Recently I decided that the time had come to join the mobile phone revolution. I have not really needed a phone before, but as I am now driving, I think that a phone with me in the car is a good idea for if I breakdown or for in emergencies. Also at work I never know what I am doing from one day to the next, so I need a phone to let my family know where I am and when I will be back and also to communicate with my employer.
I looked in the Argos catalogue, to be somewhat disappointed with the selection on offer. I then had a look in out local mobile phone shop, to be greeted by an array of expensive contract mobiles. These are fine if you use your phone a lot, but I do not intend on using my phone every day or even once a week, only when it is necessary. I eventually looked in Woolworths to see a cheaper selection of pay as you go phones.
The bright yellow Siemens M35i stood out as it was not only different but cheap too compared to the competition, at £69.99. It was on the One 2 One (Now T-Mobile) network and the call charges seemed reasonable.
The One 2 One network charged 30p a minute for the first two minutes of the day and after you'd used those two minutes each day the charge dropped to 5p a minute to normal landlines and other One 2
One mobiles. I am uncertain of the new T-Mobile charges, but there are a couple of call options available.
The phone is a limited edition or special colour, Hurricane Yellow. It is also available in blue and grey. I think the yellow is a great colour as you are hardly likely to lose it and it doesn’t blend in with the crowd. The only problem with the yellow is that it shows up any dirt or dust very easily.
The phone has a built in aerial and a good key layout. I think the power button could be a little bit larger though. You can sometimes miss it or not get your finger to push it in completely. It has improved shock, dust and water resistance and I have found this to be very useful. I work in a dusty environment and so far so good, the keypad seems to be dust free and unaffected at the moment. It is a sturdy feeling phone, I have accidentally dropped it from pocket height several times and it even seems to bounce instead of breaking or cracking. The screen does scratch quite easily, but I can still see it very well.
It weighs 130 grams and the dimensions are 118mm x 47mm x 22mm. It seems fairly heavy at first, but when you are carrying it all day it seems fairly light. I can not really compare the weight to other phones as I have not had one before.
The phone has quick menu keys which are two buttons just under the screen, which can control four functions. You can use them to open new text messages, pick up voicemail messages and so on as they correspond to the text at the bottom of the screen above the button. So to open the menu from the main screen where it says ‘menu’ above the right button, one push on the quick menu key and you are there. Then the left button acts as the up and down through the menu.
It has a high resolution display with up to five lines on the screen at once. The battery seems to last quite well. I have been able to keep the phone on standby as well as talking, with out the battery running out in about three days sometimes more. It is stated that the standby time is approximately 50-180 hours depending upon local and network conditions. Talk time is again subject to local and network conditions and is approximately 90-300 minutes. The battery supplied is a NiMH (500mAH) and takes about 2 hours to recharge from flat. It comes complete with a charge which fits into the bottom of the phone and there is a rubber grommet that fits in when it is not being charged.
~UPDATE~ Over time the battery has really deteriorated. I am lucky now to get a whole day on standby out of it! That's without making a call or sending any text messages! I am informed that this was a problem with these Siemens batteries and that the more recent batteries have vastly improved lives and standby times. However, my battery is pretty much useless, one long call and it is flat! I have run the battery care that runs the battery flat then starts again, probably to remove any memory effects batteries sometimes get from charging when they are not flat. I now just charge it up at every available moment. I am never far from my car charger, so I don't worry, but otherwise this could be a serious problem. I now cannot leave it on overnight, unless plugged into a mains charger, otherwise I am woken by the flat battery signal! I considered buying a replacement battery, but at over £30 I will just keep charging this one at every available moment!
The SIM card supplied is a plug-in 1.8V/3V card. The phone is also capable of WAP internet access. I have not tried this option, so I am not in a position to comment on it. I have heard that WAP on phones is slow, costly and not very impressive. I am probably never going to use this feature, but I understand that you can access certain plain text websites and also retrieve your emails on your phone. This may be useful to some people, but I am not one of them!
You can store up to 250 telephone numbers and names on the SIM card. There are alarm settings, stopwatch, picture messaging, SMS (Short Messaging Service), Calculator, lists of dialled and received calls and redial list functions. There are 21 ringtones and one that you can compose yourself. It can also be changed to silent mode to vibrate instead of ringing. The volume can be adjusted, but I have found that it is not as loud as many other phones. You can also lock the keypad to prevent buttons being pressed by accident, although this is not always completely successful as you have to hold the # key until it displays keypad locked or unlocked. The number 9 can still be pressed due to emergency calls, but this can be a nuisance as the dial button can be pressed if the nine is selected three times. Also if the # button is somehow held down for a while by accident it can be unlocked.
You can add a PIN number to lock your phone, preventing others from using it without knowing the code. There are also some animations that can be chosen for when you switch your phone off. These can sometimes be annoying, as they take sometime to play and then an advert for the Siemens website is displayed, which makes the process of switching off your phone a long and drawn out experience.
The phone has four games, which I have not become addicted to, as they seem fairly slow and quite boring. They are a maze game-wayout, connect 4-Quattropoli, Microsofts Minesweeper like in Windows and reversi. I am a like surprised that there isn’t a game similar to Nokia’s Snake.
I have been very impressed by the phone as it is capable of doing everything I require. The One 2 One network is fairly good, although where I have been out on site from work I have been unable to pick up a signal which has resulted in some people not being able to contact me for sometime. It appears to be a bad area for all mobile phones though, as the vodafone network was also unable to pick up a signal there either.
I would highly recommend this phone as it is quite small, robust, stylish, well equipped and very well designed. If you are looking for a fairly cheap, pay as you go phone, possibly needing WAP access, then this may be the one for you. It does have some problems such as the keylock not being 100% effective and also the power key is a bit small, if it as the same size as the call button there would not be a problem. I like the soft key menu keys as they make life a lot quicker and easier navigating your way through the menus. I have soon got used to the phone and learnt how to use it quickly and efficiently. There are still features that I am finding, even a month or so after buying it!
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Li-Ion Battery for Siemens M35imatch (compatible) for follow types:Siemens more
M35iProductdetails:CE - tested virginLi-Ion - Lithium Ion battery 3.7 Vwith overcharging and overheating protection by the mobileeasy to use mobile phones, 100% accurately fittingno memory effect (anytime load, without damaging the battery)brand-new premium brand cells equippedsuper long lifecorresponds to highest safety standardsyour previous charger, you can use to continue naturally1A foreign manufacturers qualityContent of one package:Li-Ion Battery for Siemens M35i
Li-Ion Battery for Siemens M35imatch (compatible) for follow types:Siemens more
M35iProductdetails:CE - tested virginLi-Ion - Lithium Ion battery 3.7 Vwith overcharging and overheating protection by the mobileeasy to use mobile phones, 100% accurately fittingno memory effect (anytime load, without damaging the battery)brand-new premium brand cells equippedsuper long lifecorresponds to highest safety standardsyour previous charger, you can use to continue naturally1A foreign manufacturers qualityContent of one package:Li-Ion Battery for Siemens M35i
Advantages: WAP enabled, Great features list, Good price, Water/shock resistant, Lightweight, Good battery times Disadvantages: Too many features! May take some time to learn them all.
Lancer 23.06.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Siemens M35i
Advantages: Siemens, Small, No ariel, WAP, Battery life, Customizable, easy to use menu Disadvantages: Does not have GPRS but is not in the price range
matty4donna 15.06.2002 (23.07.2002)
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Review of Siemens C45
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Nov 27th, 2001
(May 18th, 2003)
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