Another triumph of succession over function.

Got one of the above today [~] the Sony Ericsson T637. My old phone, a Nokia 3360, crapped out after several years of heavy use.

I had wanted a T616, but it's discontinued and gone from every AT&T Wireless store I visited between San Francisco and here yesterday. The T637 is the "improved" replacement. "It has a better camera," the salespeople say. (Ah, but the buttons are worse. More below.)

The new phone has about 8,000x more functionality than the old Nokia. It's an instant messaging system, a bluetooth bridge to the Net, a camera, a tri-band GSM unit that will work outside the U.S. as well as inside. And much more.

But its ergonomics suck. The keypad is a grid of identical rectangular raised buttons, each a shiny transparent domed tile. The whole thing offers no grip and resembles a pebbled surface more than a keypad. I'm trying real hard not to hate it. The ringtones are also too quiet, and only ascend, meaning I may not hear the first ring at all. Every tune on my old Nokia was better than any tune in the default selection on the T637.

It also has mMode, which I never understood when I saw it advertised on TV, and still don't understand now that I have it on a phone. I guess it's the Web interface. Or one of them. Among other things, it seems like a way to sell me crap I don't want, which annoys me.

Is mMode what I enter when I push the little joystick upwards? This brings up a "Java Powered" screen that forces me to endure 16 seconds of nothing while it boots up a choice of three IM clients (AIM, ICQ, Yahoo).

I can't get any of the Net functionality to work yet. Maybe on Monday, when I go back over to the store, I'll have better luck.

I'll continue my complaining over at Linux Journal, where I'm writing up a series of wireless pieces to go with the September issue (which has a wireless theme) when it hits the stands. Maybe in the next couple days I'll find more to like about the T637. Or I'll swap it for something else.

At least you can reach me on my cell now. I hope.

[The Doc Searls Weblog]

This is what I thought of my Sony Ericcsson T610, it sucked. I am much more happier with my new Nokia 7610, despite the communication problems with iSync and the mac in general.
6:50:52 PM  What do you think? ( Thoughts) Who linked? []