Siemens S65

...sense). I patiently waited for Siemens to release new firmware (phone software - like a patch for a computer) for the phone before I began my review and they did but unfortunately this phone still does not live up to my modest expectations and I’ll detail why over the course of this review

Specifications:

65k colours. 132 x 176 pixels screen.
900Mhz/1800Mhz/1900Mhz (Triband)(Usable in USA)
5Hrs Talk Time ...
...(serial/USB) that is sold by Siemens and unlike the S55 package; they did not put one in the S65 box. Add that to the list of items you need! As to update the phone’s firmware you need this cable.

The phone has an impressively large screen which is clear, bright and colourful unless it’s marred by dust of course.

The Dictaphone type feature is able to record for hours (until your memory runs out) so it is useful for ... more

After being very impressed by the performance of the S65’s predecessor the S55 I went out and bought this phone quite soon after it was released on the O2 platform on contract for free (free in the pay every month sense). I patiently waited for Siemens to release new firmware (phone software - like a patch for a computer) for the phone before I began my review and they did but unfortunately this phone still does not live up to my modest expectations and I’ll detail why over the course of this review

Specifications:

65k colours. 132 x 176 pixels screen.
900Mhz/1800Mhz/1900Mhz (Triband)(Usable in USA)
5Hrs Talk Time (Quoted)
250Hrs Standby (Quoted)
1.3 Megapixel Camera/Video
GPRS/WAP/T9 Pred. Text./Bluetooth/IrDA
Alarm Clock
Calculator
Unit Converter: (velocity, mass, area, volume, power, time, pressure, length, temperature, currency and energy) a very impressive range of units!
Stopwatch
Countdown
Voice Recorder

The Bad:

While the phone boasts a headline grabbing 1.3 Mega Pixel camera the quality of the photos are absolutely abysmal unless you are taking photos outside on a bright day. Any attempts to take photos either indoors or in any medium/low light environment result in a noise ridden blurry mishmash. Of course, you could invest in the clip-on flash but many other phones of this type manage to take perfectly acceptable clean photos without this annoying impediment. The S65 can also capture two minutes of video which also suffers the same problems as taking photos. Having said that however, the photos are not too bad looking when they are seen on the phone itself, the main problem lies in viewing the photos on a computer but this is a strange use of those 1.3 Megapixels...
Also relating to the camera: when you press the button to take a picture a loud shutter sound will sound (required by law I think) but the picture is not taken when the shutter sound is played but about 1 second after that so if you move the phone quickly you will miss the object of the shot entirely.

After having the phone for slightly over two months now a concerning amount of dust has accumulated under the screen (which is immovable) and a glitter effect can be seen when using the phone in the dark with the backlight on. Goodness knows what it will be like after a year. So if you do buy this phone keep it hermitically sealed when not in use and perhaps Sellotape over the speaker (where the dust presumably enters).

It also has no codec for MP3s so you will not be able to have MP3 encoded ringtones or music.

The Good:

There are plenty of ways to connect this phone to your computer to transfer data such as files, tunes and photos (on second thoughts probably not). Infrared is the first option, a line of sight and slow method but most laptops since the beginning of time have IrDA built in. Then there is the relatively new Bluetooth which is faster and works well up to 10m away but most computers and laptops unless they are new will not have this built in, I had to buy a Bluetooth USB device to connect to the laptop to utilise this feature. Lastly, there is the Data Transfer Cable (serial/USB) that is sold by Siemens and unlike the S55 package; they did not put one in the S65 box. Add that to the list of items you need! As to update the phone’s firmware you need this cable.

The phone has an impressively large screen which is clear, bright and colourful unless it’s marred by dust of course.

The Dictaphone type feature is able to record for hours (until your memory runs out) so it is useful for taking notes and or conducting interviews.

The phone is ergonomically sound and the key layout standard unlike some other phones but you will probably need small hands to use it effectively without mashing multiple keys regularly.

The camera lens is protected by being recessed with an extruding piece of plastic surrounding it which unfortunately is a repository for dust and is best cleaned with a moist cotton bud or compressed air. The dust which collects here doesn’t seem to adversely affect the already dismal quality photos.

The phone has GPRS which allows you to surf the internet/retrieve e-mail at a higher rate than was previously achievable. I have not been able to get GPRS working in conjunction with this laptop but that is probably due to my own incompetence. It works fine on the phone but attempting to open anything larger than a modest webpage results in a lack of memory error and you being unable to get the information that you require.

This phone has the ability to run Java games/applications which will help stop boredom on long journeys.

The phone has the ability to take MMC cards which allow you to store your photos and videos. A 32 Megabyte card is provided in the package which is very generous. 

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