Siemens SX1: Fun in customizing pics

From a mere calling device, the cellular phone has evolved to become our digital assistant – organizing our personal information, keeping tabs of our appointments, reminding us of important dates – the gatekeeper of information in the narrative of our lives.

Then it became the extension of ourselves – customized colors, ringtones, wallpapers, music, images and casing became the order of the day, bringing to fruition the cult of personalization that is predominant in almost every field from PCs to pizzas to fashion.

Not long after, music, gaming and built-in radio were incorporated into its system to add the element of fun and entertainment.

Then it became a camera and a video recorder, taking snapshots of people, places and events in our world, capturing our special moments and unguarded poses, even the most mundane details of everyday life.

Now, it is trying to assume a new role – that of an editor, a co-creator in the birthing of our own design concepts for further individualization of messages and the sharing of experience in multimedia format.

No longer will the cellphone user be at the mercy of content providers and telcos for wallpapers, logos or images. With the Image Fun feature of Siemens’ new top-of-the line model – the SX1 – a new form of power is transferred to the hands of the cellphone user – the capability to edit and customize photos to suit one’s purpose, the power to record and send video clips.

Was it Marshall Mcluhan who said that "the medium is the message"? Now, the message is... there is a new medium (as far as mobile phones are concerned) and it is opening a new frontier in personal communications.

From Communication To Creation

No matter the trappings of technology and the sophistication of killer apps, content is still king, especially if it comes from our own lives.

With a built-in VGA camera, a video recorder, a photo editor and software-enhanced capabilities for incorporating sound bytes and text, we have truly moved from voice and text-based exchange to multimedia sharing.

On Siemens SX1, photos can be enhanced with special effects. They can be blurred, distorted, rotated, scaled, re-sized or rendered in black and white for artistic rendition. Or they can simply be customized for simple messaging. Through Image Fun, you can insert text (greetings, captions), icons (logos or emoticons), frames (to denote the occasion or set the mood) and/or images.

Enhanced images can be used three ways – stored in the mobile phone for use as logos or wallpapers, sent to friends or contacts via MMS, Bluetooth or infrared, or synchronized with the PC or other compatible devices through a USB interface for other uses.

The fastest way to transfer images for storage though is via infrared – from the phone direct to a notebook PC.

On the mobile phone, images can be viewed in 65K color high-resolution screen with a maximum of 176 x 220 pixels. Small icon-sized pictures can have 80 x 90 pixels. Normal landscape mode has 160 x 120 pixels, and full-screen photos can have 160 x 208 pixels.

To boost storage capacity, a multimedia card can be installed for memory extension.

Now that the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is ready for takeoff, is your cellphone ready for the challenge? The Siemens SX1 may yet be the ultimate MMS phone.

From Utility To Entertainment

If there is one thing that the mobile phone has utterly revolutionized our way of thinking, it has challenged the long-held notion that the cellular phone is a communication device.

With the incorporation of the FM radio, the MP3 player and 3D gaming, it also fulfilled our need to be entertained, amused and diverted in between phone calls and SMS and MMS exchanges.

On the way to work or to school, on long waits at bus stations, airport lounges or wharves, while waiting for a friend or a business client, during coffee breaks, there is no substitute for good old music.

Siemens SX1 has a built-in FM radio and you can store six of your favorite radio stations. A headset is provided for easy listening and it also functions as an antenna. The good news is that it plays in full stereo sound.

The radio function, however, is interrupted when receiving text or MMS messages or when making a phone call. But while reading text messages, playing games, browsing your contacts or organizing your appointments book, the music is on.

From Communal To Personal

Store-bought gadgets carry a uniformity in appearance, functions and technical specifications. The uniqueness of the new generation of cellphones is that once they transfer hands from the vendor to the user, they transform themselves to mimic the personality of the owner.

On Siemens SX1, the ultimate personalization tools are the Image Fun and the MP3 player.

Through Image Fun, you can customize the look of the SX1. And with the built-in MP3 player Ver 1.10, you can store your own brand of music on your very own playlist.

From information storage to business application

The SX1 comes with a USB cable that can be used for data transfer. The data cable USB can connect the phone to the USB port of a PC for synchronization (to MS Outlook 97, 98 or 2000) of data such your calendar, address book, appointments book, memos and notes. So at the end of the day, your phone and your office will have the same data. The Siemens Data Suite software is provided free to use this feature.

If you don’t want to carry your notebook PC to a meeting or an out-of-town trip, you get assurance that the most important information you need such as your contacts, appointments, notes and memos are in your phone and vice versa.

In a wireless world, the cellphone can also be a mini office. The SX1 is installed with a GPRS Class 10 (2 Tx/ Rx), which will enable you to send and receive e-mails without fail. Its e-mail client supports POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP.

From Simple To Complex

Because the requirements are fairly complex, the SX1 phone also comes with an application platform and a set of software that can adequately support its many features, including the Symbian open operating system, series 60 user interface and Jave wireless technology. For its data services (maximum of 53.6 kbps), it comes with a built-in modem, Bluetooth and infrared interface and xHtml browser.

All these things come with a price though. As the phone is burdened with greater quantities of data to process, transmit and receive, it undoubtedly slows down transmission and lengthens response time, sometimes even causing applications to hang.

The SX1 is equipped with a standard Li-Polymer 1000 mAH battery. However, it can also be used up fairly fast if all high-end applications such as the camera, the video recorder and the radio are used fairly often. The technique is to always bring the charger with you all the time.

Very soon, this minor setback can be eliminated though as solutions for speedy transmissions are now being tested. Commsdesign.com recently reported that a start-up company is developing an algorithm that will significantly improve transmission bandwidth and optimize data flow.

Until then, new technologies such as GPRS and new handsets with more and more capabilities will be gaining ground.

Even with its limitations, there is no doubt that the mobile phone has become so useful; sometimes it has assumed a hegemony over our lives.