Rating: 
Summary: Worst Cell Phone I've Ever Owned
Review: I have been with AT&T for 5 years now, and have never had a reception problem or equipment problem (I even accidentally sent my old Nokia 6590 thru the wash, and it still works fine). Never, at all. At least, not until I bought the SL56.
The SL56, and I am getting my 2nd warranty replacement today (2have already gone bad: 1st in about 5 weeks, and the 2nd in under 3 weeks), is an absolute piece of crap. Besides only being able to make about 70% of my outgoing calls (the other 30% just heavily amplify the surrounding noise, making you unable to hear who you are calling), the reception, when it does go thru, is absolutely ridiculous. It frequently cuts out. It is NOT an AT&T issue, as I switch my sim card to my old Nokia 6590 to make calls at home, where the SL56 rarely works. The Nokia, and the AT&T service it is on, gets full bars and perfect reception. Also, it is not a 'taking good care of your phone' issue, as the SL56 I will be returning today is in perfect shape, not even a scratch on the screen (those of you who own one know what I'm talking about).
Also, and the reason I am constantly getting warranty exchanges, is that the SL56 has horrible keys. After a couple of weeks, a couple of keys will stop functioning unless you really press down hard. Later on, they just stop working. Period.
It sure was nice to buy the smallest phone out there. It looks great on the dresser while I'm using my old Nokia to make calls. On a side note, AT&T has been great as far as promptly replacing any phones with issues, even after the 30 day return period. No complaints with AT&Ts customer service at all there. My only complaint is with the crap Siemens SL56 phone. I wouldnt pay $1 for one to use as a back up.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Cell Phone I've Ever Owned
Review: I have been with AT&T for 5 years now, and have never had a reception problem or equipment problem (I even accidentally sent my old Nokia 6590 thru the wash, and it still works fine). Never, at all. At least, not until I bought the SL56.
The SL56, and I am getting my 2nd warranty replacement today (2have already gone bad: 1st in about 5 weeks, and the 2nd in under 3 weeks), is an absolute piece of crap. Besides only being able to make about 70% of my outgoing calls (the other 30% just heavily amplify the surrounding noise, making you unable to hear who you are calling), the reception, when it does go thru, is absolutely ridiculous. It frequently cuts out. It is NOT an AT&T issue, as I switch my sim card to my old Nokia 6590 to make calls at home, where the SL56 rarely works. The Nokia, and the AT&T service it is on, gets full bars and perfect reception. Also, it is not a 'taking good care of your phone' issue, as the SL56 I will be returning today is in perfect shape, not even a scratch on the screen (those of you who own one know what I'm talking about).
Also, and the reason I am constantly getting warranty exchanges, is that the SL56 has horrible keys. After a couple of weeks, a couple of keys will stop functioning unless you really press down hard. Later on, they just stop working. Period.
It sure was nice to buy the smallest phone out there. It looks great on the dresser while I'm using my old Nokia to make calls. On a side note, AT&T has been great as far as promptly replacing any phones with issues, even after the 30 day return period. No complaints with AT&Ts customer service at all there. My only complaint is with the crap Siemens SL56 phone. I wouldnt pay $1 for one to use as a back up.
Rating: 
Summary: Hold on flamers...
Review: I just recieved this phone today, with Cingular as my service provider. I don't know why you all had such horrible reception problems, but i live in NY, and am currently in Queens, and I have to say this phone has absolutely crystal clear reception, better than I have ever experienced and I've been through several phones.Design wise I find it excellent, Its incredibly compact, and the buttons are tiny and not traditionally shaped, so if you have larger fingers (or even medium sized fingers with and little patience) you might want to reconsider or go to a store and try it out first. I'm not a fan of cheesey, obnoxious, polyphonic ringtones, and therefore was concerned upon finding this phone doesn't come with a standard ring, but after inspecting all the available tones, there are several not-so-obnoxious and original tones. Excellently designed, original looking so you'll turn a few heads, and does everything a phone should. 5 stars. By the way, just get cingular with this anyway, they own ATTwireless now and within a month or 2 you'll officially be part of the cingular network/company anyway. Also, their plans are virtually identical except cingular gives you rollover on your minutes from month to month.
Rating: 
Summary: sl56
Review: I received the phone as a replacement to the c56, which was very small and light. i had no problems with the c56. The sl56 is smaller when closed and weighs about the same. Its a bit deeper though than the c56. Sound quality is about the same, although people on the other end say the sl56 is clearer.
I hope people realize how cell signal works. A tower can only have so many calls being placed on it, or traffic. This could be a reason for the degradation in call signal strength and sound quality. You should check a coverage map for the gsm 800/1900 signal. The sl56 does not support analog, and most phones of the future will probably not either because this signal is old and not great seeing how it is one of the first digital implementations.
I'm in canada and am on the Rogers gsm network and i have no problems with signal or call clearity. my c56 had a stronger signal in my basement by one "bar". I live outside Toronto which has the strongest coverage throughout canada.
People are very amazed by this phone when you slide it open and a tone plays. This gets annoying very quickly either by the noise (which can be changed or turned off), or by people wanting to know what you are doing when you try to do something with the phone. The phone does not need to be slid open to place or answer calls, or to do anything that doesnt require the keypad.
Many applications can be downloaded from the net, for free, and transfered to the phone. Or, you can find many sites that will send them to your phone to make it a better business tool, if that is your intention. Personally, I could not see this phone being used on a business standpoint.
I also like the feature of the voice recorder. You can activate it while on a call and record the conversation, both ends, during the call. Also, you can record up to 7 minutes - ample time compared to the c56.
I also find some of the ringtones to be really long, around two minutes in length.
The approach of giving the phone a "filesystem" is techy, but unless you are computer literate, you might get lost in the structure.
I'm hooked on the tennis that comes with the phone. I'm upset that Rogers currently does not carry an downloadable games for the phone, and I don't want to waste data chargers on playing real time, online games with the phone.
Overall, its a great phone. And I would recommend it to friends.
Rating:
Summary: Really nice phone
Review: I wanted to Escada SL55 (bright purple) but can't get it for Hawaii. My husband and I both have this SL56. It's a great phone. The slide is really nice. We didn't want a flip phone. Reception is no problem for us here in Hawaii. I wear hearing aids and this phone is the only one that didn't interfere with them. The manual doesn't fully explain how to do some things and neither does Siemens website. I didn't particularly care for the polyphonic ringtones provided so downloaded my own. Haven't figured out how to use the USB data cable to download and doesn't seem to be any instructions on how to do so. Overall, very happy with the phone.
Rating:
Summary: T-Mobile is the best !
Review: No wonder I'm seing people here always complain about AT&T, Veriozon, Sprint, and Nexttel customer services.
Yes, I know, they are all suck!
And the reson for that is very simple: those are all carriers that belong to the USA corporations! T-Mobile is the only one that belongs to German corporation and that is why according to the yearly national reviews it has the best : Customer service, Sound Qality, and of Course the most straight forward and low plan rates.
In addition, excellent Samsung and Nokia phones, and the cheapest phones as well. People can argue about many stupid things, but no one will argue that GERMANS are THE BEST!
Rating: 
Summary: Cute phone, but poorly made
Review: Right after our wedding, I added my wife to my cell phone account. We went to a kiosk in the mall to take care of it, and after much time deliberating, she decided on the sl56. She was happy with it, until it started malfunctioning. During calls, it would just shut off randomly, for no reason. She took it back to get a replacement, and there was another woman there, doing the exact same thing. Aside from the random-off feature, it has quite a low-resolution screen, with a limited color range. Also, the processor is slow, making the display take a big hit when displaying animated pictures, movies, and the like. When it did work, it was fine. But other than it being `chic', I'd have to say that it was a poor investment
Rating:
Summary: Great Phone, few complaints...
Review: The SL56 made by Siemens is a great phone. It weighs less than 3 ounces, has a great design (slider), a capable speakerphone which is very convenient while driving. The best thing about the phone is that it can make and receive calls withOUT opening the slider. You can also access any menu option, your phonebook and the voice activation all without opening the slider. I won't go too deep into features because you can get that from any website. You can download ringers and pictures. It has a vibration function - you can set call groups, picture caller IDs, voice activation. I beamed all the contacts from my IPAQ via the infrared port - the phonebook is extensive as it stores not just numbers, but addresses, emails, birthdays, and groups. It has calculator, to do list, appt calendar, alarm clock. Honestly, for a phone this small, it packs a nice nice feature set. I didn't even list them all here. Conceptually and from a design point of view, this phone is flawless. Undoubtedly, you will get many comments on this phone because of the unique design. As for me, I love the light weight of the phone. You can't even feel it in your pocket, it's that thin and light. Service is excellent in the Northern VA area that I live in. This phone understates signal strength. One of two bars on this phone still receives and makes calls perfectly while one or two bars on my old Samsung s105 (TMobile) was call-drop city! The call quality and volume both are great. Now for my complaints that kept this from being a 5 star phone: 1) Only 4096 colors - you won't see any high quality pictures or wallpapers. Just simple stuff. 2) Keypad too small/cheap - the keypad is very small. If you have large fingers you may have problems and while the base of the phone feels sturdy when the slider is closed, when open the keypad part of it feels a little plasticy and cheap. 3) Menu navigation clunky - the menu navigation is not as intuitive as other phones. I feel like I'm pressing alot of buttons to reach the feature set and there is a slight delay in accessing the phonebook (maybe 1/2 sec - 1 sec). Overall, this is still a revolutionary, great phone. If size matters to you (small that is) - you won't find a more light-weight phone with these features (speakerphone is awesome!) and call quality. And to top that off - it's a nice nice looking phone.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Phone Available
Review: This phone is the worst. I have friends with the cheapest cell phones that get better service with the same plan at the same place in time. I can guarantee that your reception will be awful and you will have dropped calls. I live less than a mile from the cell tower.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific phone, but AT&T customer service is LOUSY!
Review: This really should be two reviews, one for the service, and one for the phone, but since it is just a review for the phone, I will limit the five star rating to phone only.
Very nice phone, perfect blend of needed features and omission of trivial features (if you want to take pictures, bring a digital camera folks, much, much, better quality and many are barely larger than the most cell phones!) It has great sound and reception, and also has a durable feel to it. Small size is the most important thing for me, and this fits in your pocket perfect with smooth, rounded corners, and it is light as well. Have really enjoyed the loud speaker function, Sony Ericsson T616 does NOT have this, nor does it have voice activated dialing.
Be warned though, with AT&T, you will be spending hours on the phone for changes to account or anything else. No exaggeration, I spent seven hours on the phone, on hold, being bounced from department to department, only to be told the department I REALLY needed to talk to was now closed. I honestly can't see how they stay in business with such poor service. I have no choice but to have AT&T due to service area, but I would stay away if you could.
If you are looking for a nice small quality phone without the gimmicks, I think this would do you fine. If you feel the need to take poor quality pictures, or have bluetooth, you may need to look at the new Sony. I am a flip phone fan myself, and this is the best of both worlds with the sliding screen.
One last thought, be sure you have GSM in your area as this phone, as are all other GSM phones (unless you have a dual mode phone) are NOT capatible with TDMA/AMPS networks!
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