As a bit of a nokia fan, I was a bit apprehensive about the purchase of my siemens A55mobile phone. But at the cheapest on the market (correct 29.03.04) at £49.99 I thought it was a bit of a bargain!
~~~Aesthetics~~~ Lets forget about the unimportant packaging and go straight on to the little red phone inside the box. When I first saw it in O2, I must admit it was the price my eyes were drawn too but on closer inspection the phone seemed pretty small and smooth i.e. no abrasive edges so comfortable to put into your pocket or slide into your tiny handbag for a night out. The exact measurements are 103 x 46 x 21.5 mm which is about 4 x 2" .
The phone comes in two colours red and blue with stoney grey sides. You can get exchangeable covers but I havent been able to find any since I bought the phone! All there seems to be are Nokia covers on the market... this can be a bit annoying but the bright red of my phone looks good so Im happy to keep it.
As for the buttons, they are fairly small but I think would be okay for everyone and like most mobiles are silver in colour. The screen is a decent size considering the size of the phone - probably about 1 x 1.5". It is quite an odd orange colour and always present on the screen is
battery life, signal, service provider (e.g. O2), date and time. There is also a feature where you can set a link up on the main screen which takes you directly to your favourite/most essential menu! (Very handy for writing texts quickly!)
The final thing to say about the look of the phone is that there is no visible aerial which I think is an advantage not only from an aesthetic point of view but also when carrying the phone in your pocket.
~~~ Features ~~~
The MENU
Messages One of the best things about writing a message on this phone is the number of characters available to you. On my previous Nokia phones I've only had 160 so I was surprised to find 760 on this phone. Thats a big increase and really useful because you dont have to try and cut your long messages down to a few words. Pre-defined texts (i.e. short messages already stored on the phone like - Please call back) are also available although I have to say I've never really used these. I find it quicker to type my own message.
Call records You can find all the standard features in this menu e.g.missed calls, calls received, calls dialled, erase records and duration/charges.
Alarm Clock The good thing about the alarm on this phone is you can set it to be a ring tone and wake up to something decent in the morning rather than that constant bleep that we all hate!!
Surf and Fun There are 7 sub menus here : 1. Internet - there is WAP available on the phone, it can be a bit temperemental at times but on the whole pretty good. I was surprised to find such a cheap phone even had internet access!! 2. Games - there are 4 games on the phone -- Stack Attack : kind of a strange version of tetris involving a little man moving falling bricks in order to make a row -- Balloon Shooter : quite an easy one, basically pop the balloons that appear on screen! -- Move the box : 14 levels so hours of fun! Involves pusing boxes over designated squares. Difficult to explain but quite fun! (Cant complete level 6 so thats one to watch out for!) -- Wacko : Try to hit the creatures that pop up but avoiding the floppy eared ones at the same time! (Bit of a dodgy game!) 3. Own animations : these are little animated pictures that you can set as your screensaver. There are 8 different ones including a heart, smiley face etc 4. Own pictures : There are lots of static pictures here which can be used as a screensaver or logo for your phone. Pics include cartoon faces showing different emotions and then also things like flowers, a teddybear etc 5. Own sounds : Available in the tones menu so not really worked out this feature yet! 6. Calculator : this ones self-explanatory really! 7. Curreny Converter : I've always thought this was a useful feature but not really sure how to set it up even after looking at the instruction manual!
Ring Tones Polyphonic ringtones are on the phone so you can download some good ones from the internet. Nevertheless there are a good selection to choose from!! You can also assign different ringtones to different people so you know whos calling you without looking! There are also loads of different message tones which are polyphonic. You also have the option to assign a ringtone for a message although I think this could get a bit confusing!
Profiles A menu that I have never been able to figure out. I think its to do with how loud your phone rings in different environments but have a look at the manual to see if you can make any sense of it!
Setup 1. Language : You can put your phone in 12 different languages although not too sure how useful this feature is if you can only speak english 2.Logo : basically allows you to configure the font size,contrast and whether you have a logo or not 3. Screensaver : similar to logo but you can password protect it which is pretty good so no-one has acces to your phone 4.Call setup - enables you to hide your caller ID which is a feature I haven't seen before and I think is really useful 5.Divert - you can set the phone up to divert calls directly to your answer machine. 6.Clock - basically just setting the time and date and feature where you can hide or show clock 7.Security - allows you to set a pin for the phone and also block certain numbers from calling you. 8.Network - if you lose your network, the phone tries to actively search for it 9.Master Reset - Resets everything back to manufacturers settings so I would advise to stay away from this function!
Phonebook You can store up to 50 names and numbers in the phone. A good feature for me is the option, where there is a special section just for the number of the phone because I find so many people ask for my number and I can never remember it! One final feature is the group setting where by you can organise your contacts into different groups e.g. family, friends
~~~ Other Useful Information ~~~ -- Hands free option -- Dual band -- Talk time = 300mins -- charging time is about 1.5hours for a full battery depending on how low you let it run -- to lock the phone you hold the hash key which unlocks itself very easily in your pocket.
In general, its a good, reliable and cheap little phone which has lots of features to offer with very few disadvantages!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Nice review, just a quick note you may want to say what dual band is, not a long thing could just be
Dual Band - Means you can use phone everywhere except USA/Canada. lgray
anthmack 04.07.2004 19:22
BRILLIANT! A little dated for myself, but you described it wonderfully. Dserved of an exceptional raring! Antony
kirsty_reynolds 15.06.2004 20:38
This is a very helpful review. I found it really easy to understand as each feature on the phone has been explained.
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May 14th, 2004
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