Siemens SX66 Pocket PC Phone

The battery clip design is poor, which allows the pack come loose (occasionally). This means ALL your software and their updates have to be reloaded. So, backup often! The talk time is low for my work day. So, buy extra cradles / batteries. Learn to install to your storgae card since units reserved main memory is low and affects installed program performance. Get SPB tips & tricks, it's a value! Bluetooth is sensitive, driver memory fails often and needs to be adjusted. Results? Lost calls. SX to bluetooth distance is very short and Plextronics 510 reviews indicated less problems but I'm not impressed with performance. Buttons are always being pushed with unit in carring holster. Beeps continously with every move, which may effect pwr. To use this unit as an MP3 player? Get several extra battery packs. Expensive to repair! Protect it, don't drop it and if you plan to use it for anything other than just sitting position (jogging,active working, ballpark in the sun, recording a round of golf) NOT PRACTICAL and you will be disappointed. Easy to use and navigate. Sliding keyboard takes some learning and I find that those who text message alot will avoid ever using this feature. However, this unit does take PDAs to a level beyond "Glorified" calender and todos! It does live up to its intended category - 400 Mhz Pocket PC. On this 3/5 scale, from a busienss perspective, I would rate this a 5. Worth $649 to you? Check ebay, I did and saved 60% just to experience what I've come to learn to be a mediocre unit. Level of user experience is novice, Pro and above. NOT for the beginner! You'll be frustrated and bored having never tapped the full potential of your purchase. Unless of course you like a chanllenge, read a lot and sit all day.
The technology of this unit will allow for a whole machine shop of CNCs to be run from your hand, WiFi. Consider Microsoft's Voice Command, hands-free!

While this PDA Smartphone has many features and the hardware required for demanding use by both the executive and mom on the go, it does possess some flaws minute may they be.
The first is that although many other Siemans models have built in cameras, the SX66 does not. Some are available on eBay with cameras added to the extensive harware package, but they are not stock builtins. The second is a design flaw in the sliding QWERTY keyboard rails that tends to scrape along both sides. While this flaw does not effect the operability or function of the phone or keyboard itself, it does produce a cosmetic shortcomming over time.
With that out of the way we can now focus on the units positive aspects. One word...WiFi! A growing number of places around the country, to include your local Starbucks, Panera, and local school or campus now feature WiFi hotspots. This units built in WiFi allows its user to access e-mail, internet and other features from a growing number of places.
The windows mobile 2003 software is tried and true, stable, and offers up pocket versions of Excel, Outlook and Word for the person on the go. The phone features are great to include MP3 ringtone and picture caller ID, a voice recorder for that great idea for a new project you have while stuck in traffic, and with added software everything from voice dialing to a savy TV and entertainment center remote using the units IR feature.
Overall I rate this unit a heavy 9 out of 10 and recommend that you pick one up, preferably one of my modified units with a camera innstalled for still picture and video options.

I love this phone!!
I bought one because when I wasn't home, either on vacation or work, I wanted to be able to go on ebay and check the items I was selling. I also wanted to be able to reply to any questions about the items I was selling right away to potential buyers. This phone is great, it is just like I am home in front of my desk top computer.
The one thing I wish I could change is the email part of it. If I want to read my emails I have to connect to GPRS and get them. There isn't any alert saying you have an email. The only message alert is for text and voice message. I was able to set up my main email address to this phone. I only have to touch 1 button, it connects to GPRS, pulls your emails through then disconnects. Its pretty good but it would be better if there was some kind of alert so you know you have an email waiting.
If you want to surf the web like you were home on your desk top computer then this is the phone for you!! Its great when your out for the day or out of town for a month. I have Cingular and it connects almost as fast as if I was home!!

I bought it because of its great capabilities matched with a good price. I travel quite a bit so the quad band capabilities is very helpful. While on a plane, I can listen to MP3s, watch videos, work in excel and word. At the airport I can turn on the WIFI to retrieve emails and if WIFI is not available, it will switch over to gprs to retrieve them. The battery life on this thing is very good. I also use this for navigation when I pair it with my GPS antenna using its bluetooth capabilities. The downside is that, the built in keyboard has small keys which are a little tough to use and it does not have a CF slot, just a single SD slot. Almost forgot, its a great phone.

This phone has all you may need(excluding camera)you can play games, you can sufr the net, you can use it as mp3, you can watch TV, you can watch movies, videos, everything!!!!
it is amazing, everyday you find something new to do with it!!
the fact it does not has camera, does not matter, since using the other capabilities of it, makes unnecessary the use of camera!
even if it has a sliding keyboard, you actually don;t need it, as the touch keyboard(there are several iphone like keyboards) and use them in ladscape, so not necesary to use the built-in keyboard.
i can keep saying all the amazing things i can do with it, i dont see it as a phone, i see it as a mini portable computer with phone capabilities!!!!
if you like sufing net, talking with friends, messenger, playing games(emulators) this phone is for you!!!!! :)

The Siemens SX66 is a brilliant peace of work by the High Tech Computer Corp. While it was made about four years ago, it still retains presence in the smartphone community due to its impressive spec list and dedicated developers.

The phone itself is rather large to carry around if you are used to a normal phone, but not uncomfortable in the pocket. It has a vibrant 3.5 inch touch screen, allowing for excellent video playback, gameplay and ease of use with the Windows Mobile operating system. It has six customizable hardware buttons, a D-pad ,call and end buttons on the front of the device. The left side of the device has two more customizable buttons as well as a rocker for changing the volume level. The top has a power button, an sd card slot and a 2.5 mm headphone jack.

The age of the phone causes it to have some technological drawbacks. The SD card reader cannot read SDHC cards and therefore can only increase your storage by a maximum of 4 gb. The 2.5 mm jack is also a bit of a nuisance, but one can find a headphone adapter relatively quickly on ebay. If you are attempting to purchase a headphone adapter, make sure it has three rings on it rather than two, as that is the only type of headphone interface it will allow. The phone was made before any good software keyboard had been developed, so it has a slide-down qwerty keyboard. Many find it a very useful part of the device, however frequent use of it has been known to wear away at the link from the display's ribbon cable to the mainboard of the device. I prefer to err on the side of caution and use a software keyboard instead. Software keyboards can also be more beneficial on this device as developers have enabled the device's display to rotate, allowing for a much larger typing space on the software keyboard than would have been possible with its hardware counterpart.

The phone originally ships with Windows Mobile 2003,however developers on various internet forums have been enabling users to update their operating system to the latest Windows Mobile operating systems. Some developers are also attempting to put Google's Android operating system on the device.

Overall it is a sturdy device with a long history of developer support. While still technologically relevant, there are some drawbacks compared to a newer phone. Battery life generally lasts me about 2 days, which is okay except for long trips. There are extended batteries made for the device that go beyond the 1490 mAh of the original battery though, and if you have an issue with the battery life I suggest you check these out. Sometimes I do wish I could have more storage than the 4 gb card limitation allows me. The need for a headphone adapter is also a slight nuisance, albeit a tolerable one. In review I would highly suggest this phone for mobile device enthusiasts that enjoy upgrading and customizing their phone, but this is probably no the best phone for the average consumer.

great phone! , but you got to know what do you want this phone to , if you like to keep you connected to internet, play music , watch videos in a big screen this machine is for you! , bluetooth , wifi , windows mobile , touch screen , no camera but it has an available slot to update it if you got the spare camera -I saw it here , about 20 dollars - it looks like the vx6600 , but it is GSM , you can unlock it or get it unlocked and use with your carrier worldwide , the vx6600 was cdma wich is a pain in the neck to get activated in some coutries , lots of programs and applications

I decided to buy this phone because of the large screen and wi-fi capability. Also, because I cannot take a camera to work this narrowed down the options. The other phone I was looking at was the HTC s620 but it has a camera.

I like it because I can sit on the couch, watch TV and surf the web all at the same time. Sometimes I take it outside with me. I also use it when I'm doing homework with the kids. I can look things up for them on the net.

The SX66 is more of a PDA with wi-fi than a phone. It is actually ridiculously large and heavy for a phone. I am making the most use out of the wi-fi capability. I had a little difficulty connecting to my wireless router but it connected to my neighbours' just fine ;) Once I got the settings right it now has a solid connection. Browsing the web seems really fast. It does not like YouTube tho. It only plays windows media files. Perhaps I can download a mpeg player. Using the qwerty keyboard is sometimes faster than using the electronic keyboard and stylus.

I haven't made much use of the PDA capabilities but they are similar to other PDA's we have (blackberry 8700 and Palm tungsten). The Palm PDA functions were better in that there were more categories (colour coded) etc to organize the data.

One quirky thing I've found is that the phone has rebooted itself (reset/reinstalled software) when changing the battery. This has happened twice when the battery gets down below 70% charge (internal showed 100%) and I attempt to switch to the other battery. It is supposed to have an on-board NiMH battery good for 20 minutes. This phone is 3 years old so maybe the internal battery is not holding a real charge any more. Last time I switched the battery, I put it on the charger for 10 min first. Had no problems then.

Overall I am liking it but it is too clunky to be a useful cell phone.

just put it this way....there are no limits when it comes to this phone. only downside is no camera, but it makes up for it through the features!

The Siemens SX-66 is a great Pocket PC phone. It runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. The phone is manufactured by HTC and is code named the Blue Angel. It is resold by several brands, through several different cellular carriers. The phone has Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless. It has a substantially larger screen then most Pocket PCs thanks to the keyboard sliding out, unlike the Treo and other similar phones. The built in 128MB of RAM is enough for most programs but additional programs and data can easily be added to a Secure Digital (SD) flash card. The phone DOES NOT have a camera. It is a great replacement to carrying around a cell phone, PDA, and MP3 player. There is a headphone jack but you'll need an adapter to use regular headphones. It will not play sounds (except phone conversations) over a Bluetooth headset. This has been a long debated subject. Overall the phone is a bit large but well worth it. If you like to preform upgrades to your phone check out the Blue Angel Standardization Project at http://home.comcast.net/~sx66-blueangel/.

I purchased the SX66 used on eBay and have been using it with no issues ever since it arrived. It has lots of features and I use the qwerty keypad a lot while drafting notes and letters.

I dropped the phone once and it still works fine. The phone is not top in its class but for the price it was definately a good buy for me.

I would recommendd the SX66 for anyone who wants a middle of the road smart phone.

great and prompt service, friendly email update! Thanks
Package recieved intact. Very excited about purchase...will buy from seller again.