| Siemens M50 |
| General |
| Network | Gsm 900 / Gsm 1800 |
| Announced | June 2002 |
| Status | Available |
| Size |
| Dimensions | 109 X 46 X 23 Mm, 82 Cc |
| Weight | 97 G |
| Display |
| Type | Monochrome Graphic |
| Size | 101 X 64 Pixels, 5 Lines |
| | - Orange Or Blue Backlight
- Navy Key |
| Ringtones |
| Type | Monophonic |
| Customization | Download, |
| Vibration | Yes |
| Memory |
| Phonebook | 50 |
| Call Records | 10 Dialed, 10 Received, 10 Missed Calls |
| Card Slot | No |
| Data |
| Gprs | Class 8 (4+1 Slots), 32 - 40 Kbps |
| Hscsd | No |
| Edge | No |
| 3g | No |
| Wlan | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Infrared Port | No |
| Usb | |
| Features |
| Messaging | Sms, Ems |
| Browser | Wap 1.2.1 |
| Clock | Yes |
| Alarm | Yes |
| Games | Tetris, Kung Fu, Flowboarding, |
| Colors | 2 - Chromium Blue, Chromium Orange |
| Languages | 20 |
| Camera | No |
| | - Java
- T9
- Reminder List
- Organizer
- Changeable Cover
- User Profiles |
| Battery |
| | Standard Battery, Li-ion |
| Stand-by | 260 H |
| Talk Time | 6 H |
|
Siemens - M50ICQing with the Siemens M50 / 3118
Major features
Choice of two front and back CLIPit covers - with matching backlights
Java applications support (J2ME)
WAP over GPRS
Built-in ICQ client
Animated and static screen saver support
Concatenated (long) SMS, group SMS and EMS support
Advanced time features - auto time zone and lunar calendar support
Bitmap viewer and melody manager
“My Menu” feature
“Forget me not” and other PIM features
“Auto off” feature
Problems/Issues?
Issues with keypad backlights - dimness and choice of colour
Sales package (should contain):
1 x Siemens M50 / 3118 handset
1 x Li-ion battery @ 650 mAh
1 x travel charger
1 x user manual
1 x notes
Overview
Since the SL45, the M50 (or 3118 - its designation for some Asian markets) is probably one of the better Siemens models that I’ve come to review considering the overall phone (looks, functionality, usability, etc). One must also consider the fact that the M50 is a near-market entry level phone that does come with a relatively rich set of features.
For those who just want something simple to use and has good looks, the M50 is definitely a viable choice and should not be overlooked.
New/outstanding features
Probably the first thing that caught my eye was the matching backlight colours in conjunction with the actual CLIPit cover that came in the box. The one we got for this review was the “chromium blue” colour, which - of course - came with the blue backlighting.
Other great features that came with the M50 package include WAP over GPRS, Java MIDlet compatibility, animated and static screen savers, and those unique Siemens functions - including the “babysitter” mode and “aircraft” profile mode.
Physical aspects
The M50 felt very solid in the hand. Although it had a weight of around 97 grams, it was a phone that I was immediately happy with in regards to both handling the phone and using its keypad. On close inspection of the paintwork, the M50 uses a metallic base for both front and back covers (the white is metallic as well) - which also feels alright when held in the hand for prolonged periods.
The curvatures and texture of the buttons provided the sort of comfort required for my fingers, where I could fully concentrate on what I am doing with the phone - instead of trying to perfect my hand/finger positioning.
Trying to change the CLIPit covers may require some effort in the beginning. But once you know how to get them on and off, it’s not a major drama at all! :)
User Interface (UI)
If you’re a previous Siemens user, the M50 won’t be much different in terms of menu layouts and general phone usage. Probably the only think you may have to get use to is the position of the answer and reject buttons, which are positioned respectively in the middle and right hand side (above the “2” and “3” keys). When compared to the C45, the up/down and two soft keys provide a more effortless experience.
Making and receiving calls
Dealing with calls on the M50 is as simple as any other mobile phone. A in-call menu can also be brought up by pressing on the right soft key during calls, which has functions including conference mode, call transfer, mute and volume control. Conveniently, the answer button is now located in the middle and not on the left-hand side.
Messaging
Typing up longer-than-usual SMS messages is easy with the M50, thanks to T9 input and a splendidly-designed keypad. Up to 760 characters (approximately 4 standard SMS messages) can be used for a single long message. The capability of sending and receiving EMS messages is available on the M50 as well. Sounds, pictures and animations can be included into outgoing SMS messages.
Battery life
An increased battery capacity has been given to the M50. The 650 mAh, lithium-ion battery was able to give me approximately 3-4 days of standby, and around 3-4 hours worth of talk time. Charging time was approximately two hours with the supplied travel charger.
Major features...
Size comparisons:
Siemens M50 / 3118 (top)
Sony Ericsson T68i (bottom)
Choice of two front and back CLIPit covers - with matching backlights
The M50 comes originally in a choice of two different colours - orange or blue. With each different CLIPit cover colour, the respective handset comes with matching backlight colours to suit the phone.
Java applications support (J2ME)
The M50 comes with the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) platform for the execution of Java MIDlets.
WAP over GPRS
High-speed Internet access can be achieved by utilising the built-in GPRS capabilities of the M50, and experience this with the help of either the phone’s internal WAP browser or hook it up to your PC (with the help of an optional data cable).
Built-in ICQ client
Pre-loaded onto the M50 is an ICQ Java client, which allows basic ICQ messaging capabilities directly from the phone. All that’s needed for logging into ICQ is the ability of your mobile service to log into the Internet (via CSD or GPRS).
Animated and static screen saver support
A set of pre-loaded bitmap and animated screen savers can be activated by going into the display settings menu. Of course, the M50 also has the ability to receive customised screen savers via either SMS or WAP.
Concatenated (long) SMS, group SMS and EMS support
You can use the M50 to do up very long SMS messages, and you can spice these same messages up with pictures, sounds and animations. Up to 760 characters are allowed per concatenated message, and the M50 has the ability to send the same message to a group of people in your phone book (if you have defined this previously).
Advanced time features - auto time zone and lunar calendar support
The M50 gives its user the ability to set up the current time zone that it is in. For those that are always moving around, you can simply change it to the city (or time zone) you are currently in, and the phone will modify the time respectively from your original. A Buddhist year, or Lunar, calendar is also available on some selected M50 models.
Bitmap viewer and melody manager
As with other Siemens phone models, the M50 comes with both bitmap viewer and melody manager. The bitmap viewer centralises the viewing and provides housekeeping options (saving, deleting, downloads, etc) for all animations, logos and screen savers currently saved on the M50, while the melody manager does the same but for ring tones instead.
“My Menu” feature
This fully customisable menu allows commonly-used features to be displayed, providing quick and easy access to phone features that may be several menu levels deep if accessed via standard methods.
“Forget me not” and other PIM features
What’s this? Basically, “forget me not” is just another name for the M50’s reminder function - allowing the user to set dates for birthdays, anniversaries and valentines. In addition, the phone also comes with a simple diary and notes feature.
“Auto off” feature
The M50 comes with an “auto-off” feature, which will turn off the phone based on the time of the internal clock and the preset “off” time.
Problems/Issues?
Siemens phones are quite good for their designs, and usually lack any real problems or issues. This applies to the M50 as well - which I found it to have good physical design and ergonomics.
Unfortunately, there was something that I thought could have not been a problem.
Issues with keypad backlights - dimness and choice of colour
This problem may not have been so obvious if it wasn’t for blue backlight colour used for the display area.
Before I managed to get the M50 for review, I thought that the “chromium blue” and “chromium orange” CLIPit covers would use a full set of blue and orange backlights respectively. Only after turning on the M50 review unit for the first time that I realised the orange colour backlight was retained for the keypad area, while a bright blue colour was used for the screen (to match with the CLIPit cover that came with the sales package). Not the best of colour combinations - for either matching or contrasting.
Although the keypad on the M50 was very comfortable to use, another thing that bothered me about them were the dimness of its backlighting. If you’re in the dark, the keypad provides barely sufficient illumination. But once you move into an environment with slightly more light source, you may realise how dim the keypad backlights are when compared to the ones used for the display area.
In Summary
The M50 has proven itself to be “simple” but with many of the necessary features required in today’s mobile phones. Not forgetting the looks of course, the M50 passes with flying colours thanks to its contrasting metallic white/chrome silver colouring used on its CLIPit covers - and the matching display backlights.
Again, I must say that the M50 is one of the better Siemens phones that I have come to review since the SL45, and would definitely recommend this to those that are looking for a handset within the market-entry level price range. |
| Common misspellings on this brand: siemenss , wiemens |
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