Pitched as 'a music device with an integrated mobile phone', BenQ-Siemens' first music phone - the EF51 - makes its entrance onto a stage already crowded by Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Nokia handsets.
Just in time for summer, BenQ-Siemens has initiated shipments of its first dedicated music phone, the EF51, across Europe. The handset comes equipped with support for MP3 and WMA formats, relying on miniSD cards up to 2 GB in size for storage, USB for data transfers and a low-resolution colour display for navigating its interface. Particularly worthy of note is its Speech-To-Music function, which enables users to cue up songs for play by speaking their title to the handset.
The EF51 was previewed by infoSync earlier this year at the CeBIT electronics fair, where it failed to impress due to poor music management capabilities and difficult controls. Its good audio quality did little to stave off a rather cheap overall feel, which was further solidified by its cramped display, 1.3 Megapixel camera and the push-through solution chosen for the music flip which affixes to the similarly so-so keypad.
Price and availability
Available in white and black editions, the BenQ-Siemens EF51 sells in the €300 range without subscription.
More music phones out now
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Sony Ericsson W810i
Score: 80% When: April 2006 (AT&T) Worth: €425
Read the full article » Picking up where the W800i left off, the Sony Ericsson W810i offers improved music navigation in tandem with the same excellent music management capabilities and decent amount of bundled memory as its predecessor. Out-of-box audio quality is on par with the high standards we've come to except from the handset maker, while we’re slightly disappointed by the lack of stereo Bluetooth audio. These niggles aside, the W810i makes for a stellar music phone with side servings of a 2-megapixel camera and EDGE. Read the full article » |
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Nokia N91
Score: 87% When: May 2006 Worth: €675
Read the full article » Not much holds the N91 back from scoring full marks in the music department; the lack of bundled quality headphones and stereo Bluetooth audio is about it. Otherwise excellent audio quality, an intuitive interface, comfortable controls and superb music transfer capabilities including Windows Media Connect support are all favoured traits, as is the massive 4 GB of storage - although we're a bit miffed by the rotund form factor. Voice and messaging capabilities are first-rate with the exception of a slightly cramped keypad, while the 2 Megapixel camera and browser are unlikely to impress. As a result of its varied feature set and hard drive reliance, battery life is expectedly average, but the N91 still outperforms the vast majority of music phones at the time of writing. Read the full article » |
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