Travel Technology - Motoroa v600

I am with Cingular. Right now AT&T only has the v600. Any word on when Cingular might get it and whether it will be open so as to accept foreign pre-paid sims card? Also, what are differences in v525 and v600? I want Bluetooth and need a speaker phone. Beyond that I want the quad-bands. Have no need for a camera.

Cingular just bought AT&T Wireless in a merger deal. The announcement was made a few weeks before the v600's debut. You could always wait until the merger becomes finalized. Probably by then, Motorola will have released the phone to other carriers.

Cingular just bought AT&T Wireless in a merger deal. The announcement was made a few weeks before the v600's debut. You could always wait until the merger becomes finalized. Probably by then, Motorola will have released the phone to other carriers.

The merger may take years to be finalized.:( I want the phone NOW. My old phone is like sitting in coach. I demand an UG!!! Lot of good that will do me. :)

Since AT&T is not an acceptable carrier for me, I am trying to find out when Cingular will have it. Its sales people have no idea when. I figured FT regulars know everything so thought I would ask.

In this thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=283757

it's being mentioned that the AT&T one is being supplied unlocked, maybe you can get it there and move your SIM over.

[QUOTE=mshaikun]The merger may take years to be finalized.:( I want the phone NOW. My old phone is like sitting in coach. I demand an UG!!! Lot of good that will do me. :)

There is a open Yahoo group MOTOrox where everybody seems to be "flexing" their V400 and 500 Motorlas to V600. Voids the warranty, but they seem happy. I can't understand them technically or socially.

I just got a Cingular v400, and have been reading about "flexing" my phone. My old 7389 came unlocked and did all kinds of cool stuff that my v400 can't do (like display all available networks and let me pick one). My v400 is far better for normal usage.

Anyhow, these flex people are having a wide variety of experineces. I'm staying away from it.

howardforums.com is the place to look. Those people are nuts.

[QUOTE=mshaikun]The merger may take years to be finalized.:( I want the phone NOW. My old phone is like sitting in coach. I demand an UG!!! Lot of good that will do me. :)

There is a open Yahoo group MOTOrox where everybody seems to be "flexing" their V400 and 500 Motorlas to V600. Voids the warranty, but they seem happy. I can't understand them technically or socially.

Why wait, you can order one online today here:

http://www.4cellular.com/search/phone_detail.cfm?id=117

Why wait, you can order one online today here:

http://www.4cellular.com/search/phone_detail.cfm?id=117


Cost is $589 vs under $400 on AT&T. I suspect Cingular will have similar pricing and to save $200, I'll wait.

mshaikun, i am in the same boat. i have cingular and at&t just does not work for me. i would like a quad band phone but the v400 does not allow for multiple number entries per user in the address book so that does not work for me. does someone know if the v600 allows for that? if not, then its the sony ericsson t616 for me i guess.

Cost is $589 vs under $400 on AT&T. I suspect Cingular will have similar pricing and to save $200, I'll wait.

Yes, but this way you won't have to wait. I've purchased cell phones like this many times, some as much as $2500, if you really want it then the price isn't the issue.:)

AT&T just offered me a deal that is hard to turn down --

It allows me 2 phones for $49.98 with nationwide service plus usual goodies.

Cheapest Cingular deal is $10 more and 150 minutes short. Cingular does has rollover though.

Difference was an extra $150 credit Cingular offered me to pay car kit uninstall/install. The $10 savings covers that in 15 months.

for me 600 minutes without rollover beats 450 with. My usual useage is between 400 and 500 so I would not accumulate many rollover minutes. My only month in the last two years where I overshoot 600 minutes was 700 minutes. That would cost me $40 or 4 months savings.

So it looks like a better deal by pennies and I can have my phone NOW!!! So I am giving Cingular the weekend to add the v600 and if not I will likely move to AT&T.

I've been Cingular since 1990. Hate to move as customer service treats me far better than my useage justifies. BUT a gadget is a gadget and .... you know<g>!

I just left AT&T Wireless after being a customer since 1990 and went to Cingular. I travel all over the country and now have vastly superior service. Because I cancelled my service (without a contract) 3 hours into the new billing month, they charged me for a whole month of service and won't adjust it, even with the thousands of dollars I've paid them in 14 years. For Crappy Service. I will never do business with them again if the Cingular acqusition fails. DO NOT GO TO AT&T WIRELESS!!

I am giving Cingular the weekend to add the v600 and if not I will likely move to AT&T.

AT&T have exclusive distribution rights for the v600 for its US launch, and no one outside of them and Motorola knows exactly how long that will last. Since the phone has only been available for one week, I doubt that any other carrier will be able to sell it this weekend. JMHO.

I have to ask - why do you guys like the Motorola's so much? I think the menus are crap and really dislike the phones...

I just got a Cingular v400, and have been reading about "flexing" my phone. My old 7389 came unlocked and did all kinds of cool stuff that my v400 can't do (like display all available networks and let me pick one). My v400 is far better for normal usage.

Anyhow, these flex people are having a wide variety of experineces. I'm staying away from it.

howardforums.com is the place to look. Those people are nuts.

Sadly the missing network selection is NOT a function of the phone being locked. That's the Cingular SIM locking that feature out. If you flex your phone that should clear up that issue as well. My V600 does not lock out network selection. It seems Nokias are the only phones that respect the network selection lockout reliably... Motorolas seem to be software dependant which means some will do network select. Sadly no matter what the networks come up as Cingular or Cingular Extend so it's a guessing game as to what you are using.

I have to ask - why do you guys like the Motorola's so much?

Just my personal preference. I've only owned Motorola phones, and they have given me good use.

I have to ask - why do you guys like the Motorola's so much? I think the menus are crap and really dislike the phones...

I agree. They put a lot of work into making a useless UI. The V600 seems to be their first semi-decent phone. I've had pretty much all the GSM phones they ever made but never kept one longer than a week or 2.

I have to ask - why do you guys like the Motorola's so much? I think the menus are crap and really dislike the phones...


I need a speaker phone and want bluetooth. Any other suggestions of a GSM phone that has both? Also, I like quad bands for overseas use. The camera isn't a big plus for me.

I agree. They put a lot of work into making a useless UI. The V600 seems to be their first semi-decent phone. I've had pretty much all the GSM phones they ever made but never kept one longer than a week or 2.

Mine is now in the disassembly pile at work ;)

The lack of video encode (even in sw, horrible phone directory, nutty profile mangement and the not so great browser had me back on Series 60 Nokia 6600 in 2 weeks)....

Clearly Motorola UI engineers need to REALLY start using other companies phones... Samsung can do a descent UI for clamshell phones these days, why can't Mot...

I need a speaker phone and want bluetooth. Any other suggestions of a GSM phone that has both? Also, I like quad bands for overseas use. The camera isn't a big plus for me.

Nokia 6600 :) The 7610 which is forthcoming would have been a NICE Quad band intro from Nokia. However expect NO quad band phones this year from Nokia (UGH).

I considered getting the v600 but seems like a lot of people are having issues with the case of the phone developing a crack after minimal use.

See this thread:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=340222

I always "Say No To Crack"

My partner got his AT&T Motorola v600 with the bluetooth earphone and loves it. He signed up for the AT&T international plan ($3.95 month) for access to 7 cent per minute time (England and France included) from many parts of Europe. He is taking it to Australia Monday ($1.29 per minute!!!) for two weeks and will soon see if it works there.

The voice controls work well for him. He loves the earphone. The confernce features work well. The speaker phone is excellent. Talk time without using the speaker seems to exceed 6 hours. He did 4 hours in two almost non-stop sessions Friday and said he had 4 battery bars left.

The only weakness is AT&T in some areas. The phone will roam free to Cingular towers on many pricing plans which helps.

I am still holding out for Cingular, but may not wait much longer.

I needed a new phone and just signed up for new service with Orange France so I decided on the V600 for quad-band and bluetooth and the small size. I don't care about most of the other features. It's nowhere near as user friendly as Nokia, but I'll deal with it. Someday Nokia will have a similar phone. Someday...

One question. Do I have the latest software and if not, where can I download it? My SW version is TRIPLETS_G_08.09.1DR_A1 and the DSP version is 62E2E000. There is also a flex version? Is that for games?

I needed a new phone and just signed up for new service with Orange France so I decided on the V600 for quad-band and bluetooth and the small size. I don't care about most of the other features. It's nowhere near as user friendly as Nokia, but I'll deal with it. Someday Nokia will have a similar phone. Someday...

One question. Do I have the latest software and if not, where can I download it? My SW version is TRIPLETS_G_08.09.1DR_A1 and the DSP version is 62E2E000. There is also a flex version? Is that for games?

Newst firmware:

TRIPLETS_G_0B.09.38R

FLEX version SE6452AXXP10F9

So yes, you are in need of an upgrade.

Newst firmware:

TRIPLETS_G_0B.09.38R

FLEX version SE6452AXXP10F9

So yes, you are in need of an upgrade.

Thanks Scott. Any pointers to a website or FAQ for someone who has never done this with a GSM phone before? I've done firmware upgrades a plenty on higher end gear, but I would need download info, etc for the V600. I looked on the Motorola support website, but didn't see what I was looking for.

I'm pretty happy with my Sony Ericson t616, but when I converted the wife and daughters phones to GSM, my wife hated the Nokia 3200. The 19 year old loved it. Go figure. (I thought it was pretty nice, only bad thing is that some of the number keys are "shared" .. rock the key up for one number, down for the other. Other than that, it had the usual very nice nokia UI. Plus they onlyu cost me $23 each.) The wife said she wanted a "flip phone". ok, so I ordered a v600. It should have been here already but the numnuts at AT&T forgot to finalize the order when I ordered it early last week. I'm hoping for Wednesday now.

I'll check if it's indeed unlocked after I get a hold of it. (Assuming I can figure out how to check for it over on the howard forums. It's been a really long time since we had a Moto phone.)

My final cost was around $175 with my company 45% discount on equipment.

-David

I got the AT&T v600 today. I did a bit of searching on the Howard Forums, but I still have no idea how to tell if its locked or not.

But I did find out that it's relatively cheap and easy to unlock it. (no cable needed, apparently.)

-David

My V600 was easily unlocked by putting in an SFR chip and dialing a certain number and entering some codes.

okay I'm new here but I'm also from england and it seems to me that you guys are getting pretty much done over by your networks for the cost of your phones. I just got my v600 last week, we've had it in england for about 3 months now, and it didn't cost me a thing to upgrade to I stayed on my same talk plan that i've always had, why do you all spend so much on a phone that'll only last a year? but it is a great phone been having so much fun with it

okay I'm new here but I'm also from england and it seems to me that you guys are getting pretty much done over by your networks for the cost of your phones. I just got my v600 last week, we've had it in england for about 3 months now, and it didn't cost me a thing to upgrade to I stayed on my same talk plan that i've always had, why do you all spend so much on a phone that'll only last a year? but it is a great phone been having so much fun with it

You get a cheap phone, then get screwed every month on your phone bill.

Do you have an idea how cheap phone plans are in the US?

In the UK T-mobile offers 200 minutes for GBP29 per month ($53), in the US you can get 1000 minutes for $40, WITH unlimited nights, unlimited weekends and for just $6 you can add unlimited t-mobile to t-mobile AND unlimited text messaging. GPRS costs you 75p per KB, over here you can get unlimited GPRS for as low as $5 a month.

A similar plan as in the US will cost you around GBP150 per month in the UK.

So, what would you prefer, saving $300 on a phone, or paying $50 a month for 1000 anytime minutes, unlimted nights and weekends and unlimited GPRS?

Also, in the US the lifespan of a phone is much longer, most people here keep their phone for 2-3 years.

you do have a very good point, but my plans been around since the the beginng of time! well not really but I have a deal that's great, but I'm not here to brag. IN England plans might be a bit more expensive but then again so is nearly everything in england!! but when we can have the latest technologhy for free I think the overall effect is more balanced. We get poorer deals with talk plans but we have a considaerably better network coverage in england than most of amercia, we don't have to roam on other networks when we go to far away from our home town. So don't tell me the life span of the phone is more important to you than the latest tech otherwise half of you lot wouldn't be flashing upgrades on the software all the time and anyway all my old phones still work I just like having the new shiny phones every year plus my deal let's me upgrade early after 6 months if I want because of my usuage. IF only we could have amercian style plans with english phone prices and network coverage, it'd be perfect! ^ :-:

You get a cheap phone, then get screwed every month on your phone bill.

Do you have an idea how cheap phone plans are in the US?

In the UK T-mobile offers 200 minutes for GBP29 per month ($53), in the US you can get 1000 minutes for $40, WITH unlimited nights, unlimited weekends and for just $6 you can add unlimited t-mobile to t-mobile AND unlimited text messaging. GPRS costs you 75p per KB, over here you can get unlimited GPRS for as low as $5 a month.

A similar plan as in the US will cost you around GBP150 per month in the UK.

So, what would you prefer, saving $300 on a phone, or paying $50 a month for 1000 anytime minutes, unlimted nights and weekends and unlimited GPRS?

Also, in the US the lifespan of a phone is much longer, most people here keep their phone for 2-3 years.

One important item that you forgot to mention is that incoming calls do not deduct from your minutes in the UK.

One important item that you forgot to mention is that incoming calls do not deduct from your minutes in the UK.

Well, the flip side of that is that it costs the originator of the call much more to call you on a mobile vs calling to a land line. This makes people more hesitant to place calls to mobiles, or so I've always thought. Then again, that may not always be a bad thing. :D

you do have a very good point, but my plans been around since the the beginng of time! well not really but I have a deal that's great, but I'm not here to brag. IN England plans might be a bit more expensive but then again so is nearly everything in england!! but when we can have the latest technologhy for free I think the overall effect is more balanced. We get poorer deals with talk plans but we have a considaerably better network coverage in england than most of amercia, we don't have to roam on other networks when we go to far away from our home town. So don't tell me the life span of the phone is more important to you than the latest tech otherwise half of you lot wouldn't be flashing upgrades on the software all the time and anyway all my old phones still work I just like having the new shiny phones every year plus my deal let's me upgrade early after 6 months if I want because of my usuage. IF only we could have amercian style plans with english phone prices and network coverage, it'd be perfect! ^ :-:


Roaming on "other" networks hasn't been the case for US GSM since early 2000. I never said that **I** don't want a new phone, as someone who has been through well over 250 phones in my life I'm not an average user, I'm referring more to the general user in the US. As for better coverage, you need to remember that GSM has only been here for 8 years, the UK had it's first GSM network in 1994/1995, so it has a major advantage.

Keep in mind that "the latest technology for free" isn't completely true, SOMEONE is paying for the phone, and don't think it's the telco ;)

Competition in the UK is much stronger than in the US, oddly enough operators in the US don't seem to compete much for each others customers.