written by Miroku on 19/04/2005
Do you really need quality in a phone camera? If you do buy a proper camera, this is a phone!
written by installspark on 11/09/2004
O2 - Because of the new law about phones and driving I needed to change my mobile, (and was due for an upgrade anyway!) and wanted bluetooth.
In the past all my mobiles have been Nokia, but they didn't have any decent phones that offered bluetooth, having read decent reviews of the Z600 and comparing it with the Motorola V600 I decided to go for the Z600. I'm glad I did.
So far it has been brilliant:- I can see the display in sunlight, full reception virtually anywhere, clear sound quality, even voice commands work 90% of the time.
Battery life is good too, I only gave it an hour's charge and having used it for 2 hours talktime and 3 days standby am still waiting for the battery to die.
The only downside is the camera - poor quality images, but hey, I didn't buy it for the camera and have a decent digital camera anyway.
written by donna5498 on 08/09/2004
I like the Sony Ericsson Z600 because it is easy to program and it has a colour screen which my Audiovox 8300 doesn't have.
written by jcturner on 30/07/2004
Ok, before I bought my Sony Ericsson Z600 I was a strictly Nokia sort of person, but then the screen on my 7210 started going on the blink it was time to buy a new phone..I went into the shop with every intention of getting a new Nokia, but as this was nearly 8 months ago they didn't do any clamshell designs, it ended up being a desicion between the Z600 and an Samsung E700, and after swapping phones with a friend and using the E700 for a week or two I know I made the right choice.
Ok so this phone may not be as small, but it makes up for it with its features, games, ringtones, changeable covers and style..(The battery life on mine is not great sometimes as I spend a lot of time talking on it, but this is due to me not charging it for long enough when it was bought.)
The main thing that made me use Nokia phones for a long time was the fact that no matter how many times you dropped them they still worked, but for the slightly careless among you, my Z600 has been through hell, battered about ,and is still in perfect working order(minus a scratch or 2).
In 4 months time when I'm due for an upgrade, the phone I choose will definatley be the latest gem Sony Ericcson has to offer.
P.s. the signal on my phone is great, I think it depends on which network you are on.
The only thing that possibly lets this phone down is its size, but its not massive as in old school 3 phone massive, it fits nicely into a handbag. Also its photos aren't the best quality but they'll do, if you want photo quality buy a digital camera.
written by jimbobeats on 24/02/2004
Well, Sony Ericsson have pulled it off again. I am a SE T610 owner. Got this Sony Ericsson Z600 mobile phone yesterday on a contract upgrade, and I am as impressed with it as I was when i first got my T610, if not even more impressed!
The phone is basically a T610, with a much better screen, with some changes in ringtones, games, themes and wallpapers to make it different and put into a camshell design. When I say a much better screen, I mean a screen that I can actually see in sunlight, T610's screen was very difficult to see in sunlight, and I also find that the screen has much more stronger colours than the T610's. This is the one feature I hated on my T610,
The ringtones on this phone however, seem to be louder and stronger than the T610's. This has been corrected by using a seperate speaker on the back of the phone, instead of using a combined speaker in the T610.
The battery life matches the T610, but this does nto really apply to me, as I charge my phones every night, only when I am out and have got drunk do I not charge the phone!
I am used to the software and interface of Sony Ericsson's now, although did take about 1 week to get used to it with the T610, so to use this Z600's interface is a dream!
The games are better than the T610, including the infamous V-Rally2.
Many people say that the camera's on mobile handsets are cheap, nasty, and are just for fun pics, same situation with this camera, but is a huge improvement to the T610's, but the screen also supports this.
Z600 has no aerial, which along with the samsung E700 is the way forward for phones, but i do feel as though i am holding another old fashioned brick sometimes with the Z600, due to it been very thick, but its understandable with more features than the E700 like Bluetooth, and it does take some time to get used to its shape.
Sony Ericsson seem to be bringing out very good phones since merging in 2002, and this is coming from a Nokia for 4 years since August 2003. This Z600 is no exception. The reason why i am going for Sony Ericsson phones at the moment is for several reasons:
1) Better build quality, I feel that nokia has tried to cut costs with there phones since the release of the 7210 in November 2002. I think the Sony Ericsson phones produce better build quality, and the touch and look of materials used are 100% better.
2) Features, looking at Nokia's when buying my T610, no Nokia's could match it, and the same thing happened when I upgraded to this Z600 yesterday. No Nokia could put a finger on it, plus, it has the unique camshell design to nokia's (Nokia's first camshell out March, and looks awful)
3) Price, why should I pay double for a nokia, when I can get a phone that does the same job, with more and better quality features.
Overall, the Z600 is now the best phone I have ever had, it irons out all the problems with the T610, and puts it into a very sleek design and better package. Nice to see that Sony Ericsson have released the T630, for people who dont want a camshell, but want all the problems ironed out from the T610. I am happy though with this Z600, and after now owning 2 Sony Ericsson phones, I don't think Nokia will be seeing my money entering their bank accounts again, for a very long time.
written by zedda on 10/02/2004
I have had this Sony Ericsson Z600 mobile phone a week now after swapping my Sony Ericsson T610 for it. I don't regret it one bit.
There are so many cool features such as;
Music DJ, a fun little ringtone composer set out simaraly to EJ music maker, this is very fun.
Games, it comes with a lot of good games, including mini golf which i find very funny with the ability to have up to 4 players on the one phone, also V-Rally is pretty decent and other enjoyable games which means there is no need to waste money downloading them.
Bluetooth is very useful, with the ability to send free pics to other bluetooth phones within about a 20m radius is another very handy feature.
The camera is a cool function but compared to samsungs could be better. Having said that the quality is good and with flash available for it, it is still worthwhile function.
It is easy to use with a cool colour menu screen. Some people complain about its size by i really quite like the design.
Overall a very good phone on the market and very much worth the money with everything you need on it.
written by aabedi on 23/01/2004
The Sony Ericsson Z600 software is intuitive and easy to use. Has all the options a mobile phone should have, e.g. infrared, bluetooth, games, calendar, phone book etc etc. Looks very stylish, can be enhanced with extra covers but the two covers that come with the phone make it look awesome, specially the blue one. Only bad point is it doesn't have an active flip (or I haven't found it yet) otherwise, this phone kills all the Nokias on the market. Previously I only used Nokias but now I'm totally converted.
written by valrond on 12/01/2004
I recently bought the Sony Ericsson Z600 with a friend (we got the same phone and almost the same phone number). I didn't want to change, I had more than enough with my customized Nokia 3310 (I have Star Wars covers).
But when I started to help my friend to pick a mobile, and I saw this one in particular, I thought it was time for a change.
Some other friends have cool mobiles like the Nokia 7650 or Samsumng e700. I think this one is better in almost every aspect. It has the best screen I've seen (with the exception of the Sharp GX20i), a nice and comfortable keypad, it's quite spread, and they keys are easy to press. I don't like the small phone where you can hardly press a single key.
Technically is almost identical to the t610, which is good, as it is a very good phone. It is an upgrade, as it has a much better screen (althought with the same resolution), better reception and some other minor upgrades.
The menus are pretty easy to use, much better than those of Nokia or Samsung, and faster.
If you want a good camera, this is not your mobile, it is just average, with a resolution of 352x288, but I don't care too much, I own a digital camera, so the phone camera is just a nice addition.
The features include almost everything except for MP3 playing (it would need an expansion card slot, which it hasn't) and FM radio, but I don't think they're needed.
The games play really well, with such a good screen and having a pad that can be used as such, and the other hand can take care of the keypad for the fire or jump button.
If you want a small phone, this isn't your phone, you'd be better with a t610, almost as good as this one but smaller.
Overall, it's a great phone.
written by mysticnas on 26/11/2003
OK, let me begin...
I started about 8yrs ago on a EricssonPF768, then T18, T28, Nokia 8210, 8310, 3650 and now back to Sony Ericsson with this, the Z600.
I moved from Ericsson time ago when i discovered the Nokia menu navigation system was better, i'd lost faith in ericsson becuase of slow menus, faulty phones, but pleased to say that since Sony have joined forces, they have restored my faith. Here's an interesting fact: Although Sony & Ericsson came together sometime ago, the T610 was the 1st phone that Sony actually colaberated in designing/building; you can see this in the change of style and more obviously the quality and clarity of sound.
Anyway... Z600 is an advancement on the T610 in basic. The software(OS) is the same, exactly the same infact, only a few updates. The camera was of poor quality on the T610, thankly it has been improved here in the Z600, as good as my Nokia 3650 (haven't yet found another phone with a screen to match the quality of my 3650). The screen on the Z600 is only a few mm smaller than my 3650 screen, thats the main reason why some may think the Z600 is a little bulky, but safe to say you can't have everything, if you want a good screen can't expect a credit card slim phone.
OK the games... woo hoo... Alien Scum = space invaders style, V-Rally2 = rally racing game from playstation, mini golf as well as a gew others and ability to download more. Very good games.
Sound quality, as i mentioned earlier, is crystal. OK it's not going compare to THX 7.1 sound system, but remember it's a PHONE not a Hi-Fi!
Screen is good also, but not quite as good as my 3650, but still better than any other phone i've seen, and believe me i've demo'd many...
Ease of use: simple, can't really go wrong, i didn't even read the manual and knew where everything was straight away. Maybe that's cuz i've been using mobiles for like 8yrs, anyway if in doubt consult the manual, i always do anyway just to see if i've missed anything.
Looks: ok not to everyones taste, some say it looks like a sandwich, some say it's different, and some like me say it's just koooool!!! Changeable front and back covers, adds that bit more to style. you can even take the covers off and spray of paint them to add a personal touch.
Compatability: Comes with a CD that contains software to sync your phonebook, calendar etc.. to outlook. Also an image editor is supplied, as well as MMS and ringtone manager.
Still using the same old Ericsson chager socket and handsfree kit.
Bluetooth,IR, GPRS and wap are also standard phone features. A built in modem, for anyone feeling rich enough to connect their computer to the internet using thier mobile is also available.
Another good feature i've noticed, is the ability to automatically reject calls from certain phone numbers. For instance, if you're getting pestered by someone, add his/her number to the ignore list and evertime they call it won't even ring, just go straight to the voicemail. Or if you feel you're getting pestered by phone-2-phone salesmen you can ignore all calls other than those in your allow list.
Anyway... It's a very very good phone, i did get it as a free upgrade, but it's cheap to buy anyway, compared to other similar phones. The Samsung E700 is quite poor compared to this, not as feature rich, and looks wise, i prefer the Z600 hands down!
written by Sam Spade on 19/11/2003
My z600 arrived today and I'm in heaven! This phone is wonderful! I've got the basic functions sussed out and set my regularly used profiles. I'm learning the various options of SMS which was a whizz on my old Nokia (and Nokia's in general).
I'm basically having a good play around until I find what I'm comfortable with but so far, I'm well impressed.
The Music DJ is amusing and even if you're tone-deaf like me, you can make a canny little tune by mixing a few types with the four instrument choices.
The camera, for what it is, is cool. I know it's not up to the standard of a plain digital camera but for a phone and its uses, it's adquate enough. I'm not exactly David Bailey!
The menus are brilliant. I love the PC desk-top style menus! At this early stage, I can't always remember where I've seen various options but I'm sure I'll pick it up soon.
I've had a play of a couple of the games and I'm very impressed with the graphics. I'm sure I'll find my favourite game on this phone to pass a spare moment or two!
One thing I'm relieved about, I got this phone via my online network operator so I was taking a bit of a gamble with regard to the covers. I'm delighted I haven't got that ugly stripey one or the floral one, though I did like the blue and red covers that came with them.
I know this reviews a bit vague but I'm still discovering the wonders of my new phone so once I'm more attuned to it, I'll perhaps post again.
Written on: 22/12/2003
the phone DOES have a zoom. Of course its a digital zoom so the quality takes a hit.
<br>Anyways to zoom just select the smaller screen size in the "more" menu when taking pics.
<br>Great phone. I love it
Written on: 28/12/2003
Oh, you mean by altering the pixel size? I see what you mean. Thanks for that info.
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Scarborian's Response to aabedi's Review
Written on: 27/01/2004
Re-Active flip!
<br>Your Z600 does have it! Go into "Calls" in the menu and select "Manage Calls". The last option is "Open to Answer". Select ON and you're done!
<br>Have fun.