R380

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Phil Lawrence - 15 Apr 2004 16:32 GMT

Can anyone give a constructive opinion on the old Ericsson R380. I was given
one yesterday as a gift by a network here in Estonia along with 110 Euros
worth of free calls as a promotion. Yes I do know that the phone is pretty
ancient and that it is rather limited in today's world. However it was a
phone that I quite fancied at the time when it was released and the only
thing that kept me from buying it was the price so I bought the R320 instead
all that time ago.

I use the Z600 as my everyday phone but I thought that the R380 might be a
useful emergency backup (the choice was R380, R320 or A2628 - I guess that
there was a big box of phones lying on some shelf somewhere in Tallinn
gathering dust!) in terms of functionality, but maybe I am completely wrong.

Comments?

Thanks in advance

Phil

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PDA Man - 16 Apr 2004 09:22 GMT

Excellent phone, in its day. (I had to throw that in to be realistic) I have
one and keep as a backup. great if you like to SMS and Text message. They
were being sold like mad here in USA for a while and I got one new for $50
USD and couldnt say no. (380W is GSM 900/1900 u probably got GSM 900/1800 )
Biggest problem in USA is that it is not GPRS so you need to have CSD access
(Only Tmobile does and who knows for how much longer. ) But if you have a
plan with alot of minutes , or free wekends and eve, u can do some WAP work
with it. Anyway, it is a fun phone, works great for messaging, just sucks
for battery life compared with whats availablle today. One thing I will say,
if you got it new in the box, the DATA cable, Desktop charger and case, are
all useable on the later model phones so thats a plus. (The case depends on
what phones u have) So, unless it was a matter of turning it down for
something newer, take the phone and have fun with it. (Its a great
Pre-Smartphone)

NOTE: If you go to www.sonyericsson.com they have all the software to set it
up to synch with your desktop, and otherv files. Also check out Floats
Mobile Agent, will work with cable or IRDA with it. also www.esato.com is a
good ericsson site as well as http://www.clubsonyericsson.com

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Eric B - 16 Apr 2004 15:06 GMT

Agreed. Great phone except you cannot upload stuff to it. The biggest
problem I have is that I can no longer find the Communications Suite
Software. The sony/ericsson does not have (they only have the service
packs) and I called Ericsson Canada directly and they do not have it.
If someone has it, I would love to get a copy. If someone else is
looking for it and I find it eventually, I would be more than happy to
send it.

Eric

> Excellent phone, in its day. (I had to throw that in to be realistic) I have
> one and keep as a backup. great if you like to SMS and Text message. They
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Mobile Agent, will work with cable or IRDA with it. also www.esato.com is a
> good ericsson site as well as http://www.clubsonyericsson.com

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Pete - 16 Apr 2004 15:54 GMT

>The biggest
>problem I have is that I can no longer find the Communications Suite
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>looking for it and I find it eventually, I would be more than happy to
>send it.

Eric,

On the R380 eGroup (now killed by Porn spammers) I constructed a mini
Comm Suite (50MB if thats Mini :o))).. from their 600MB? CD..

I still have it around if you want to e.mail me (firststep#clara,net).
I don't have a lot of web space so we'll need to split the file and
work out a method for you to get it..

Anyway if you need still it let me know.

I tried to share it as widely as I could but with the death of the
eGroup it is hard to keep it in circulation. So Its a one time offer
to you only as I'm going to archive it soon.

Pete
Spamblocking

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PDA Man - 16 Apr 2004 21:37 GMT

I was just at SONYERICSSON website. Everything for the R520m is still
available for download, including the Communications Suite, in fact 3
different versions. Full, limited and for Outlook. I have used that version
with my R380W (I have both models and it recognizes both phones no problem.)
Below is link to R520m site.
http://tinyurl.com/29py4
Also, Floats Mobile Agent (do a Google on Floats dont have link handy) will
work with the R380 series and Mobile Navigator ver 2.01 (They have a newer
release 3.0 but you want the older one, it is on the site underneath the
Version 3, scroll down) will work with R380w http://www.mobnav.com/ This
should keep ya busy tonite, grab a beer and have fun.
A site with links to some more software is http://www.clubsonyericsson.com/
go to their software section, has a link to Floats Mobile Agent.

> Agreed. Great phone except you cannot upload stuff to it. The biggest
> problem I have is that I can no longer find the Communications Suite
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> > Mobile Agent, will work with cable or IRDA with it. also www.esato.com is a
> > good ericsson site as well as http://www.clubsonyericsson.com

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Phil Lawrence - 16 Apr 2004 18:37 GMT

> Excellent phone, in its day. (I had to throw that in to be realistic) I have
> one and keep as a backup. great if you like to SMS and Text message. They
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> something newer, take the phone and have fun with it. (Its a great
> Pre-Smartphone)

Quite frankly the best part about owning the R380 is the fact that the
CDW-10 charger cradle/synch station is in the box. I have a Z600, my wife
uses the T68i and her dad pops in from time to time and he cherishes my old
R520. So all the family phones fit the CDW-10. Far better than connecting a
cable into the bottom of the phone - just deposit the phone into the cradle.

But seriously though, I had never realised how close the R380 was in
performance terms to the original Nokia Communicator. If only Ericsson had
had a little more street cred this phone could have really kicked some a.s.
As a confirmed SE fan I regret that I didn't spend a few quid more back when
I chose my R320 in 2001 (?). Don't get me wrong; the R320 was a superbly
stylish piece of kit, if not a little bit slow in its operation. But the
R380 was probably a cult icon of its time.

Anyway, next on my agenda is to buy a mint condition R310. That is a phone
which I would simply place on a shelf and exhibit as a style statement!!!!!

Phil

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matt weber - 17 Apr 2004 00:43 GMT

>Can anyone give a constructive opinion on the old Ericsson R380. I was given
>one yesterday as a gift by a network here in Estonia along with 110 Euros
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>there was a big box of phones lying on some shelf somewhere in Tallinn
>gathering dust!) in terms of functionality, but maybe I am completely wrong.

The R380 is quite capable, although it is a dual band (900/1800 or
900/1900). It lacks the whistles and bells, but as a telephone that
can send, receive SMS and the other garden variety stuff, no
complaints.

>Comments?
>
>Thanks in advance
>
>Phil

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