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 Future of the phone I’m going to talk about is now unknown! We don’t know under what name it’ll be released in 2007 and will it be released at all. As you've already heard the German plant which belonged to Siemens and now belongs to BenQ Mobile can be closed. So lets keep fingers crossed for BenQ-Siemens SL91, the unusual and interesting phone of a sexy and classy design.
Appearance and design
Dimension: 88 x 47 x 23 mm; weight: 109g.
It’s a stylish phone with slider design and nice equipment. The manufacturer is not even trying to conceal the fact that the phone was inspired by LG. The new model resembles the famous chocolate; it is only more rounded in shape. The front side of the black shiny phone is "disturbed" by the silver edges of the navigational keys only. Similarly to the LG chocolate, the surrounding functional keys are sensor-based and there's no need to be pressed - a slight touch is enough. The handset weighs a total of 109 grams & measures 89 x 47 x 23 mm which is a solid feel in handset which fits in the user hand beautifully. It’s very comfortable to work with the phone in one hand - slider panel is almost automatic and it opens very easily. It can also serve as a turn-on button. The handset is too thick to wear in the jeans pockets, so it’s better to put it in your bag. It reminds me Motorola PEBL U6 phone that also stands out by its thick and roundish forms. The SL91 has a good ergonomics. Keypad
The SL91 comes with a beautiful keypad backlight which is highly effective. The phone has a touch sensitive navigation keys which can be located on the front of the phone & viewed when the phone is in either its slide open or closed position. The function keys are sensor based surround the main navigation key. The function keys all light up when in use & fade out when not activated. Additional buttons
There is only one additional button which is responsible for camera. By the way it has 2 functions –half-pressed is for auto focusing and fully-pressed is for shoot. It’s not an innovation though. Sizes, Ports and Slots
The handset comes with a stylish stand which has light effects & works as a stand for the handset & also works as a charger. Charger port is default as in other Siemens phones. Memory card slot is located under the battery. It means that not only you should switch off the phone but also take the battery off if you want to change the card. As for me it’s quite uncomfortable! Display
TFT, 240х320, 16.7 million colors
The SL91 comes with a 2 Inch colour screen which displays 16.7 million colours. The screen is crystal clear & provides 240 x 320 pixel screen resolution and provides the user with a high quality & high colour display for viewing all the users photos & video footage. It’s one of the best displays in that range. It’s quite readable on a direct sun. Camera
2048 x 1536 (3,2 Mp), Video, 8x ZOOm
The VGA camera on its front side can be used for video calls, the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, which is situated on the back side can be used for taking pictures or for shooting video. Unfortunately the camera has neither protection cover nor flash and mirror . The picture quality comparing to Sony Ericsson K790i is worst. The BenQ-Siemens SL91 loses by all its features: the optic quality, picture detailing, color balance etc. So I came to conclusion that Camera is not the main feature of this phone and 3,2 Mp it’s only for attracting people! Menu
Menu is one of the most interesting and surprising things I’ve found in that phone. It was completely changed comparing to 75 series. Navigation is still the same but the rest is new and there was added the feature so you can surf the menu not only up and down but also from the side to the side. The BenQ-Siemens SL91 is a fully UMTS capable & comes with tri band technology which works over GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900. The phone comes with a XHTML Internet browser which allows the user to view Web Sites & enjoy an Internet experience. The main menu has 12 animated icons. There are 4 themes in violet-blackish tones that match to the phone’s design. You can change only background pictures. The phone’s memory can fit 500 messages. I’ve found annoying thing – while sending the message you should come through a long procedure: press left soft-button then chose Add Recipient, input the number and then press the left soft-button again and only after chose Send. The phonebook is limited to 1000 numbers. Each has first name, last name, nickname, 4 phone numbers, picture or video while calling, 2 emails, web-site, fax, home and work numbers, company, job title, birthday and note. Amongst the functions, interests arouse the FM radio, which supports RDS, the MP3 player and the video player. Available are, of course, a big phonebook and an organizer with PC Sync options. Imaging
3.2 Megapixel Camera
Auto Focus
Night Mode
Video Recorder
Video Player
Video Streaming
Second VGA Camera
Video Calling
Screensaver
Wallpaper
Themed Display
Photo Caller ID
Messaging
SMS (Text Messaging)
MMS (Multimedia Messaging)
Email
Predictive Text T9 Sound
Music Player (MP3, AAC, eAAC+ & XMF)
Polyphonic Ringtones (72 Voice)
MP3 Ringtones
FM Radio with RDS
Stereo Sound
Vibration Alert Entertainment
Java™ Games
Embedded Games
Downloadable Games Organiser
Phone Book
Calendar
Organiser
Notes
Calculator
Stopwatch
Alarm
Currency Converter
Touch Sensitive Navigation Keys
Connectivity
GPRS
3G
USB
Bluetooth™
Network
Tri Band Technology (GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900)
UMTS Internet
WAP
XHTML
Memory & Talk Time
64 Mbytes Internal Memory plus MiniSD™ Memory Card
3 Hours Talk Time
310 Hours Standby Weight & Size
109 g
89 x 47 x 23 mm Pluses
Nice design
Nice Menu
Outstanding dsplay
Stylish stand Minuses
No IR
Noticeable fingerprints Conclusion
Boasting a 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus and a distinctly attractive design in piano black and chrome, BenQ-Siemens' new SL91 camera phone will turn heads wherever it goes. Usually, features and fashion are mutually exclusive as far as phones are concerned; not so with the SL91 from BenQ-Siemens. A high-resolution colour screen runs in tandem with a 3.2 Megapixel camera with autofocus to render it among the most capable camera phones announced, storing stills and video to memory cards and route. |
