Sleek Is In

Mobile phones these days come in all shapes and sizes. Designs have generally centered around candy-bar styles while a large percentage were based on clam-shell motifs. Fortunately, there are always more ways to design a mobile phone and manufacturers have also introduced various slide designs. Mobile phones with slide designs aren't new, but they are not that widely available either.

The new Siemens SL55 is the latest phone that sports a stylish slide-down design which hides the numeric keypad. The phone is small and tiny - making it a perfect fit on any palm, especially well suited for females. The phone is shaped as a rectangle with very rounded corners while the screen area is enhanced with an attractive silver lining. For its size, the Siemens SL55 is surprisingly versatile as it supports all the three GSM bands.

Weighing only 79g, the phone's dimension at 81.6 (L) x 44.5 (W) x 21.9 (H) mm is great for users who want something that's small, light and yet feature packed. Bundled along with the phone is a digital camera that plugs right into the data port. The concept is similar to its predecessor, the S55, where the optional plug-in camera lets you take fairly high resolution pictures using its built-in flash unit and viewfinder.

A side view of the phone.

In the package, you'll find the following items :-

The Siemens SL55 handset

Detachable Quickpic digital camera

Printed user's manual

Software CD

Travel charger

The bundled accessories seem rather thin especially when we did not find any hands-free kit within the package. In addition to that, we would have also preferred it if there was a data cable provided for PC connectivity too.

The technical specifications of the product is as below :-

Siemens SL55 Technical Specifications

Phone type	Tri-band E-GSM
Network(s)	GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
Technology Supported	WAP 1.2.1, GPRS, JAVA
Display	Color LCD, 4,096 colors, 101x80 pixels
Dimensions (L x W x H)	81.6 x 44.5 x 21.9 mm
Weight	79g (with battery)
Battery type	Li-Polymer 500mAh
Manufacturer stated talktime	Up to 210 minutes
Manufacturer stated standby time	Up to 200 hours
Messaging	SMS, MMS (Multi Message Service), EMS (Enhanced Message Service)
Polyphonic	16-voice Polyphonic Melody
Games	Rayman Golf, Mobile Tennis
Connectivity	IrDA PC data cable (optional accessory)
Camera	External add-on CCD camera, 640x480 pixels
Personal Information Management	Calendar, Tasks, Alarm, Notes, Currency Converter, Calculator