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| Mitsubishi Trium Sirius |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | Mid 2001 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 104 X 53 X 22 Mm |
| Weight | 75 G |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 5 X 13 To 25 Chars |
| | - Picture Menu
- Softkey |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Amount | 20 |
| Customization | No |
| Vibration | Yes |
| | - Ascending Ring Tone |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 250 X 5 Fields |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 10 Received, 10 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| | - 20 Voice Dial Slots
- 20 Sec Voice Memo
- Detailed Call Duration Reports |
| Data |
| Gprs | Class 2 (2+1 Slots), 16 - 24 Kbps |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | Yes |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms |
| Browser | Wap 1.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | 2 |
| Colors | |
| Languages | 8 |
| Camera | No |
| | - Voice Dial
- Voice Memo
- Business Card Exchange Via Irda
- T9
- Organizer
- Calculator
- Scratchpad
- Currency Converter
- Built-in Handsfree
- Active Flip |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery |
| Stand-by | 120 H |
| Talk Time | 3 H |
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Mitsubishi - Trium SiriusMitsubishi Trium Sirius
Trium Telecom's Mars and Neptune were both admirable all-round performers blighted by unflattering form. The company has not repeated that with the Sirius--a GPRS feature-packed phone that doesn't look too bad at all.
Slimming Down
The Trium phones we previously reviewed, including the recent Eclipse, each tipped the scales in excess of 100g. The Sirius slices a good chunk off that weight with a very credible 75g.
It's reflected in the handset's sleek form factor. The egg-shaped Sirius sports a polished coat of silver that lends a touch of style. There's also a black version available.
However, the phone does feel a little too plasticky, and we weren't too sure about the long antenna.
Joy With The Interface
Trium's implementation of the Sirius' flip cover goes well. Without opening the phone, you can perform a number of functions, such as retrieving SMS messages and playing games. With Active Flip, simply flick the phone open and start talking when there's an incoming call.
A joystick takes the place of the convenient rocker key that we saw in Trium's previous phones. However, although this five-way joystick occupies a smaller space, it doesn't protrude enough for optimal maneuverability.
Trium's navigation is still as intuitive as ever: flick the joystick right to enter a menu selection, and move it left to get out.
When unveiled, the flat keys are well-spaced, although the last row lies too close to the edge. Button feel is on the whole average.
The Sirius' six-line display is illuminated by a green backlight. The phone menu employs simple scrollable options that will be familiar to Nokia users.
Slow GPRS And Other Features
The Sirius features General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) for "always-on" Internet access. But with only two downlink timeslots, its maximum theoretical download speed is only 26.4 kbps for now. Most other GPRS phones these days offer three downlink timeslots.
There's also the presence of an infrared port, so you can use the phone as a modem, thereby surfing the Web wirelessly on your notebook or PDA. Furthermore, you can use infrared to exchange business cards with the VCARD format.
Other functions include voice dialing, voice memo, events calendar and currency converter. The Sirius also comes with 20 preset ringtones, as well as sufficient phone memory for 250 phonebook names.
Reception And Battery Life
If you thought phones with extendable antennae were extinct, think again. The Sirius comes with an external 20mm antenna that is fully extendable to 95mm.
It suffered slight reception problems in areas with poor network coverage, but sure enough, extending the antenna then does the trick.
Trium's phones are generally no slouches when it comes to battery life. The Sirius is no different, with specified talktime of up to 2.5 hours and standby of up to 165 hours. The Lithium-ion battery lasted us a good four days on a standard usage.
Conclusion
Like the Eclipse, the Sirius' availability depends on whether mobile operators wish to carry it. If all goes well, it is likely to be available in Singapore and the rest of Asia in January. According to Trium, the retail price is estimated at US$200 (S$368). We suspect the price will go even lower when offered with a contract. At such affordability, the Sirius might be worth considering as a starter GPRS phone. |
| Common misspellings on this brand: mitsubjshi , mitxsubishi , mitsub9shi , mitsuibshi , mitsugbishi , mitsubishu , mitsubishik , mirsubishi , mitswubishi |
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