NEC E616 Review

The NEC E616 is an upgrade to the E606, which was the first global 3G mobile phone. The E616 adds a number of improvements, including 40-tone polyphonic ringtones (the 606 had 16-tone), a Memory Stick Duoä card slot (allowing for virtually unlimited memory), Bluetoothä connectivity that actually works (although only to a headset), and a slimmer, more streamlined look that complements the added functionality.

The phone maintains the two digital camera format of the E606, with one camera mounted in the back for taking pictures, and one in the front for video calling. Both cameras have incredibly poor resolution, making their use sorely inhibited. With more modern upgrades from NEC and many other companies, shoppers today do not have to support the grainy, murky quality that the E616 captures, but the low price of this phone reflects its functionality.

The MP3 player is nice, but with only 19 MB of internal memory you will have to add on a Memory Stick Duoä or two if you want to keep any amount of music on you when you go about town. The 40-tone polyphonic ringtones are an upgrade on the 16-tones of the previous model.

With Javaä games and a large ergonomic keypad, this is a good phone for gameplay, but the actual physical size of the E616 may turn away a segment of the consumer population. At 131 grams, it is a step above the 150 grams of the E606, but it is still heavy, and can weigh down your pocket.

Bluetoothä connectivity is here, along with a WAP 2.0 browser, MMS, EMS, and SMS, and E-mail. But keep in mind that this Bluetoothä only connects you to a headset, not to other devices. Without full Bluetoothä connectivity, the NEC 616 can never be a fully functional phone today, as that particular form of device-to-device communication is becoming increasingly popular.

All in all, the E616 is a good upgrade on the E606, a little hefty and slow, but not bad overall.

The main features of the NEC E616:

Tri Band: GSM 900/1800/1900
Speaker Phone
Javaä Games
MP3 Player
40-Tone Polyphonic Ringtones
Predictive Text
E-mail
MMS
SMS
EMS
Infrared Connectivity
65,536 Color Display Screen
2 Digital Cameras
Flip Form
Organizer
WAP 2.0
Bluetoothä Connectivity
Voice Dialing

Technical Specifications of the NEC E616:

Weight: 131 g.
Talktime: 2 h.
Standby time: 41 h.
Battery: 600 mAh
Memory: 19 MB
Height: 103 mm.
Width: 53 mm.
Depth: 26 mm.
Display Width: 176
Display Height: 220

The features that the NEC E616 is missing:

FM Radio
Touchscreen

Accessories available for the NEC E616:

Extended Capacity Battery
Handsfree Device
Car Cigarette Lighter Charger
Desk Speaker Stand
Alternate Covers
Memory Stick Duoä Card