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My Z200 Review |
DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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My Z200 Review
I just picked up a Z200 and decided to fill everyone in on this low end phone.... sorry no high quality pics but can upload a few taken by an e715 or 6600 later.
It's SE so the first thing people will want to know about is RF.
RF/call quality
It's good not great but good. THe best SE rf phone i've used to date has been the t226. only talking about 1900 (no 850 in my area)
I use my room (basement) as the main tester. (i don't have a real way sorry) but most SE's on FIDO and ROGERS usually drop signal and go into SOS mode. My t68, t300, t610, p800 did it all the time as did my s105. Even my 3650 and 6600 sometimes do it. but recover fast. So this is on par with my t616 and t226. ranked in this order 1)t226 2)z200 3)t616 (no z600's or p900's yet)
It hold a signal well and seems to recovers fast when lost. Overall I'm very impressed with the rf. Most SE's i've had fade in and out and people complain they can't hear me.. no complains yet with the z200.
The volume is a little soft in the earpiece but i still manage to hear well. Very clear no buzzing noises or feedback.. my 3595 and t226 had a little distortion in the background.
Build quality
It's good, very light but yet very solid. The interchangable faceplate doesn't budge and the battery cover doesn't slide around. I'm using the blue faceplate and it has a nice feel to it.
(the t300, and nokia 3650 had a terrible battery cover)
Pretty comfortable to hold and not that big IMO. but most people will disagree. However i think they did waste a lot of space with the design. BUt i guess that's the look they wanted. (Cute bubbly look)
I think it's gonna look strange with the styleup faceplates though cause the colors will be all funky but the base will still be silver and blue... They should have made is all changeable or the body one color IMO.
The screen is 4k and pretty good. I think it's STN. It's bad in direct sunlight but not as bad as the t610/6 series. More like the t68/300 series. It's better than most 4k screens I've seen. It's bright but not as bright as the 7250 screen. But it is better. (smaller pixels i guess?)
it's better than the
siemens m55, sl55/56 screens
moto t720
and nokia 30/40 series.
(i think that's virtually all 4k screens out there right so i guess it's the best)
the screen could be bigger though. That's one major complaint i have... They have all this wasted space they should have made the screen bigger. Cause when it flips open the the small screen is pretty pathetic compared to the rest on the body. I know it's a low end phone but still it would have been nice if the screen was bigger.
external screen
it's a light blue in color but the faceplate has orange tinted glass giveing it an orange glow to match the internal keypad.
simple, stylish and useful. the volume sliders on the side toggle from time (analog clock ) to reception/battery screen
functions
40 polys and the sound is nice and loud... not as loud as the sammies.. but i don't think anyone will generally miss a call. the vib is a little weak so silent mode may result in a few miss called.
menu navaigation is pretty good with the new keypad and the o/s is pretty fast. it's 3x3 but follows the t610/616 layout.
connectivity
the irda is crippled!!!!! (i can't believe SE did this) following nokia's foot steps big let down!
maybe it's just a firmware fix away though i hope!
It cannot recieve large files for example all pics i sent were denied. Ringtones went through ok though. Also it doesn't tell you anywhere how much memory is available.
It does not sync to pc through irda... my pc does not detect it. SO you cna't send from PC. maybe datacable... but my old t68, t300 and t610 could detect and send without any additional softwrae via irda.
comes with 3 morphun games but does not look like you can add more at this point in time.
golf, aliens scum and honey cave 2
Phonebook
It's not normal SE. it doesn't do the groupings like before.
Also does not support V cards. You can't send contact info over from another phone via irda.. very disappointed.
I like the old grouping
BOB
(h)xxx-xxxx
(w)xxx-xxxx
(c)xxx-xxxx
new is
bob home xxx-xxxx
bob work xxx-xxxx
etc...etc...
other info
t9 is a decent speed.
>*<*<<* doesn't work anymore.. unless i forgot the code.
overall impression
it's a good phone, cute yet stylish looking.. I can't wait for the red/white package.
this phone is nothing fancy and gives the basics and does it well.
the connectivty is kinda crappy but i guess it's what the service providers want.. ($$$$$$) and also saves SE $$$$
the price should be very attractive in the near future.
I'd give it a 7 out of 10
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jrmi
Joined: Nov 22, 2002
Posts: 78
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Nice comprehensive report.
I am also considering of buying one. However, the connectivity problem
is giving me second thoughts. Guess you have to have a T610 or a Z600 to transfer pictures you want from say, a PC to a T610 or a Z600 then to the Z200 in order to get a picture you want in the phone. |
lazarini
Joined: May 08, 2002
Posts: > 500
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How much did u pay for it ?
This message was posted from a Nokia |
Sony Ericsson Indonesia
Joined: Oct 08, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sony Ericsson Land
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Quote:
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>*<*<<* doesn't work anymore.. unless i forgot the code.
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i thought it was >*<<*<* |
DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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Yes a little rusty with the SE codes... i've become a nokia smartphone fan. BUt i saw my first live p900 and like it a lot. (just waiting for the price to drop)
i paid about $325 cad about $250 usd. |
Ayush
Joined: Sep 12, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Hyderabad, india
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No there isn't mms really...
This message was posted from a T300 |
DragonEye
Joined: Sep 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Canada
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update... pc connectivity does work... i tired it again today and it was ok.
i know the exact details now on what the phone can and cannot recieve.
anything over 10kb in size will be too large
morphun games and unreconginzed by the z200.
the servive menu works and tells you flip count
pics will have to be resized to suit the screen i sent a 640X480 and it chopped most of the pic off. the quality is good though.
gonna try a master reset with a 13 sec trick soon to see what happens... there's about 20 predefined pics( 4 pics 16 stupid black and white smiley things), and 10 ringtones 4 midi and 6 regular.
so the irda is not completely crippled but you'll never be able to recieve pics from another phone since most are greater than 10kb.
NO MMS maybe in the future?
[ This Message was edited by: DragonEye on 2003-12-28 17:07 ] |
Ayush
Joined: Sep 12, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: Hyderabad, india
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My advice is pls. don't molest the phone by doing the 13 sec trick master reset thingy...
Ayush  |
LukeSky
Joined: Dec 22, 2001
Posts: 40
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Hey dragoneye, u said that ringtones uploaded to the phone by IR works ok, so how many ringtones did u try uploading? Cos someone who had the phone said that only 1 ringtone could be uploaded, is it true?
[ This Message was edited by: lukesky on 2004-01-06 14:56 ] |
FRiC
Joined: Mar 27, 2003
Posts: 123
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Regarding the 10K size limit. The limitation exists whether you're transferring from another phone or a PC. Actually, the Z200 doesn't know what you're transferring from, since IrDA is IrDA.
What are the chances this will be fixed? Phones are supposed to bring in revenue for operators, and ringtone and wallpaper downloading is highly lucrative...
(edit)
Strangely, just noticed all the pictures that come with the phone are 10K.
[ This Message was edited by: FRiC on 2004-01-20 02:16 ] |
Fahed_2000
Joined: Feb 12, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: UK - London
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about three weeks ago one of my friends got one for and equilelent to £150, and it does have mms; great phone i guess it looks much smaller and way nicer than it does in picture, also it it very easy to use and the colours are attractive, she was very happy with it
Good Shit, Bad Shit, It's all Shit |
FRiC
Joined: Mar 27, 2003
Posts: 123
PM |
Sorry, the Z200 does not have MMS, and does not support CommuniCams.
Regarding the 10K file size limit again. Downloading a >10K file over WAP also doesn't work, so looks like a firmware upgrade is in order...
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DharmsP2003
Joined: Dec 28, 2003
Posts: 8
From: Walsall West Midlands
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Its >*<<*<* and <**< for sim locks |
FRiC
Joined: Mar 27, 2003
Posts: 123
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Quote:
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On 2004-01-06 15:50:37, LukeSky wrote:
Hey dragoneye, u said that ringtones uploaded to the phone by IR works ok, so how many ringtones did u try uploading? Cos someone who had the phone said that only 1 ringtone could be uploaded, is it true?
[ This Message was edited by: lukesky on 2004-01-06 14:56 ]
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Unlike other SE phones, the Z200 doesn't allow you to upload unlimited numbers of ringtones and pictures until you fill up all free memory. It only has 50 slots for pictures and 16 slots for ringtones. Since it comes with 15 preloaded ringtones, you can only upload 1 if you don't delete some of the preloaded ones.
Incidentally, unlike the Z600, the Z200 doesn't have a separate speaker for ringtones. It uses the earpiece like the T300. But the volume is much louder and the ringtone doesn't fade in. MIDI files that I've increased the volume for use as ringtones in the T300 are much too loud for the Z200 and will make the speaker crackle.
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LukeSky
Joined: Dec 22, 2001
Posts: 40
PM |
Quote:
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On 2004-01-20 09:58:26, FRiC wrote:
Quote:
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On 2004-01-06 15:50:37, LukeSky wrote:
Hey dragoneye, u said that ringtones uploaded to the phone by IR works ok, so how many ringtones did u try uploading? Cos someone who had the phone said that only 1 ringtone could be uploaded, is it true?
[ This Message was edited by: lukesky on 2004-01-06 14:56 ]
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Unlike other SE phones, the Z200 doesn't allow you to upload unlimited numbers of ringtones and pictures until you fill up all free memory. It only has 50 slots for pictures and 16 slots for ringtones. Since it comes with 15 preloaded ringtones, you can only upload 1 if you don't delete some of the preloaded ones.
Incidentally, unlike the Z600, the Z200 doesn't have a separate speaker for ringtones. It uses the earpiece like the T300. But the volume is much louder and the ringtone doesn't fade in. MIDI files that I've increased the volume for use as ringtones in the T300 are much too loud for the Z200 and will make the speaker crackle.
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so can u delete all 15 preloaded ringtones and all 50 pictures?if not, how many preloaded ringtones n pics can u delete? |
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Posted: 2003-12-28 06:43
