C600 no longer available - which alternative?

[Guest petec500]

Lost my beloved C600 recently, but thankfully insurance is providing a replacement. Trouble is, the C600 is no longer available it seems, so i'm being offered an imate SP5M, SP5 or Qteck8310. I cant work out which of these is best for my needs though, so a few questions for you:

1. Can all these phones be application unlocked - i ran TomTom Mobile on my C600, but it needs to be unlocked first.

2. What's the difference between the SP5 and the SP5M? From the spec' sheets i've found, they're identical other than the SP5M having dedicated music buttons and the SP5 is black rather than silver.

3. I think the Qteck 8310 is the same as the SP5 - this right?

4. Will all these phones work on the Orange network? I've only seen them available for O2 and Vodaphone.

Any further advice on which is the best phone or which specific features each has would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Edited July 25, 2006 by petec500

[Guest awarner (MVP)]

THe SP5 ans 8310 are the same phone, the SP5m is tha media version of the others so it's down to preference.

Who is offering you this replacement? as you would be technically getting the same device but with the added advantage of WiFi

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

My advice, get the SP5.

The SP5 is the same as the QTek 8310 but you get iMate's better support, the SP5M is the same with media buttons, but feels fatter and the keypad isn't as nice.

All IMHO of course. :)

P

[Guest petec500]

Thanks for the response folks.

I read in one review that the SP5M comes with MS Office applications, e.g. Pocket Word & Excel, but these aren't on the SP5. That would probably swing it to the SP5M for me.

The addition of Wi-fi is a definite bonus on both models.

I have to admit that the SP5 looks nicer than the SP5M, but they both appear to have the same dimensions - is there really a difference?

I'm being offered these replacements by the insurance company that acts on behalf of the onestopphoneshop, which is where i originally got the C600 and is apparently part of the carphonewarehouse.

The screens on these models are the same as the C600 aren't they? I really loved the screen on my lost phone - so much better than the C500 i had before.

[Guest]

Thanks for the response folks.

I read in one review that the SP5M comes with MS Office applications, e.g. Pocket Word & Excel, but these aren't on the SP5. That would probably swing it to the SP5M for me.

The addition of Wi-fi is a definite bonus on both models.

I have to admit that the SP5 looks nicer than the SP5M, but they both appear to have the same dimensions - is there really a difference?

I'm being offered these replacements by the insurance company that acts on behalf of the onestopphoneshop, which is where i originally got the C600 and is apparently part of the carphonewarehouse.

The screens on these models are the same as the C600 aren't they? I really loved the screen on my lost phone - so much better than the C500 i had before.

Unfortunatly pocket word and pocket excel are not available for smartphone (only for PPC) There are 3rd party readers (clearview suite) that will allow you to .... yes you guessed it, read word and excel and pdf docs but not edit them. In my experience I never got this suite with an imate device but I did get it with my qtek device. Of course the phone shop may be providing it themselves but I'd double check if its a big factor for you. My guess is you'll get it with the qtek version but not the imates.

BTW I'd go for the SP5 (or the qtek version) over the SP5m, I think the SP5m looks cheaper or more plasticy, the SP5 is a lovely phone.

hth

gR

[Guest petec500]

Thanks again.

Based on the advice given here, i've gone for the Qtech 8310. I agree that it looks better than the SP5M and i reckon i can live without the dedicated music buttons.