SIEMENS A75
Appearance
A small, modest phone, at first glance, seems unprepossessing and does not stand out either with a bright screen or vociferousness. But, one has only to put it next to the representative of the mobile elite, and you are no longer able to resist the charm of this kid.
It seems that in some magic way he appropriates all the charm of Korean clamshell phones, the ergonomics of Swedish-Japanese business handsets and even the notorious reliability of phones from Finland. This is a truly versatile phone that will perfectly match both a business suit and jeans.
At the first glance at the keyboard, you think how uncomfortable these little buttons should be, and the navigation block seems to be the top of bad taste - solid silver. For example, clamshell phones are considered the most optimal in terms of a set of messages. This is where designers have a lot to swing, resulting in the keys being large and comfortable. Well, let's take one of them and practice typing speed. As it turned out, it was enough to type just one message, and the dispute was immediately resolved in favor of Siemens A75. Despite the small size of the keys, special gaps between them exclude accidental presses, and the silvery surface of the soft buttons does not retain fingerprints and does not erase from frequent presses. In addition, characters appear on the screen without any delay, which greatly speeds up the process.
As already mentioned, the model does not shine with luxury and sophistication of forms. But its dimensions are inferior to almost any modern pipe, and not only in the budget segment. And the weight of the phone allows you to easily carry it in any pocket and not experience any discomfort.
The display did not escape our inquisitive glances, although, to be honest, there is not much to look at here. Exactly such a screen with support for 4096 colors at 101x80 resolution was first introduced in its time in Siemens M55. Since then, nothing has changed: the screen remained grainy and dim. But, this is one of the few tubes where all display settings can be adjusted to your taste. Owners of Korean clamshell phones with powerful TFT displays can only dream of being able to adjust the backlight level as a percentage and adjust the display contrast to suit any taste. Here, all this is easy to implement, and lowering the screen backlight level has a very positive effect on the battery life.
Capabilities
So, a direct comparison with the hits of telephone progress showed the external advantages of the German baby. But what about the functional equipment, is it really possible that the pipe will “make” the competitors in full?
The first parameter that we decided to check is the reception quality. After all, it is the ability to make and receive calls that is most appreciated by the owners of budget handsets. A kind of indicator for us was the SIM-card of one of the operators of the GSM 1800 standard, which stubbornly refused to work within the walls of the office and showed vague signs of life only in the immediate vicinity of the windows. What do you think, with Siemens A75 we were able to both receive calls and make calls anywhere in the office, while the more expensive phone refused to even send a message. And let as much as we like now assert that all modern pipes "keep in touch" in the same way.
Now about the additional features. It is no secret that the more complex the device, the more breakdowns it occurs. As practice shows, it is the owners of super sophisticated phones who turn to service centers much more often than the owners of budget pipes. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to check the phone with time, but we can state one thing with certainty: although there are not many functions in the device, they all work.
The main menu is presented here in a standard form - nine icons and lists of submenus. The design of the icons is much simpler than in the S / M55 models, apparently here the manufacturer wanted to emphasize the budgetary component of his model. Of the messages, only SMS and EMS are supported, receiving and sending multimedia is not provided, which is quite justified due to the lack of a built-in camera. But there is an Internet browser with which you can surf WAP-pages in search of new melodies and pictures. But don't overclock too much, there is only 552 KB of memory in the handset.
And now the most interesting thing: rarely a budget phone has such a function as a built-in modem. With such a device, you will be able to use the full-fledged Internet in a phone-PC connection (if you have a data cable), as well as receive and send a fax.
There is even a business feature such as a built-in speakerphone, which does not require holding the phone to your ear.
What is really not very pleasing is the volume of the preset melodies. 16-tone polyphony sounds much quieter than modern 40-voice nightingales. But the sound made by the phone is unlike any other. Now you will easily distinguish the ringing of your phone and will not grab your pocket if you hear a polyphonic trill nearby.
Verdict
The phone was made in the best traditions of Siemens state employees. The user will find a super high-quality reception, reliable filling and a reasonable price. Outwardly, the handset is universal, anyone can use it, the main thing is that the user is aware that he is buying a mobile phone not for entertainment, but for calls, sending messages and, if necessary, accessing the Internet. Siemens A75 does all these things just fine.
Specifications (edit)
Standard - GSM 900/1800/1900
Dimensions (edit) - 101 х44х20 mm
Weight - 78 g.
Battery - 650 mAh
Talk / standby time - 5 h. / 230 h
Posts - SMS, EMS
Display - 4096 colors, 101x80 pixels
Data transfer - GPRS, CSD
Polyphony - 16-tone (midi)
Additionally - calculator, games, timer.
PHILIPS 362
Another handset from Philips is an attempt to create a universal phone for one and all. Take a closer look at it: it is these phones that, as a rule, are the most successful in terms of price / quality ratio.
Appearance
If at one time you were staring at the magnificent Sony Ericsson S700 camera phone, and later admired the design of the Sony Ericsson K750, then we can please you. Here it is, the most successful alternative that combines the design features of the aforementioned phones and at the same time is available to the widest segments of the population. One has only to look at the back panel of the phone, and the shape of the S700 model is immediately guessed, except that the camera is there with a shutter. But from the front, the device is very similar to the K750 with its strict shapes, proportions and the arrangement of the keys. The keys themselves are shaped like Nokia 6020; let us remind you that they are convex and very comfortable there. Here is such a "vinaigrette", what can you expect from a phone that has absorbed so many strengths of the once most popular and iconic handsets? To begin with, on the street with such a phone, you will never be mistaken for a student. The phone looks more expensive than it actually costs, and in black it looks like a business class. This is not without reason, in model 362 the manufacturer tried to bring to life the idea of a universal telephone that would suit externally and functionally representatives of the business world, and the cost of the handset would not scare off even the poorest population.
The phone's screen is made using STN technology, and, nevertheless, it looks great in comparison with similar solutions. The resolution of 128x160 pixels is quite typical for middle-class devices. Both preset pictures and photos taken by the built-in camera look good on such a screen. The display fades in the sun, but remains legible.
The keyboard is made of plastic, the buttons are convex and well positioned. It is convenient to work with the keyboard, the joystick is five-way and also does not cause any complaints. The backlighting is blue, which is not well seen in all conditions. An infrared port is located on the right side surface (it works both for receiving and transmitting objects).
The VGA camera lens is located on the back of the tube next to the self-portrait mirror and built-in flash.
Capabilities
The standby screen and menu layout are familiar to many Philips phone owners, but there is nothing fundamentally new here. In standby mode, you can set both digital and analog clocks on the screen, and for two time zones at once. The menu is entered by pressing the navigation key, the main menu, like most submenus, is represented by animated icons.
There are some annoying flaws in the menu that have been wandering from model to model for a long time. For example, to read your messages from a folder in the phone, you have to make at least 6 clicks (enter the menu, immediately select “Messages”, again “Messages”, they mean SMS, move to the line “Read messages” and get into the list) ...
The most commonly used feature in mid-range handsets is the phone book. Here, for each name, you can write up to 5 phone numbers with icons of various types, indicate an email address, plus a small text note. Each name can be associated with its own melody or photo. But there is no such thing as “subscriber groups” here at all.
The function of reading messages is implemented in an interesting way. When viewing the list of messages, each selected message is automatically displayed in full (creeping line), and when you open a separate message, it also automatically scrolls, but now in full screen mode.
The built-in mail client supports work with two accounts using the POP3 and SMTP protocols. Only Jpeg files are supported from attachments. Unfortunately, messages over 10 Kb are not accepted.
Multimedia
This menu item provides access to a multitude of multimedia functions of the device at once, all content is also located here. Pictures and photos are located in the "Picture Album" folder. There are many preinstalled pictures, they are quite varied. Each of them can be set as a screen saver in standby mode. The "Sound Album" category combines both melodies and dictaphone recordings, and the latter can be used as ringtones or as reminders. The exact amount of used / free memory can be found here. Initially, you will have about 5.5 MB of memory available for all applications. The dictaphone works both in standby mode and during a conversation. The length of the recording depends on the amount of free memory, but cannot exceed nine minutes. So learn to be laconic.
In addition to the standard game "Bricks", which is well known to owners of Philips phones, the handset contains 4 more Java games (MIDP 2.0), the number of which can be expanded by downloading additional applications via WAP.
Verdict
We were quite satisfied with the quality of voice transmission. In this respect, Philips phones have always been at their best. The voice in the loudspeaker is quite clear and loud, which, unfortunately, cannot be said about the ringtones. MP3 support is absent here, but the number of pre-installed MIDI melodies is good news. A standard 720mAh battery, according to the manufacturer, should provide up to 420 hours of standby time and up to 4 hours of talk time. In real conditions, the phone lasted for three days with calls every day for half an hour.
Specifications (edit)
Standard - GSM 900/1800
Dimensions (edit) - 100x45x18 mm
Weight - 83 g.
Battery - Li-Ion 720 mAh
Talk / standby time - 4 hrs. / 420 hrs.
Data transfer - GPRS, IRDA
Display - 65000 colors, 128x160 pixels, STN
Camera - VGA-camera, 640x480 pixels, 4x zoom
