UK 3G Mobile Phones - BenQ-Siemens EF81 Review

Your BenQ-Siemens EF81 Reviews

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Reviewer: Stephen - UK
Date: 1st Jul 2008

This is a brilliant phone. I know that the company has gone into liquidation, but the phone is very good.

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Reviewer: Marija - Bosnia
Date: 16th May 2008

The phone isn't bad so much, great design & it has many possibilities but I have one little problem, the status report option doesn't work at all, I turn it on but somehow it turns off. I don't like the battery lasting either, it last two barely three days only. Can anyone tell me how to fix this status report, please?

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Reviewer: Mrpat - Mauritius
Date: 11th Feb 2008

I have the phone for 2 weeks now but I can't view call options. Being missed call, answered or dailed. I'll be happy if you can let me know the tips & how to. Thank you.

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Reviewer: Stelios - Greece
Date: 17th Dec 2007

Great design, very good quality, battery 3 to 4 days normal use, feels great to have something rare but I'm searching for a different theme & still haven't found something, until now (1 year) no problem has occured!

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Reviewer: Thierry - London, UK
Date: 19th Aug 2007

Good phone, very cool & sleek. Simply fantastic.

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Reviewer: Neil Morris - High Wycombe, UK
Date: 25th Jul 2007

Well, I set my heart on this phone after my RAZR got stolen & had to make do with a Samsung D600, finally acquired one SIM free/unlocked for any network yesterday without reading here first! Big mistake! Opening up the box & you realise that it is or was a thing of beauty & as a designer it was just to die for, however having inserted my SIM & got going quickly realised there were things it wouldn't do like tell me who the SMS's were from, just a series of numbers come up with no name, brilliant when I don't remember numbers & no way to save new numbers to the contact list either! The contact directory has all the names logged as they were on my SIM & have transferred over but go to messages & hey presto, no names! The 5 second lag is true, I thought it was me being slow with my new phone but it isn't! However messaging is quick to send (10 x faster than my old Sammy) but the message keypad is not as straight forward as the Samsung & don't get me started on the T9 system! If you like messaging in scrambled code this is your phone, it doesn't come up with any word I've ever seen in the English language!

Now I find Benq-Siemens are in liquidation, is this true? Just about tops out my day this fact! AHHHHHHHH! Think I will quietly put this down to experience & place it in my display cabinet as a design icon that doesn't work properly! I am on Vodafone & now I know why they never sold these phones & won't talk to you about them although you can connect to their system with them. Big help Vodafone! Anyone able to help me understand this phone better & get to love it properly, get in touch!?

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Reviewer: Thomas - London, UK
Date: 5th Jul 2007

DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE OR ANY BENQ-SIEMENS PHONE! In the UK at least. Benq-Siemens have gone into liquidation, which basically means if your phone goes wrong, you can't get it repaired by anyone, as their repair service isn't currently available. They're currently looking into an alternative, but it may take months. & if your phone is still under warranty, it makes no difference. You may get lucky & be able to claim some money from PriceWaterhouseCoopers who are looking after the liquidation, but it probably won't be much money as they have to give some money back to all the people who are owed money by BenQ-Siemens.

My first phone went wrong after about 6 months, & I managed to get a replacement. My second phone is not supported by the mobile phone company I am with. As a result, I can't use MMS. No UK mobile phone company supports this phone, which means they'll just refer you to BenQ-Siemens for any support issue. & as BenQ-Siemens is in liquidation. Yep, you got it. You're stuffed.

Best advice: STEER CLEAR OF BENQ-SIEMENS PHONES!

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Reviewer: Elene - Brunei Darussalam
Date: 22nd Jun 2007

I bought this phone in Singapore. I think around $750+. In my country in Brunei, maybe I am the only one using it. It's cool when you don't want to be using the same phone as others. Then I start to regret it, because, a few days ago, this phone can't work. Meaning to say when it turned off, then I tried to turn it on, but it keeps on ON/OFF & I don't know why. In my country there is no software that can repair it. So right now, I am annoyed with the phone. I think in the future I will buy Nokia. Bottom line, I don't recommend this phone to anyone & don't judge a book by its cover.

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Reviewer: Kay - Newton Ayclffe, UK
Date: 17th Jun 2007

Battery life didn't last long. Gave up on it, then sent it away to be repaired. Came back but still wouldn't charge up. Have sent it back a second time & just got it back & guess what. It still won't charge. Going into the shop tomorrow & see what they say. Bet I end up taking it to a small repair shop & paying for it myself. I do like the phone cos it's star wars themed.

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Reviewer: John Right - Munich, Germany
Date: 27th Apr 2007

Its very nice (cool).

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Reviewer: Nitin - Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Date: 17th Apr 2007

What can I write as it cost me so much money & now I am looking at the past & thinking why I didn't went or Nokia or something else. I have a problem to fix & it, s was like a nightmare to know that there is no authorized dealer of this phone to repair it in a city like Dubai & it will take me 3 month to repair the problem.

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Reviewer: Danko - Bucharest, Romania
Date: 14th Mar 2007

Bought it 2 days ago. It is very fast (updated with last firm ware) & there are none of the problems other reviewers mentioned. Except maybe the battery life. Looks & feels great, however catches fingerprints all the time on the steel cover. Keep a microfiber glass cleaner nearby :) I recommend it instead of Motorola V3x. It's more exclusive.

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Reviewer: Mohammad - Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic
Date: 2nd Mar 2007

It is great mobile, only Siemens could make such a phone.

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Reviewer: Warren - London, UK
Date: 26th Feb 2007

Don't buy this, don't be fooled by the stylish looks as this means nothing if you can't get your messages & call records customer service is worst I have ever encountered. If you buy this phone be warned, it just doesn't work properly.

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Reviewer: Omer Gassim - London, UK
Date: 16th Feb 2007

Its great mobile.

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Reviewer: Remco Koster - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date: 5th Feb 2007

Although the design is fantastic I agree with many of you that it is the worst mobile to use. It does not record missing calls numbers, so makes it impossible to return my customer calls. Reacts very slowly on commands, like scrolling down my list of contacts. Camera, indeed without Flash, quality is poor.

So it does not even satisfy my basic needs!

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Reviewer: Peter Sprohar - Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: 26th Jan 2007

I must have it, it's beautiful!

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Reviewer: Sander - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Date: 19th Dec 2006

Waste of money that is what it was! I have many problems with this thing, which I know own for about 3 months.

First, my headset does not want to work with it. I bought the headset of Siemens, so there shouldn't be any problem with these two devices communicating with each other

Second, I can't read any more text messages. Every time I want to read one, my phone switches itself off!

Third, very very slow in doing normal tasks

Then, it always seems to be out of memory it says, while there is more then enough left. The worst buy of the year!

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Reviewer: Paul - Barnsley, UK
Date: 14th Dec 2006

Worst phone I've ever purchased. After a mere two months it won't re-charge. When it did work, the battery lasted at most two days (used call time less than an hour). Reaction time for keys to action, about 5 seconds. Very very disappointed.

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Reviewer: Lyndsay - Stevenage, UK
Date: 2nd Dec 2006

I paid £180 pound for this phone which at the time I was really chuffed with until I got it back a realised what a waste of money it really was. The first thing that put me off was how slow it was every time you push a button you have almost a five second delay sometimes which is really annoying. An on occasions when I tried making a phone call it would switch it's self off. Which it has now down totally so I am not happy at all. It will turn on to the point where I can put my pin number in then just goes completely. I would never tell anyone to buy this phone truly is a waste of money.

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Reviewer: David Simpson - Istanbul, Turkey
Date: 7th Nov 2006

The brushed metal front stops looking good after a couple of weeks use. It scratches very easily & is starting to look tatty after 4 months. The hardened crystal glass is not very hard. Mine now has two quite deep scratches even though I am careful never to put into a pocket with loose change or keys. To call up the numbers dialed list takes too long as does selecting anything. Picture quality is not very good so don't rely on it for your holiday snaps. This should have been a great phone, & could have been if it had been more of a phone than a multimedia box of tricks. Wouldn't buy another one.

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Reviewer: Rich - UK
Date: 29th Oct 2006

Great phone

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Reviewer: Firat - Antalya, Turkey
Date: 20th Oct 2006

Please help meee, EF81 or V3x? Which one?

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Reviewer: Spark - UK
Date: 11th Oct 2006

It looks good, but all the silver's coming off after about two months. And it's developed an intermittent loud hiss during calls. And those keys on the outside are VERY annoying! Why can't you set them to lock as a default setting rather than having to do it every single time you put the phone in your pocket? Did the designers actually test it in the real world? I think not. And it's slow. And it won't connect with my Mac. I'm considering unlocking my old Razr & putting the sim card back in that. Although there's no "copy all numbers to sim" feature so that would be a pain too. And don't get me started on the battery life. And the reception (which has improved massively since I turned off UMTs & put it back onto standard reception.)

When I took it back to Phones4u after only three months they wouldn't change it, only send it to BenQ which they said might take a few weeks. A few weeks. With no phone. AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!

It looks good though.

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Reviewer: Kamel - Jordan
Date: 23rd Sep 2006

Everything on this mobile phone is VERY GOOD

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Reviewer: Daren - Elgin Scotland, UK
Date: 19th Sep 2006

This has to be the very very worst handset I have ever owned. Great design but can be difficult to open single handed, even worse than a V3. Battery life is ridiculous: 12 hours with average use - Bluetooth off! Battery life may have something to do with the incredibly poor reception qualities. I live in Scotland so we have to expect some blackspots here & there even though this is 2006. I have lived here for 10 years however, & have had this handset for 2 months & it really is terrible. I am sending it back to BenQ for repair but think that it may just be a poor performing unit. We will see. If it is fixed, I will re review. The software is extremely slow. Sometimes a 5 sec delay after key press. No photos uploaded, no video just a couple of ringtones & that's it.

I bought this phone from Phones 4 u. DON'T! The customer service is the worst I have ever encountered & Vodafone will not entertain any problems you encounter. I wish I stayed with Orange & bought a Samsung or Nokia!

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Reviewer: Marcel Numan - Netherlands
Date: 12th Sep 2006

I almost didn't buy this phone because all of the bad reviews. But when I am looking back on my latest phones (razr v3 Samsung d600 & e900) this is the best one I've ever have. oke it was a little slow but when I delete a lot of star wars stuff, the books en a lot of stuff I don't needed it is faster then before. And when you reed the instructions good & play with your phone it is quit easy.

I'm very happy with it that's for sure.

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Reviewer: David - St. Odilienberg, Netherlands
Date: 14th Aug 2006

I've now had this for two months in use now ... & I've got VERY ANNOYED with this phone...

Firstly ... the darned external keys are CONTINUALLY doing things like taking pictures in your pocket etc... Locking the keys doesn't help... they unlock themselves in 5 seconds back in your pocket...

You have NO IDEA where a call has come from... home/office/mobile... it just says who...

Choosing an address for texts is ridiculous... As an earlier reviewer says... it defaults to anything EXCEPT the mobile number... & when you've chosen a number you CAN'T CHECK if you've chosen correctly... it just shows the name & it could be the landline number for all you know.

The Blue Tooth is useless.... it doesn't automatically search for available devices... so every time I go to the car I have to manually connect it to my hands-free.

The customer service from SEIMENS NEVER answers & e-mails & never comes back with any response even when you phone them ... TOTALLY USELESS I'm afraid....

Battery life is NOT what they state ... even when you don't have Bluetooth on & don't use it ... they state 300 hours ... I'd estimate closer to 120...

I wouldn't recommend this phone to anyone.... shame...

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Reviewer: Burgo - Belgium
Date: 7th Aug 2006

Mobile software too slow & many bugs. Mobile reboot itself when doing some normal operations like explore files in memory card! low video quality but foto OK

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Reviewer: Senem - Istanbul, Turkey
Date: 1st Aug 2006

It looks good. But I can not find themes for my EF81 anywhere.

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Reviewer: Dali - UK
Date: 3rd Jul 2006

Hey! The phone does seem great! I have ordered one, it is soon to be in my hands... one thing I wanted to know was- can this phone be unlocked to work on the 2G networks? If so, HOW!?

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Reviewer: Henry - Taunton, UK
Date: 21st Jun 2006

I always think reviews lack the information about day to day usage. To me, the ef81 has been a testing transfer from my old v3. Although similar in size & layout, using it seemed to be completely on a different level. maybe the first thing you should do is change the sms settings which defaults at deleting messages when a new one arrives - I had 3 sent to me & when I opened one the rest was deleted...

The contacts layout is also frustrating being it's organised by last name - & no, it is set up as is so it cannot be changed to rank by first name. If you bundle numbers into one contact, i.e. private phone & mobile phone, you can set priority on the contact. This should mean that when you pick the contact, the priority should be the first point of call, this isn't true when you send a sms, it is preordered by private then mobile, so you have to choose the number manually or risk sending a sms to a house phone.

The camera is a redeeming feature, outdoors it works wonders with its 2mpixel camera, & indoors it doesn't come out as well lacking a flash. the 3g capabilities has been a wonder, with free access to Vodafone live (pay when you download) so free to check the weather, the world cup scores etc etc. quick speeds allow live mobile tv, a gimmick which I thought would be pointless but with a free months trial I found it to be quite entertaining watching mtv & such like. Navigating the internet on a phone is still cumbersome, but it pays off being fast.

The battery life on my phone varies from 1-3 days depending on what you use the phone for. With Bluetooth on, it drains the battery quicker than if you had it off. You can adjust the settings of the phone to retain battery life, i.e. change the brightness of the backlight, how long to keep the light on when not in use etc. I found that using mobile tv for 30 minutes ate about a third of the battery life, whilst playing games on it & mp3 would also eat away at the phone. Given that you use the phone only as a phone, I guess you can last out up to 5 days but I haven't managed it yet.

downloading from Bluetooth off another phone is quite smooth, taking around 3 minutes for a 4mb mp3 file, contact transfer is also available, great for moving contacts between the old phone to the new (minus having to change the names to get around the last name order). The software from the cd is good, making it a breeze to change names, & move items around in the phone.

Navigating the phone has been slow, with a slight lag when moving around & also because a lot of the features are hidden inside different options menus. Speaker phone option is currently evading my every attempt at locating it & it took a while for me to find the voice recognition option. It doesn't help that Vodafone currently has no information to help you at the website, but if you like finding new things on your phone on your own, this is certainly one that would be perfect for you right now.

My final word I guess is that even with its flaws, the phone is still going to be in my pocket at the end of the day. This is because it is sleek, looks great & once you're used to it being a little slow or that you've found the missing function it isn't a hassle anymore.

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Reviewer: David - St. Odilienberg, Netherlands
Date: 20th Jun 2006

Nice looking thing ... had it for a few weeks now...

BUT...
- Often locks up ... have had to take the battery out to reset it several times...
- There are no emoticons to use in texts ... even though in the options there is one that says "emoticons on"
- The hands free is a problem!!!!! It will call out via bluetooth using a voice tag only.
If the number isn't voice tagged it won't use bluetooth!!!!

DANGEROUS...
E's & calls to their support line remain completely unanswered!!!!!
Shame ... a good looking phone messed up in important aspects.

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Reviewer: Jonathan - UK
Date: 14th Jun 2006

Unfortunately Vodafone UK does not support this phone as yet so MMS WAP etc does not work. They do not as yet have it on their database so no help from their call centre is available.

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Reviewer: David T - Chester, UK
Date: 14th May 2006

I bought the phone sim free for £250 off eBay from Germany, before it hits UK shores. The build quality is superb, the case is sublime & the overall package is a thing of beauty. The external is screen is put to good use & is surprisingly comforting to operate. Inside the keypad is large & useable & the screen handles even the most demanding pictures perfectly. The software is very intuitive & seems to be one step ahead of you. Overall the best phone I've used to date.

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Reviewer: Glen - Australia
Date: 13th May 2006

You need to understand that BenQ in fact, used to manufacture phones for Motorola! It is fair to compare with Razr but the EF81 is the clear winner. Once you have this in your hands, it will leave you with no doubt. This is the latest Porsche & sets the bar higher for everyone!

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Reviewer: Ief - Greece
Date: 10th May 2006

Crazy about it. Still waiting here... Its arrival has been postponed from end of April to May... Can't wait!!!

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Reviewer: Harry - Maidenhead, UK
Date: 23rd Mar 2006

Wicked technology in the EF81 & the thin cover is the best. We would like to know the release date for this phone as we are both due upgrades on our phones in 2 months time. Any dates known.

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Reviewer: TT - Newport, UK
Date: 21st Mar 2006

Stylish phone & fab features. Would like to find out when it will be available as I would like to have a play with this phone but think it may be out of my price range. Hate spending too much on phones but sometimes get sucked it by the great advertising.

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Reviewer: Celeste - UK
Date: 19th Mar 2006

I have fallen in love with this mobile & I don't care how much it cost, I will have it whatever. Come on it has 3G, Bluetooth, media player, camera & video included. The handset itself is out of this world & has so much going for it. I love the materials used & cant wait to use the keypad, the keys look the best.



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