A review of Benq-Siemens Mobile phone EL71
Review of Benq-Siemens EL71 Mobile phone
Introduction:
This is a personal review of the Benq-Siemens EL71 mobile phone. This is a Tri-band phone with a ‘slider’ shape or form factor that I have purchased and used for nearly one month. The purpose of the review is to assist people who are contemplating purchasing a mobile phone and have the daunting task of sifting through the maze of literally thousands of phones before making a decision. The procedure for buying the phone will vary depending on the budget that is available. Decisions will have to be made about the price, brand, features, aesthetics, accessories, maintenance (insurance, battery), ownership, user support and ability to upgrade. These points are important so we will have a brief discussion on each below;
PRICE
Everything affects the price, so this is the obvious starting point. If there are budget constraints, a decision must be made on the amount that you want to spend. This will determine choices for all of the following items. This phone was purchased on a ‘Pay as You Go’ plan and costs £79.99 (£89.99 less £10 bonus air time)
BRAND
This is a fairly new brand as Benq-Siemens is the product of a merger that took place in 2005. Both companies were well known in their respective fields but it is expected that it would take sometime for the integration of both firms to take place and for the benefits from the synergies to materialize. They will be eager to make their mark as Benq-Siemens so we can expect them to introduce new and innovative products to attract the market’s attention.
FEATURES
The phone features a 1.3 mega pixel camera with 5x digital zoom, multimedia player, Personal Information Management (PIM) including address book, email, organiser and Microsoft® Outlook synchronisation, Data Services including Internet Browser, high speed data transfer, device to device connectivity using USB and Bluetooth technologies, video capture, games among other things.
AESTHETICS
The phone is beautiful to look at. It ships in two colours Quartz Anthracite and Opal black. Unfortunately for me, only the Quartz Anthracite was available and although if looks good, I think I would have preferred the black.
ACCESSORIES
There are a significant number of compatible accessories that you can buy for this phone ranging from carrying case to phone stands. These are available on their website and can be found at the following link; http://www.benq-siemens.com/cds/frontdoor/0,2241,hq_en_0_140777_0_view%253Aaccess_spec%253A0_ab%253A0_clr%253A0_clrNum%253A1,00.html.
MAINTENANCE
Depending on the plan under which the phone was purchased, you may be given the option to insure the phone. At the rate at which phones are being stolen in London, this is something that you should consider.
OWNERSHIP
There is always the option to ‘buy’ the phone or rent it ‘free’ under the terms of some plan. You should consider both options seriously. The rental plan has its advantages in that you may be able to choose a phone that you would consider to be too expensive to buy and usually there are provisions to upgrade the phones when newer models are available. However, you will be saddled with a monthly charge based on your level of usage and the features chosen.
USER SUPPORT
All options for user support should be considered before the phone is purchased. Try to avoid those players who charge customers who call for help. The other thing to consider is whether the user manual provided is comprehensive enough so that you can understand it because trying to get through to user support can be a time wasting exercise. Also it helps if they provide Internet based user support. All options are available for the EL71. In my opinion the Internet based support is adequate and I would advise anyone planning to buy the EL71 to read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) first.
UPGRADE
Finally, you should evaluate whether you can upgrade the phone’s software and at what costs. This is available from the Benq-Siemens website.
Technical Specifications
The following link will take you to the Benq-Siemens website where you can get all of the technical specifications about the phone. To visit the website now just click the link http://www.benq-siemens.com/cds/frontdoor/0,2241,hq_en_0_140777_0_view%253Atechdata_spec%253A0_ab%253A0_clr%253A0_clrNum%253A1,00.html
What’s in the box?
This will vary depending on the plan under which the phone was purchased. I purchased the phone under the ‘Pay as You Go’ plan and so all I got was;
- Hands free Kit
- Software CD with drivers, Mobile Phone Manager Software and User Manual (PDF)
- Wall Adapter for charging the phone
- User Manual (hardcopy) and of course
- The Benq-Siemens EL71 Mobile Phone
Those who purchase the phone under any other plan also receive the Benq-Siemens DCA-140 USB Data Cable.
‘Must have’ Accessory
Benq-Siemens DCA-140 USB Data Cable
You can operate the phone and utilize most features without the data cable. However, if you are someone like me who wants to maximise the use of the phone, the data cable is a ‘must have’ accessory.
The discussion that follows will highlight ‘what’s cool’ and ‘what’s not cool’ about the EL71. I am not comparing it to any other phone; I am focussing on the EL71 only. This means that some of the features may be available with other handsets. Also, there are many more features than the ones that I will identify.
What’s cool about the EL71?
- MPN – The Mobile Phone Manager allows you to work from the PC and then synchronise the changes with the phone. The software includes the organiser, messages, Photo Editor, Media Pool for ripping CD’s in the format supported by the phone, backup feature and a lot more. This is top class software.
- When using the messaging feature, you can send and receive messages through the phone as long as the phone is connected to the computer either via USB or Bluetooth.
- The alert for any appointments etc. will still be activated even if the phone is switched off.
- The interface is user friendly and it is easy to change, delete, and install any feature that you require.
- You can perform almost all of the functions of the phone without sliding out the keyboard. These includes making calls from the address book, answering calls, change settings, review calls, turn off the phone, play music, use the camera, use the torch etc.
- The phone can be used as a modem and when connected to a PC it can be used to connect the PC to the Internet as well as for sending and receiving faxes. Please note that this service is not free and is usually more expensive when compared to the usual methods of connecting to the Internet or sending and receiving faxes. I see myself only using it as a ‘last resort’.
- Those who purchase the data cable can use the cable to charge the phone. This is cool considering that it comes with the usual adapter that you can plug into the wall.
What’s NOT so cool about the EL71?
Memory
The phone ships with approximately 17MB of memory. When I received the phone is had approximately 5MB of free memory. This is enough for you to use the phone features and the installed features, but if you want to take pictures and use the multimedia features, this is totally inadequate. If you intend to buy this phone, then budget for at least 1GB of additional memory. I think that they should include more memory and increase the price of the phone rather than selling the phone with less memory thus frustrating the consumer when they realise that they have to purchase more memory to use some of the features.
Camera Specifications
This is a 1.3 Mega pixel camera so do not expect great pictures. I suppose making the camera specs any better would significantly affect the cost of the phone.
Data Cable
I think that it would be better to ship all phones with the data cable. This cable is crucial if you want to maximise the use of the features on the phone. I was very disappointed with the compatible cable that I bought as although it worked perfectly, it did not fit as snugly as the one that ship with the phones on the other plans.
The Multimedia Player
The multimedia player that ships with the phone is excellent; however I had to spend an additional £20 to purchase software that could convert video podcasts into a format that was compatible with the phone. The problem here is that because of the dominance of the ipod most people produce the video to work on the ipod. The phone is compatible with that format but the screen resolution and the frame rates are usually different and this makes it difficult to use the output from BBC, MSNBC, Sky News, DLTV, Cranky Geeks etc. I suppose that if we could find enough people to lobby these organisations they may eventually provide video suitable to be played on the EL71 and other mobile phones but until this is done, the easiest thing to do is to get the software and convert it to one of the many formats that can play on the EL71.
CONCLUSION
The overall cost of the phone with the ‘must have’ accessories and extra software amounted to £110. I think that this is good value for money and would recommend the Benq-Siemens to anyone considering a mobile phone (one gadget) that makes it unnecessary to carry individual gadgets such as a camera, music player, organiser, address book and phone.
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