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(PH)Just played with the K700.1st impressions |
jplacson
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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I got to try the new K700 last night at an SE fashion show presentation.
It's all right. I like the way it feels in my hand. I also like the 2-tone keypad light with the circular inlay.
I do NOT like the menu though, as it STILL suffers the dreaded Ericsson lag... this time, it's back with a vengance. I sure hope that the final release of the SW will be VERY different from the model I tried (still sporting the Z1010 name)
It was horribly SLOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW... and in case you're wondering how slow... to all real Ericsson/SE fanatics... think T28.
The video isn't that impressive... but then again, what celfone video cam is? The camera is at par with the P800/900 series... the flash (or flashlight) is pretty neat, but only useful for object 1-2 feet away from the cam.
Other than the video part, I honestly prefer the T610/T630 as an over-all phone. The K700 is a good replacement, but not a knock-out one. The built-in radio is ok... I guess a lot of people still listen to the radio... but I fail to see the advantage of having it "built-in" the phone... when you still need to use the ear-buds to hear the radio anyway... how different is this from SE's old offering of the FM radio attachment?!?!
Anyway, SW gripes aside, it's a decent phone. I'd still get a P800/900 over it... but that's only because I've grown dependent on the memory capacity, and the 3rd party apps that are available for UIQ.
If I only wanted a phone, the K700 would be it... second place would go to the black T630.
Anyway... this is just MY review of the K700. 32MB is pretty good, could've added a Duo slot instead of the dumb radio though... but that's that. SW is still way too slow. They'd better fix that one or it'll make the K700 another disaster. :s
As for me... I'll wait for the P900 replacement. | |
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Dj Boyi
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Liberty City
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Did you check the free memory then?
If nobody wants it.. put it on eBay. |
buckle247
Joined: Jan 02, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: UK: OXON
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if it is still using z1010 software you can only hope its own SW will be a lot quicker. Admitidly i have never been too fussed about the menu speed on the t610 and have managed to live with the slow speed due to the phone being great, but recently it has started to annoy me a bit. Still can't wait for the phone to be released though 
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Dj Boyi
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Liberty City
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Just go back to playing with a t68/i for a minute or two and you'll be glad of the t610 speed after that 
If nobody wants it.. put it on eBay. |
ephil_24
Joined: Nov 17, 2003
Posts: 282
From: In my field of paper flowers..
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@boyi
You're so damn right! When going back to my T300 I'm soooo happy with my T610's speed 
PS: I believe the final sw will be quite faster.. or at least I hope so  |
buckle247
Joined: Jan 02, 2003
Posts: > 500
From: UK: OXON
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lol, can't remeber what the t68i was like, sometimes i regret selling the phone  but needed the cash at the time to help get the t610
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draak1
Joined: Feb 08, 2004
Posts: 193
From: The Netherlands Roermond
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To jplacson.
Very strange review of yours.
Are you sure about the SLOOOOOW Menu??
Accoording Eldar
"The main menu is presented with four rows of icons, three in each row. Unlike the previous versions icons look prettier, they are better drawn. Most likely this is due to higher screen’s resolution. In main menu manufacturers decided to review the animation, while moving from one item to other circle which will highlight current item will appear. Animation is extremely pleasant and is not annoying at all, even if you use the phone for long term. Surfing through the menu speed deserves separate praise, no slow downs, everything works surprisingly fast. The user can use fast number navigation in case he wants to, this way road to the required menu item will take only 1-2-3 seconds."
Are you sure about the Video player??
"Presence of bookmarks can be considered as advantage. They allow quickly moving from one picture taking mode to another, as well as video capture. The phone can record video clips in 3GP format, sound will be recorded as well. The clips themselves look nicely on the screen, most likely due to the screen’s superb quality. They look even better than those who were recorded on Nokia 6230. Upload of video clip from Sony Ericsson K700 to Nokia 6230 showed that Nokia has worse screen, the clip was displayed worse, picture’s quality was not as good as expected. On the other hand such video clip quality can never be recalled as being good you can’t expect much from them. K700’s peculiarity is sensitive microphone, recorded sound’s volume while being played on PC is extremely loud. Video clip’s recording time for our firmware version was limited by 30 seconds, in future versions this limitation may be removed, in that case recording time will be limited only with the amount of available free memory."
And yes it is the same firmware.
Are you sure you have the K700??
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McKinley
Joined: Feb 23, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: Sweden, USA Los Angeles CA
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Regarding menu speed. I highly doubt in your words!
I have test the SE Z1010 and I was very, very surprised how swiftly it responded to my commands and I really can't see how it can be possible with this "sloooow" menu in K700 as you mentioned.
You do NOT need ear phones to listen to the radio, it is possible to turn on the speaker.
So your statement is very wrong.
[ This Message was edited by: McKinley on 2004-04-24 01:22 ] |
jhermano
Joined: Mar 19, 2002
Posts: 62
From: Alabang, Philippines
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Hey JP,
Any info on the price? |
superunknown
Joined: Nov 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
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thanks for the review:)
This message was posted from a T610 |
jplacson
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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I never said the T610 was slow (it is, but bearable) ... the T610 and T630 are faster than the K700... regardless of whether the memory was full or not... that would be a stupid excuse of SE if they used the "full memory" crap... it's 2004 people... not 1984.
I've never tried the Z1010 so I can't compare menu speed.
I don't mind the menu animations on the K700... I actually like them. Like I said, it's 2004, and I EXPECT phones to perform better than before. But... as much as I like all the little graphics and animations, I don't want menu speed to suffer.
When I first got my P800, I was almost afraid that even SE's flagship phone would suffer from menu lag... I'm glad it wasn't. Maybe I was spoiled by the P-series... but then again, why should it even matter?
The K700 that I played with (there were 4 units, I tried them all just to be sure it wasn't just one phone) was really slow. Like I said, T28 speed. T9 was a bit better than on the older T68(i or m) ... but then again, that's not a good comparison by today's standards.
What I could never understand is that, since the day Ericsson shifted to their 3v platform (T28) ... their menus have slowed down... maybe it's a battery thing? Maybe it's just bad programming? I don't know... but I can say that from the 5v to the 3v platform, the menu lag increased by at least 12ms ... some phones even more. The OLDER 688 and 788 (and even Sony's old phones) never suffered from lag. Now that CPUs are getting faster and cheaper... why is lag suddenly an issue?!?!? Why do I have to WAIT for the phone to respond? That shouldn't be how cutting-edge phones work.
I wasn't floored by the K700... like I said, other than the video aspect, I'd prefer the T610 or T630... mainly because in everyday use, the menu lag would just be too annoying.
And like I said, since the SW still indicated "Z1010", I'm assuming (and hoping) that the lag is due to the fact that the SW was written for a faster CPU. And I hope SE solves this problem.
Menu speed may be relative to the user. I may demand too much... gauge for yourselves when you guys get to play with the K700. In a nutshell, I prefer the existing T610/T630 over this new one... IF the menu lag isn't solved. If it is, then it's a worthy successor. If not, then it's just another SE phone... good, but not great.
With regards to the radio... I tried activating it... the phone kept saying "Please connect the handsfree, it acts as the antenna" ... so there. I tried looking around the menu, couldn't find anyway to get around that message.
Comment on ergonomics... the camera shutter and internet button are placed in not-so-friendly locations... they are directly opposite each other. And this may seem logical from a design standpoint, but when you try to hold the phone sideways to take a photo (the way SE wants you to hold it), your thumb bumps the internet button...and it's a bit too sensitive. Minor gripe, nothing serious... you just have to get used to it.
Design is good. Not as sleek as Ericsson's, but at least not as "button crazy" as Sony's. Good balance. I'm not too fond of the style, but I can say that it was designed well. The phone looks like a Cybershot when used a camera, rather than just looking like a phone held sideways... and feels really good in the hand.
MSRP is around P24,000 or around US$430 here in the Philippines. Will be available in stores towards the end of May. |
Dj Boyi
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Liberty City
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Your right about the menu speed,they should be able to speed it up with all the others things we get on a phone nowadays,was the sms'ing speed any faster or do you still have to wait when not using t9?
Is there still only 25 bookmarks in wap menu too? And did you notice a 'resume wap' in the wap menu?
If nobody wants it.. put it on eBay. |
jplacson
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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unfortunately, WAP/GPRS was disabled in the test units, so I can't comment on the bookmarks... I'm assuming WAP capabilities are the best out there as SE does do WAP/mobile internet really well!
SMS speeds are decent... I'd say at par with the T610... maybe a TAD slower (3-5ms slower)
Doesn't sound like much, but coming from the P-series which doesn't have any perceivable SMS lag, the regular SE line's lag suddenly becomes noticeable.
Existing T610/T630 users may not notice the lag as much as I did though. But it is still there. SE should really do something about the lag.
Menu feels just like the T630 though, despite the SE reps saying that it was better (ya, icons maybe... but structure is the same)
I'm not saying it's a bad phone... I just wasn't as floored by it as I thought I'd be. I usually am with SE phones... even the low end ones. This one brought on a smaller smile than the P800->P900 'upgrade'. But it is a good phone. If the menu speed doesn't annoy you, by all means... please buy the phone! The features won't let you down at all! The video function is fun to have...even with just 32MB. The K700 can use MP3s as ringtones though... so that's a big plus.
Think of the K700 as a Nokia 6600 killer. Even without the mem card expansion... the size & screen alone make it a much better over-all phone.
**oh, i didn't mention it because I felt it was a given... but the screen is gorgeous!**
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kasei
Joined: Jan 17, 2004
Posts: > 500
From: somewhere
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What about the zoom and the joystick
This message was posted from a T616 |
Dj Boyi
Joined: Oct 05, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Liberty City
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Thx for that mate,i dont mind the t610 menu speed so it'll probly be ok for me.
If nobody wants it.. put it on eBay. | |
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Posted: 2004-04-23 23:31
