new BS phones!

[difenbaker]

BenQ-Siemens EF81, S68, S88 handset trio unveiled

A trio of fully featured handsets debut as BenQ-Siemens unveils its new brand; the EF81, S68 and S88 boast among other traits 2 Megapixel cameras, 3G and audio playback.

Unveiling its new brand at a press conference hosted today in Berlin, BenQ-Mobile is set to join Sony Ericsson as the industry's second dual-name handset maker. To retain the vast majority of handsets from Siemens' pre-merger portfolio, three new handsets were unveiled sporting a plethora of high-end features, signaling the intent of the newly formed brand to compete in the high-end space.

BenQ-Siemens EF81

The most capable of the handsets launched today is the EF81, a slim clamshell in the vein of Motorola's RAZR V3x and Samsung's MM-A920. Boasting a 16 mm thick magnesium chassis, it combines 3G connectivity with tri-band GSM and dual 262K colour display, the internal one of which is of the high-resolution variety. Meanwhile, the external display of the handset also doubles as a viewfinder for its 2 Megapixel swivel camera, which records video in addition to taking stills.

Due out this March in Europe, other highlights of the EF81 include Bluetooth, USB connectivity and a stainless steel keypad. Additionally, BenQ-Siemens also found room for 64 MB of onboard memory and a microSD card expansion slot for making better use of the built-in media player which supports MP3, AAC+, MPEG4, RealVideo and H.263 formats.

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_ef81_p00.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_ef81_p01.jpg

BenQ-Siemens S68

At 13 mm thick, the S68 is even thinner than the EF81 - but it's also a candybar and offers a considerably reduced feature set, leading to a featherweight measure-in of 79 g. Highlights include a brushed aluminum exterior, Bluetooth and USB, to which a 262K colour medium resolution display offers an interface along with PIM and utility suites.

A tri-band GSM phone, the EF81 also harbours 8 MB of onboard memory, likely for the purpose of storing Java applications or e-mail attachments in Microsoft Word/Excel or Adobe Acrobat formats which can be viewed sans conversion. Claiming up to 5 hours of talk time and up to 300 hours of standby, the BenQ-Siemens S68 is slated for availability throughout Europe in February.

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_s68_p00.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_s68_p01.jpg

[difenbaker]

BenQ-Siemens S88

Also a candybar, the S88 raises the bar right back up to where the EF81 left off, harbouring a 2-inch, high-resolution OLED display, a 2 Megapixel camera with video support and a microSD card slot for memory expansion. The 16 MB of onboard memory is unlikely to tide users over for long as the handset is also fitted with a media player supporting MP3, AAC+, MPEG4 and H.263 formats - unless frequent use is made of its Bluetooth 1.2 and USB 2.0 connectivity.

Equipped with PictBridge support for direct-to-printer output, the S88 also sports the A2DP to allow for stereo audio streaming over Bluetooth, but leaves out the 3G connectivity of the S88 in favour of plain old tri-band GSM with GPRS. To compete with handsets such as the Sony Ericsson K750i or Nokia 6233, the S88 is expected to hit European shelves some time in the first quarter of 2006.

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_s88_p00.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_s88_p01.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/benq-siemens/benq-siemens_s88_p02.jpg



cheers!

[TheZodiac]

The flip (top) is ok - sleek. The rest look like the bastard children of a broken up SonOkia relationship.

Oh, that was hilarious.

[oneclick]

I like the features of the S88, seems to be very good, having A2DP bluetooth too. But the EF81 looks great.

tnx-1clk

[Jose_R.A.M]

Lol, BS phones. The name is so fitting :D

The first one's not so bad. Aesthetically - its more than acceptable, not innovative but good enough.

s68 and s88, thezodiac summed it all up in one.

s88 - It shouldnt have been designed just to compete with the k750i, it should have been given enough features that were clearly more superior and thus worth getting.

The k750 has dropped in price...are they going to sell it at the new reduced price? Cos if not, i ask myself why get this over the k750i.

How much resolution does this 2inch oled display have...?

[brad]

176x220 pixel.

[Jose_R.A.M]

Are there other GSM phones with OLED main display?

s88 does look nicer than the 6233.

I think all they really have to worry about is the price and how theyre going to market it. Unless they plaster this phone everywhere, people arent gonna want it.

[brad]

Are there other GSM phones with OLED main display?No, this is the first.

[Jose_R.A.M]

No, this is the first.

Thought so.

Haven't had much experience with OLED displays...not good ones anyways. But thats because theyre usually Low Res 2nd displays...still looked worse than LCD 2nd displays...

Because it(s88) uses OLED, that means battery life should be pretty good no?

[brad]

7.5 hours of talk time, or a little over 8 days of standby time.

[Jose_R.A.M]

hmm..doesnt the k750 do 9h
(http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_k750-1090.php)

I forget what michael experienced in his review (goes and checks)

[stephanie]

I like the S88. The EF81 looks good too - but Im tired of all the "slim" flip phones that's out now, they all look alike and I find it boring.

[carcomptoy]

The EF81 actually caught my eye, and I must concede the S88 looks pretty slick...now BS just need to get their act together and market this these things!

[Jose_R.A.M]

I have a strange feeling its gonna flop..i dont know why.

[brad]

Psychic...

[Jose_R.A.M]

Or maybe because there hasnt been any phone which has caused significant stir or sales from either siemens or BenQ

[666joe]

Still not bad for the first outing - give em credit they really do want to develop and emerge as a top manufacturer.... I like em but lets see after a hands on...

[difenbaker]

Or maybe because there hasnt been any phone which has caused significant stir or sales from either siemens or BenQ

If they're needing it badly to get back in the running with the top brands - they should lower the prices of these new phones.

Phones that has good features but are aggressively priced will always cause a stir.

cheers!

[jayesh]

well bs or no .. it will find few takers unless it can deliver on quality and build up a solid relationship in the channels.

[Jose_R.A.M]

One of the funny things is the EF81 is the FLAGSHIP model. :eek:

Thats it?!?!

Its not just an idea for them to make this aggressively priced, its essential.

S88 might cause a stir between phone fans (not much at the moment) of one - if not the - first phones with a main OLED display.

The average joe isnt gonna notice or care about that.

hmm..im trying to find something really positive about them..:confused:

[carcomptoy]

If they really market these phones, they might have a chance...

MIGHT being the key term

[Ghibli]

The EF81 IMHO is just gorgeous, and 3.7mm thinner than Moto's V3x.
These three are just the tip of BenQ-Siemens' iceberg for 2006. I can't wait.:)

s88 - It shouldnt have been designed just to compete with the k750i, it should have been given enough features that were clearly more superior and thus worth getting.

The k750 has dropped in price...are they going to sell it at the new reduced price? Cos if not, i ask myself why get this over the k750i.

Well when you factor in the ridiculous price of MSD cards, the K750i isn't that much cheaper anymore. :p

I have a strange feeling its gonna flop..i dont know why.
Nor does anyone else. Thankfully, however, the success of these phones isn't in any way influenced by your irrational.. er.. "feelings". :rolleyes:

[Jose_R.A.M]

Nor does anyone else. Thankfully, however, the success of these phones isn't in any way influenced by your irrational.. er.. "feelings". :rolleyes:

irrational..We'll see. As seen from my following post - these feelings were probably enduced by their previous success (or lack of).

[Ghibli]

irrational..We'll see. As seen from my following post - these feelings were probably enduced by their previous success (or lack of).
Hmmm... just like SE's current success followed Ericsson's pathetic product line just before they merged?
Let's not prejudge here...

[666joe]

Hmmm... just like SE's current success followed Ericsson's pathetic product line just before they merged?
Let's not prejudge here...

Hmmm perfect comparison but I have my fingers X'd....another major competitor couldn't hurt...

[Jose_R.A.M]

Hmmm... just like SE's current success followed Ericsson's pathetic product line just before they merged?
Let's not prejudge here...

Hmmm...perhaps you may be on to something.

It would be really nice if they did become very successful...bring the need for more innovation in the phone market.

[carcomptoy]

Hmmm... just like SE's current success followed Ericsson's pathetic product line just before they merged?
Let's not prejudge here...
Very insightful...I didn't think of it that way:o

[difenbaker]

from slashphone:
"Wow that's a fast one, just 1 week after the official announcement, BenQ Siemens has made the S88 available in Taiwan market."

http://www.slashphone.com/news/uploads/3527/siemens_s88.jpg

Specifications

* Network: GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz
* Size: 99 x 47 x 17 mm
* Weight: 105 g
* Display: OLED 176 x 220 pixel, 262 000 colors
* Camera: 2 megapixel
* MPEG-4 Video Recording
* Bluetooth
* Music player (MP3, AAC+, AMR)
* USB 2.0
* MicroSD Slot
* GPRS Class 10
* Java 2.0

The camera shot is rather one of the good one. The phone is selling at around 370USD in Taiwan.

Camera shot sample from the S88:

http://www.slashphone.com/news/uploads/3527/s88_camera_1.jpg

[hotzigetty]

wow!!! it has auto focus right?? nice colour balance too!!

[brad]

wow!!! it has auto focus right?? nice colour balance too!!
True, the shots aren't too bad, but I beg to differ about the color balance. The wall in that shot is meant to be white.

[carcomptoy]

1 week after is pretty awesome...wish Nokia'd do that:rolleyes:

[hotzigetty]

crap i thought it was blue!!!