The new tri-band SL55 from Siemens and its sliding keypad represents a pleasant, summerly refreshment in a product line otherwise best described as steady going.
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Known for sticking with the safe and sound when it comes to packing GSM connectivity into a mobile phone, Siemens is finally making an attempt at freshing up the image of its S-line of phones. The tri-band SL55 comes equipped with a sliding keypad where the lower part - or back if you will - of the phone slides down to reveal the numeric keypad. The other half contains a 12-bit (4,096 colours) display, as well as keys to navigate the menu and hang up or answer calls.
 | The Siemens SL55 in "open sesame" mode
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Weighing 79 g and measuring approximately 8.2 x 4.5 x 2.2 cm in closed mode, compared with 10.5 x 4.5 x 2.2 cm in open mode, the Siemens SL55 is indeed a very short phone when in its closed mode - and the sliding keypad as a concept is definitely a keeper. However, the SL55 lacks a few millimeters of space just above the top row of the keypad and the other half of the phone, making use slightly less comfortable than it could have been. Neither are the keys on the keypad optimally shaped when the short spacing is taken into consideration, but this is not a problem during short bursts of use.
Attempting to write SMS messages at a relatively fast pace did however cause some difficulties and was a source to repeated irritation, due to a combination of slow response from the operating system and the poorly shaped buttons. Additionally, navigational buttons and 'Choose' buttons did at times not respond at all.
On a more positive menu, the main menu of the SL55 is well structured, but its submenus counter the impression as they could need some restructuring to render them as user friendly as those of competitors such as Nokia. Also, some actions require users to confirm their intent a few too many times.
500 entries can be stored in the phone book and calendar of the phone, along with 100 SMS messages. Other functionality worthy of mentioning includes GPRS Class 8, a WAP 1.2.1 microbrowser, an infrared port, polyphonic ring tones, J2ME suport, MMS, an e-mail client, dictaphone and voice dialling.
The Siemens SL55 comes listed with a standby and talk time of respetively 200 hours and 210 minutes, whereas our review sample delivered approximately 170 hours and 180 minutes - again, respectively. It excels in the area of audio transmissions, and its speakerphone feature shines.
Availability
The Siemens SL55 is available now in most Europan countries, and sells in the 430 EUR range.
Conclusion
As a phone, the Siemens SL55 delivers the goods - and particularly so for those not amongst the most extreme SMS writers, or those performing other functions requiring heavy use of the keypad. An elegant and user friendly sliding keypad further enhances a positive impression, along with its small size and light weight. Unfortunately, it is a bit on the thick side and sports only adequate battery capacity.
What's positive: Innovative; small; feature rich
What's negative: Medium battery life; lacks Bluetooth
| Features: | 7/10 |
| Exterior: | 8/10 |
| Ergonomics: | 5/10 |
| Performance: | 5/10 |
| Value: | 5/10 |
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iSW Score:
6/10
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Price and availability
The will start selling for TBA () in November 1999.
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