Vario 3 Receoption Quality (vs se m600i)

[Guest andrewkeith5]

Hi

I am very interested in my next phone being a Vario 3 (on flext 20+web'n'walk plus), but...

...at the moment, I'm on orange pay as you go with a Sony Ericsson M600i ( a generic one). I don't get brilliant receptionmy m600i,but I do get a consistent 2/3 bars of 3G. The issue comes when I put a pay as you go T-Mobile SIM in the same phone. I can get a similar 3G signal but it fluctuates a lot and switches back to 2G frequantly.

So I need your opinion on how the Vario 3 performs with reception quality (preferrably in comparison to a sony ericsson anythingorother but i might be able to try my dads xda if i can get it off him for 5 minutes).

If the vario 3 doesn't perform at least as well, though preferrably quite a bit better, than my m600 then I'm gonna have to rethink as I'll eventually use it for my internet at university (i'll be checking out reception at uni just before i get the phone).

Out of interest, if anybody lives in birmingham or in Aston University halls, whats the T-Mobile reception like there? and can you get HSDPA?

for reference my postcode is OX9 3XS, and streetcheck says i should have "good" 3g reception. I get a reasonably consistent 3/4 bars when i put the phone up against my window.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

Edited November 25, 2007 by andrewkeith5

[Guest Boinng]

I went from a debranded SE M600i to a "V1615" (Vodafone's version of the Kaiser, aka Tytn II, aka Vario 3), and all I can say on reception is that I've noticed no difference at all. I still get 3G (or now H) in all the places I used to get 3G, plain old G everywhere else, and the occasional dropout in just the same places too.

Obviously this is all on Vodafone though, so I can't comment on Tmobile (or the Vario 3) specifically.

The Kaiser's a lot more fun than the SE... heavier mind, but worth it ;)

[Guest andrewkeith5]

thanks very much ;) i was hopsing you'd say something similar to that

its sorta disappointing that it'll probly keep dropping down to 2.5g in my room but I can live with that i suppose - i only relaly wanted the comparison between m600 and kaiser, so thanks for that

hopefully i'll be able to get rid of the m600i earlier next year then - its unbelievably boring, quite slow, and theres no software at all for it

thanks boinng - ooi what were your initial impressions coming from the m600?

[Guest jimbouk]

using a Vario3 in an area with questionable 3g reception on T is not the best idea - there atre loads of threads around here and elsewhere where people complain about their device not working for voice in areas of less than full reception.

[Guest Boinng]

thanks very much ;) i was hopsing you'd say something similar to that

its sorta disappointing that it'll probly keep dropping down to 2.5g in my room but I can live with that i suppose - i only relaly wanted the comparison between m600 and kaiser, so thanks for that

hopefully i'll be able to get rid of the m600i earlier next year then - its unbelievably boring, quite slow, and theres no software at all for it

thanks boinng - ooi what were your initial impressions coming from the m600?

Coming from the M600i -

The bad:

• Obviously heavier and thicker (still pocketable though IMO),
  
• On paper the screen has less colours (65k vs 262k on the M600i), but in use I haven't noticed this at all.
  
• The battery - it got a lot better after a few charges, as they always do, but I can't see it lasting as long as the M600i's. In normal use I get 2 days (just), it might just stretch to 3 if you don't use it!
  
• No IR, not that I've used that in about five years..
  
  • Camera! Viewfinder a bit sluggish, but better than the SE's! Pretty good pictures too.
    
  • Freeware! Lots of lovely apps to download and try, and the feeling that with this OS you can pretty much find whatever you need to do anything, and it'll work too..
    
  • Wifi! Free browsing at home/hotspot, much better...
    
  • Nice big screen, doesn't feel as cramped,
    
  • More useful (and customisable) home screen,
    
  • Activesync built in! Much quicker, easier, and more reliable than SE's horrible PC suite for syncing, no need to use 3rd party software for Exchange sync etc,
    
  • GPS, very useful, really works too - not a gimmick..
    
  • Nice scrollwheel and OK button on the left hand side, which happens to handily replicate the M600i's jogdial & back button (usefully "OK" in Windows Mobile seems to mean the same as "back" does in UIQ3!)
    
  • Lots of memory and horsepower, everything opens much quicker than on the M600i (especially mail, for instance) and I don't worry too much about what apps are left open,
    
  • More of a quality feel in the materials and finish - the weight helps a bit there - also the stylus is a lot less flimsy, and you get a spare, too!
    

  The slight dissapointments:

  [*]Wifi doesn't work in standby, which means it doesn't work for scheduled mail pickups or push mail while the phone's idling (it'll always open a GPRS/3G connection for this). No different in that respect to the M600i of course, but I'd expected a Wifi-enabled phone to be able to use it whenever possible. The Wifi only works when the phone is "on" (as in, when you're actually using it).

  [*]Video playback is slightly "choppier" than the M600i's. This might possibly improve in future firmware (apparently it's missing some video drivers at the moment).

  [*]The keyboard isn't quite the big improvement you might imagine... to begin with I didn't actually find it as comfortable as the M600i's qwerty. I'm a lot more used to it now and probably typing a little faster than I did on the M600i, but still a few details irritate me - like having to press the function key to get a comma!

  On the whole it all feels a lot more capable, and a lot more polished than the M600i ever did - it's a real business class device that does all the business stuff a lot better than SE have ever managed, and at the same time it has plenty of fun potential too. The fact that there's so much Windows Mobile support out there makes a big difference - the M600i was always in a bit of a software ghetto in comparison...

  IMO, bigger is better!

Edited November 26, 2007 by Boinng

[Guest andrewkeith5]

wow you guys give good responses! thanks very much!

i don't think the reception is questionable in my area - when it drops to 2.5g its permanently on 5 bars on the m600i, its just that 3g isnt as good as i'd like it to be. to be honest, i've just noticed that similarly orange seems to fluctuate between 1 and 3 bars in the same position, but its yet to have dropped back to 2.5g unlike t-mobile. i'll search in a second, but incase someone is reading and knows, do you have a link to the thread about the phone not working in questionable coverage?

[Guest jimbouk]

wow you guys give good responses! thanks very much!

i don't think the reception is questionable in my area - when it drops to 2.5g its permanently on 5 bars on the m600i, its just that 3g isnt as good as i'd like it to be. to be honest, i've just noticed that similarly orange seems to fluctuate between 1 and 3 bars in the same position, but its yet to have dropped back to 2.5g unlike t-mobile. i'll search in a second, but incase someone is reading and knows, do you have a link to the thread about the phone not working in questionable coverage?

Unfortunately you didnt understand my point. Vario 3's on T have a really annoying trait. If the 3g signal isnt very good, then the device thinks it can use 3g, but in reality it cant. As I said, go and read the threads here and elsewhere from Vario3 owners who's devices miss calls etc when their 3g signal isnt 100%.

I am sure it affects O's Tytn2's and V's 1615's too though...

[Guest Boinng]

I am sure it affects O's Tytn2's and V's 1615's too though...

Not to my knowledge - as I said above, my V1615 has pretty much identical reception to my old M600i - 3G and G in all the same places, and no evidence of it 'hanging on' to 3G where it isn't normally available. I should add, that's on the original Vodafone firmware and - now - the stock HTC rom. I've seen some conflicting reports on the T mobile problem - a lot of people, T mobile included, seem to be putting it down to problems with the network itself, or individual masts, which in some cases appear to be 'fixed'...

[Guest andrewkeith5]

hmm - sadly it sounds like one of those things where theres only one way to find out...oh well, its a good phone anyway:)