Is the T310 the right phone for me?

I'm in Australia, currently with Optus, paying AU$30pm for my 2yo Nokia
3330. I'm off contract and keeping an eye on what's available, as the Nokia
is getting old and a bit scratched.

One mob is advertising a T310 for $0 upfront @ $40pm on a two year contract,
including a camera attachment and a free Playstation 2. It's that second
item which is a bit tempting. Local prices are around $300 for a PS2. Paying
$240 extra on the phone contract (and getting that in additional free calls
anyway) might be worthwhile. Call rates are lineball with my current
network, and condition are similar too. So, I'm thinking of upgrading.

Been checking out reviews on the T310, but want to hear from real users. In
particular I'm interested in hearing experiences relating to:

1) Data cable.
I've got a W98SE box. Am I going to be able to back up my stored phone
numbers to my PC? I've lost the odd phone over the years, and it's something
that sounds like it could be worth being able to do. What about type in SMS
templates and save them to the phone? Get ringtones/screensavers from the
web and download, passing them to the phone later? How about download camera
pictures from the phone to my PC rather than send them to myself (and thus
pay for the message charges).

2) Volume control.
Mate of mine has a T6-something, which looks very similar, and he's already
busted one volume control off, while the phone was sitting in his missus'
handbag, inside the leather case. Sony refused to repair under warranty,
claiming "mistreatment". Anyone else have this, or was he just unlucky? I'm
in the habit of putting my current phone in my pants pocket rather than
hanging it off my belt.

3) Reception.
Heard a couple of stories that S-E phones are not so good at picking up a
signal. There are a couple of dodgy reception points at my work (a sprawling
concrete jungle), and basic testing with my mate's phone side by side with
mine shows that he gets less signal than me. He's on a completely different
provider though (Vodafone), so I'm interested to see if anyone else has had
direct comparison experience on the same network.

Last time I checked this deal ran out at the end of last month, but the ads
are running again, so I'm guessing it's been extended. Will be going in to
check, but want to be informed, as last time I went in they had sold out two
batches and were trying to source more. Most of the fancy
colour/camera/clamshell phones are on $60pm contracts, and the cheaper ones
don't really seem like a worthwhile upgrade over my existing phone. It's the
PS2 that seals it for me, but I'm not going to bother if the phone can't
justify the hassle.

Many thanks for your opinions and experiences.

---

› See More: Is the T310 the right phone for me?

"jaypeabey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm in Australia, currently with Optus, paying AU$30pm for my 2yo Nokia
> 3330. I'm off contract and keeping an eye on what's available, as the
Nokia
> is getting old and a bit scratched.
>
> One mob is advertising a T310 for $0 upfront @ $40pm on a two year
contract,
> including a camera attachment and a free Playstation 2. It's that second
> item which is a bit tempting. Local prices are around $300 for a PS2.
Paying
> $240 extra on the phone contract (and getting that in additional free
calls
> anyway) might be worthwhile. Call rates are lineball with my current
> network, and condition are similar too. So, I'm thinking of upgrading.
>
> Been checking out reviews on the T310, but want to hear from real users.
In
> particular I'm interested in hearing experiences relating to:
>
> 1) Data cable.
> I've got a W98SE box. Am I going to be able to back up my stored phone
> numbers to my PC? I've lost the odd phone over the years, and it's
something
> that sounds like it could be worth being able to do. What about type in
SMS
> templates and save them to the phone? Get ringtones/screensavers from the
> web and download, passing them to the phone later? How about download
camera
> pictures from the phone to my PC rather than send them to myself (and thus
> pay for the message charges).
>
> 2) Volume control.
> Mate of mine has a T6-something, which looks very similar, and he's
already
> busted one volume control off, while the phone was sitting in his missus'
> handbag, inside the leather case. Sony refused to repair under warranty,
> claiming "mistreatment". Anyone else have this, or was he just unlucky?
I'm
> in the habit of putting my current phone in my pants pocket rather than
> hanging it off my belt.
>
> 3) Reception.
> Heard a couple of stories that S-E phones are not so good at picking up a
> signal. There are a couple of dodgy reception points at my work (a
sprawling
> concrete jungle), and basic testing with my mate's phone side by side with
> mine shows that he gets less signal than me. He's on a completely
different
> provider though (Vodafone), so I'm interested to see if anyone else has
had
> direct comparison experience on the same network.
>
> Last time I checked this deal ran out at the end of last month, but the
ads
> are running again, so I'm guessing it's been extended. Will be going in to
> check, but want to be informed, as last time I went in they had sold out
two
> batches and were trying to source more. Most of the fancy
> colour/camera/clamshell phones are on $60pm contracts, and the cheaper
ones
> don't really seem like a worthwhile upgrade over my existing phone. It's
the
> PS2 that seals it for me, but I'm not going to bother if the phone can't
> justify the hassle.
>
> Many thanks for your opinions and experiences.
>
>

"jaypeabey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm in Australia, currently with Optus, paying AU$30pm for my 2yo Nokia
> 3330. I'm off contract and keeping an eye on what's available, as the
Nokia
> is getting old and a bit scratched.
>
> One mob is advertising a T310 for $0 upfront @ $40pm on a two year
contract,
> including a camera attachment and a free Playstation 2. It's that second
> item which is a bit tempting. Local prices are around $300 for a PS2.
Paying
> $240 extra on the phone contract (and getting that in additional free
calls
> anyway) might be worthwhile. Call rates are lineball with my current
> network, and condition are similar too. So, I'm thinking of upgrading.

Hey mate, the way I see it, the T310 + camera is essentially $300 to $400 on
aussie ebay (both new and used). So you're paying at least $960 for maximum
$400 + $300 = $700. You can probably get a nicer phone on a $40 plan
(albeit minus the PS2) - these guys (http://www.m8.com.au/m8/home.asp) are
advertising on their home page a SE T610, which will everyone seems to love,
for $0 on a $40 plan. But their website doesn't seem to have any more info
on the offer? Hmm odd . The T610 has an inbuilt camera too - trust me I
have a T300 with the camera attachment and I would use the camera function a
LOT more if it was inbuilt (and also if my neck strap hadn't broke heh, btw
anyone know if replacement straps are available?)

>
> Been checking out reviews on the T310, but want to hear from real users.
In
> particular I'm interested in hearing experiences relating to:
>
> 1) Data cable.
> I've got a W98SE box. Am I going to be able to back up my stored phone
> numbers to my PC? I've lost the odd phone over the years, and it's
something
> that sounds like it could be worth being able to do. What about type in
SMS
> templates and save them to the phone? Get ringtones/screensavers from the
> web and download, passing them to the phone later? How about download came
ra
> pictures from the phone to my PC rather than send them to myself (and thus
> pay for the message charges).
>
> 2) Volume control.
> Mate of mine has a T6-something, which looks very similar, and he's
already
> busted one volume control off, while the phone was sitting in his missus'
> handbag, inside the leather case. Sony refused to repair under warranty,
> claiming "mistreatment". Anyone else have this, or was he just unlucky?
I'm
> in the habit of putting my current phone in my pants pocket rather than
> hanging it off my belt.

No problems with this with my T300, but I have heard of it happening and so
avoid using it much.

>
> 3) Reception.
> Heard a couple of stories that S-E phones are not so good at picking up a
> signal. There are a couple of dodgy reception points at my work (a
sprawling
> concrete jungle), and basic testing with my mate's phone side by side with
> mine shows that he gets less signal than me. He's on a completely
different
> provider though (Vodafone), so I'm interested to see if anyone else has
had
> direct comparison experience on the same network.

I have no direct comparison experience but I do know that often voda is
annoyingly lacking in reception when compared to the other networks. I
reckon I'd prefer Optus' coverage to the others.

>
> Last time I checked this deal ran out at the end of last month, but the
ads
> are running again, so I'm guessing it's been extended. Will be going in to
> check, but want to be informed, as last time I went in they had sold out
two
> batches and were trying to source more. Most of the fancy
> colour/camera/clamshell phones are on $60pm contracts, and the cheaper
ones
> don't really seem like a worthwhile upgrade over my existing phone. It's
the
> PS2 that seals it for me, but I'm not going to bother if the phone can't
> justify the hassle.
>
> Many thanks for your opinions and experiences.
>
>

You should probably ask this in aus.comms.mobile - those guy's be pretty
helpful.

-Adam