BenQ-Siemens officially released their new slim clamshell EF81 on the market. A lot has been said about it resembling Motorola V3x. Indeed, the new BenQ-Siemens does look like a RAZR and many people would definitely take it for a V3x by mistake when they see it in your hands. But EF81 has a lot more to show and as soon as you devote more time to it, you would definitely find original characteristics that would distinguish it from the V3x in many ways.
The first things that catch eyes were test phone clean lines and elegant design. Of course, it's a masculine piece of design and it won't attract many women. It's solid and a bit on the heavy side. A weight of 110 g and a serious width of 51 mm do require a man's hand to be operated with an ease. The phone is 94 mm long though with an incredible thickness of only 15.9 mm which makes it one of the slimmest 3G devices on the market. Just to get an idea of how thin it is, let me just say that it is 2 mm thicker than Motorola V3 and a good 4 mm thinner than Motorola V3x. And except for the somewhat loose battery cover, the all-metal construction is very solid and it boasts really impressive looks.
One of the greatest things about this phone is the innovative all-metal construction. The front panel features brushed stainless steel, the body itself is made out of magnesium and the back panel is supposedly anodized black aluminum.
PC synchronization is seamless through Bluetooth or data cable. The EF81 features a slimmer jack that is not compatible with older Siemens data cables. The EF81 is a fully equipped 3G device supporting UMTS /W-CDMA 2100/ and GPRS Class 10. Besides that, the phone has a tri-band GSM support of 900/1800/1900Mhz. Unfortunately, the mobile doesn't support EDGE or the older dial-up WAP via CSD. You can easily turn off the UMTS functionality if there isn't any UMTS coverage and you want to save battery life. The phone also lacks an IrDa port.
Overall, the BenQ-Siemens EF81 is a good phone. Whether you would like it, depends mainly on your expectations. If you want functionality combined with great looks and you are willing to put up with the lack of FM radio, EDGE support and with the ascetic camera options, you would definitely find this phone among your favorites. It's definitely neither a camera phone, nor a music phone.