vB Easy Archive - Siemens SX66 Review

Pages: 1

Siemens SX66 Review
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: opteron

I sold my soul to the Devil!... And is so worth it!
A practical review of the Siemens SX66 with Cingular Wireless.

Many have attempted to deliver a powerful communications device that can keep up with the speed of life and the strong demands of today’s business. Siemens achieves this and more with the SX66 PocketPC Phone.

Tired of waiting for Motorola to release its MPx, I decided to go for a hunt of one of these modern marvels. And the quest was well worth it.

Featuring a 400Mhz 32-bit Intel PXA263 CPU, 64MB flash ROM and 128MB RAM this baby will deliver powerful and fast processing for your mobile applications. In terms of connectivity, you have your choice of Bluetooth, built-in WiFi (802.11b, supporting WEP and WPA), GPRS class 10 and IrDA (infrared). If you still want more, the phone is quad-band for use on 850/900/1800/1900 GSM networks. The battery on this unit is fair, giving you 4 hours of continuous talk time and 200 hours (approx. 7-8 days) on stand-by. If you listen to MP3 or watch videos and use WiFi a lot then you better have a fully charged spare battery in hand or use a car charger. After a regular day of use, I was down to 60%, including 30-40 min. total talk time, regular use of the GPRS connection (email, web browsing) and Bluetooth on for 5 continuous hours (for the headset). The voice quality was clear and somewhat loud, even if the signal diminishes to just one bar (I live in Austin, TX and 90% of the time I have full bars, the rest varies). The speakerphone is loud and clear enough to use and the person in the other side will be able to hear you just fine even if you have some background noise going on. The built-in QWERTY keyboard works well, but it might be a little awkward to work with at the beginning. Once you get used to it, typing SMS, MMS and E-mail is just a breeze. With the touch of a button you have instant access to Pocket Outlook versions of the Calendar and Contacts, the Start menu, Pocket Internet Explorer, Inbox, Windows Media Player, the voice recorder and the system’s volume. The navigation keys are solid and well integrated. Also, the send button allows you to start and answer a call and activate the speakerphone. The end button terminates a voice call or a GPRS connection. If you want to answer a second call or to begin a conference, you will have to use the soft buttons of the display.

It’s been said this phone has some Bluetooth issues. As soon as I got this phone, I downloaded the service update from Siemens and since then it’s been working fine, just follow the instructions when you download and install the update. It took me 10 minutes to complete the process. Now I’m using a Motorola Bluetooth Headset HS810 and only once I had a bad connection which I fixed by restarting the Bluetooth on the phone. Also I am able to connect to another Pocket PC (an iPAQ H2215) and transfer files, contacts and appointments with ease.

Yes, this upscale phone does not have a camera. I personally don’t care about camera phones, especially with the fast-growing list of places that ban the use of one of those. But if you must have a camera, then the SDIO slot comes in handy, just pop in one of the SD-type cameras (HP has a 1.3MP, the HP Photosmart Mobile Camera) and you are ready to go.

As a previous owner of a BlackBerry 7290, the email client of the Siemens SX66 is not as powerful, since it only supports POP and IMAP, but you can have a similar experience to RIM’s Push technology using Cingular’s Xpress Mail (which will even give u access to your documents on your PC remotely!) and customize it to your needs. The only drawback to this is that you will have to keep your PC turned on and the desktop client of Xpress Mail running for this to happen. If you choose to use the built-in email client (and bypassing Cingular's Xpress Mail), be ready to spend some time tunning up your settings.

About Windows Mobile 2003SE, it’s been 3 weeks and I performed 2 soft resets so far, one when I installed the upgrade and the second to revert the effects of a corrupted theme. WM2003SE includes pocket versions of: Internet Explorer, Word, Excel and MSN Messenger. Now you have the ability to change the screen to landscape mode, meaning that you’ll be able to see more and do less scrolling.

What I like about the Siemens SX66:
-Stunning QVGA display. Big, rich colors, sharp, bright.
-Ring tones: Your choice of Polyphonic (can support up to 40 cords!) or WAV. The result: Beyonce will let you know you have an incoming call.
-Windows Media Player. This might be illegal, but watching Sex and the City when Carrie gets her favorite pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes stolen form her… it’s just priceless! (and gives you something to do while you’re sitting in traffic)
-Instant access to Bluetooth manager and WiFi manager. Just one tap on the screen and these will pop-up.
-The ability to use it as a modem for your laptop (using Bluetooth). Somehow you might end up in a place where they don’t have access to the Internet. OK, GPRS is not as fast as WiFi but at least you’ll have some sort of access and get things done.
-Contextual menus. Tap and hold on a contact name and dazzle yourself with all the tasks you can execute.
-Having a choice of CSD line for data transfer if you don’t wish to use GPRS. Even nicer, Cingular already configured this one for you, so it’s ready to use.
-Bluetooth fully enabled. Yes, unlikely for a wireless company, Cingular did not cripple any of the profiles supported by Bluetooth so you can have total functionality on the device.
-Don’t have pen and paper near you? Activate the speakerphone or your Bluetooth headset and take notes while you’re in a call. Now, that’s multitasking.
-Nice, clear, loud speakerphone. If you have WiFi at home, try Internet radio (not recommended with GPRS). You will be delighted with the quality of the sound. For this, I use GSPlayer with Shoutcast Internet radio. Both free (and commercial free) by the way.

Needs improvement (or wish list):
-The WiFi manager won’t tell you that you entered the wrong key (if you are connecting to a protected access point). More feedback to let you know you are connected successfully, either on GPRS or WiFi, would be nice.
-By all means get another case. The one included is just...
-EDGE instead of GPRS, or UMTS for those lucky ones who live in those markets.
-A dedicated button to turn on/off the backlight of the QWERTY keyboard.
-BlackBerry E-mail client.
-The ability to rotate the screen and not only slide it (so the QWERTY keyboard can be used while on landscape mode as well).
-Proprietary stereo headphones jack. You can’t use regular headphones with this one, at least not without an adapter.
-Not so readily available accessories.

Priced at $649 with no contract, $599 with 1 yr. agreement, $549 with 2 yr. agreement with Cingular Wireless (probably with this option you won’t have to call the Devil) plus the $39.95 unlimited data plan above the voice plan, this state-of-the-art PocketPC Phone may not be within reach of the average budget, but if you can afford it, certainly it will redefine the way you communicate with your world while you are being productive away from the office and have a little fun on the side. Welcome to the 21st century.

Posted by: brightcell

Nice review opteron and thank you for sharing your experience.

One question for you: How well is the keyboard integrated ...meaning, are you able to fully control your SX from the keyboard or do you still need to use the stylus ?

EDGE would be definitely a plus.

What about size ... vs your BB for ex. ?

Thanks again for your review !

Posted by: opteron

Thank you for your comments brightcell.

Yes, I am able to fully control my SX66 without using the stylus, since I have dedicated buttons for the Start menu, Inbox, Internet Explorer, Calendar, Contacts, Voice recorder, Windows Media Player and the Phone itself. The navigation key works very well with the keyboard, for example, when I'm using it when I'm writing a note and the list of suggested words appears, I just use the navigation key to choose the word I want... no stylus needed. The sliding keyboard is more of a membrane so you won't get much tactile feedback, but once you get used to the feel, you will type a lot faster.

About the size in comparison with the BlackBerry 7290, the SX66 is larger (since it has a bigger display) and a little bit thicker, but still the SX66 feels quite comfortable in my hands and very solid.

Thanks for reading my review!

Posted by: brightcell

Thanks for the reply.
I tried few times this PDA phone in Verizon stores and was impressed by the connection speed (in NYC at least... around 300kbps).
I liked it a lot but if I remember I wasn't able to access some menus (lower toolbar for ex.) with the keyboard but I guess I didn't play with it for too long.

If only the unlocked GSM version was not so expensive

Thanks again opteron !

Posted by: orangeagent

I may have overlooked it in your review, but overall, how is the battery life using the sx66. I have read other reviews that state that the battery is HORRIBLE. I read one review that said you should buy a spare battery to get you through the day...How was the battery life in your experience so far?

Posted by: opteron

As you know, Verizon Wireless has a similar device (the Audiovox XV6600). This device only has 2.5 hours of talk time, but the data transfer ranges between 240 to 300kbps using Verizon's BroadbandAccess. Probably this was the device those reviews were referring to.

Cingular's Siemens SX66 has a posted talk time of 4 hours. I've had this one for a little more than a month now and I've never run out of battery. On the heaviest day of use so far, I talked around 1 hour and 45 min (total time), surfed the Web for another 2 hours (total time) switching between WiFi and GPRS and checked my email in between. At the end of that day, the remaining battery was 40%

Thanks for your inquiry.