Other office-worthy features include e-mail with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync plus POP3/IMAP, notes, voice recording, an alarm clock, vibrate mode, voice dialing, a file manager, a speakerphone, a stopwatch, a calendar, a calculator, a unit converter, and even VPN access. The address book is limited only by the available memory, and each entry will accommodate a total of 13 numbers, e-mail addresses, or Web page URLs and can be assigned a caller group or one of 21 included polyphonic ring tones. You can also assign a photo to each entry, but you'll have to download images onto the phone since the M600i doesn't have a camera. The M600i also supports text and multimedia messaging. A PC Suite application will sync your e-mail, contacts, calendar, and tasks with your computer, in addition to transferring any pictures, videos, or audio to your phone (see below).
The M600i comes with the Opera browser and a dedicated RSS reader, which many techies will appreciate. The data transfer speeds were admirable in our tests, though we didn't always reach the high speeds that UMTS promises. The handset features support for the A2DP Bluetooth Profile, which allows for the streaming of high-quality audio content wirelessly. We were impressed that we could also use the M600i as a Bluetooth modem.
While the M600i is primarily a business device, it still comes with several impressive multimedia and entertainment features. There's an audio and video player that supports AAC, MP3, MP4, 3GP, and RealPlayer streaming formats. Both audio and video quality are superb, and you can display the video in both landscape and portrait mode. You can also download photos into a Picture Gallery so that you can show them to your friends later. Though we appreciate this feature, the lack of a camera does negate its potential usefulness. The M600i also comes with a MusicDJ application that lets you create and mix your own ring tones, and 3D games that include Vijay Singh Pro Golf and QuadraPop.
Of course, there are hundreds of third-party Symbian OS applications that you are free to download and add to your application library, not to mention the ability to download games, wallpaper, themes, graphics, and even music via Sony's PlayNow service.
Despite all its many features, we found the lack of Wi-Fi support and a camera sorely disappointing. Although we understand UMTS users might not need Wi-Fi and cameras aren't standard in business smart phones, we expect more features from such a pricey device. We also would've appreciated it if this supposedly business-friendly smart phone had quad-band world phone support instead of just triband. We tested the triband Sony Ericsson M600i (GSM 900/1800/1900) in San Francisco using T-Mobile's network, and call quality was excellent. Callers couldn't tell we were on a cell phone, and we could hear them loud and clear. Speakerphone quality was also great. We also had no problems pairing the Sony Ericsson M600i with the Nokia BH-800 Bluetooth headset.
Although we generally had no problems with the user interface and operating system of the M600i, the phone did crash occasionally. We had to power-off and power-on a few times to get it running again. In other instances, we noticed a few seconds of system lag. These problems didn't occur very often, but when they did, it was quite frustrating.
The Sony Ericsson M600i has a rated talk time of 7 hours and 30 minutes and a standby time of 14 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the M600i has a digital SAR rating of 1.15 watts per kilogram.
What You'll Pay
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