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Telstra F165

By Joseph Hanlon on 21 December 2007

The F165 is a phone on a mission and it achieves this. Rugged and easy to use with excellent reception for regional areas. HSDPA helps provide a decent mobile TV experience.

Editor's rating:7.4 User rating:4.7

• 

  Trev gave 3/10 on 04/09/2008 10:52 Report abuse

  Yep, it's a piece of crap all right, tinted screen you can't read in the sunlight, crap connectivity (you can't access the internet through bluetooth) a crappy lights out function that can't be changed, it cooks your ear, menu layout designed by a monkey, a hands free cradle that takes two hnds to insert the phone, yadda yadda

  • Good: Reception???
  • Bad: Everything else
• 

  pirate.machine gave 1/10 on 22/06/2008 11:48 Report abuse

  I have a funny feeling Telstra has people working round the clock to leave nice comments about their crappy products. I worked in a Telstra store for about 6 months and From my limited experience, I would say that zte’s were the most prone to failure. They were the most difficult to use, with unintuitive software, and were the least well spec'd. If you are thinking about buying one of these, do yourself a favor and buy a Nokia. Or any other Phone. Seriously, they are all better than this.

  • Good: No one will steal it because it is so ugly.
    So heavy that you could save on gym membership by lifting this phone instead.
    
  • Bad: Everything.
• 

  beelzebub gave 2/10 on 15/06/2008 16:18 Report abuse

  the only phone i have used worse than this is the zte151 i have whilst my 165 is being repaired. its ugly, huge, has crappy software, no features, a big lump where the antenna doesnt fit in the case, crappy car kit, bad setup...ummm. if you are looking for a small brick that is useful for nothing but making phone calls - this is the phone for you. oh by the way, it gets VERY hot after being on the phone for 10 minutes - and no, its not just my model. the company i work for bought these and we ALL have the same problems.

  • Good: reception
  • Bad: battery
    size
    design
    software
    options
    carkit
    its from zte and telstra - 2 companies pushing crap products
• 

  lg ku250 gave 8/10 on 10/06/2008 13:54 Report abuse

  Best for businessmen. This is very hard body hand set. Specially made for those persons those who always on journey or on business tours. I like this phone because of its fast and efficient features. Although i gave rank to this gem is excellent.

  • Good: Small form factor.
    Very light.
    Decent talk time.
    Solid construction.
    Intuitive menu design.
    Finger-friendly keypad.
  • Bad: Nothing.
• 

  matthew260 gave 9/10 on 26/03/2008 16:10 Report abuse

  all u people complaning about it come down to south tassie with your other phones i bet u will be glad u have a f165

  • Good: service where others dont
  • Bad: size for pocket
• 

  bricks gave 2/10 on 17/03/2008 01:38 Report abuse

  To those who gave it 10/10 go back to mars as you are nuts or from telstra, I have had this phone for 4 months now and while it isn't as bad as the 1st 3 F158's they sold our company it is not a good phone. There has been no real reserch gone into functionality or durability which is what they say it's supposed to be, I can no longer see 3 of the buttons as the cheap paint has rubbed off, the silicone around the bottom is peeling off and isn't that thick so doesn't offer protection, the plastic clip offered with phone is a joke and the current record at or work is 3 days before they break (mines 4hrs) and that's from getting into the work van. finally about to order leather case as keeping it in my pocket has resulted in a scratched camera lens and a cracked screen from my keys when I sit down, Connection to pc is sooo slow you think it's from 2004. not brave enough to extend antenna as it's flimsy as others have said, the ZTE website say's they are "shaping the future of the worlds communications" problems is they are 3-4 years behind everyone else. oh and also if you have a micro sd card in it you should put tape over the cover as mine has ejected several times, luckily into my pocket. DONT RECOMMEND!

  • Good: Headset good for those going deaf, just not on MP3 playback though. Camera easy to use, makes good frisby when you end contract
  • Bad: Don't get me started, NOT Durable, poor quality materials on case and keypad, some customising resticted by telstra, Belt clip! Slow in PC connection, lots of missed calls as any key mutes which happens when you walk.
• 

  Harley Dennis gave 10/10 on 01/03/2008 15:48 Report abuse

  I gave it a 10/10 because of what the phone is. It does work in normal dead spots as I have tested it against other Next G phones. The phone is not perfect, but then which one is, all phones have good and bad features. If they made the perfect phone they would not sell that many, because nobody would upgrade. I have two T-165 phones for business and personal use in the bush, and I am satisfied with them. They should make them IP or MIL SPEC rated for outdoor use. The phone is tough but it will still break. At the end of the day its a basic phone, we need to get back to basics, some phones are two full of technology and multimedia, if you are looking for a pocket toy than this is not for you. If you are looking for a practical low end phone, I would consider this unit. I am old school, I just want a phone to be a phone and work as a phone. One day they may get it right. But for now the T-165 will do.

  • Good: Basic design and features, easy of use, light, durable build - but I have not dropped it yet...time will tell.
  • Bad: Big phone, could have been better made for outdoor use and weather protection.
• 

  Elmo gave 10/10 on 01/03/2008 07:30 Report abuse

  good phone under-rated, performs better than most phones twice its cost, signal quality much better in country areas.

  • Good: good all purpose phone, easy to use, practical priced phone.
  • Bad: Should come with car kit as standard seeing its marketed to country users etc.
• 

  Bobby Smith gave 10/10 on 29/02/2008 20:05 Report abuse

  Great Phone works much better in low signal areas. Have used 3 various Next G phones, but this one out performs them all in signal quality.

  • Good: Light, easy to use, and very responsive.
  • Bad: Could have been made smaller, silly little pull up aerial.
• 

  Razor Bak gave 10/10 on 29/02/2008 17:30 Report abuse

  Good Work & Outdoor Cell Phone. Easy to use.

  • Good: Big Phone, Fairly Tough Build.
  • Bad: Small Digits for SMS.