Indeed, the keyboard is comfortable. One hand is enough to dial a number or SMS. All buttons are mirror-black, located close to each other and occupy almost the entire inner surface of the phone. Navigator four-position, mirror-silver color, easy to use. The rest of the keys are large, easy to press, errors during operation are practically excluded. 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 it is possible to adjust both the brightness and contrast of the image, you will agree that it is a rare opportunity for an inexpensive phone. The large clock on the external display can be seen even 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 slots for downloading, 8-12 Kbps transmission - 32-40 Kbps reception). GPRS can be disabled through the menu, a trifle, but nice. Checking the performance of the Internet - it was not possible. Internet access is available both at home and at work. On the way, I use the steering wheel of the car, not the buttons of the phone, and I don’t feel an urgent need for the Internet. About using the phone as a modem, I will write below.

The phone stores information about received, missed and unanswered calls, up to 10 numbers in each section. There is also a counter for the duration of calls. The calculation is possible for last conversation, all incoming and all outgoing. All incoming messages with date and time. The phone's memory is about 2 MB, after deleting something, 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 by 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 function key or create a voice tag. The recognition quality is comparable to much more expensive devices. For me, it's a pretty convenient calendar, I call exclusively with my voice. For each event in the calendar, you can set the type - notes, call, meeting, birthday or anniversary. Can be repeated daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly. Missed reminders in a separate list.

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

Emergency PhoneBook is a good converter of sizes, quite complete and in addition to metric values ​​contains information about the sizes of clothes and shoes in different countries, as far as I need it, I find it difficult to answer. And for those who shop for imported items without consulting the seller, it may be interesting to know that English-made men's boots with a dimension of 9.5 correspond to our 43rd size.

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 through and towards the end, the game becomes quite difficult, but interesting, for fans of this kind of toys and entertainment in general.

What's not to like? Weaknesses, shortcomings.

Now for the bad.

The biggest problem is a weak battery. 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 large quantity functions and a screen with a high resolution - this is very small. Perhaps the "hard childhood" of the phone affected its capacity, but judging by other reviews, this is a congenital disease.

Believe me, I was not going to check the quality of communication with AF51. Just on the first day of communication with the phone they could not get through to me. I knew that the signal strength in this place is below average, and sometimes old phone fell out of the network, but so often ... I began to look closely. No, I didn’t go around the basements and catacombs with several phones in one hand, and I didn’t do a meticulous comparison of 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 specially brought in for comparison, this baby with a Loop antenna turned out to be the most resistant to falling out of the network. Where the signal level is average in strength, all phones behave the same, but on the verge of receiving, 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 the best radio coverage in your area. And if that 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 easily soiled. I regularly wash my hands, but the whole phone is just littered with fingerprints and greasy streaks. If the phone is not constantly wiped, then it looks 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 could not 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 an information cable either earlier, or now, or in the near future. With corded headsets, the situation is similar! 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 lovers, will probably buy it, especially since there is an unofficially modified DCA-110 (with a USB port connection and charging function) on sale at a price of about 800 rubles. But for a typical BenQ-Siemens owner, using a GPRS modem or synchronizing a phone with a PC will not be easy or cheap.

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

In general, it is felt that the model is outdated. The processor works more than leisurely, constantly throwing out the inscription: "Please wait" - with or without reason. It took me more than half a minute to load the game (from opening the phone to starting the level). A weak processor and a small amount of memory will drastically limit those who like to play in the 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-bit and only mono, otherwise the phone will refuse to play them.

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

What do you miss in it?

Pretty 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, let the weight of the phone be a little more, although it is possible that someone is interested in the low weight of the device.

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

Functions implemented in this phone so bad that you have to use them only occasionally or not use them at all - no. And what I use often or do not use at all, does not depend on the phone.

Have you had your phone repaired? What troubles happened with the phone? What glitches were noticed?

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

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

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

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

Nokia 6030 - quite a bit more expensive, but it has a TFT screen, FM radio, Li-Ion battery 900 mAh, less interesting for me personally, but as an option for the same money, more profitable.

Formally, the list can be continued with phones from Korean, Japanese and Chinese manufacturers, but somehow the soul does not lie to finish "SIEMENS" with handicrafts from the East.

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 division of cell phones of the German company. The news about the bankruptcy and closure of the telephone business must have been heard even by people far from the world of mobile phones. Merging with the Taiwanese BenQ did not save the situation. The alliance's only asset, the SIEMENS trademark, was replaced by BenQ-Siemens, which causes mistrust among potential buyers. Foreign sellers, of course, know better, but sales volumes have fallen, and the cost has not decreased, and very soon German handsets with the Siemens logo will be so familiar and close to the Russian user (there are quite a lot of fans of this brand, you can verify this by visiting the websites http://www .siemens-club.org and http://allsiemens.com) will disappear from the shelves. The cruel laws of the market do not take into account the interests of the minority. But I will have a copy of a GSM phone with a silver SIEMENS inscription.

Unfortunately, today Siemens AF51 is not the best in its niche. Not surprisingly, it is outdated. I can recommend this device only to those who are interested in dynamic light, the design has sunk into the soul and there is no money for a more advanced model, and there will not be. I recommend to everyone else to find a more recent solution, perhaps for a little more money.

If the phone is 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