29th March, 2004

This is a review of the NEC 616 handset and was undertaken in March, 2004. This phone, is of course, the successor to the NEC 606.

Nearly a year ago the NEC 606 was 3's flagship phone and now looks dated alongside the new NEC 616.

3 say the NEC 616 is their top of the range offering and is currently available on a 12 month contract.

This review covers the NEC 616 only and does not address the performance of 3's 3G Network.

How does it shape up.

See below.

 

The photo on the left shows a screenshot of the NEC 616 in use.

There are various close-up photos of this phone ( see below ).

A very impressive clam style phone which is still on the big size yet the smallest 3 phone to-date.

This is a good attempt by NEC to catch the teen and professional market looking for a stylish contract phone.

The phone itself appears to be made of highly durable and scratch resistant plastic in a pleasing shiny silver colour.

The NEC 616 is small enough to fit nicely in your palm and feels lighter than you would first imagine.

NEC 616 COMPARED TO NEC 606

Photo 1 : Clam shot comparison

Photo 2 : Open shot comparison

Photo 3 : Side by side comparison

PICTURES OF NEC 616 BELOW

Photo 4 : Clam Shot

Photo 5 : Open Shot

One of the first things you need to find out about is where to slot in the 3 SIM card.

Photo 6 : SIM Shot

No doubt this NEC is stylish. But, the rear of the phone is probably the most boring I have seen. The front and inside of the phone fall into the category of stylish yet I ain't blown away. However, you would not be embarrassed to carry this phone around.

Front, rear and sides all coordinated in the shiny silver even if does look a tad one-dimensional.

NEC have without doubt produced an impressive looking handset.

Photo of the rear of the phone below.

Photo 7 : Rear

Photo of the rear of phone with back off below.

Photo 8 : Back Off

I have shown the handset to 20 people. Everyone likes the look of the handset. About 25% say its too big.

On the front of the handset you find front display screen, camera, nightlight and LED indicator.

Open up the phone and the inside seems a lot more busy and eye catching. But I still think the inside is a tad one-dimensional too.

A close up of the key buttons and navigation key is below.

Photo 9 : Navigation keys

The whole phone is shiny silver with matching sides and back.

On the right side is the memory stick duo slot. On the left side you will find the volume keys, headset connector USB and charger socket.

Photo of the right hand side of the phone.

Photo 10 : Righthand side

 

Photo of the left hand side of the phone.

Photo 11 : Lefthand side

3G – supports data upload of 64kbps and download of 384 kbps

2.5G – supports Class B8 GPRS

Will work on WCDMA ( 3G from 3 ) and on GPRS ( O2 ).

This is a weighty phone by today's standards but is about 14 grams lighter than the NEC 606.

120cc

Volume gives the cubic centimetre (cc) measurement of the phone.

Length x Width x Depth

NEC 616 : 103 x 53 x 26.4mm

NEC 606 : 109 x 53 x 32mm

 

A tad on the large size by today's standards.

This is smaller than the NEC 606 in both length and depth.

Nearly a year ago, 3's flagsjhip 3G phone was the NECe606.

When you look at the two phones alongside each other it is clear that the e606 now looks dated. Even more so when you start using the phone.

Photo 13 : NEC 606/616

Li-ION 3.6V 850mAh and also a 1360 mAh for better battery life.

Standard battery life ( 850 mAh )
Standby: 44 hrs
Talk time: 93 mins
Video call: 65 mins

Extended battery life ( 1360mHa )
Standby: 77 hrs
Talk time: 162 mins
Video call: 113 mins

Battery / Video Times - The total time a battery can power a phone for mobile calls. As the phone drains the battery during a call, the talk time left in the battery is diminished until the phone is turned off or the battery recharged. The longer the talk time the less frequently you will need to recharge.

Battery Standby The time a battery can power a phone in the standby mode, switched on and ready to make or receive a call, without being used for an actual call. The longer a phone is in standby mode, the less standby time remains in the battery.

See photo of battery here.

Photo 14 : Battery

Li-Ion stands for Lithium-Ion. The Li-Ion battery has twice the charge capacity of a Ni-Cd battery and further has the advantage of having a slow rate of self-discharge.

The main advantage of a Li-Ion battery is that it is stable and safe and has the highest energy capacity among others.

This phone needs to be recharged at the end of each day - even under normal useage.

Interestingly, 3 in Hong Kong have just released updated batteries to 1100 mAh and 1800 mAh giving some 40% higher capacity over the current UK batteries.

A navigation key ( 4 way ) provides easy navigation around the phone.

Navigation around the phone is a vast improvement on the NEC 606. The 616 has the display screen split into four areas : icon indicator bar, start screen, prompt bar and the shortcut icons ( very useful ).

A close up of the key buttons and navigation key is below.

Photo 15 : Navigation keys

A screenshot showing the colour screen is below.

Photo 16 : Screen shot

Cameras: Integral front and back mounted cameras

Easy to select between front and back camera
2 x digital zoom
Variable picture quality
Variable picture size
Camera light and adjustable white balance

Good quality pictures, there are better but this is more than adequate.

Cute night camera light for low light conditions.

There are two on-board cameras - both for taking pictures and videos. There is one each on the front and above main display screen.

Two integrated cameras • CIF – 100k
Camera light – for low light conditions

Good video picture quality. Video conferencing picture quality is adequate to good.

19MB dynamic phone memory

Up to 128MB Sony MemoryStick DuoTM support

4MB maximum for MMS inc. SMS and email

960KB (96 x 10) maximum for JAVA applications

Sony MemoryStick Duo slot provided for memory expansion.

Photo of the slot here

Photo 17 : Sony MemoryStick Duo slot

 

 

USB (universal serial bus) is a fast (1Mbps) path for data transfer between the phone and an external device, such as a pc.

USB – quick easy technology connection to a computer or other mobile device.

See photo of the USB connector socket and battery charger socket.

Photo 18 : USB Connector

The 616 allows access to 3’s content services, ranging from news and weather to games and entertainment.

Supports a wide range of image, audio and video file formats (GIF, PNG, BMP, WBMP, JPG, JFIF, JPE, JPEG, MIDI, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, ASF, MPEG4 Video, 3GP, & WMV format

J2ME (Java) is a programming language developed to run on your mobile phone. It provides the ability to download easy-to-use, graphically rich, interactive content right to your Java enabled phone.

Java ENABLED – download the latest games and applications played on a 65,536 16 bit colour screen with a 40 chord polyphonic sound

Downloadable wallpaper, themes, screensavers and ring tunes

The 616 supports Java but 3 has locked the damn thing so you cant download games other than those supplied by 3.

Read More Here

2 Way Video Call

With an integrated video camera and high speed data transmission, you can enjoy the next best thing to being there.

Combined with services from the network service provider, NEC’s integrated AGPS technology enables you to find your way around.

AGPS helps you find your favorite stores or restaurants at a moment's notice

Global Satellite Positioning (AGPS) enabled for enhanced location services

We found AGPS ( Assisted Global Post ion System ) a few miles out. Readers of the 3G Forum also note some similar problems. Not sure about this.

 

Phone software supports digital downloads of ringtones to personalise your phone.

40 Chord Polyphonic ringer tones add a powerful audible experience for alerts and ringer tones.

I feel this classy phone is aimed at trendy teens and the professional sector.

You can usually judge how good a phone is by what people you show the phone comment upon.

You are advised that this material is the copyright of Kevin Thomas 2004 on behalf of www.3G.co.uk and is my own personal view only. (C) All rights reserved 2004.

Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this review, Kevin Thomas nor 3Gcouk cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or authenticity of the information it contains, or any consequence arising from it.