And indeed, the keyboard is comfortable. One hand is enough to dial a number or SMS. All buttons are mirror-black, located close to one another and occupy almost the entire internal surface of the phone. The navigator is four-position, mirror-silver, easy to use. The remaining keys are large, easy to press, and errors during operation are practically eliminated. The backlight is blue, uniform, small Russian letters are clearly visible in different lighting conditions.

As they write in phone reviews, the “terrible external CSTN display” with a 96x64 pixel matrix and support for 65 thousand colors turned out to be not so terrible in reality. The internal screen differs from the external one only in its resolution of 130x130 pixels. In the sun the picture really fades, but in any light you can find a position in which the text will be visible quite clearly. Through the menu, you can adjust both the brightness and contrast of the image; you must admit, this is a rare opportunity for an inexpensive phone. The large clock on the external display can be seen without backlighting; in the dark, it is enough to open the phone slightly to illuminate the screen for a few seconds.

The phone supports Internet access via GPRS class 8 (1 slot for uploading, 4 for downloading, 8-12 Kbps transmission - 32-40 Kbps reception). GPRS can be disabled through the menu, a small thing, but nice. It was not possible to check the functionality of the Internet. Internet access is available both at home and at work. On the road, I use the steering wheel of the car, and not the buttons of the phone, and I don’t feel an urgent need for the Internet. I will write about using the phone as a modem below.

The phone stores information about received, missed and unanswered calls, up to 10 numbers in each section. There is also a call duration counter here. Counting is possible for the last conversation, all incoming and all outgoing. All incoming messages with date and time stamp. The phone's memory capacity is about 2 MB, after deleting some things, I had more than 500 KB at my disposal.

The alarm clock is simple for one call every day, it is possible to turn off the phone using a timer, the alarm clock works even when the phone is turned off. For quick access to the alarm clock or other menu items, you can assign the left soft key or create a voice tag. The recognition quality is comparable to much more expensive devices. For me, the calendar is quite convenient; I call exclusively by voice. For each event in the calendar, you can set the type - notes, call, meeting, birthday or anniversary. Repetition is possible - daily, weekly, monthly and even annually. Missed reminders in a separate list.

There are few preset ringtones, but you can record your own from the microphone. I came across a similar function on other devices - a very mediocre implementation. Here I experimented with the sound volume, and it turned out quite acceptable. It is possible to assign different signals to different events. The list is smaller than for dynamic light, but personally this is enough for me.

Emergency PhoneBook is a good unit converter, quite complete and, in addition to metric units, contains information about clothing and shoe sizes in different countries, as far as I need this, I find it difficult to answer. And for those who purchase items with imported markings without consulting the seller, it may be interesting to know that English-made men's boots with size 9.5 correspond to our size 43.

Two games as a gift from the manufacturer - Sea Battle (sea battle) with a phone and Wappo 2 - a rather entertaining logic toy. The main character must escape from one or two villains by moving the sacred fire and using time portals. The level of difficulty increases as you progress and towards the end, the game becomes quite complex, but interesting, for lovers of this kind of toys and entertainment in general.

What's not to like? Weaknesses, shortcomings.

Now about the bad.

The biggest nuisance is a weak battery. The 660 mAh Li-Ion Polymer battery from BenQ lasts no more than 2 days, when using the phone only for calls about 15 minutes a day, in my opinion, for a device that is not burdened with a large number of functions and a high-resolution screen, this is very little. Perhaps the phone’s “hard childhood” affected its capacity, but judging by other reviews, this is a congenital disease.

Believe me, I didn’t intend to check the quality of communication with the AF51. It’s just that on the very first day of communication with the phone they could not reach me. I knew that the signal strength in this place was below average, and sometimes old phone fell out of the network, but so often... I began to take a closer look. No, I didn’t specifically walk through basements and catacombs with several phones in one hand, and I didn’t meticulously compare signal levels by the number of sticks. But I can definitely say that in the same places the AF51 loses the network more often than the old Alcatel OT 512 and my wife’s rather ancient Nokia 6610. The J300 from SonyEricsson was specifically included in the comparison; this little guy with a Loop antenna turned out to be the most resistant to falling out of the network. Where the signal strength is average, all phones behave the same, but on the verge of reception, the AF51 lost the network more often than others. Moreover, if you do not put the phone on the table, but put it in a “column”, the reception improves somewhat. As a last resort, you can change the operator to another one that provides better radio coverage in your area. And if this doesn’t help, then you’ll have to change your phone...

As I already wrote, the design of the phone is interesting, but the dark mirror surfaces both outside and inside make it very easy to spot. I wash my hands regularly, but my phone is full of fingerprints and greasy stains. If you don't regularly wipe your phone, it will look sloppy.

The communication capabilities of this device seem very illusory. There is no infrared port, like the same AX75. For Bluetooth, the price category is not the same. But the phone has a COM port! But I was unable to buy the DCA-100 data cable intended for BenQ-Siemens AF51. In the eighth or ninth store selling telephone accessories, I realized that it was not possible to purchase a data cable either before, now, or in the near future. The situation is similar with corded headsets! The cable was found only in online stores, at a price (including shipping costs) from 600 to 1000 rubles (this is when the cost of the phone itself is about 90 USD). Of course, those who really need it, for example patching enthusiasts, will probably buy it, especially since there is an unofficially modified DCA-110 on sale (with a connection to a USB port and charging function), at a price of about 800 rubles. But for the average BenQ-Siemens owner, using a GPRS modem or synchronizing the phone with a PC will not be easy or cheap.

When opened, the phone makes a strangled creak. The top cover slides along the bottom of the phone, and the battery cover is loose and suspiciously easy to open.

In general, it feels like the model is outdated. The processor works more than leisurely, constantly throwing out the message: “Please wait” - with or without reason. It took me more than half a minute to load the game (from the moment I opened the phone to the start of the level). A weak processor and small amount of memory will sharply limit gamers in their choice of software.

MP3 as a call is now practically the norm even for this price group. WAV format melodies loaded into the phone must be 4 bits and only mono, otherwise the phone will refuse to play them.

There is a function for recording sounds for calls, but there is no voice recorder. Why? Unclear! The call strength is average, the phone has only one speaker and is located in the lid, which, as you understand, is closed in the normal position, and all the power is spent on voicing itself. There is no way to compensate for this with a good vibration alert, but, alas, it is not one of the strongest. Unfortunately, I have already missed several calls in noisy places.

What do you miss about it?

A fairly serious notebook, in my opinion, should be synchronized with a PC in a simpler and more convenient way than buying a data cable over the Internet for a third of the cost of the phone itself.

A good battery is not a luxury. For me, the phone should weigh a little more, although perhaps someone is interested in the light weight of the device.

What phone features do you use frequently? What phone features do you use occasionally? What functions do you not use at all?

There are no functions implemented in this phone so poorly that you have to use them only occasionally or not at all. What I use often or don’t use at all doesn’t depend on my phone.

Did you have to repair your phone? What troubles happened with your phone? What glitches were noticed?

Products from Siemens' mobile division are notoriously crude. software good hardware, alas, this device was no exception. Three times the phone turned off spontaneously, and in a variety of situations that were in no way related to each other. Twice the clock on the external display stopped counting time, but as soon as the lid was opened slightly, the time was restored. Compared to a complete shutdown, this is a mere trifle, but it would be better without it.

Try to compare the phone with other models you have used.

Let's see what you can buy besides the Siemens AF51 for similar money.

Motorola L2 - has Bluetooth on board, 10 MB built-in memory, MP3 files as a call, and an interesting design. True, the AF51 is more expensive, but there will be no problems with synchronizing the phone or selecting a comfortable headset.

Nokia 6030 is quite a bit more expensive, but it has a TFT screen, FM radio, and a 900 mAh Li-Ion battery. The differences are less interesting to me personally, but as an option for similar money, it is more profitable.

Formally, the list can be continued with phones from Korean, Japanese and Chinese manufacturers, but finishing off “SIEMENS” with crafts from the East is somehow not in my heart.

What else can you say?

The phone was released at the end of the former glory of Siemens mobile phones. The title of the review characterizes the situation that arose with the cell phone division of the German company. Even people far from the world of mobile phones have probably heard the news about the bankruptcy and closure of the telephone business. The merger with the Taiwanese BenQ did not save the situation. The only asset of the alliance - the SIEMENS trademark - was replaced by BenQ-Siemens, which causes distrust among potential buyers. Foreign sellers, of course, know better, but sales volumes have fallen, and production costs have not decreased, and very soon German handsets with the Siemens logo are so familiar and close to the Russian user (there are quite a lot of fans of this brand, you can see this by visiting the sites http://www .siemens-club.org and http://allsiemens.com) will disappear from the shelves. The harsh laws of the market do not take into account the interests of the minority. But I will still have a copy of the GSM phone with the silver SIEMENS inscription.

Unfortunately, today the Siemens AF51 is not the best in its niche. Unsurprisingly, it is outdated. I can only recommend this device to those who are interested in dynamic light, who are passionate about the design and who do not and will not have the money for a more advanced model. For everyone else, I recommend finding a more recent solution, perhaps for a little more money.

If the phone was evaluated at the time of its release, then my rating for AF51 would be 8 points. Now the situation has changed, and not in favor of this phone.

Thank you for your interest in my review.

Tolik