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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Fido / February 2004Comments on Samsung M55
Got my toy yesterday, and have been playing with it. Bear in mind that I come from years of use of a Nokia 6190. Bear in mind that many comment probably apply to the current generation of handsets But initial comments follow... (in more or less random order) Way too small for canadian market. (gloves anyone ?) On-off key takes forever. You can't just press it it quickly to turn your phone on, and to turn off, you have to wait until the fido logo come on before you can release it to turn phone off. Nokia's on/off button is far superior. (ok, I guess the phone is designed to always and they didn't figure it was important). Alarm sounds are definitely not as lame as on the 6190. But even though I send one alarm for incoming calls, the phone is still using another alarm when someone is calling me. So I guess I have to go through the manual again. There is little to no help available on the phone. But pictures and movies abound. By default, the phone is set to please teenage girls with all sorts of constantly flashing lights, clicks for each key etc etc. Games are very noisy with music etc, compared to the more "polite" games on the 6190 that could be used in buses/trains. My phone came preconfigured for MMS. Guess what the APN for MMS service is/will be ? mms.fido.ca. Had to change it to wap.fido.ca to get wap working. Fido rep did tell me that MMS service "was real soon now". When entering text, Siemens switched the 0 and 1 kees around (0 gets the dot while 1 gets the space). Took me a long long while to enter a / in a URL. The phone doesn't quite keep up with keypresses and if you go too fast, it ends up selecting a character after the /, and if you go too slow, it selectes one before and then starts a new character. Granted, the functionality is far greater than on the 6190 where you'd only enter text in the phone book and SMS. But it seems that there are many "modes" of text entry. Beware: the documentation doesn't match the handset. For one thing, it seems we are given a US version of the phone. "My menu" has been replaced with "favorites" (mispelled by standard english standard). Took me a while to find this one while reading the manual. Also, Fido has removed many menus. One isn't allowed to find out network/frequency information for instance. On the other hand, the phone has an extensive list of worldwide networks and you can find out their network ID (but no info on what band they use). Frankly, I really don't know why Fido would have removed this.Another removed menu is the GPRS connection status menu (probably don't want you to know what IP has been assigned to the phone). the applications menu has annoying animations for the currently selected menu option. Oh, and you need to carry a small screwdriver or tweezers if you intend to remove you sim card. I guess that is the cost of having such a small phone. But if I need to switch back to the 6190, it becomes a real hassle. And prior to inserting your battery for first time, study it carefully so that you will understand how to remove it. That little tab belongs to the battery, not the phone. Had siemens used the same form factor as the 6190, its M55 would have been an absolutely incredible phone. As its stands, it navigation buttons are too close to each other. And the "delete character" is on the left instead of the more ergonomic right. But I guess Siements couldn't have copied the nikia layout too faithfully. And I guess that if the phone is aimed at teenage females, their fingers are probably small and agile enough that they aren't bothered. Technologically, it is pretty impressive how much they packed into that form factor. Oh, and the cost of polymorphic tones/rings : they come out through the earpiece, so the problem of the original handsets that could render you deaf if they ran while you had earpiece near to ear has come back. I've no yet found the volume control for earpiece while one talks. But I guess it is moot since unless there are dedicated buttons on the side, you can't adjust the volume without interrupting the conversations. But if you have stupid flashing lights instead of volume buttons on the side.... (thankfully, you can find some hidden menu to turn the lights off, except when you try the games) Gotta admit, it is cool to be able to connect to my server and access my own wap pages, and pickup up my emails via pop etc. And I still have much exloring to do. Just wished Fido had had some Nokia model in that offer yeah, the phone can be quirky. 1. contacts in the address book don't save on the SIM card. you have to go one by one to save to SIM card. a big pain. 2. often when entering tones in a call one may lose the call if one wants to clear the screen or go back to the menu. 3. PIN codes do nothing to prevent someone from inserting their SIM card into your phone and using it if they are on the same carrier or if the phone is unlocked. 4. Siemens USA/Canada know little about the phone. 5. The Alarm has a rooster crowing but if you change the rooster to another tone, you can't get reset it to the rooster. You may have to reload the defaults. 6. Phone has locked up a couple of times on me. I had to remove the battery to reset it. 7. Battery doesn't last long compared to other phones that I have had. Has likely to do with the color display All and all, a quirky phone but as long as it keeps performing to my expectations as far as reception and sound quality. I'll be content. But, yeah, a Nokia phone would've been nice. Maybe late this year for boxing day I'll be able to get my hands on a Nokia from Rogers and get it unlocked. : Got my toy yesterday, and have been playing with it. : [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] : : Just wished Fido had had some Nokia model in that offer. Another comment: You can't choose different ring tones for each profile. You can only choose volume. On my Nokia, I have a cycling profile with the loudest possible ringtone, and for normal stuff I had my beloved James Bond ring tone I have miraculously gotten via SMS from the south african site during the few days it was available. Not sure yet how I will be able to manage. BTW, with Fido having invalidated by old 6190 SIM card, can I still use that 6190 with the analogue module even though the sim is not recognized by FIDO ? > BTW, with Fido having invalidated by old 6190 SIM card, can I still use that > 6190 with the analogue module even though the sim is not recognized by FIDO ? If you called back in, shouldn't FIDO be able to assign the ESN of the analog module back to your account (this new SIM)? Interesting question, IIRC the ESN was assigned to the Fido number, not the chip. You can call them and get the ESN reassigned, but I do not know the process Andrew >>BTW, with Fido having invalidated by old 6190 SIM card, can I still use > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > If you called back in, shouldn't FIDO be able to assign the ESN of the > analog module back to your account (this new SIM)? "Pavel" <noway@noway.com> wrote in message > yeah, the phone can be quirky. > 3. PIN codes do nothing to prevent someone from inserting their SIM > card into your phone and using it if they are on the same carrier or > if the phone is unlocked. Yes it does. It prevents you from getting to Security setting 'This SIM only' menu 9-8-5 : "Pavel" <noway@noway.com> wrote in message : > yeah, the phone can be quirky. : : > 3. PIN codes do nothing to prevent someone from inserting their SIM : > card into your phone and using it if they are on the same carrier or : > if the phone is unlocked. : Yes it does. It prevents you from getting to : Security setting 'This SIM only' menu 9-8-5 How does that help? <confused > : > 3. PIN codes do nothing to prevent someone from inserting their > SIM [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > How does that help? <confused> From the Siemens manual P 41 'Your phone is prevented from being used with a different SIM card.' So, only the original SIM, (with PIN code) can unlock the phone, which is necessary to change the option. i.e. the phone is locked to the card which PIN locked the phone. Or, just removing the card renders the phone unusable by anyone else. Sounds pretty secure... : From the Siemens manual P 41 : 'Your phone is prevented from being used with a different SIM card.' [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] : Or, just removing the card renders the phone unusable : by anyone else. Sounds pretty secure... I tried it with a friends SIM card. I was able to make and receive calls no problem. From what I could see, it only affected those security settings like babysitter where it would not allow me to change anything. So, in my books, a useless feature and very unsecure device --or perhaps there is a software bug? The unit did freeze up on me once. > I tried it with a friends SIM card. I was able to make and receive > calls no problem. "This SIM Only" is an optional setting that you can turn on or off. If it is turned off, then you can insert any SIM. : "This SIM Only" is an optional setting that you can turn on or off. If it is : turned off, then you can insert any SIM. Not in my case. It makes absolutely NO difference. I even have "PIN CONTROL" enabled. Can others try the same to see if theirs does (or doesn't) lock out the other person's SIM Card from your phone? Found a neat page on the M55: Settings -> Phone Setup -> Phone identity -> info reveals software version, manufactured date, codecs present. If you press Info again, you get what seems to be a system check display. If you press Info again, you get a menu with a selftest, illumination and many other checks. You can even trigger the vibrator by itself. On a positive note, the M55 has a much better voice quality than the 6190, probably simply because the speaker on the phone is much better quality. Don't know how my voice sounds at the other end though :-( Interesting problem: In the dark, the screen of the M55 is very bright, compared to the little illuminated keys (in red). So, the default reaction is to go thorugh the menus and dim the screen down to 10% (its dimmest setting). Unfortunatly, that also dims the light that illuminates the keys, so you still end up with a screen that blinds your eyes and you can barely see the keys. (they'd probably need a separate light for the keyboard). But if you set the brightness of the screen to 100% you can use your phone as a flashlight :-) Fot all its design issues, the phone has a very good quality screen and very readable text. If you let your nails grow a bit, the keyboard becomes a bit easier to use. The software has quite a bit of power though. I downloaded a jpeg image about 160*100 pixels. Seems that when I use that image as a operator logo (to hide the www.fido.ca), the phone actually scales the image to fit, and if I just view the image in full screen mode, it is displayed at its original size. The disk drive inside the phone is about 1.87 megs, with about 1 meg available out of the box. It is still pretty amazing, no matter how many user interface quirks there may be, that they could pack so much technology and software into such a tiny machine. Star Trek tricorders aren't that far off :-) Amazing how the human body/brain adapt. Today, I picked up my 6190, and all of a sudden, it felt HUGE and HEAVY. Seems that I am getting used to the miniature Siemens phone. However, one thing that puzzles me. Every phone I had, except my first analogue Motorola has provided a collection of different ring tones, yet, the tones that are supplied with the phone are totally useless as a ring tone. The Siemens has 4 tones which are "tones", the rest are usless symphonies, rap, pop songs, as well as a horse and lynx sounds. Why can't phone manufacturers provide ring tones that are not music and are instead ringtones ? ... >Siemens has 4 tones which are "tones", the rest are usless symphonies, rap, >pop songs, as well as a horse and lynx sounds. > >Why can't phone manufacturers provide ring tones that are not music and are >instead ringtones ? yep. i just use the phone as a phone. and the only ring tone i could find that sounded like a phone was "an old-fashioned phone" still silly. to me anyway. when i get around to it, i'll load up a regular ring. ...thehick I like the "musical" rigntones of the M55, also the rigning starts low and increase I found this more pleasent to hear for me and for other people around than an aggressive and loud ringtone. Lots of people hate cellular phones because of that. > Amazing how the human body/brain adapt. Today, I picked up my 6190, and all of > a sudden, it felt HUGE and HEAVY. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Why can't phone manufacturers provide ring tones that are not music and are > instead ringtones ? Something I noticed: If you choose a .wav sound as a ringtone, the volume setting in the setup and profile menus does not match the volume when your phone rings. I was missing calls because I didn't hear the phone ring even though in the setup mode, the test of volume level was more than adequate. I put the volumes to maximum for the ringtone and while it is acceptable, it isn't quite loud enough. Will have to experiment on whether this applies only to one particular .wav or to all .wav So if you use a .wav ringtone, make sure you call yor cellphone to verify the volume level. Thanks. Keep up the info on the M55. : Something I noticed: : [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] : So if you use a .wav ringtone, make sure you call yor cellphone to verify the : volume level. You're comparing the M55 to a 6190? WOW! > Got my toy yesterday, and have been playing with it. > [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] > > Just wished Fido had had some Nokia model in that offer. > You're comparing the M55 to a 6190? WOW! And what is wrong with this ? If yo move from one phone to another, then you should be able to compare. They may be many generations apart, but if the old phone's design is far more usable as a phone than the new phone, isn't that a valid comment ? Go and try to change the volume of ringing on a M55. Go and change the volume during phone conversations. (hint: the phone put priority on different ring tones for calls coming from numbers stored in your address book under 10 different groups (so 10 different ring tones). And there is an obscure category "Received" and "Other calls" at the very end. (It is "other calls" which is the primary ring tone and volume for the incoming calls, but you need to set the ring tone under the phone settings and then reset the volume under the profile. You can only set different volume in profiles, you can't set different ringtones. The problem when you load a phone with a billion gadgets/features is that you must make decisions on which features remain "on top" for easy access. For teenage girls, I guess it is more important to know if a call is coming in from a boyfriend in the "good" category in the address book, a girlfriend, parents etc and since they never get calls from people not already in their phone books, the default ring tone is rarely used and thus at the very end. The 6190 was designed as a phone. The M55 was designs as a gadget that also acts as a phone. That is the way I view it right now. Valid comments - 6190 was light years ahead of it's time - and for many features the phone stands alone. BTW I love mine too even though I have many other phones but still like to go back to the 6190 from time to time as well has his big brother the 7190. ;-) The 8290/8260 was just like the 6190/6160. I also liked the phone even though it was full of problems for me. : Valid comments - 6190 was light years ahead of it's time - and for many features : the phone stands alone. : : BTW I love mine too even though I have many other phones but still like to go : back to the 6190 from time to time as well has his big brother the 7190. ;-) Why don't you choosa a Nokia instaed? This phone (M55) is nice but clearly not your style of phone. The Nokia 7210 will be a better choice for you. Is more expensive but it look like you keep your phones for a long time (6190!!!) so in the long run it will not cost you that much. Other option is to buy a used one in places like howard forums. Don't forget your old nokia is an high end phone in that time and even a new cheap nokia like a 3595 don't had the side volume control, IR or no gadget rigtones. Your best choice will be a more "business" oriented phone like some Nokias (6100 or 6200 I think) or the siemens S55 but this one is less gadget than the M55 but same size and menu system. > Got my toy yesterday, and have been playing with it. > [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] > > Just wished Fido had had some Nokia model in that offer. > Why don't you choosa a Nokia instaed? Because Fido didn't offer me a Nokia for $25 For that price, I could experiment with WAP/GPRS/MMS, and the experience I gain will allow me to choose a real phone properly when I do decide to pay for a better phone. Siemens was a totally unknown entity for me in terms of mobile phones. Siemens seems like a serious company and I expected that Siemens would produce a serious phone. Yeah, I should have gone to a store to take a look at an M55 before buying it. But since I am not a big spender with Fido, I can't expect those offers to come to me very often. So, for $25, despite its drawbacks, that phone is still an incredible deal. But I sure wouldn't go and pay the real price for this. |
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