Sony Ericsson's M600 QWERTY keypad rocks

by Marc Perton, posted Feb 15th 2006 at 4:12PM

With its 2.6-inch 240x320 touchscreen display, Bluetooth with A2DP stereo support, 80MB of internal memory, BlackBerry Connect and Memory Stick Micro slot, there's a lot to like about the Sony Ericsson M600 (well, OK, maybe we're not too crazy about the Memory Stick Micro slot). And it turns out there's one more thing to like about it: the keypad. While it has two letters per key, it functions as a full QWERTY keypad, rather than as a predictive-text input system, a la the BlackBerry 7100. The keys are actually slightly concave rockers, meaning each one is capable of two characters. Rock the 1 to the left, and it's an E; to the right, it's an R. Word out of 3GSM is that it's actually pretty usable, though we imagine the big-fingered among us may still have some problems missives any longer than an address-book entry.

Filed under: Handsets, Sony Ericsson

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

JREAU @ Feb 15th 2006 4:29PM

Said it b4 and I'll say it again...

SE can do no wrong!!!

Neutral

Stephen @ Feb 15th 2006 4:36PM

This phone is going to be amazing! Too bad there is no WiLan to accompany that Opera 8 browser.

Neutral

Mike @ Feb 15th 2006 5:04PM

My Lord, that is one beautiful phone.

Neutral

John K @ Feb 15th 2006 5:04PM

I'm a bit of a newbie, so sorry for the niave question, but:

Can these Sony phones debuted at 3GSM, if unlocked, work on either TMobile or Cingular? Is there one US provider that has an advantage when using unlocked phones from Europe? And does the EDGE data still work?

Thanks!

Neutral

Oliver @ Feb 15th 2006 5:05PM

This will probably be my next phone (or the E60).

Neutral

John K @ Feb 15th 2006 5:31PM

As long as it works at 1900, it will work in the US, correct?

Neutral

Lukas @ Feb 15th 2006 5:37PM

bah! i wanna hear about the Nokia E70. Nokia's fold-out keyboards are actually fun to type on.

Neutral

Jason @ Feb 15th 2006 5:41PM

Sad I have never had a SE phone last more then a year. They always seems to fail, either the bluetooth radio goes bad or it just quits working.

Neutral

spaceman @ Feb 15th 2006 5:47PM

Are any new PDA phones going to come out soon that do not work on Windows Mobile? I'm getting tired of waiting! This one and the p990 seem awesome if somebody would just carry them.

Neutral

Stas Goldobin @ Feb 15th 2006 6:09PM

Seems like a hassle to use. Instead of jumping from key to key, you have to add a rocking motion. Repetative stress glore.

Neutral

Raghu @ Feb 15th 2006 6:26PM

Phonescoop got to play with it and actually say that the keyboard was very comfortable and accurate even after a couple of drinks. http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/3gsm_2006/index.php?p=2

Jason - I have put my phones through torture and all my SE phones have lasted. I have even used my T28W recently when travelling!

Neutral

mroach @ Feb 15th 2006 6:26PM

#4 - Yeah they'll work here no problem as long as you're in a 1900 covered area. If you have T-Mobile now, you're more than likely using 1900, since their network is entirely 1900. EDGE will work. I'm a fan of T-Mobile, so I'd say go with them :)

#6 - Correct.

Neutral

Trent Thomas @ Feb 15th 2006 6:29PM

Great phone, and great site.

Neutral

cgallaty @ Feb 15th 2006 8:06PM

Speaking as someone with a blind relative I'd have to say, bravo. While the square layout may not be visually striking, it lends itself better to tactile navigation of the buttons. It's not something I really gave thought to until we needed to help buy a new phone. There are not very many phones out there being offered with nice, raised, even buttons. For T-Mobile, the stock freebee Nokia (3595 I believe at the time) had *shared* buttons (the 5 and 8 where on the same button) and flush at that! This design looks like I could hand it to a blind person, and explain the grid in all of a minute (not that they would be texting mind you, but I can see other applications like extra one button marco options)

There's a need that phones could fill. With GPS and data capabilities, a phone could tell someone where they are. I've been toying with the idea of trying this with say a Treo 650, but again, not the ideal interface. (And a touch screen PDA is really not helpful when you're blind.)

Neutral

heayes @ Feb 15th 2006 9:04PM

i find it odd that this deserved its own news story. i realized that they were two seperate buttons after first glance. oh well. just got my k750i and I think when this hits it will be my next one.

Neutral

Vincent @ Feb 15th 2006 9:10PM

It's not often that someone finds themselves hoping that a phone will make it to the Japanese market. Or at least have a Japanese text engine so it can be used here.

As for use in the US, yeah, it's tri-band GSM, which means 900, 1800, and 1900. T-mobile uses the 1900 GSM band, so it will work all over their network. Cingular uses a mixture of 850 and 1900 MHz GSM bands, so you are not guarenteed to be able to get signal even in locations where Cingular has strong signal. Moreover, Cingular's 3G service isn't UMTS, so you can't use this SE phone in 3G mode.

Neutral

Michael Whang @ Feb 15th 2006 9:47PM

Though the keypad/keyboard may be comfortable to use, the phone itself looks very plain and under-designed from a design standpoint. My opinion is that the keys simply look awkward to use...which, I believe, would be enough to throw enough potential customers to a phone such as a Treo (which has a keyboard that makes sense just by looking at it). Perhaps they could've indicated the rocker motion in a more direct way (ie two shades on each button) on the keys themselves?

Neutral

Manny @ Feb 15th 2006 10:29PM

I have a questions...I know some phones are meant for asian and Uk markets only.. But we phone freaks will do anything to get hands on them. Why don't they make them Quad band..so everyone can be happy..? Samsung D500.. amazing phone when it was released..still is! But gettin good reception on it here in Vancouver BC canada is PITA!! D600, quad band >> stunning reception..no calls dropped or "hello! i can't hear you" happenin..

Motorola released most of the Razr family equiped w/ Quad band, slim phone yet it has Quad band.. Is it really that hard for SE and other asian companies to include Quad band support in their handsets?? I think every phone should atleast have quad band option..no matter what..

Neutral

Guysmiley @ Feb 16th 2006 3:51AM

Hmm.. can't wait for the new smartphone then, should do everything this one does and more.

Neutral

Susan @ Feb 16th 2006 8:17AM

As a hard core Nokia user I just bought my first SE phone a couple of months back (K750i) and was very impressed... the camera on that phone was breathtaking! Damn shame this phone doesn't have 850... I have Cingular and get 1900 where I am but I need to be able to take my phone when I travel. Still.... I'm so tempted try this phone, I love the keypad layout!

Neutral

MrBinary @ Feb 20th 2006 1:59AM

I cannot believe that this phone does not have predictive text. I own the 7100 and I love how fast I can write an e-mail or send a text. I was wondering if anyone had used this phone and could comment.

Neutral

Richard Maule-ffinch @ Feb 22nd 2006 5:59AM

This looks like a great phone. Where do I get one?

Neutral

Loganathan @ Aug 10th 2007 1:15AM

Did sonyericsson m600 can be operated without inserting sim card?Something like listening music and view picture?

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