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With an all around eye-catching design, the compact and stylish clamshell Sony Ericsson TM506 for T-Mobile keeps you connected to your closest friends and family members with T-Mobiles myFaves. It's also Sony Ericsson’s first handset supporting T-Mobile's HSDPA 3G network (in select markets), which provides fast web downloads and multimedia messaging. With built-in GPS and Telenav Navigator software, you can get turn-by-turn directions via voice and screen as well as see nearby restaurants, gas stations, and more. Other features include Bluetooth for handsfree communication and stereo music streaming, a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, memory expansion via Micro Stick Micro (M2) media, digital audio player, and up to 9.5 hours of talk time. 
The eye-catching, compact clamshell TM506 delivers an exceptional Web experience thanks to T-Mobile's 3G network (available in select markets). | T-Mobile Service
The TM506 operates on GSM 850/1800/1900 networks and can handle high-speed data connectivity via T-Mobile's EDGE network (which stands for "Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution"). This high-speed, mobile data and Internet access technology is fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services (with average data speeds between 75-135Kbps), including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go. It's also compatible with T-Mobile's UMTS/HSDPA 3G network, which operates on the 1700/2100 MHz AWS spectrum. This phone is designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide faster data speeds when accessing the Web or downloading content from the T-Mobile t-zones content portal. T-Mobile is currently rolling out its 3G network, and it expects by year's end that its high-speed data network will be available in those cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services. Call your favorite people with T-Mobile's myFaves service, which allows you to call up to five of your most common contacts--on any network, even landlines--without using any of your minutes. You'll also get free domestic long distance and no digital roaming charges anywhere across the US on all calls. (All myFaves plans require a two-year contract.) Learn more about myFaves from T-Mobile. Download cool new games, HiFi Ringers (real songs by today's hottest artists), MegaTones (instrumental versions of songs), and wallpapers quickly, as well as stay connected via the Web, instant messaging, and email. 
The sleek TM506 comes in silver and green models, each with an ebony black front clamshell. | Phone Features
The Sony Ericsson TM506 proves that good things come in small packages. Its compact design fits into any pocket, purse or briefcase for consumers on the move. A thin outer display (1.1-inch, 128 x 36 pixels, monochrome) on the sleek ebony gloss clamshell allows you to glance at caller ID without having to open the phone. It also provides current time, signal strength, and battery life. The interior screen measures 2.2 inches, has a 240 x 320-pixel resolution, and supports a 262K color depth. The alpha-numeric keypad has a unique overlapping circular design surrounded by lighted accents and they have a rubbery feel for easy keying. The phone has 32 MB of internal memory, which can be expanded via optional Memory Stick Micro (M2) media, up to 4 GB in size. The internal phonebook provides storage for up to 1000 contact entries, with up to seven phone numbers per entry as well as an email address, street address, and web URL. The integrated Bluetooth technology (version 2.0) allows handsfree communication with a compatible headset as well as the ability to exchange files with another Bluetooth compatible device. And, with the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. Additionally, you can connect to your PC using infrared or USB. The 2-megapixel camera provides several resolution options for either saving for print or sending via MMS messaging. Other features include a 2.5x digital zoom (for use at lower resolutions), panorama multi-shot capabilities, white balance and brightness adjustments, night mode, multiple color effects and frames, and a self-timer. The camcorder function of the camera can shoot in two modes: for as long as you have available memory for saving or a maximum of 45 seconds for sending via email or MMS. Share special moments with T-Mobile's My Album online sharing as well as the phone's video blogging capability. The in-phone media player supports video and audio playback--supported audio formats include MP3 and AAC--and it features playlists as well as shuffle and repeat modes. It also includes a "Music Mode" that shuts down the phone functions so you can listen on an airplane or anytime you don't want to accept calls. Meanwhile, Digital Mega Bass and stereo widening combine to enhance your listening experience. The TM506's built-in aGPS (assisted GPS) navigation capability along with the Telenav application enables you to always know your location get turn-by-turn voice-assisted directions. It also provides the ability to add geotagging information to your photos so you'll remember where snapshots were taken. The phone offers a full range of email, text, and multimedia messaging options, including access to personal email viewed through the included Access NetFront web browser. It also supports RSS feeds, allowing you to use your phone to view up-to-the-minute news and other content from selected Web sites and blogs. Just subscribe to the feed and let it come to you. Other features include: - Messaging: SMS text, MMS picture and video
- Email: From select POP3 email accounts
- T9 predictive text entry
- USB connectivity with mass storage capability
- Organizational tools: calendar, alarm clock, tasks, notes, timer, stopwatch, calculator
- Speakerphone
- Compatible with polyphonic and real-music ringtones
- Downloadable Java-based games
- Supports Exchange ActiveSync for synchronizing your Outlook contacts
- Bluetooth version 2.0+EDR with the following profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BIP (for sending images to another device), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), HID (support for mice or joysticks), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures), PAN (personal area networking), PBA (transfer contacts)
Vital Statistics
The Sony Ericsson TM506 weighs 3.6 ounces and measures 1.8 x 3.7 x 0.7 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-polymer battery is rated at up to 9.5 hours of talk time on GSM networks (3.5 hours of talk time using the 3G network), and up to 250 hours of standby time. It runs on the 850/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as 1700/2100 MHz UMTS/HSDPA 3G frequencies.
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| Review Date: December 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Gibbons, |
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.
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 Too much lag time between screens |
| Review Date: December 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lisa Ruskanen, |
| I've had this phone for a couple months and the lag time in screens prevents me from using the phone for my job, which is frustrating when I'm trying to call clients. If you call a 1-800 # and then have to work through an options menu, you are not always able to dial the options because the screen hasn't caught up with the call. At times, the screen will go to screen saver/black, and I'm still listening to a menu repeat itself over and over because I can't dial any options. If I call a number and happen to get a busy/out of service signal, I can't hang up to make another call for a few seconds. If a call comes in and the screens are slow, I can't answer it. I'm going to call T-Mobile to see if they will help me. I wouldn't recommend this phone because of this problem. |
It's no iPhone, but it does the job
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| Review Date: November 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Sean Bryan, Cleveland, OH |
This is a solid phone that has many (but by no means all) of the niceties of a smartphone, but it's inexpensive up front and lets you keep your monthly phone bill significantly under $100. Every few weeks, the interface gets slow which requires a reboot to get back to normal, and the sound is a little quiet. Still, I think this phone is a very good choice in the "free phone" category.
EDIT: If you have this phone with t-mobile, and you're willing to mess around a little, the tutorial at the following link worked very well to upgrade/debrand the firmware. Now the FM Radio, GPS, Google Maps, sync contacts and calendar with Google, etc... all work, plus the phone interface feels a little snappier. As sketchy as this sounds, you have to disable virus protection during the procedure. It worked for me...
[...]
(The following review was written before I upgraded the firmware, so this reflects my experience with the phone in the state the phone was in when t-mobile sold it to me.)
Pros:
-Good construction. Not as nice as the Motorola W490 I had before, but still feels very solid after spending a few months in my jeans pocket. I like the glossy black finish, looks nice.
-Great battery life. I talk for hours on my unlimited numbers; I'd really believe the ~10-hour talk time it's rated at.
-Beautiful screen. I don't think I've seen a nicer one in a flip phone before. Viewing the pictures and videos taken with the camera is great, and websites look really nice too.
-Nice camera. 2 megapixels is enough to take acceptable photos for screen display, but I don't think they'd print well. Awesome for sending picture messages.
-Takes good short videos. They look nice on the screen or computer, and the recorded sound quality is actually very nice (no hiss).
-Web browsing on this phone is as good as I've seen with a flip phone. It only adds $10 a month for a data+text plan, or $25 for unlimited. (I use the $10 plan...)
-Gmail. This phone works with the gmail java application, and it's just wonderful to have real e-mail in my pocket. I don't type very many messages since I'm not too good at the txt typing on the numeric keypad, but it's awesome for reading messages.
-Google maps. This phone works with the google maps application, which is awesome for searching for businesses or getting a quick idea of directions somewhere.
-Media player. The built-in Sony media player is awesome. It organizes your songs by album just as accurately as my iPod does, and it has very good audio quality over the headphones. You need an adapter, but the in-ear earbud+micrphone set that I ordered for $5 or so is amazing. When you get a call, the music stops, you start talking through the microphone, and then when you hang up the music picks up right where you left off. Just as slick as an iPhone...
-Nice calendar, contacts, and alarm clock. It syncs via bluetooth to the Apple address book and iCal.
-I tether my Macbook for internet access through the phone. (I'm actually doing that right now...) I haven't gotten it working with a Windows or linux laptop though...but it should be possible if the Mac can do it out of the box with no fancy configuration.
Cons:
-Sound quality is so-so. The phone is quiet, and the speaker phone is so quiet you have to be home alone in near silence to use it.
-Acts strangely sometimes with my Motorola bluetooth headset. (Maybe if I bought a Sony one..?)
-Non-standard charger. They aren't very expensive to order online in this day and age, but it's annoying to have to buy new data cables, chargers, and headphones for every phone again.
-The user interface randomly hangs sometimes. If I'm using an application or the music player, about once every couple weeks the phone gets really slow, and I have to restart it. Not a big deal, but it happens...
-Doesn't sync with iTunes on my Mac, but it would if I bought Salling Media Sync. (I haven't...but the unregistered version of it works alright.)
-No "apps." You can run a lot of the .jar old-school mobile phone programs that are out there, but I feel a little left out every time I hear about a cool iPhone or Google Android application that comes out. But, this is true of all of the other "free phones" out there, so I can't really complain. |
Nice Features but problematic phone
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| Review Date: October 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Bill MSN, Seattle, WA United States |
The layout and design of the phone is pretty good. Good battery life, and nice extras like the camera. The downsides; the volume of the earpiece is too low, the volume of the speakerphone is too low, the OS can get really slow. All unfortunate but livable.
And then there is the unacceptable; the phone will just "shut off" from time to time. We made sure the battery was seated properly but, still, it just shuts off randomly. My wife has missed several important timely calls because she thought the phone was on and it was not.
Also, it seems to drop calls when coverage is fine. Not sure if this is the phone or T-Mobile.
I would not buy this phone again. |
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| Review Date: July 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: O. Rijo, San Diego, Ca |
Bad bluetooth connectivity. I used the same bluetooth headset on other SE phone with no problem and this phone just refuses to maintain a stable connection. Also, this is the only SE phone that doen't allow you to sync your contacts and calendar with a Mac PC. The menu is extremely slow. You press a button and it takes about two seconds for something to show up and I dont have that much media on it. Overall a below average SE phone. Wouldn't recommend if you are looking to upgrade to a better SE phone.
Forget about texting, it is a nightmare! How dumb for them to put the power button right below the # key. You use the # key 99% of the time to enter a space when you text. And because the power button is right below it, you will accidentally hit the power button, at times shutting down your phone. I would lower the rating to one but I'm too big of Sony Ericsson fan to do so. |
Worst phone I have ever had. Slow!
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| Review Date: July 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: F. Tang, Orlando, Florida |
Slow to turn on, slow to make a connection, and slow on everything. Sometimes a menu pops up when you chose a number and are about to dial that number, making it even slower.
Difficult to find the most recent numbers, or most frequently used numbers.
Battery life is short.
Will never use Sony Ericsson brand again. End up going back to my 4 year old Samsung phone. |
Great as a 'free' phone. Only issues are low-volume speaker, proprietary charger
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| Review Date: July 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: A. Dent, Minas Anor, GD |
T-Mobile offered us a free TM506 when, several months after our contract expired, I expressed a strong desire to cancel the T-Mobile service. It was actually really 'free' - no contract obligations whatsoever, only an incentive for us to keep staying as T-Mobile customers. That wasn't good enough for me so T-Mobile then made me an offer I couldn't refuse - the TM506 AND unlimited calls for half the monthly fee of their normal plan. Again, no contract commitment. Since my wife is a big talker, I took the offer. In fact, I even took a 2 year contract to prevent them from raising their fees for the next 2 years. The plan is called 'loyalty reward' or something like that. After a couple of months on it, we are very, very happy.
Now, the phone:
Surprisingly, this is a VERY good flip phone. And you can see the specs at the Amazon page. I see no reason to type a full or a partial list here. Since it is replacing a Razr, I would say that it takes the traditional classic Razr design one step farther to make a sleek, sexy and functional but not ostentatious 'day-to-day' phone. Something that's a pleasure to use but you are not likely to mourn its loss if lost - our old Razr Stylus was literally eaten by our dogs and my wife was so attached to it, she couldn't use another phone for several days.
Still, subjectively speaking, I like the very bright screen, the easy to navigate menus... well... after you take some time to learn them, the many options. Unlike some of the more sophisticated 'phones', this one is really a phone, in the sense that the things it does best are truly 'phone ' functions. Yes, it has a camera and yes, you can play music or games on it but when you think of it you think of a phone with many enhancements rather than a computer or an email device you can speak into - did I mention that it takes voice notes?
For a phone, there are two things I don't appreciate:
- the speaker volume is way too low
- the charger/earphones interface is proprietary
Making myself the devil's advocate, I would say that the speaker's low volume preserve the impressive battery time - and any bluetooth headset will work with it and that the proprietary interface reduces the need for two interfaces on the phone, one for the charger (USB?) and one for the earbuds but, still, I see how not everyone would appreciate this.
As for my rating, this is pretty much as good as it gets when it comes to free phones being offered without a contract to loyal customers. Those who wish more bells and whistles and are willing to pay for them, the TM506 won't offer a lot but if all one wants is a phone with some added distractions, this is it.
It's 4 stars mainly because a the low-volume speaker (a PHONE feature) and for the proprietary charger (a PHONE feature again). As far as the free phones go, it's highly recommended. |
Nothing but problems!
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| Review Date: July 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Lauren Milligan, Chicago, IL |
This phone has tons of bells and whistles, but is missing a very basic necessity. Most cell phones have a built-in code to allow the phone to dial a number, and then dial in an access code. For example, when you call your utility company, you'll dial their number and then press 1 for English. This phone doesn't register that you are trying to dial an additional number!
T-Mobile was finally able to identify this problem for me and let me switch out my phone even though it wasn't within the warranty period. I'm so glad to be rid of this piece of junk - thank you T-Mobile! |
Bad voice quality
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| Review Date: April 25, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Kt, |
This phone is great except for its voice quality. It actually gets pretty good reception and does not drop calls like my old phone did half as much, however the sound is sortof quiet and a bit fuzzy. I have to press the phone hard against my ear in just the right spot, and it is not a very comfortable earpiece. The audio makes the phone vibrate slightly- It's like the sound isn't coming towards your ear but is vibrating the whole phone. Using an earpiece that came with the phone helps by making it slightly louder, but it is still a bit fuzzy. Worse than my cheap and old phone.
I do have to say though that the OTHER person actually says that my voice quality is quite good. So the person on the receiving end has better quality.
Yes now and then there is slight lag on the phone when you are navigating, however it really is not that bad! I would love this phone if it wasn't for the voice quality. It looks pretty too. I have the red, and the red rim on it when it's closed looks really nice.
The buttons feel good to use. I was worried at first that they would be hard to press as they look so flat, but they actually are easy to press and have a satisfying click when you press them.
The screen is big and looks very nice. Very sharp nice picture on the screen.
Navigating the phone is pretty easy.
You should already know about the awesome features like camera and music player and it also has 3G capability.
Battery life is simply okay. With about an hour and a half's use, it lasted a day and a half.
This is a nice little phone but call quality is important to me so I am returning it. Better luck next time.
On second thought after researching more, other issues with other phones at a similar value seem mostly worse, so I am rethinking the return. |
Not worth it - even if it's free
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| Review Date: April 9, 2009 |
| Reviewer: clamarama, Shoreline, WA United States |
This phone has been disappointing. It replaced a Nokia 5300 (hated that phone) and prior to that phone, I had a Motorola PEBL (good phone). I don't text or use the camera, so I don't have anything to say about those features.
The call quality seems pretty good. Volume is adequate and the sound is clear. I've never used the speaker phone. The display is large and easy to read. The UI is fairly intuitive, but not the best. Sometimes tasks seem a bit more complicated than they should be, but it doesn't take too much effort to figure them out.
I don't need my phone to do very much for me other than make phone calls, but the few needs I do have are not met by this phone.
I don't wear a watch, and just look to my phone to find out the time. On this phone, I have to push the volume button in order to light up the display and read the time. (On the PEBL, the time was always visible.) The worst thing about that is that if there was a missed call or a calendar reminder on the screen, it goes away when I push the button, so I don't see it. (If there is a "new voicemail" notification, then it remains on the screen and I have to open the phone to see the time.) The "new voicemail" message is visible on the external screen even when the light is not on - I don't know why the time can't work this way, too.
The phone only gives one audible alert for an event reminder or a voicemail notification, so if you are not near the phone when the bell sounds, then you're out of luck. That issue alone is enough to make me want to get rid of this phone.
The GPS is a nice feature, but I find that it doesn't work in urban areas, so it can't be relied upon, which is really not much better than not having it at all. The voice on the speaker for the GPS is difficult to hear. You can use a wired headset, but not bluetooth, to listen to the GPS. The GPS is supposed to cost $10 a month, but I have been able to use it for free for the seven months I've owned the phone.
The email program is extremely annoying - I can't get it to turn off unless I actually delete my account. It buzzes every time I get an email, and every couple of hours it buzzes to tell me it's going to exit the program. I click "end application" and "exit," but it still keeps buzzing. It's dreadful.
I sometimes have problems hitting the call or end call keys when I mean to hit the soft menu keys. Or I hit the left soft menu key for my contacts and somehow also end up hitting the call key, too, so I have made at least a dozen accidental calls to the first contact on my list.
The ring volume control is a little annoying - sometimes I want it to be silent and vibrate, other times I want it to be silent and not vibrate. It is possible to have either option on this phone, but it takes too many steps to do it. The PEBL was much easier.
The phone doesn't really come with any ringtones - just the tmobile jingle and a stupid sony jingle. I just want it to ring like a normal phone without having to pay for the privilege.
The call log lists are not long enough. I don't know exactly how long they are - maybe 20 calls. After about 6 months, the call log stopped capturing calls most of the time. It now lists about 20% of the calls - no difference whether it's a missed, incoming, or outgoing call - most of the time, the calls are not on the list.
The phone seems physically sturdy and is easy on the eye. I suppose it would be adequate for someone who was looking to use it for absolutely nothing other than phone calls. |
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