Siemens MT50

When I accidentally dropped my Siemens C35i at the dentist in June 2002 and cracked the face, I never thought I would end up choosing a different model phone to replace it. It was my third different Mobile phone handset. My previous models were a Siemens S6 (contract one2one) and Mitsubishi Trium (pay&go BT cellnet). I upgraded BOTH to Siemens C35i (on my contract phone at yearly intervals - the second C35i being an "unlocked" handset from ...
...as the original and replacement Siemens phones (so I could recognize the phone ringing as my own!), as well as some other ringtones.

I bought it, originally intending to use the handset merely while the C35i was having it's "facelift" - and sent the phone for repair at a cost of £47 (not cheap). It took a while to get used to the new features, but I kept finding things I liked about my NEW MT50 phone, and never DID go back ... more

When I accidentally dropped my Siemens C35i at the dentist in June 2002 and cracked the face, I never thought I would end up choosing a different model phone to replace it. It was my third different Mobile phone handset. My previous models were a Siemens S6 (contract one2one) and Mitsubishi Trium (pay&go BT cellnet). I upgraded BOTH to Siemens C35i (on my contract phone at yearly intervals - the second C35i being an "unlocked" handset from Carphone Warehouse into which I placed my BTcellnet SIM).

But in JUNE 2002, not one retailer was still selling the C35i in either T-mobile (the old one2one) or O2 (the old BTcellnet) - In fact, I could not even find a C35i or C35e setup for any OTHER UK mobile network (which I could have bought and had unlocked - see how attached I had become to that model!). The search for a trustworthy replacement was ON!

The problem is this: mobile phone preferences are SO personal. It took me nearly THREE months to finally give up the search for a C35i and accept a new model - a PAYG MT50 (£30 off retail price at Tesco with voucher from August Clubcard Statement) to put my chip in while I sent my broken C35i to have the screen mended.

The surprise is, I now use the MT50 (or a subsequent MT50 WAP) as my main contract phone - and hardly miss the other - HOW ON EARTH DID THAT CHANGE COME ABOUT?

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(The "History of Phones" section is now at the bottom)

I had sold the Trium (after swapping to C35i handset) to a fellow student whose Trium was on it's last legs (HER aerial was broken off and replaced with a bit of metal coat hanger, the casing was cracked) and surprisingly enough, SHE also couldn't imagine using any other handset than the one she was used to, so when she heard I was disposing of my O2 Trium handset (but not the SIM) happily bought it off me.

Unfortunately, this meant that when I damaged the screen of the one2one handset in June 2002, I had no spare phone to place my O2 PAYG SIM in if I transferred the one2one SIM back into its "upgrade" - which is why I was looking for either a T-mobile or O2 handset.

I was offered a "reasonable price" (£89.99) for a C45 in the O2 shop. But I hated the orange screen, the shape of the phone, and the harder-to-use buttons, so I kept using the phone with the cracked screen until I could no longer read it and the option to replace or repair became critical.

I decided I might just have to wait six months until Feb 2003 for a new upgrade - I certainly was not going to pay THAT much for a phone I didn't like! Could I cope until then?

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. . . . . I Purchase the MT50 . . . . .
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At this point, my August 2002 Clubcard Vouchers arrived and offered a £30 discount on the PAYG MT50. I decided to at least look at the model, as I hadn't heard of it before.

Hey, WOW! It had a much easier to read BLUE screen! DYSLEXIC FRIENDLY!! The buttons were easy to press! The ring tones had the same basic options as the original and replacement Siemens phones (so I could recognize the phone ringing as my own!), as well as some other ringtones.

I bought it, originally intending to use the handset merely while the C35i was having it's "facelift" - and sent the phone for repair at a cost of £47 (not cheap). It took a while to get used to the new features, but I kept finding things I liked about my NEW MT50 phone, and never DID go back to the C35i.

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. . . . . Features . . . . .
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As a dyslexic, I could never remember the SIM's PIN or PUK (a bit like bankcard PINs ~ another story) - in fact, I have never used it and haven't a clue what it is - I should have changed it while I had a chance - too late now. BUT - the MT50 has a "phonecode" controlled screensaver and security features locked into the PHONE, not the SIM. And YOU set your OWN memorable pass code - which only is required when you want to use the appropriate features which you have security locked ~ such as screensaver and private notes.

If the screensaver comes on, you need the phonecode before you can do ANYTHING except answer the phone. You cannot even turn the phone off without it. If someone took the phone, and you tried to locate it by ringing it, the thief could silence the call, but you could keep trying until the battery ran out of charge (up to ten days later), and they could not turn the phone off without the phonecode.

Not only can you set diary items (like the C35i) to ring the alarm to a tune of your choice, you have the option to set the same alarm weekly for SPECIFIED days of the week - not just "weekly", "daily", "yearly" or just "once". And if you use the "Greetings" feature of the diary it gives you a day's warning as well as the actual day.

Another amazing new feature is the ARCHIVE - you can store messages (and re-name them) in an archive so you know just when you received that message (good or bad) and you can also store messages you yourself sent - in that case it only records the time you stored it in the archive. It stores the SMS as smo(outgoing) or smi(incoming) so you can tell who sent the message at what time.

You can have up to 8 fastkeys set up (plus "1" for voicemail) to dial directly a favourite number or activity. I miss the ability to use the calculator (on the C35i) when I pressed "5" as this handset has no "calculator" facility - now I go to "Greetings" when I press "5" instead, so I can double-check what events are coming up soon.

You can download java games from the internet ~ one game was included ~ but I rarely used it for game-play, as playing games does decrease battery time available.

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. . . . . Usage . . . . .
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Sending text messages is easy (you can turn T9 on and off using the # key) and can include up to four full message lengths (plus a portion of a fifth) in one combined message ~ although it charges per message length sent. You can even underline sections (using the "format" option) for greater clarity.

You can add pictures and tunes to your SMS but they can really only be appreciated by someone with a compatible ~ Siemens ~ phone ~ in common with many phones (Nokia, LG) which also send "own brand only" compatible features. Incompatible features either do not show up or show up as gibberish.

Reception is quite good, and call quality excellent ~ I was particularly glad to not experience the "echo" effect you sometimes get ~ when you hear your own voice almost immediately after you have spoken. It may be network-dependant, but I have rarely had a problem with slow connection of calls, unlike my Motorola C975 3-network phone.

And the phone has integrated very well with the SIM card - so much so that I hesitated to remove the SIM for any reason. It is one of the easiest phones to use I have ever tried.

I have truly found this MT50 a phone to trust.

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Technical Information:
GSM class: 4 (2 Watt)
Frequency range: 880-960 MHz
GSM class: 1 (1 Watt)
Frequency range: 1.710 - 1.880 MHz
Weight: 97 g
Dimensions: 109 x 46 x 23mm (82 ccm)
Operating temperature: -10 C to 55 C
Standby time: 60hr - 260hr
Talk time: 90min - 360min
SIM card: 3.0 Volt
SAR: 0.98 W/kg

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If you are looking for this phone, I have not seen it on offer anywhere in the shops - I saw it as low as £49 before it disappeared from the supermarket shelves altogether. It may well be available on Amazon Marketplace or eBay ~ I replaced my "drowned" MT50 (in July 2004) with a Brand New MT50 WAP phone on eBay (reviewed as "I Didn't Mean to Drown Your Sister"), and have since acquired an additional (used) MT50 phone on eBay with a one2one PAYG SIM at a reasonable price.

© 2004, 2006 jesi ..…………………- ♥ - jes ≈≈≈≈{; -)-{{::::: |||||<

ps: Why do they discontinue models just when you are enjoying using them?

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. . . . . Me and my Mobile Phones (from the original review). . . . .
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I NEED TO START AT THE BEGINNING (this makes sense to me!).

I had purchased a Siemens S6 (yes, a "brick") all-in-one (one2one) contract phone in October 1999 at the amazingly reduced price of £50 for one year of unlimited weekend calls to "land-line"s with a monthly option to follow if I did nothing at the end of the first year.

By February, I had added "Mobile e-mail" to my options - receiving up-to-9-segments of SMS-length (160 char) e-mails from family and friends over the world. (Of course, the first 9 sections of a 36-section e-mail from my sister once included mainly the forwarding addresses of all her friends... with only a snippet of the actual story she was forwarding - and she never DID manage to send the remainder by snail-mail as promised . . . I finally received the story ~ Easter 2006 ~ from someone else in another e-mail).

Then one2one decided to alter the charging system for e-mails - instead of a flat monthly fee and 4p per e-mail sent they were going to charge 10p per e-mail (or segment of e-mail -?-) sent OR received. As I couldn't budget for other persons use of e-mail sent ( and remembering that 9-parts-out-of-36 meaningless e-mail...), I cancelled one2one e-mail and bought a "freeserve" BTcellnet Mitsubishi Trium for £29.99 at Dixons in October 2000 - with free internet access for so many minutes a month for the first few months.

By February 2001, I was tired of the weight of the S6 and, having been informed that I could apply for a handset upgrade for the contract phone, looked at the available options. The C35i stood out head and shoulders above the opposition. It was compact, the number pads were easy to press; it had multiple alarms [essential for one who forgets to eat and needs reminding what day and what time it is!]; the battery charged quickly and then lasted for hours even when talking; you could continue to talk while the battery was on charge; it was comfortable to hold, and above all, when it was hung around my neck in a specially knitted holder, it did not drag my head off my shoulders.

The PAYG Trium was also starting to annoy me - you couldn't change the alarm or message alerts - the available tunes began to irritate me; you needed to fully extend the aerial to get reception - and I ended up keeping the flap off so I could use it in a hurry. Looking for an O2 replacement (like my C35i), I discovered that I could upgrade my contract one2one phone (Feb 2002) to an unlocked C35i (generic Carphone Warehouse variety) so I did.

And, as they say, "The rest is HISTORY!"

 

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