Introduction

Long awaited by consumers, the Siemens S66 is the top-of-the-line model of the x65 series, featuring the same platform as the CX65 and M65, the S66 is targeted towards business consumers.

With an integrated 1.3-megapixel camera, extra large color screen, and 10 MB of memory, the Siemens S66 features a comprehensive set of applications and tools packaged in a sharp design.

Design

Featuring bold edges and lines, the stylish S66 measures 109 x 48 x 18 mm and weighs 98 g; perfect for busy professionals looking for a compact device with a clean professional look. Having a black and chrome minimalist appearance, the front features a large 132 x 176 px screen capable of displaying 65K colors, a 5-way navigation joystick situated between two soft keys, and angular numeric keypad.

Turned around, a port for an external antenna accessory is included on the upper left; for those times when the internal antenna may not be enough. Additionally, the lens to the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera is situated on the back, able to capture high-resolution photos up to 1280 x 960 px in size.

Along the left side, an infrared port provides wireless transfers and synchronicity between PCs, while up and down keys along the right provide shortcuts to initiates sound recording, activates camera mode, and functions as scroll and volume adjustment buttons. Connection ports and a RS-MMC slot are located on the bottom, while a spot for a car holder kit lies on top.

Out of the box, the Siemens S66 comes with a standard 750 mAh Li-Ion battery, AC adapter, 32 MB RS-MMC, RS-MMC to MMC adapter, mini CD, and user manual.

Camera

The 1.3-megapixel camera, built with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 960 px, includes other photo sizes such as High - VGA (640 x 480 px), Medium - QVGA (320 x 240), Low - QQVGA (160 x 120 px), and Wallpaper (180 x 240 px).

In Camera Mode, the S66's screen becomes the viewfinder, displaying useful information such as zoom and brightness levels, resolution, as well as available memory.

Should shutterbugs need to get closer to the action, a 5X digital zoom is included; controlled by moving the navigational joystick up and down. However to truly zoom in, consumers will have to walk. Rather than optical zoom, digital merely enlarges the photo much like cropping, as opposed to getting closer. Due to limitations in hardware and moving parts, optical zoom is not yet feasible in camera phones.

Additional camera functions allow users to control Color Modes (Normal, Sepia, and Grey Tones), White Balance (Automatic, Indoor, Outdoor), Brightness (Joystick Left / Right), and Self-Timer. Unfortunately, there is no mirror for self-portraits, so users will have to either use the Self-Timer or randomly point and shoot. When the optional flash accessory is attached, additional menu options (Automatic, Off, Red-Eye) are enabled.

Encoded in MPEG-4, video clips can also be captured at either QCIF (176 x 144 px) or Sub-QCIF (128 x 96 px) resolutions at 15 fps limited to a maximum length of 30 seconds. Photos and video taken with the S66 can be either stored on the internal memory or a memory card.

Next >

This article is Copyright 2002-2009 Mobiledia Corp. and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from Mobiledia. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact us.