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Siemens SL65 Review
The SL65 is a true jewel in technology and design. And like any jewel, you have to slide the two shells of this tiny giant to open it up. Once uncovered, the inside of the SL65 unveils a whole set of high-tech features. A built-in digital camera allows for video and image capturing in excellent quality.
Siemens SL65 Review (Expert)
What regards features and performance, the SL65 certainly performs better than your average handset. Its main draw, however, is the sliding mechanism and the resulting compact form factor - a solution Siemens has implemented with great success. For those looking for a phone with good looks which also handles basic tasks such as SMS messaging, the SL65 comes recommended. What's positive: Great keypad; good battery life. What's negative: Slippery joystick.
There is no doubt that this is a clear improvement over the SL55. Our feeling however is that it could have been a lot better. Niggles aside its difficult not to like this handset. Pros: Very small handset with clear advantages over its predecessor, Good sized keys, Well spaced, Easy to use, Built in good quality camera, Stylish. Cons: No Megapixel camera, No MP3 ringtones, Old navigation system could be more graphical.
Aesthetically, this Siemens kept much of its predecessor's looks, including the manual slide-up. However, after being pampered by Samsung E800's slick sliding mechanism, we find the SL65 a little cumbersome to use. While unlocking the unit, we would end up activating the WAP browser inadvertently as the key is excessively large...Unlike Samsung's dualband offering, Siemens triband SL65 is a boon for frequent globetrotters. Additionally, this handset's speakerphone is convenient for mobile professionals and those who don't like to be bogged down by a handsfree. That said, users finicky about voice quality may want to consider the Samsung E800 as it delivers superior voice quality, thanks to its noise-canceling technology...Despite some glaring design mishaps mentioned earlier, this mobile remains attractive in terms of feature set and triband capability. For those who don't travel and would rather opt for better voice quality, the pricier Samsung E800 may be a better option.
The quality of the 40-tones polyphony rouses no any troubles, the device is heard well in different conditions, the vibrating alert is also felt. The sound in the loudspeaker is clear and noiseless, the device proved itself well in different conditions. If loading unoriginal midi-files they will sound low. There is no support for mp3 melodies... SL65 seems absolutely absurd, it is large and heavy that makes it uninteresting for women. On the other hand there are not so many competitive advantages for its segment, they are a good phone book, organizer and IrDA. More functional Siemens S65 with megapixel camera, bluetooth comes with a comparable price and many men will certainly choose it. Those ones who look for more functionality will remain with a younger model CX65. Thus SL 65 is a niche solution for men, there are too little people who consider phones by Siemens fashionable and are ready to pay more for the design. Unfortunately, I have to establish a fact that the next attempt to create a fashion device failed. Siemens SL65 will repeat the destiny of SL55, and that means the price will fall. The company still has failed to create a worthy device in the fashion segment since Siemens SL45 and as a result has minimal sales here. SL65 is extremely "thoughtful" with the existing software (12 version). Many tasks and operations are too long and that is the main minus of the device. It even makes laugh if to close the device and open it at once you'll see a note telling the keypad is locked. The phone just won't have enough time to trace its own condition. And the same for many other functions, the device is not fast. The number of bugs is still big and the device is raw. I think that the majority of the disadvantages will have been improved by the 20 version of the software.
Finally I ordered it and a few days later it was delivered. And what a disappointment.... I can't really put my finger on it but the SL65 isn't exactly nice... To begin with it feels very plasticky, and it is huge compared to the SL55. Ok, I should stop this now, it's just getting too personal and you don't want that now, do you? I have to say though, I know loads of people who finds the SL65 really nice and think it's the most beautiful thing around at the moment, but you'll never agree on design anyway, as it is such a subjective subject. It does look good on the back though ;)..The first think you'll notice on the SL65 is the huge internet key, why did this have to be a key? You know, I keep pressing it every time I open up the slider, and even though the 'keylock' is supposed to be on the key is pressed down and the WAP browser is opened. I find this so incredibly annoying. I also keep on pressing it sometimes when I am playing games where the joystick is in use. I can see the key is there because of the design, but did Siemens really need to make it so incredibly sensitive? However, I am impressed with the joystick It works very well and is not slippery at all, and it moves the cursor or object, depending on what application you are using, perfectly when using the joystick in either direction...The SL65 has 10,32MB memory. Approximately 6MB memory is free when you buy the phone, but you can of course delete the preinstalled content if you like. 6MB memory is enough for about 170 pictures in VGA resolution and 1600 pictures in MMS resolution, so there should be plenty of space! The SL65 has got a VGA camera, good enough resolution for MMS and web images. The positioning of the camera lens might be a problem for some, including me. If you use the camera while slider is closed, everything is fine, but if you use it while slider is open you might see only your fingers in the view finder. Not a very big problem though, but you need to learn where to keep your fingers while using the camera with slider open. It's nice that you can use the camera with the slider closed, as none of the other SL55 copies can do that. The viewfinder is excellent, and sorry S65-fans, I have to say it's better than on the S65.
Siemens SL65 Review (User)
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