair parts for my T68i that went for a swim. In the end I was able to repair it myself, although the screen still shows a high-water mark. I *could* take it apart and clean it up, but it looks kinda cool and is a bit of a conversation piece... --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > >> Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so > > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Andrea > ...and his hair was....perfect Fair exchange? Maybe you dont understand..... the t226 was free. They just gave you a phone and had no obligation to do so. You want the t616 then you can buy it, but sony just sent out a free phone with no strings attatched and you can keep your old phone. Thats more than fair. There is nothing more ignorant than people complaing about something that was given to them for free. > Fair exchange? Maybe you dont understand..... the t226 was free. > They just gave you a phone and had no obligation to do so. You want > the t616 then you can buy it, but sony just sent out a free phone with > no strings attatched and you can keep your old phone. Thats more than > fair. There is nothing more ignorant than people complaing about > something that was given to them for free. Yes... and no. It's apparent that AT&T is moving capacity from 1900mhz to 850, at least in the SF Bay Area. My T68i is less-likely to hold a signal (or pick up one in the first place) now than it was six months ago. Thus AT&T sold me a phone (for $250) that *they* are essentially withdrawing support for. The T226, on the other hand, gets a phenomenal signal from the new network they're installing. So it all depends upon how you look at it. Does AT&T have a responsibility to support the phone they sold me, or simply a responsibility to provide me with adequate coverage? --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > > >> Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so > > > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > fair. There is nothing more ignorant than people complaing about > something that was given to them for free. > Does AT&T have a responsibility > to support the phone they sold me ? Only if they expect you to stay in contract. They have contractual obligations too. Written ones, implied ones, and common law ones. >>Fair exchange? Maybe you dont understand..... the t226 was free. They just gave you a phone and had no obligation to do so. You want the t616 then you can buy it, but sony just sent out a free phone with no strings attatched and you can keep your old phone. Thats more than fair. There is nothing more ignorant than people complaing about something that was given to them for free.<< I fully understand, actually I called S/E and told them NOT to send the inferior T226 (they did anyway). I ended up paying $89 for the T616 since I refused to settle for the "upgrade" ATTWS/SE sent me. Oh and by the way, the "string" attached was that you had to send back the T68 (in the supplied envelope). Andrea ...and his hair was....perfect SNIP > I fully understand, actually I called S/E and told them NOT to send the > inferior T226 (they did anyway). I ended up paying $89 for the T616 since I [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Andrea > ...and his hair was....perfect Actually you didn't have to send you T68i back. Sony-Ericsson called me and I told them I didn't know if I was going to use the T226 since it lacked certain features that the T68i had. They said no problem you're free to keep both phones. I like the reception of the T226 but I really would like to have Bluetooth and a couple of the other features of the T68i. I guess I'll upgrade to the T616 or whatever the next model is. Cheers TC > By the way ATTWS didnt send you anything. Sony Ericsson did as a > courtesy to customers who had their equipment that did not support > 850, a band that ATTWS will have overlayed all over their entire nat'l > network by june of 04. The S/E person I spoke to a few weeks ago was quite clear that while it was S/E sending out the phones, they were doing it at the behest of ATTWS. "They send us the list of customers and what phones to send to each one." It's not like S/E has any influence over what band ATTWS decides to use. > Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so i feel that there > should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so take it and be > happy. It's a free phone, but it is lacking in features compared to the phone ATTWS expects you to stop using. This makes it a "free downgrade" in my book. And yes, you are being forced to use it if you want your coverage to improve. ATTWS will let customers upgrade to a T616 for $99 and another two-year service commitment. Nice policy. It sent me to another carrier (I'm sure ATTWS is weeping over the loss of my piddling account :^). Nick  Signature# sigmask || 0.2 || 20030107 || public domain || feed this to a python print reduce(lambda x,y:x+chr(ord(y)-1),' Ojdl!Wbshjti!=obwAcboefstobudi/psh?') > > By the way ATTWS didnt send you anything. Sony Ericsson did as a > > courtesy to customers who had their equipment that did not support [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Nick Listen to me. Attws sent them a list to let SE know who had 1900 only SE phones. SE decided to send the t226. But neither ATTWS or SE had an obligation to send you a new phone w/o a contract ext. And you can still use the t68 for the features like bluetooth, just swap your sim, takes a second. I think its a great policy considering the company cost of the t616 is 219.99. Thats a discount of 120.00. So stop bitching. And you arent being forced to do anything. When Ford comes out with a new body style car with more free features are they obligated to upgrade your shitty version car for free? Nope. Why is this any different? And no they arent weeping, one less idiot to waste time complaing over how terrible it was that they got something for free. > Listen to me. Attws sent them a list to let SE know who had 1900 > only SE phones. SE decided to send the t226. But neither ATTWS or SE [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > time complaing over how terrible it was that they got something for > free. If Ford were to sell you a car that gas was no longer available for within the lease period (essentially similar to your phone contract) then yeah, I think people would have a right to complain. And AT&T 1900mhz service is going downhill FAST in the SF Bay Area. I don't know why this is so... whether they're replacing 1900mhz with 850 or what... but my T68i is rapidly becoming useless. Less signal strength, often ZERO signal strength in areas where getting a signal was no problem before. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > > > By the way ATTWS didnt send you anything. Sony Ericsson did as a > > > courtesy to customers who had their equipment that did not support [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > time complaing over how terrible it was that they got something for > free. > Attws sent them a list to let SE know who had 1900 > only SE phones. SE decided to send the t226. How do you know this for a fact? The SE rep I spoke to directly contradicts this claim. Why in Hades would SE send out phones when it's ATTWS who decided to render the T68i unworkable? > And you can still use the t68 for the features like bluetooth, just > swap your sim, takes a second. But what good does that do me if I don't have reception? > When Ford comes out with a new body style car with more free > features are they obligated to upgrade your shitty version car for > free? Nope. Why is this any different? What's different is that Ford doesn't sell a car that only drives on Ford roads, or roads made by companies that Ford has roaming agreements. Ford also doesn't switch out their roads with new roads that are not compatible with the car they sold me. Pursuing your analogy, Ford's "solution" is to send me a motorcycle to replace my family sedan, despite my having purchased the sedan for valid reasons. You just wrote the worst car analogy I've seen in a long time, which is something of an accomplishment. > And no they arent weeping, one less idiot to waste time complaing > over how terrible it was that they got something for free. I bet they're glad to have such friendly, insightful people as yourself arguing their case for them, though. Nick Signature# sigmask || 0.2 || 20030107 || public domain || feed this to a python print reduce(lambda x,y:x+chr(ord(y)-1),' Ojdl!Wbshjti!=obwAcboefstobudi/psh?') > > Attws sent them a list to let SE know who had 1900 > > only SE phones. SE decided to send the t226. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Nick Squirting some over free stuff is an accomplishment too buddy so dont short change yourself. Maybe next time the CEO will just ask you permission before going a new direction to help better the customers service. Instead they had the nerve to send out a free phone.What a bunch of a.sholes. You are busting on my analogy? You are crying like a woman about a free phone you got and how terrible it is that a business would make you pay for a better phone. Maybe they should just change the name to UNISEF Wireless, the first no profit cell phone company and let you have what you want.Im done with this. > Squirting some over free stuff is an accomplishment too buddy so > dont short change yourself. Maybe next time the CEO will just ask you [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > change the name to UNISEF Wireless, the first no profit cell phone > company and let you have what you want.. > Im done with this. You're not done with this until we say you're done! :>) In all seriousness, the issue isn't that AT&T sent us a free phone. The issue is that they rendered the $250 investment I made with them (on a T68i), only 8 months ago, useless. If they wanted to give me a discount on a new, similar replacement phone (such as a T616), great! But so far they want to sell me a T616 for about twice what they'd charge a new customer. Do you think it unreasonable to expect them to sell me a T616 for the same price as a new customer, if I agree to a contract extension? If not, why not? For what it's worth, assuming that the T616 has similar reception to the T226, I'd be one happy camper with that combo. I'd have working bluetooth again (which is the biggest issue with the T226; really, it's the *only* issue I really care about with the T226/T68i thing), and a phone with great reception. What more would anybody need? C'mon AT&T, make me happy! Throw this dog a bone. :>) --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com | For what it's worth, assuming that the T616 has similar reception to the | T226, I'd be one happy camper with that combo. With the R1B firmware (which I am sure a new T616 would have), it is one of the best, if not the best GSM phone available right now. I can only speak of the 1900MHz spectrum and not the 850MHz, but it is the only GSM phone that can make/receive calls at my place at the lake. Notable phones that either have literally 0 signal or can only get a voice mail indicator but not place a call there are Samsung s307 and x427, Moto v400 and t720, Siemens s56, Nokia 3595 and 6200. FWIW neither would my old Nokia 3390, but it was a brick anyway <wink>. > the best, if not the best GSM phone available right now. I can only speak of > the 1900MHz spectrum and not the 850MHz, but it is the only GSM phone that [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Nokia 3595 and 6200. FWIW neither would my old Nokia 3390, but it was a > brick anyway <wink>. I'd call that a ringing endorsement! Too bad the T616 only comes in a version with the camera, since there are some places that get kinda touchy about that. --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com > | For what it's worth, assuming that the T616 has similar reception to the > | T226, I'd be one happy camper with that combo. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Nokia 3595 and 6200. FWIW neither would my old Nokia 3390, but it was a > brick anyway <wink>. | > the best, if not the best GSM phone available right now. I can only speak | of [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] | version with the camera, since there are some places that get kinda touchy | about that. I too wish you could get one identical to it without the camera. I have no use for it, not to mention the quality is horrid. I have yet to run into any problems areas (my work makes military parts, but has never came out and said we couldn't have them), but I am sure I will in the future. It would suck to have to carry two phones ans swap the SIM. The T616 for all the weak areas, and another for security prone areas. SNIP > In all seriousness, the issue isn't that AT&T sent us a free phone. The > issue is that they rendered the $250 investment I made with them (on a [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Chain Reaction Bicycles > www.ChainReaction.com Mike, you hit the nail right on the head as far as I am concerned. Yes I am happy that ATT tried to do the right thing and sent me a phone that has better reception. But, as you stated, I'd have to give up some features such as Bluetooth that were a primary reason for going with the T68i in the first place. Other than reception the T68i does everything I need a phone to do. The T616 looks like a great follow on and is probably what I will go with but not until the prices come down a bit. I have been an ATT customer for nearly 9 years now and my contract has often been at the $100 level or above. I don't expect ATT to give me a free phone but it sure would have been nice to get a good discount on the T616 instead of the free T226. I personally think their policy of favoring new customers over long time customers sucks. Cheers TC > You are busting on my analogy? Yeah, because the flaws in your analogy show the flaws in your reasoning. > Im done with this. Good, I'm glad you've decided to stop defending the indefensible. Nick Signature# sigmask || 0.2 || 20030107 || public domain || feed this to a python print reduce(lambda x,y:x+chr(ord(y)-1),' Ojdl!Wbshjti!=obwAcboefstobudi/psh?') > By the way ATTWS didnt send you anything. Sony Ericsson did as a > courtesy to customers who had their equipment that did not support > 850, a band that ATTWS will have overlayed all over their entire nat'l > network by june of 04. Its a free phone with no strings attatched, so > i feel that there should be no fussing about it at all. It was free so > take it and be happy. all understood. but it is miss-leading to call it an "upgrade". i am glad that i checked the specs first before i would have eventually sent the 68i back. i got that one specifically for international roaming, ir. i think the 226i is sh... - only upgrade are the ring tones, it looks cheap. peter. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.