Sony Ericsson TM506 / Reviews

If you are like me, you want a cell phone that is easy to use and reliable but still does everything you want it to. The Sony Ericsson TM506 can provide relief for your connectivity cravings, just as it has for me. Notwithstanding its shortcomings, the TM506 is dependable, easy to use (but powerful), and is inexpensive.

The Sony Ericsson is reliable (with regard to hardware as well as software), which is a huge factor in how I feel about it. In the last few years, I have had to replace no less than five phones because they are buggy and stop working, or just because of physical damage from being dropped onto sidewalks and kitchen floors. The Sony Ericsson is a phone with a basic flip-phone design, both inside and out, but the phone just works. It gets great signal (in places where my other phones never got reception) and I have never had to call T-Mobile customer support about the phone.

The TM506 is easy to use but has many great features and applications. I am a college student, so I text message more than I talk. One of my favorite things about the phone is how easy it is to text; there are so many little things that give the phone an edge over others, such as just being able to add words to the phone's predictive text dictionary and not having an inbox message limit. The multimedia features on the phone are great; it has a 2.0 megapixel digital camera which can be used for still photos or for videos, which can both be edited right on the phone. The TM506 also has a memory card slot, so there is virtually no limit to how many pictures you can take.

Probably one of the best selling points for the phone (especially for college students, but even for most people in this economy) is how cheap it is. When my last phone died, I was able to get this phone as a free replacement. Amazon.com sells the TM506 for $0.01 with a new service plan. I think it would be quite a feat to find such a high-quality cell phone for any cheaper than that.

Of course, the phone has a few quirks and shortcomings. The phone doesn't have threaded text messages, which would be a convenient addition to this already great phone. The battery cover is extremely hard to get off, and the exterior of the phone is glossy plastic that smudges easily with fingerprints. The outside display of the phone is very small (displays only one line of information at a time), and the TM506 is a bit bigger than some phones out there. As for the software, it can be buggy every now and then; the phone occasionally likes to turn off in my pocket or even while I am using it. The operating system does run a little bit on the slow side, with small delays.

These problems are so few and far between, however, that they should not scare potential buyers away. This phone is great. It is inexpensive but very solid and reliable. The phone packs a lot of excellent features and an easy-to-use operating system into a conservative, sturdy flip-phone design. The messaging features are great. The phone just has so many little tweaks and options that put it over the top in convenience and ease of use. If you are considering getting a phone from T-Mobile, I highly recommend this one.

Read original review at Amazon.