Siemens Gigaset 56851P

A multi-talented and stylish cordless Voice over IP phone



0ffering combined landline and Voice over IP (VoIP) connectivity, the Siemens Gigasct S6851P is a surprisingly powerful, yet affordable cordless Dect phone system for home users Its features and ease of use put more expensive products to shame.

Although it has been available for several months, the S6851P remains the flagship of Siemens' range of domestic VoIP phones, a range that's kept a low profile but which on this chewing deserves wider recognition.


Our review bundle comprised the Gigaset 56851P base station and an SE8H handset - but you can buy each separately, mixing and matching handsets from the range if you wish. The base station is a small plan black box with a single large blue-illuminated button used for registering handsets and showing Ethernet status. At the back of this wall-mountable box are the power and analogue landl ne phone connectors, while the Ethernet connector is at the side.

The base station has a well-designed browser-based interface for configuring the unit, although usefully you can also perform many CV11111011 Setup tasks via simple menus and wi2ards on the S68H handset itself, so you can get VoIP services up and running without a PC.

This ease of setup sets this phone apart from the obscure procedures found in many VoIP devices. For instance, there's a built-in database of settings for dozens of global VoIP providers (18 in the UK alone), which means that in most casts all you need to do is pick your VOIP provider's name from a list and enter your ID and password. Advanced setup is possible as well, but the ease of connection is a breath of fresh air.

The web interface gives you access to the more advanced features that are the highlight of this phone. You can register up to six VolP accounts and make three simultaneous cats (two VoIP, plus one fixed line) on different handsets You can also assign incoming and/or outgoing calls to different accounts on different handsets (up to six Gap-compatible handsets can be registered on up to four base stations each).

Dialling plans let you route particular calls over specific connections, such as routing emergency 999 or 112 calls over the fixed line, and different incoming and outgoing Ines can be assigned to each handset. The Gigaset S6851P lets you set up almost unlunted dialling plan entries (up to the base station's memory limit) for this purpose. One important feature missing is the ability to fail-over to the fixed line connection if the VoIP connections aren't working - Siemens told us that a firmware update will fix this in March 2009. Conditional call forwarding for each VoIP account is available, and you can also set up the system to access your VolP providers' answering services if required. Otherwise, you can use the built-in digital answering machine for incoming calls on any line.

The S68H handset is solidly bat and has a large, bright, 128x160 pixel, eight-line. 65,000 colour screen Its hands-free speaker is one of loudest and clearest we've heard on a cordless phone, and sound cuality is excellent. Buttons have a positive action, and the four-way navigation pad works well. There are two programmable function keys under the screen, with 13 preset functions to choose from.

The phone book uses the standard Ward ( vcf) address book format, so you can have three numbers, an email address. anniversary information and a picture for each cortact. Using the free Gigaset Quicksync utility (Windows only). you can synchronise your Windows Address Book (or Vista Contacts) with the phone over the built-in Bluetooth link. You can also add your own caller pictures and screensaver images.

Bluetooth can also be used for a headset or even to receive contacts from a mobile phone

Every Gigaset VoIP phone comes with a free Gigaset Volt-) account and phone number built in. This lets you call any other Gigaset user free of charge using your broadband connection, with no configuration needed. The Gigaset service also lets you configure your phone to display services such as a three-day local weather forecast, RSS feed headlines or even a daily horoscope when it's on standby.

Other ncvel features include SMS capabilities (if your phone provider supports it), a Jabber instant- messaging utility and the ability to check an email account for new messages - you can only see the From and Subject lines. though.



There's very little this phone system can't do and, combined with its excellent call quality, ease of setup and attractive design, its a great choice for those who want advanced VoIP capablities at home without the usual setup headaches. Kelvyn Taylor

Personal Computer World April 2009

LG WINE

Product summary
The good: The LG Wine is an attractive phone with a nice display, four dedicated shortcut keys, and a very roomy keypad.

The bad: The LG Wine's photo quality is mediocre and the call quality could be improved. We also would prefer more direct access to the Web browser and e-mail.

The bottom line: Despite a few problems, The LG Wine's spacious keypad and easy-to-use interface makes this a great low-end phone for U.S. Cellular customers.


For a regional carrier, U.S. Cellular has quite a number of phones that we sometimes wish were available on nationwide carriers, like the LG Rhythm and the Samsung Delve. Well, now we have another one to add to the list; the LG Wine. Though it has fairly ho-hum features, it has a great big keypad plus four physical shortcut keys underneath the display, both of which really help make this phone easy to use. We see this as an excellent everyday low-end phone that anyone can pick up and use without having to fiddle too much with the manual. The Wine is also quite affordable at only $29.95 with a two-year service agreement.

Design
The LG Wine has a pretty standard flip phone design, with a simple rectangular shape and rather sharp corners. Still, we quite like the design, especially with the shiny spun metal look on the front surface. Measuring 3.89 inches long by 1.93 inches wide by 0.66 inch thick, the Wine comes in both red and white, which is indicative of its beverage-inspired name. The Wine feels good in the hand, and is quite lightweight at only 3.32 ounces.



On the front of the Wine is a 1.3-inch external screen, which shows the date, time, battery and signal strength, as well as incoming caller ID. It will also work as a self-portrait viewfinder for the camera. The camera lens is above the screen. On the left spine is the volume rocker and charger jack, while the headset jack and dedicated camera key are on the right.


Flip open the phone and you'll find a very nice 2.2-inch 262,000 color display with 240 x 320 pixels. The screen looks great and shows off bold graphic icons quite well. You can adjust the screen's backlight time, the menu style, the font settings for style, color, and size, and the color scheme.




Directly underneath the display are four dedicated shortcut keys. They are shortcuts to the messaging menu, the alarm clock, the images folder, and U.S. Cellular's EasyEdge online store. It's certainly nice to have dedicated shortcut keys like these, but since you can easily get to these functions from the existing navigation array, they seem a bit unnecessary. Still, if you don't want to remember what keys correspond to what function, these four keys are very helpful for quick access.

The navigation array consists of two soft keys, a four-way circular toggle with a middle Menu/OK key, a dedicated speakerphone key, a Back key, a Talk key, and the End/Power key. The four-way toggle doubles as shortcuts to the Bluetooth menu, the EasyEdge online store, a shortcuts menu with room for up to 12 shortcuts, and the calendar.

Both the navigation array and the number keypad are a joy to use. They're both very roomy, and all the keys are large and quite tactile. The number keys on the keypad are in very large text, which is great for those who don't have the best eyesight. It's very easy to dial and text by feel as well.

Features
The LG Wine has a roomy 1,000-entry phone book with room in each entry for five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, and a memo. You can then add your contacts to a caller group, pair them with a photo for caller ID, or pair them with one of 34 polyphonic tones to be either the ringtone or message alert tone. Other features include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, a memo pad, easy tip calculator, a calculator, an alarm clock, a world clock, a stopwatch, a unit converter, voice command support, Bluetooth, and support for location-based navigation.

There's also a mobile Web browser and mobile e-mail access. However, in order to access them, you have to go to the MyStuff tab in the EasyEdge interface. We would prefer a more direct way to access the browser and mobile e-mail.


The LG Wine takes mediocre photos.

The 1.3-megapixel camera can take pictures in five resolutions (1,280x960, 640x480, 320x240, 176x144, and 160x120), three quality settings, four color effects, and five white balance presets. Other settings include a self-timer, a night mode, multishot modes, brightness, zoom, and four shutter sounds plus a silent option. Photo quality was decent, but not great. Pictures had an orange tinge, and it was not as sharp as we would like. The Wine doesn't have a music player or a camcorder, which is good since it only has 48MB of internal memory.

You can personalize the Wine with wallpaper, themes, tones, and a banner. The Wine also comes with games like Pac-Man, but you can always get more from the EasyEdge Shop.



Performance
We tested the LG Wine in San Francisco, roaming outside U.S. Cellular's home network on Verizon Wireless. Call quality was good, but it was still clear that we were talking on a cell phone. Callers said our voice sounded tinny and rather robotic. On our side, we thought the same of their voices too. Still, we enjoyed very little static. Speakerphone calls went well, though there was a bit more static and audio sounded a little weak and muffled at times.

The LG Wine has a rated battery life of 4 hours talk time and 7 days standby time. According to the FCC, the Wine has a SAR rating of 1.3 watts per kilogram.

CNET