u/linyishin

We all know Siemens took a big step in SL45 / SL42 series. (In 1998-2002, Siemens mobile in Greater China market used a different model name system. So we got 6688 / 6686 / 6688i / 6686i, instead of int'l SL45 / SL42 / SL45i / SL42i.) SL45 (6688) series are the the most usable and playable music phones during the monochrome era, compared with any competitors: Nokia 5510, Samsung M100 series and Sony CMD-MZ5.

However when color-screen phones replaced monochrome-screen phones, and loudspeaker music playback also became a standard feature on mobile phones, Siemens fell behind. For many years, Siemens’ color-screen feature phones still did not include MP3 playback. Only the Symbian or Windows Powered SX-series smartphones had music playback, but in the early to mid-2000s, smartphones were clearly not yet the mainstream choice in the market. (And SX1 is still expensive on used market today…)

So which model is the first COLOUR screen FEATURE phone with music playback feature by Siemens? Of course, just this CX75 released in August 2005. This is also the first time for me to experience a Siemens handset.

Although it was positioned as a sub-flagship model, it was already at least a year later than comparable products from Nokia or Motorola. It was officially launched in Hong Kong region in August 2005, by which time BenQ-Siemens was only one or two months away from replacing the old Siemens Mobile. As for the flagship-positioned S75, which added an ATI Imageon display chip, it seems to have been officially launched only after BenQ-Siemens had been established, though it was still using a Siemens single-brand.

In mainland China, both CX75 and S75 were not officially released. They could only be found in China from gray markets that time. This situation seemed to appear because of the orderless transition from Siemens Mobile to BenQ-Siemens. The last models released officially by old Siemens Mobile in China seems to be C75 and CF110. Later models even with a classic Siemens logo are distributed by BenQ, such as A31 and AF51. (CN-spec AL21 used BenQ-Siemens logo instead)

The silver CX75 here is a PROTOTYPE, with an official "China" labelled firmware. Maybe the developing teams of Siemens Mobile wanted to bring it to mainland China officially at first, but they didn't really achieve it. And the black one is a retailed unit for Vodafone in Europe. It's flashed with a third-party Chinese firmware, and according to the software version labelling, this firmware is based on "RUSSIAN Retail" version.

In my sight CX75 looks "cooler" than Nokia 6230 series. But its system software is a bit old-fashioned, almost remaining the same as the last generation S65, while the another part of 75 generation, S75 and SL75, used a much newer UI, with different time and date displaying position and also other extra features.

It is said that the CX75’s sound quality was not very good, and was even inferior to that of the SL45 (6688) series. However, I do not have an SL45 (6688) series handset, let alone the earphones used by Siemens phones, so I cannot verify this by myself. As for the GSM network receiving, I'll only test it maybe tomorrow because the coverage is too limited these days.

For some reason, Siemens phones after 2002 became extremely conservative in terms of functional iteration. Ironically, the earliest four-color GSM phones had already been introduced by Siemens in 1997–1999 with the S10 / S25 series (In China S1088 / S2588, but S10 Active remained the original model name). Yet Siemens was also quite late in launching color-screen phones that were “truly usable,” namely the S55 / S56 / S57 around late 2002 to early 2003.

This conservatism prevented Siemens from ever again reaching the level of popularity enjoyed by Nokia and Motorola. Korean manufacturers may even have done a better job in terms of built-in handset features, although they were inferior to European manufacturers in hardware consistency and system openness. (Here, “European manufacturers” also includes Motorola’s German division and the int'l Sony Ericsson.)

We would have to wait until 2006 before seeing QVGA screens and the smaller microSD card format on Siemens-technology GSM 2G phones (the CX75 was still using RS-MMC). But by then, it was already the BenQ-Siemens era.

The batteries are still being activated now though the handsets are already in my hand. I'll only post a detailed article when I really boot them up.

This is something not "so" vintage. It actually came out at the era of iPhone 5S (2013). It was the 2nd model of BlackBerry cooperated with Porsche Design. (Before BlackBerry started making Porsche Design phones, there were another Porsche Design phones which were made by Sagem and not running any kind of smartphone OS. )

The basic hardware is similar to normal BlackBerry Z10, but as a genuine luxury variant, it had larger flash disk with 64GB capacity. BlackBerry 10 OS made it compatible with some Android apps. Though it relied on Amazon services rather than Google Play Services, which made certain apps incompatible.

It supports China Unicom LTE data now, but there's no VoLTE support, though there are still 3G base stations around me, and 3G voice calling is still available now.

When P'9982 was new I was not able to afford it and I only knew it through some forums. At that time, even a normal Z10 modified to look like a P’9982, with 16GB of storage, was not cheap. Now I use this genuine P'9982 as a daily spare phone sometimes, but "BlackBerry" has become just a historical concept this days.

Nokia 8855 was released in February 2002. Kejian K98 (rebadged Samsung Anycall SGH-N288 under licence) was introduced in 2001 at first but it had been still a core selling product in early 2002. They all have WAP function, but without GPRS (so only CSD was accessible) and expandable programs.

Nokia 8855 has IR function and selectable ringer profiles. While Kejian K98 has higher screen definition, voice functions (voice recorder and even voice control) and more games.

Which one would you like in application scenarios that time?

I finally got the package containing this two phones today. And I tested them. Both of them still works on China Mobile GSM today (though only in a limited area). There are almost no malfunction which affects the progress of using.

Nokia 8850 made its Chinese debut on January 24th, 2000. Two years later 8855 came to the market in February 2002, as a slightly upgraded version specially designed for Asian-Pacific markets.

These two units are both official CN-spec. In that early era of monochrome screens, most mobile phones had very limited and entirely fixed functions. There was no commercial 3G yet, and no one had started putting Wi-Fi into phones. As a result, CN-spec of phones were, in most cases, functionally the same as their counterparts for any Eurasian markets.

8850 and 8855 are symbols of status when they firstly came to the market. Nowadays I only got them —— though used, worn and aged for 80 RMB (11.71 USD or 10 EUR) per unit. Their special slider design are still recognisable today. It's a pity that I'm not able to find an 8890 at a cheap price. (8890 had not only North American spec, but it also had HK-spec with the fully same hardware. And the release in HK brought an official Chinese firmware to it.) And the next generation, 8910 / 8910i, are even much more expensive than 8890.

Maybe my next target is… A 8800 Sirocco with no any software error? Or a non-touchscreen genuine Vertu? (Some models of old Vertu are even not more expensive compared to 8910 series)

Nokia 8850 & 8855, both of them are official CN-spec. They'll be delivered in coming days.

The first-generation iPhone (2G) probably needs no introduction. I got this phone for just 30 RMB (about **$4.10 USD**). It’s an 8GB U.S. version manufactured in January 2008, running iOS 3.0. It has no Apple ID and has already been jailbroken by the previous owner.

Unfortunately, the power button is broken, so I have to connect it to a power bank to turn it on. To shut it down, I use a third-party app called “91 Shutdown Assistant.” The screen can only be locked automatically.

Today is the first time I’ve inserted a SIM card into it. It can be still connected to the internet through China Mobile EDGE network.

Fact check: The China Mobile 2G GSM coverage near me has indeed become very limited—only about one and a half cell sites in range—but fortunately it’s still quite close to my home.

On the university campus, the 2G signal had already disappeared between June and August last year, even though that area is closer to the city center.

However, China Unicom’s 3G WCDMA coverage is much better, and it can be received in most parts of the city.