BenQ-Siemens EF81 mobile phone

Posted by T3 Online on Tue 30 Oct 2007

BenQ's RAZR-clone is the thinnest 3G phone yet.

Motorola has ruled the slimline clamshell roost for some time with its RAZR, but its 3G successor, the V3x was noticeably more bulky. Now BenQ and Siemens have teamed up to make a phone that trumps Moto's baby for slimness and ease-of-use.

"Drawing inspiration", if you will, from the RAZR, this impresses from the moment you flick open its rectangular case to find a hauntingly-familiar, illuminated, flat, stainless steel keypad, and an amazing main screen. This 262,144-colour beauty shows off the pre-loaded Star Wars themes and funky menus to great effect. The outer screen is no slouch either, with a higher definition than most 3G mobiles.

The menu system is easy to use, and more straightforward than the one on the RAZR. You can even take pictures and videos and listen to music using only the exterior buttons.

The single camera rotates with the flip. Open the clamshell up for video calls and the camera swings round to face you. Closed, it points outwards for taking two-megapixel stills. Bright sunlight is a must for decent results as shots taken indoors show a lot of noise, and there's no flash.

Tunes, videos and photos are stored in the 64MB of memory. Up to 1GB more can be added via a MicroSD slot.

It's all good, but with a device so slim, something has to give and that's battery life. It'll only manage three-and-a-half hours talk time using 3G (an hour more on 2G), which isn't great by any means.

Despite that and the not-wholly-original design, this is a great phone. Regular recharging is a small price to pay for the most stylish 3G mobile around.