BenQ-Siemens EF81 3G Phone Review

As comebacks go, we have to admit we never saw this one coming. This time last year Siemens mobile was seriously on the wane, haemorrhaging money like a footballer’s wife and falling from third place to sixth place in the handset manufacturing ranks in the space of two years.

It was something of a fall from grace considering that way back in 2000, the SL45 was the handset to be seen with, while the SL55 practically invented the slider form in 2003. For whatever reason, Siemens failed to build on this success and instead watched its rivals storm past them with increasingly desirable handsets. But now, with a friendly buyout from Taiwanese electronics manufacturer BenQ and a brand re-invention, life is looking up for the old Siemens Mobile.

So let’s consign that negative past to the dumpster and start to celebrate the new life of BenQ-Siemens. And what a start it’s made, with the new company opening its account with a classy slimline 3G clamshell, the EF81.

Dissenters can already be heard (quiet at the back!) dismissing this as a pastiche of Motorola’s RAZR but it would be foolish to label the EF81 a mere RAZR copyist. In fact, BenQ-Siemens has pulled out all the stops to make these comparisons redundant. It might have even outdone the RAZR V3x for sheer class. Well, almost.

Knowing Siemens’ recent dismal design track record, it’s hard to believe that the EF81 is a Siemens conception from start to finish (of the first wave of new handsets, BenQ’s award-winning design team only got its hands on the S88 and S68). Firstly it’s managed to cram 3G technology into, by our calculations, the slimmest 3G phone yet, beating the LG U880 by 2.3mm and the Motorola V3x by 4.1mm.

But the sweetest advancement is that BenQ-Siemens has forged the EF81 from authentic materials, with only the merest hint of plastic at the bottom area of the phone that houses the antenna and Bluetooth chip. The main chassis is built with magnesium, brushed stainless steel has been used for the front fascia and keypad while an anodised aluminium rear cover and a scratch-resistant mineral glass for the external display finish off this meticulously constructed handset.

Siemens has also made a number of mammoth improvements under its new guise, namely the display and icon menu graphics. Past Siemens efforts would often get panned for having sub-standard screens with crudely designed menu icons but this has now been remedied. The new-look 2.2-inch QVGA display is stunning and rolls with the best of them in terms of vivid colour and definition. BenQ-Siemens has finally caught up in the screen quality stakes.

Elsewhere, the RAZR comparisons are understandably justified on the keypad design but the EF81 easily matches the original in the operation stakes. BenQ-Siemens has also neatly applied rubber trim to separate the buttons, heightening its tactile nature. The keypad flaunts dedicated keys for video calling, portal browser and a new feature called Task Manager. This allows you to dip in and out of functions like writing a text message or skipping music tracks and then return where you left off by accessing the task manager menu.

However, when it comes to the two-megapixel camera, BenQ-Siemens has devised a fresh but, on paper anyway, limited way of operating the camera. The lens is embedded into the hinge (nothing new there) but instead of rotating independently it moves with the hinge action. So when the phones opens it points toward you for video calling and when closed it’s ready to take a snap. You can only fire up the camera and its 5x digital zoom using the front fascia controls and although it seems quite restrictive, it’s pretty straightforward and lucid to use. It allows for an almost instant action and reduces the moving parts on the handset. Its only drawback is you can’t access the settings in this position; you will have to delve into the main menu first. The pictures themselves offer a consistent palette with alright focus throughout and good colour representation. Highlight can be overblown but overall the results are encouraging.

The front controls also let you activate and completely operate video recording and the music player. The video footage is of no more than passable quality, with digital and pixel drag still visible. However, the music playback is rather agreeable. We loaded the laid-back acoustic vibe of Jack Johnson’s latest album, In Between Dreams, in AAC format and the quality was surprisingly cohesive. The songs remained clear, with nice levels of bass and lucid vocals and only a few tracks issuing a murky audio. It was also generous with the volume but this could distort on maximum. Disappointingly you can’t connect 3.5mm jack headphones, but the bundled earphones were respectable performers. One niggle with controlling the music player from the front is that you have to pause the song before skipping to the next track; this isn’t very intuitive.

Video calling is another of the handset’s redeeming features with high image standard and only a hint of pixelation and digital noise. Audio was quiet though, so we advise you use the supplied headphones.

BenQ-Siemens has surpassed even our expectations with the EF81. While its design may have RAZR connections, it has enough individual personality and class to be an attractive and slimline 3G proposition. It’s an emphatic statement of intent from the German-Asian outfit and the renaissance starts here. Bring it on!

This review covers the above mobile phone only and does not address the performance of any 3G Network. The score is based on a 3G mobile phone checklist.

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