Motorola V600 Phone (T-Mobile)
Motorola v600 Proves 4x as Powerful.  Sony Surrenders.
Don't buy this phone if you're looking for a toy.  This isn't the best camera, or the best mp3 player, or the best ringtone jukebox, although it performs very well on each.<br /><br />Buy this phone if you are looking for a rock solid reliable communication tool with nice feel and nice looks that also happens to have a decent camera, a rich polyphonic speaker, and an extraordinarily crisp and vibrant screen.<br /><br />This is a quad band phone.  Most phones are single or dual band.  If this isn't important to you, you don't need this phone.<br /><br />This is the most solid and reliable *quad* band phone readily available at a reasonable price, allowing you to make and receive calls on all four international frequencies.  If you combine this with a no-roaming charges plan in the USA, then whenever your phone can see any tower, you can place a call.  In Europe, you can buy pre-paid sim cards without worrying whether they have towers supporting a USA bandwidth.  Saves a ton of money and aggravation versus trying to use your USA phone and USA \\"International\\" calling plan.<br /><br />CONS:<br /><br />- Does not use the phone book name lookup from the Motorola Mx200 which lets you press the letters of the name only once per key instead of using T9.  On this phone, one keypress jumps to the first name starting with the 1st letter on the key, 2nd press of the key jumps to names starting with 2nd letter on the key, and so on.<br /><br />- Realtime bluetooth phone sync requires separate software purchase.  (Or not, since you can download the software from various European Motorola sites.)<br /><br />- If you buy a custom metal case, check fit-and-finish at a retail mobile store near you.  One batch had a 0.5 millimeter gap on the left edge between the case and the phone.<br /><br />PROS:<br /><br />- Price has dropped from the $400 intro cost earlier this year.<br /><br />- The color screen is bright and clear under any conditions.<br /><br />- Battery life is phenomenal.  If you \\"condition\\" the new phone by running the battery down fully the first two times before recharging it at all, you will have up to a full week standby if you are in a reasonable digital coverage area.  Even in marginal coverage, standby is several days.  Talk time is several hours, even on speaker.<br /><br />- Reception is better in low signal areas than any other phone I've used.  Generally, flip phones are a compromise between style and performance. A Nokia brick will place and receive calls where flips show no signal.  This phone seems to outperform even the Nokias.  This may be thanks to the 4 bands; when other phones have tried the two carriers they can reach, this phone can still try two more.<br /><br />- Quad band phones are the best choice to combine with a \\"no-roaming-fees-anywhere-in-continental-USA\\" plan.<br /><br />- Swappable metal case, in default satin aluminum, midnight blue, or burgundy.  These are easy to swap, and make the phone seem less of an appliance while remaining suitable for the board room.<br /><br />- Phone book stores all contact points for a name under the same entry, and a simple left-right on the joy-pad selects the default contact point for that name.  This means less scrolling in the phone book.  Works better with Outlook's multiple numbers per contact than other phones I've used.<br /><br />- Settings profiles with customizable everything.  For folks who may be occasionally on call, there is an amazingly loud Nextel style warble tone you *will* notice even in the pit at a NASCAR race.  If for some reason you ignore the tone, it can follow with a reminder every couple minutes till you press a key.<br /><br />- In a surprising change for Motorola, this phone (and its siblings in the same vX00 line) is packed with \\"joy\\" features such as a multi-colored (customizable) indicator light that can be set to a subtle glow or pulse in a range of colors, so even in silent mode, you can tell from acros the room if it's a business call or a personal call.<br /><br />I've been using this phone since the week it was launched.  By way of comparison, I also own a Siemens (tri-band, dual mode, supports *analog* towers not just digital, important in rural USA 2 years ago), a Samsung (triband competitor to this phone with a flash for the camera), a Nokia (latest with the flipout keyboard), a Blackberry, and a Danger Hiptop aka Sidekick.<br /><br />If limited to one device, I prefer the Sidekick if it will be my only email access for an extended (5+ days) trip in the USA.  I prefer this v600 for everything else.s the room if it's a business call or a personal call. <br /> <br />I've been using this phone since the week it was launched.  By way of comparison, I also own a Siemens (tri-band, dual mode, supports *analog* towers not just digital, important in rural USA 2 years ago), a Samsung (triband competitor to this phone with a flash for the camera), a Nokia (latest with the flipout keyboard), a Blackberry, and a Danger Hiptop aka Sidekick.   <br /> <br />If limited to one device, I prefer the Sidekick if it will be my only email access for an extended (5+ days) trip in the USA.  I prefer this v600 for everything else. <br />