|
|
| Ericsson T66 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 / Gsm 1900 |
| Announced | 4q 2001 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 92 X 41 X 17.5 Mm |
| Weight | 59 G |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 5 Lines |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Customization | Composer, Download, |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | |
| Call Records | 10 Received, Dialed And Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| Data |
| Gprs | No |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | No |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms, Ems |
| Browser | Wap 1.2.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | |
| Colors | 2 - Purple Passion, Silver Supreme |
| Camera | No |
| | - Sms Chat
- T9
- Pim Functions
- Profiles |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery |
| Stand-by | 150 H |
| Talk Time | 2 H - 5 H |
|
Ericsson - T6659 grams with the Ericsson T66
Major features
One of the smallest and lightest tri-band GSM phones
WAP over CSD
Concatenated (long) SMS and EMS messaging support
T9 predictive text input
Basic PIM functions (alarms, business card exchange, calculator, calendar)
Melody and picture composers
Background images support
Stopwatch and timer features
Problems/Issues?
Keypad buttons very small, although tactile
LCD backlighting slightly too dim
Sales package (should contain):
1 x T66 handset
1 x Li-ion battery @ 570 mAh (BSL-14)
1 x travel charger
1 x T66 user manual
Overview
“Small” is the word on Ericsson’s miniaturised T66 GSM handset. Weighing in at only 59 grams and its size being a notch smaller than a typical Nokia 8210/8850, the T66 is for the individual who just doesn’t want anything else weighing them down. But once you get your hands on this phone, you’ll start wondering whether you had actually brought it out with you or not! :)
New/outstanding features
If you’re looking for a phone that comes with all the bells and whistles of a typical Nokia handset, then this may be a reason for you to cross off the T66 from your list of handset choices. After being exposed to other Ericsson handsets - like the T39m, T68m/i and R600, the only two good reasons for getting this phone would be for its small size and tri-band compatibility. Of course, WAP and other basic phone features are jam-packed into this great little unit!
Physical aspects
For a slightly-larger-than-average-sized hand like mine, I was able to wrap my fingers around the T66 comfortably. As previously mentioned, the T66 is significantly light - which makes phone conversations seem like talking to another person next to you but with your hand next to your ear!
A small phone also means “small everything” too. This means a relatively smaller display, keypad and battery design - all contributing to a lightweight design. But there are downsides - including tighter spaces between keys and reduced battery life when compared to a typical phone on the market today.
There are two colour combinations available for the T66 - Purple Passion and Silver Supreme, with the latter being the unit reviewed. I don’t know about you - but the dark brown on silver colour schema isn’t all that attractive (although unique).
User Interface (UI)
First thing’s first! One of the most noticeable things on the T66 is the speed of its menus - they are lightning fast when compared with current Ericsson and Sony Ericsson handset models. I was able to experience immediate effect by simply browsing the phone and opening menu after menu. Typing messages with T9 enabled provided prompt responses to keypresses as well (more on this under the “Messaging” section below).
The T66 practically shares the same menu layouts as other B&W/greyscale Ericsson phones currently available. Although the display on this phone can fit more lines than the one found on a T28/T39, the phone’s software doesn’t make full use of all the available space. You can see (from the picture on the right) that each line of text displayed physically required two lines on the LCD - something like double line spacing in a Word document. This problem is evident in both menu items and phone functions as well (for example, when writing messages).
Conveniently, the “options” key (located between the YES and NO buttons) provides quick one-push access to commonly-used and special commands required for the current screen display. For example, when the standby screen is displayed, pressing this will bring up the “My Shortcuts” menu - and while typing a message, this will bring up functions allowing the user to insert pictures and melodies (for EMS message) and adjust the current input method used.
Making and receiving calls
Although small, call quality was not compromised and phone conversations with the T66 were anything but bad! It did take me a bit of time to get used to keeping the phone in place next to my ear - especially when I had no hands and had to hold it in between my ear and shoulder (so scared that I would drop it!)
And the ringer volume is pretty loud for its size! :)
Messaging
The reviewed T66 did come with both T9 predictive text and Simplified Chinese characters input (as most may know, the T66 was never marketed in Australia; the unit originally came from Hong Kong), which made sending SMS message easier than on previous Ericsson handsets (for its time!) which just supported endless tapping.
Typing messages on Ericsson phones was always the biggest nightmare for me (as the lag time between keypresses was always there!) On the T66, this doesn’t seem to exist anymore. With very fast responses to individual keypresses while having T9 enabled, this gave me the opportunity to speed up my SMS typing speeds - similar to those when I am using a Nokia T9-enabled phone.
Again, the issue is again with the T66’s small keypad size. If you have big hands, you may find it hard to actually type a bit quicker on this little phone. As for most ladies out there, “just right” would be in order here :)
Battery life
Don’t expect this phone to have battery performance as good as today’s average mobile phone. The T66 was only able to churn out a maximum of 2-3 days standby - while talk time was limited to around 2-3 hours tops. On heavy usage, you may need to give the phone a charge each night before you go to bed - just to make sure you have enough battery to last you throughout the next day.
Major features...
One of the smallest & lightest tri-band GSM phones
Measuring in smaller than a Nokia 8210 and weighing in at a mere 60 grams, the T66 is probably the most compact GSM phone on the market. Its tri-band compatibility means that it can be used on all three major GSM bands (900, 1800 and 1900 MHz) supported throughout the world’s five major continents.
WAP over CSD
The T66 comes with a built-in WAP browser allowing access to WML-based pages on the Internet. Although it comes with WAP v1.2.1 support, only basic CSD (circuit switched data) speeds are available.
Concatenated (long) SMS and EMS messaging support
A small phone doesn’t necessarily mean small features as well! On top of basic SMS messaging, long SMS messages (of up to 459 characters) and EMS messaging (a message standard offering the inclusion of pictures and sounds with the basic text) are available at your fingertips.
T9 predictive text input
What would long SMS messages be without the existence of a predictive text input system like T9 - which can significantly decrease the amount of time required to compose those “dot the i’s and cross the t’s” messages!
Basic PIM functions (alarms, business card exchange, calculator, calendar)
What’s a mobile phone nowadays without functions like an alarm, calculator and calendar feature? The T66 also comes with support for the sending and receiving of business cards based on the universal vCard format - as well as the ability of setting up your very own card ready to be sent to other compatible phones.
Melody and picture composers
The T66 comes with both melody and picture composers which can be used to create or edit those sounds and graphics used in EMS messages. Your own personal ringing, message and alarm tones can be composed straight from the T66 melody composer function too!
Background images support
Not that there’s a lot of space on the T66 to display your favourite picture. But this phone does give its user the ability to use a graphic (either created by the picture composer, or received in an EMS message and stored on the phone) and display it with the network name on the standby screen. Although it doesn’t look all that exciting, it does spice up the display though!
Stopwatch and timer features
Similar to the Nokia 3300-series phones, the T66 comes with both stopwatch and timer functions - convenient for those “when you just wished you had it then” situations.
Problems/Issues?
When it comes to the T66, size does matter. Sure - the miniature footprint of the T66 is great when you look at it in terms of compactness and lightweight. But practically speaking, I personally found the phone a bit too much when I consider using it in the medium- to long-term.
Keypad buttons very small, although tactile
As I had larger-than-average hands, there were many occasions that I had to re-adjust my hand and finger positioning on the phone before I could get a firm and comfortable grip, and have the ability to use the keypad properly. Also, I was able to use the keys with the tips of my thumb only (when I put my whole thumb onto the phone, I could have ended up pressing up to 4 buttons at once!). The rubbery feeling of the keypad didn’t help much to ease the comfort either - especially when you start rubbing the thumb against it!
LCD backlighting slightly too dim
This wasn’t such a big issue… but I just wished that the brightness of the backlights could be increased slightly for the screen. Reading the T66 screen in a totally dark room was okay - but in a room with average illumination (at night and not under the sun), the backlight doesn’t even register to the eye!
Probably increasing the level of backlight illumination for the screen backlight would have degraded overall battery performance.
In Summary
Looking for something small which doesn’t bulge the pocket of your jeans or shirt pocket? The T66 is probably just the answer you have been looking for. So far, no one has yet to make a phone as small which allows you to use it on most GSM networks around.
Big hands? The T66 is probably something you should seriously check out before passing the buck. If you want to accustom yourself to the phone (and not the other way around), it’s a great little handset to have around with you.
When comparing to some of the Ericsson phones still around, the T66 is probably one of the better models in terms of its overall offerings. Yes, comparatively speaking, it may be under-featured. But if you want practicality, the T66 does indeed offer higher levels of this than some of its brothers and sisters! :) |
| Common misspellings on this brand: |
|
|
