Telstra/ZTE T6 Review

Welcome to the Telstra/ZTE T6 mobile phone review.  For 2009 the complete range of phones from Telstra and ZTE has been refreshed.  The old models are still available but in run out sales mode.  If you’ve checked out the other ZTE reviews you realize that they are decent phones just a tad basic.  However for the price you can’t really complain.

From the pricing the T6 is a replacement for the F153 and F158.  They’ve made it longer but thinner and lighter.  It’s construction is solid and certainly comparable to other models in the basic phone category.

Of note the micro SD card slot has been moved to a slot under the battery.  No big deal since you can’t do very many things with the phone anyway.

In terms of functionality they’ve added a variety of new features.  The most obvious is a FM radio and what we think is a slightly better camera.  They’ve apparently added a faster CPU and it does seem faster to navigate the menus than phones with the older CPU.  Essentially they have updated the specifications to match the offerings from other brands specifically Nokia in the basic phone category.

Unfortunately it is now only a dual band GSM, dropping the 1900Mhz frequency.  Which means there is no point unlocking it.  However it is still a 3G or NextG capable phone so you can access reasonably fast data downloads.

The battery life of the T6 (like the others) is very good. On standby essentially 7 days.

The only let down was the screen.  Same 176×200 pixel as it’s predecessors.  The predictive text is still not very good.

Additional MicroSD cards are not included in the sales packages.

The main selling feature of the T6 in comparison to all others, specifically the cheaper Samsung A411 is that it is one of the cheapest 3G or NextG capable phone with a FM radio.  It’s also HSDPA 3.6 compatible so you can use it as a reasonably fast wireless modem.  However the plans for internet are still very high. (The on board web browser is next to useless for general internet browsing.)

Conclusion

We can’t say very much more about it  – after all is is a very basic phone.  All up the Telstra/ZTE T6 is a good mobile phone.  It’s better than the prior F153 and F156 with the radio and additional apps.  Don’t judge the phone by the internet pictures see it for your self – its very different.

Specifications

  • Telstra/ZTE T6
  • Network
    3G HSDPA / UMTS 850 / 2100 MHz
    Tri-band GSM (900/1800 MHz)
  • Design
    Standard shape
    L111 x W48 x D15.4 mm
    Weight 98 grams
  • Display/s
    Intenal TFT 176 x 220, 262K colours
    External TFT
  • Camera
    2MP main camera
  • Connectivity
    USB
    Bluetooth V1.2 – Supports FTP / HFC / A2DP
  • CPU
    270MHz Processor
  • Memory
    64MB internal memory
    45MB available to user
    Up to 2Gig Trans Flash cards
  • Ring tones
    MP3, MMF, MIDI, Vibration
  • Features
    SMS, MMS, WAP, EMAIL
    MyWords predictive text
    JAVA MIDP 2.0
    Speaker Phone/Hands free
    Customizable backgrounds
    Picture Viewer
    Video calling
    Voice memos
    Calender and organizer
    200 Hrs Standby, 180 Mins Talk Time
  • Package contents
    XP/Vista Compatible PC suite
    Mac OSX Compatible software
    Personal hands free kit
    Travel charger
  • Price history
    Approx $129 AUS PRE-PAID 2009