Need advice on a GSM phone

[hellahecka]

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if you guys would be kind enough to provide some advice on a phone. I'm looking for a very small GSM phone, specifically unlocked, that gets excellent radio coverage. Basically all I'm looking for is a phone small enough to fit in my front pocket and completely forget its in there, and that it gets good radio coverage most of the time in most situations. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. BTW, I'm currently using a Nokia 8390, which I do like a lot. Someone gave me this 8390, which is nice, but its pretty beat up, I'd like to get a new one.

I've been looking at that new Siemens SL55. But I've actually heard a lot of people say Siemens are POS. Is this true.

[budney]

Siemens SL55/56 are not that good, but there other phones are very nice. Siemens phones normally have very good RF and sound quality. If you are looking for a phone to just make calls, then I would have no problem selling you a a56 or s56. But if you were looking for a full feature phone (text messaging, wap, etc...) I would pick a Nokia or Samsung phone. I have a s56 and can't seem to part with it. It is a great little back-up phone w/ Bluetooth, and they don't get nearly enough on eBay for how good of phone I think they are. I would take my s56 over a SE t610/t616 any day. I believe Siemens gets a bad rap because of how bad the menus were on their first phones that came to market & the fist batches of s56 and other phones having software issues.

[Matt]

My Nokia 6610 is probably about the same size as an 8390. IIRC, the 8390 is a bit bigger than the 8290. I compared the 6610 to my 8290 and it is just a little bit larger, but still small.

[TProphet]

I own a Siemens C56, and I think it's one of the worst handsets I've ever owned. RF is poor, sound quality is worse (annoying and tinny), and it's so compact that it's almost impossible to use. If I hadn't put so much effort into unlocking it, I'd have gotten rid of it by now (although I'm finally going to sell it, since I simply don't like or need it). I swapped the Siemens for a Nokia 3590, and I am a lot happier with it (although I'm still not completely happy; my hearing is worse than average and the speaker on the 3590 isn't loud enough). It seems that on GSM, you can't really go wrong with a Nokia. It used to be the opposite on CDMA, but with the 3588i/3589i, Nokia has really cleaned up its act.

[TNDan21]

My friend has a Siemens phone and it seems to have No Service in places that both my Nokia 3595 or SE T616 does fine in. I personally think Siemens phones are POS's. I like both of my phones and both have pretty good RF. However I think the Nokia 3595 is proabely too big for you. However the Sony Ericsson T616 is a nice size phone and it has excellent RF. It picks up a signal slighty better then my Nokia infact.

[hellahecka]

Wow, sounds like I can't get much better than my Nokia 8390 as far looking for the stuff I want. I mean its a little beat up, but I'm sure a new face plate can fix that. I think I would agree that Siemens in general aren't very good phones as far as RF goes. I have several friends who constantly complain about them, and that seems to be the general consensus amongst you guys. Thanks for the input, you guys surely do know your cell phones.

[hellahecka]

Actually, what about the Motorola C333, any of you guys know something about this one?

http://google1-cnet.com.com/4500-645..._c333&tag=kwg7

[NYCDru]

Originally posted by: hellahecka
Actually, what about the Motorola C333, any of you guys know something about this one?

http://google1-cnet.com.com/4500-6454_7-0.html?qt=motorola+c333&part=google1-cnet&subj=motorola_c333&tag=kwg7

1.) I didn't know there was a GSM version of that phone.

2.) Stick with the Nokia.

[Alan85260]

I haven't heard anything good about the C333. AT&T sees a lot of them coming back with problems. I recently bought a Nokia 6310i and although it doesn't have all the flash like a color screen and a camera, I have to say this is the best. For people that just want a good performer with excellent battery life without all the extras, this is it. The white screen and a non drop-in type battery make all the difference in the world. There is something to say about the "back-of-the-phone" type battery. This phone stays on 24/7 and is used for business and it takes 7 (and sometimes 8) full days to drain this battery. I tried the Nokia 3595 and Siemens C56 and got tired of the poor audio and constant recharging on both.

[Gabriel]

i have a nokia 6610... it is just the right size. it is a bit larger that the 8390, but only by a few centimeters. it is an excellent phone. excellent reception and sound. the only think i dont like about it is that its ringtones play only 4 instruments. bt if you dont care about that, i say go for it!!!!