Siemens SL56 phone

[Ioman]

Attached is a picture of the Siemens SL56 slider phone, the keyboard slides out from under the display. You can also find more pics and a video at howardchui.com: http://www.howardchui.com/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=126

[Archon]

trippy

[augusta]

what makes this one different from the sl55 besides that its for north america?

[Twobztwop]

That is what kills me about these phones. They will show them/have people review them, but they never make it to market here in the US. When I say make it to market, I mean mass market, such that you can goto a cell phone store and buy it. I have been looking for a new cell phone for months but I can't find these new phones anywhere, why, because the US carriers don't sell them. I have been looking at the Sony/Ericson P800 since May, can you buy it anywhere, no.... Well you can, but you have the buy it unlocked, over the internet, and it costs 700 bucks. The same with the SL55/56. You can buy it unlocked for $599, **** that.

There is also a nokia slider phone like this as well, 6575 or something, unlocked it costs 500. Even the nokia 5100, that ruggedized(is that a word) phone, its the only one that is priced reasonably (unlocked) at $300. Nevermind when ATT gets around to carrying it, it will be 50bucks.

The cell phone situation here in the US blows. GSM service is ass, all the carriers have overloaded networks so your call gets dropped during peak times even if you happen to have a strong signal. etc etc.

[Archon]

GSM works fine for me - I get all my phones from friends

[augusta]

the sl56 is comming out in the us. sometime later i nthe year though. in q3. i'm thinking about buying an sl55 but i keep reading about them freezing and losing all their contacts, so im skeptical. but i love the crap out that phone, i might go ahead and grab it. theyre on ebay for around 4-500 i think. i just dont want one that someone has unlocked themselves..

[Ioman]

The current Siemens phone that ATT sells isnt even in color, what a bummer.

[Twobztwop]

Originally posted by augusta
the sl56 is comming out in the us. sometime later i nthe year though. in q3.

They always say it is coming out in the next quarter, but they never do.

Regarding unlocked phones, if one were to purchase an "unlocked" GSM phone, how difficult is it to get a major carrier to provide service to it? Even though it isn't "their" phone?

[augusta]

just take your sim card out your current phone and put it in the unlocked phone. as long as it supports the network your current phone is using, it should work.

[augusta]

cingular has sl56 now.

[Ioman]

I just bought the Nokia 6800 and will be selling my T68i pretty soon. ATT has a Siemens phone, but it does not have a color display and the operator with whom I spoke to could not tell me whether the Siemens gets good reception, but he liked the Nokia 6800.

[Cloud]

I though the SL55 from Siemens looks bad a$$ but I couldn't find the damn thing anywhere and it retailed for like $500 if I remember correctly. It would be nice if the major carriers started carrying the Siemens phones more.

[Cloud]

Oh, and I think the SL55 has Bluetooth. Does the SL56?

[Unregistered]

I just got the SL56 yesterday, had a S56 before.
No, SL56 doesn't have bluetooth, which disappointed me big time.

andy.

[Unregistered]

yeah i have one, cool phone.

[Archon]

the buttons look overly small

[merr]

ahh i love it... it looks tiny compared to the s55 when closed! (in howardchui.com's pic)

[augusta]

got mine the other day, i didnt know it was that small! smallest phone ive seen.

[Porsche911]

Why would you want a phone so small it is hard to use?

[AgnyXtsy]

I have the Siemens SL56! Picked it up at a small cell phone store last week for $159.99 when I made my boyfriend sign up for Cingular. He only had to sign up for a 1 year contract, plus there is a $50 Cingular rebate out right now on the SL56. A Cingular/Affordable Portables store was selling the same phone for $249.99 (after rebate, with 2 yr contract).

I love slider phones. I've been using a Nokia 8890, which I love, but it doesn't have color. Siemens no where compares to Nokia as far as being user-friendly. Siemens' menu is not as intuitive, plus this phone doesn't have any other cool features that Nokia phones at this price have...like FM Radio, etc. plus accessories are limited and hard to find at competitive prices. Not that many OEM access. at Ebay, whereas OEM Nokia parts are everywhere on Ebay. Siemens sells most avail. accessories online for the SL56 at steep retail prices.

This phone is small, but it is actually very thick. I have the Titan black phone but the Ruby/Rubin red looks nice in pics. I really trust Nokias...and right now, I'm lusting after the Nokia 7650 (super expensive slider phone not available yet)...so I settled with the next closest thing, this Siemens SL56.

So far, the phone works fine. It's really nothing special and is actually kinda scary (looks and feels flimsy). I plan to take advantage of the voice dialing, speaker, and hands-free or car kit often so I don't have to use the keys or slide open the case that often. I still have mixed feelings about leaving my Nokia 8890. I wish Nokia would come out with a color slider phone like the 8890...something with all the features of the 6800 but not so huge and not with a gay flip open keyboard.

[Unregistered]

SL 56 is at Cingular now, What makes it different from the SL 55 is that is runs on different bands like 1900 and 800 instead of a tri band which is 1900 800 and 1800 so yeah its cause one its only for the US and you cant take it over seas. My cousin who needs to get everything as soon as it comes out bought the SL 55 for $500 when he was on vacation. He has his AT &T chip in it now the only other difference i see between the two is that the SL 56 comes with a lit-ion battery, which is what is in most cellphones these days and has descent battery life, charge in once a night. THe SL 55 he got CAME WITH A Lit-poly or lithium Polymere batt. which has like FOREVER life almost and he has it on for like 2 days sometimes more b4 it needs a charge

[j05i3]

As far as I know, a lot of asian cellphone stores ( Monterey Park, CA ) in Los Angeles area have Siemens SL56 for free if you sign up a year service with cingular.

[morpheus83]

The SL56 is good it looks are also very appealing. The keypad slides out similar to the Nokia 7650.

[Ioman]

Morpheus, no offense but why dont you post the specs and a pic instead of pointing everyone of your posts to your website? We would appreciated it if you participated HERE instead of trying to leech our traffic to your site.

I also noticed that you are copying some HTML code from the Real Networks website (on the left hand menu) and the Cnet website (scores graphic) this could cause some serious issues for you if they find out.

Please be warned.

[sl55 frek]

you dum ass goo to ebay thay selling them for $200-$500 and
thay can send it to you where ever you are and it is only $30 for
postage. so i say go and look on ebay cuz thats what i did i a got a NEW Siemens SL55 BOXED - 1 year Warranty for only
$530, and it costs $780 if you go to any phone shop that has it
and it hasent got a contract with it so i can join with any plans
or just prepaid os that what you should do!! and now

[Archon]

yea, dum ass

[amused2death]

The phone is cool. DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOU HAVE FAT FINGERS!

[amused2death]

I bought a USB Data cable for my Siemens SL56 phone so I could use my computer to change and update a few things on my phone without using the keypad. I was unaware that I needed some sort of extra software to do this. Does anyone know where I can obtain the software for the Siemens SL56 phone or will someone share the disc with me so I can perform this. I will provide a B&P. Please email me if you can do this or just reply to this if you have any info as to where I can obtain a copy to work with.

Thank you,
amused2death

amused__to__death@hotmail.com

[amused2death]

I went to www.1800mobiles.com and bought my Siemens SL56 there for $124.99. Did I mention there was a mail in rebate with a two-year contract of $100.00, so I got the phone for $25.00. I also got a $26 activation credit, so in total I paid $35.00 for the phone with service.

I will warn you though to check your service plan after you get the phone with them, b/c they messed my plan up and gave me the local instead of the National.

[Ioman]

Originally posted by amused2death
The phone is cool. DO NOT PURCHASE IF YOU HAVE FAT FINGERS!

http://www.bandbuilder.com/bonnaroo/index.php?ref_code=E28013

Let us know what you think about it. How is reception and usability?

[amused2death]

Well I live in Philadelphia and have had great reception so far. No complaints and no failed calls since I received the phone 13 days ago. The Siemens SL56 is very simple to use I guess if you had a similar phone that had a menu, etc. If you are a person who had an older phone, reading the directions may be required.

Overall rating of the phone on a scale of 1-10 = 8

[swtswizzle]

I just got the sl56 yesterday, does any one know how to talk with the slider closed. The lady said you could, I didn't figure it would be hard to do, but I can't figure it out.

[jVirus]

Originally posted by AgnyXtsy
I have the Siemens SL56! Picked it up at a small cell phone store last week for $159.99 when I made my boyfriend sign up for Cingular. He only had to sign up for a 1 year contract, plus there is a $50 Cingular rebate out right now on the SL56. A Cingular/Affordable Portables store was selling the same phone for $249.99 (after rebate, with 2 yr contract).

I love slider phones. I've been using a Nokia 8890, which I love, but it doesn't have color. Siemens no where compares to Nokia as far as being user-friendly. Siemens' menu is not as intuitive, plus this phone doesn't have any other cool features that Nokia phones at this price have...like FM Radio, etc. plus accessories are limited and hard to find at competitive prices. Not that many OEM access. at Ebay, whereas OEM Nokia parts are everywhere on Ebay. Siemens sells most avail. accessories online for the SL56 at steep retail prices.

This phone is small, but it is actually very thick. I have the Titan black phone but the Ruby/Rubin red looks nice in pics. I really trust Nokias...and right now, I'm lusting after the Nokia 7650 (super expensive slider phone not available yet)...so I settled with the next closest thing, this Siemens SL56.

So far, the phone works fine. It's really nothing special and is actually kinda scary (looks and feels flimsy). I plan to take advantage of the voice dialing, speaker, and hands-free or car kit often so I don't have to use the keys or slide open the case that often. I still have mixed feelings about leaving my Nokia 8890. I wish Nokia would come out with a color slider phone like the 8890...something with all the features of the 6800 but not so huge and not with a gay flip open keyboard. Wondered how your phone is fairing? How is the reception and usability?