Overview
Introduction
The next handset in the new range of handsets from German-based Company Siemens is this little slider – the SL65. An upgraded model of the older SL55 handset, the SL65 has many upgraded and new features that the SL65 lacked – and that reception problem has also been resolved.
The slider form factor isn’t very common, and personally I don’t see why not! It keeps the size of the handset down, and is also extremely sleek and sexy. Not to mention cool, just like closing a clamshell handset after a call; sliding down a slider! Siemens seem to be one of the only companies that are taking on this form factor seriously.
A detailed review of the SL65 can be found below – almost a year after the SL55 was released, it’s interesting to see how the SL65 performs!
New/outstanding features
The SL55 from Siemens, which the SL65 is based on, was an entry level handset. The S65 improves on the SL55 with more features and functionality. The main upgrades to the SL65 which the other said handset didn’t have are a VGA digital camera, and higher quality display. There are also some more upgrades like 40-chord polyphonic ring tones, WAP 2.0, and Java application support.
The SL55 had a 4,096 colour CSTN display, at 101 x 82 pixels. This is tiny, and almost impractical these days so it has been upgraded to a 130 x 130 pixel 65,536 colour LCD display. This is much better for imaging (the handset has a VGA camera integrated) and viewing photos, browsing WAP pages, even reading messages. The full quality of the display can be tested with user interface themes, some of which are pre installed on the handset.
The major upgrade for the SL65 is the ability to capture images directly out of the box. The SL55 had imaging support but with an additional camera which plugs into the interface port of the handset. The SL65’s VGA camera is on the back of the handset and can capture images and video – and a small chrome window allows easy self portraits.
The upgrade to 40-chord polyphonic ring tones has been achieved in the SL65. The handset offers 4mB which is boosted from the unattractive value of 1.62mB in the SL55. This means more space for images and video, and when you do happen to use up all the memory you can transfer files via data-cable or infrared connections.
The SL55 supported GPRS so there are no major changes to the wireless data support. This updated handset does have a WAP 2.0 compliant browser though.
Physical aspects
The SL part of the SL65 has got to stand for sliding, as that’s what the SL65 does! Siemens are well known for their sliding handsets, such as the SL55 handset which was reviewed a while ago here at iMobile.com.au. The SL65 sports a sleek new silver and black colour scheme with chrome buttons on the exterior. If you put the SL65 and other new-wave handsets up against each other, the S65 for example, the same colour scheme can be seen and it is clear that the handsets are sisters!
When closed the SL65 is very small. It fits nicely into your jacket or pants pocket and almost feels like it’s not there if you’ve gotten used to a heavy handset companion. The SL65 has 5 buttons and a navigational stick located below the display. A wave of black surrounds the front of the handset and reaches around the sides and back of the handset, with the buttons on the front becoming part of this wave. There is a black button on the size of the SL65 which makes up the wave also, it’s a pity the infrared window doesn’t, it’s positioned to the right on the right-hand side instead.
As always with Siemens handsets the model number is present, with this device the SL65 label is just below the display.
Now to the fun part – the sliding! There are a number of ways to slide up the SL65, but I found pushing the little silver section below the web browser key (below the navigational stick) was the easiest way. You can grab onto the sides and pull up too, whichever you find easier. The keypad unlocks and lights up when you slide the SL65 open – the numerical keypad is the only thing located underneath the display, there’s no space to spare. The buttons of the SL65 are low into the handset but are all level with each other, so aren’t hard to press at all. The stereotype of smaller handsets having hard-to-press or minute buttons is abolished in the SL65 as all buttons are approximately the same size, and they are quite large.
There are grooves in the side of the SL65 which it slides in and out of (not totally off though!), and when you open the SL65 fully it doesn’t click into place, but it’s clear that this is as far as the handset is going to open.
When it comes to closing the SL65, just push the top down. The user interface of the SL65 responds according to the state of the slider, so check out the appropriate section for more on that.
The back of the SL65 has a chrome window and camera lens for taking self portraits; both are about the same size. The chrome window is attached to the back cover which is removed by pushing in a small button at the lower end of the SL65. The battery cover also makes up ¾ of the surrounding of the interface port, which is located at the bottom of the handset.
User Interface & display
The SL65 has the smallest display out of all of the new handsets released by German manufacturer Siemens. The 65,536 colour display can show up to 130 x 130 pixels. For the type of handset (mainly the form factor) a larger display would have increased the bulkiness factor of the handset, something we definitely don’t want! The user interface, I found, was very reminiscent of that in the S65, gold and grey. Why Siemens didn’t update the interface is a mystery.
The Siemens SL65 is equipped with a VGA digital camera, and the 130 x 130 pixel display does a great job as a viewfinder when you put into consideration its size and the size of images captured. They will turn out squashed, but the handset has the ability to zoom in on images at full size. Themes can be used to change the look of the user interface, and they come with screensavers, wallpapers, and totally new colour schemes all in the single package. Unfortunately they don’t change the icons of the main menu, like Symbian themes do, but I guess I’m going to have to live with this new design that Siemens have used in two models now.
When the slider is closed, the user still has access to many of the SL65’s functions – which is great when you need to perform a little function and don’t need the full keypad. When you close the SL65 and it’s idle it will automatically key lock. If you’re currently doing something with the handset when you close it you will be prompted: “Do you want to continue?” and you can select yes or no with the soft keys. If you select No the keypad is locked at the idle screen, if you press yes you can continue with whatever it was you were doing.
To unlock the keypad press the red hang-up button and then the left soft key; to lock when the handset is closed and idle just press the hang-up button. Pushing in the directional stick opens the main menu – and with the SL65 closed you have access to this, the two soft keys, hang-up and pick-up buttons, and the web browser button. Any function can be opened when the SL65 is closed, which I find an issue as you can go into the messaging function and start a new message without being told that you’re going to need to open the keypad to actually write anything. I guess its common sense though!
If you are in a function and you open the slider nothing happens, the function will still be open, and you now have access to all the numerical keys. Unlike the S700i from Sony Ericsson which needs to be closed to access the camera function, everything available when the SL65 is open is available when it’s closed.
All in all, the user interface is the same as the other new handsets from Siemens. Even the older handsets are similar, but if you’ve had some contact with a CX65, or S65 for example you’ll be fine with the SL65. It uses the norm of a 5-way navigational stick and soft key combination to browse around the menu.
Making and receiving calls
The SL65’s predecessor had serious problems with reception, which was one of the major downsides to the slider handset. Fortunately Siemens have assessed and resolved this problem in the SL65, and the word from Siemens is a 30% reception boost when up against the SL55. This is great news to those who liked the SL55 but couldn’t cope with the horrible reception.
The S700i handset from Sony Ericsson (of which the review which is coming up soon on iMobile.com.au) enables you to take calls when the swivel is closed. The SL65 is a slider form factor but is similar to the swivel, and when I tried to accept a call when the slider was closed I was told that I had to open the slider or use a headset to accept the call. It would have been great if you could make and receive calls with the slider shut, but then again it’s not hard to push up the slider anyway.
That said, the only way to make or receive calls is with the slider open – so you have access to the numerical keys. The handset has a loudspeaker which can be used if you don’t wish to take the call the normal way or don’t have a headset to plug in.
Messaging
The Siemens SL65 offers the same messaging compatibility as other handsets on the market these days, with nothing new being offered. SMS, EMS, MMS, and e-mail messaging are all supported. T9 predictive text can be used to speed up your messaging experience and with the integrated VGA digital camera you can spice up your MMS messages with both video and images.
The messaging menu is neatly laid out so you can access everything you need without confusion. From the single create message option you can select from SMS, MMS, and e-mail. From there you can compose your message with T9 predictive text, and pressing the options soft key you can choose to include images, sounds, animations, and videos into your MMS messages. In SMS/EMS messages (to create an EMS message select SMS) you will have text formatting options available in the options menu. As I said T9 predictive text can be used to compose fast text messages but if you wish to change input method just press the hash key (#). Hold it down to quickly switch to numerical input – a handy hint for most mobile phones, not just Siemens handsets.
Also in the main messaging window are the folders which contain all your messages; be it sent, received, saved, and templates. The directional stick is used to navigate around the folders, along with soft key usage at some times.
Most Siemens phones seem to have this problem with messaging – lag! It’s one of the most annoying problems with a handset in my personal opinion, and the SL65 doesn’t escape – it has lag which is especially noticeable when typing quickly using T9 predictive text. I wonder when Siemens are going to fix this…
Connectivity
The two local connectivity options on the SL65 are infrared and USB/Serial data-cable. The handset doesn’t have Bluetooth support, but when it comes to connecting to a remote server the GPRS Class 10 and CSD protocols are supported.
There is no data-cable included in the Sales Package, so one will have to be purchased separately to make use of the data-cable capabilities. A mini-CD is however included which contains software to be used with the handset to synchronize, transfer files and more with a compatible PC/laptop. The handset supports both the high speed USB data-cables, and lower and less common Serial port connection cables.
As said an infrared port is also incorporated into the SL65 so if you have an infrared dongle or built-in infrared in your laptop the SL65 can be connected that way.
With the CSD protocol support the SL65 can be connected to a PC/laptop and then be used as a modem to connect to the internet. GPRS Class 10 (~48kbp/s downstream) allows connections to remote servers for downloading and sending of information – browsing WAP pages, sending MMS messages, using the integrated e-mail messaging application etc.
Everything to do with connectivity, including remote and local synchronization can be found under the connectivity menu.
Build quality
When a handset is anything other than the “standard” candy-bar form factor, it is more prone to build quality problems if this hasn’t been thoroughly thought through by the manufacturers. Swivels, sliders, and clamshell handsets can all have build problems that do not affect candy-bar form factor handsets.
Thankfully, I didn’t find any problems with the SL65. The sliding mechanism is very strong and the two “pieces” of the handset are locked in together. The top section slides over the bottom section on a rail, similar to a train on train tracks. When pushed to the extreme the SL65’s top won’t go any further than it’s made to go. The surface of the back of the top slider piece is smooth metal which ensures that the bottom section doesn’t get scratched with excessive use.
The only thing that could possibly be mentioned here is that the top row of numerical keys are somewhat harder to press than the rest, as the curved top sliding piece sits directly above it when open. More on this is in the Problems/Issues section however.
Battery life
Some users have stated that the Siemens SL65 had really shocking battery life, but I didn’t experience any problems with the handset that I received. This could have possibly been an older software version that is easily fixed by a firmware upgrade at Siemens.
The handset uses a lithium-ion polymer 700mAh battery pack, which can keep the phone running for around 4.5hours talk time, and 9 days standby time.
|
Take a closer look!
Overview (Page 1)
