Siemens SL45
Encyclopedia
Siemens SL45 was the first mobile phone
with memory expansion and an MP3
player
, which debuted in 2001. An improved version, the SL45i, was also the first phone to have a Java virtual machine
.
In addition to the MP3 player, SL45 offered other advanced features such as dictaphone with several hours of recording time, auto responder, voice dialing and voice commands,
WAP
browser, and context sensitive help in several languages.
Other software include calendar/organizer, alarm clock, stopwatch, calculator, currency converter and games.
While SL45 was one of the most advanced phones in its time, it was also one of the smallest.
These three phones are electronically identical, and the SL45i's firmware can be installed in the SL42 and SL45, thus enhancing them with a Java virtual machine.
could cause the phone to crash, and for being relatively delicate - there are many known issues of vibration alert, or MP3 player control buttons on the side of the case stopping functioning after phone fall.
messages, e-book
reading, video playing, and E-mail client
functionality), MP3 player functionality and memory card slot, and also for being fairly priced after a few years since its release, the SL45 series gained a huge user base, constantly developing new firmware patches, Java applications and hardware modifications, enhancing the phone's functionality. Many fans of the model claim that there is no mobile phone which can replace the SL45i (either the original one, or SL42/45 enhanced with SL45i firmware) for them.
The phone is indeed very versatile and has a huge feature set, especially when compared to other phones of its time, although it lacks many features now considered standard for modern phones, like colour display, integrated camera, polyphonic or digitized ringtones, Bluetooth
and GPRS functionality. Modern phones with memory card support also can be natively connected to a computer's USB port, greatly improving transfer speeds when compared to the SL45's serial
connection; this limitation can be, however, omitted by using a third-party memory card reader.
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
with memory expansion and an MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
player
, which debuted in 2001. An improved version, the SL45i, was also the first phone to have a Java virtual machine
Java Virtual Machine
A Java virtual machine is a virtual machine capable of executing Java bytecode. It is the code execution component of the Java software platform. Sun Microsystems stated that there are over 4.5 billion JVM-enabled devices.-Overview:...
.
In addition to the MP3 player, SL45 offered other advanced features such as dictaphone with several hours of recording time, auto responder, voice dialing and voice commands,
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol
Wireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
browser, and context sensitive help in several languages.
Other software include calendar/organizer, alarm clock, stopwatch, calculator, currency converter and games.
While SL45 was one of the most advanced phones in its time, it was also one of the smallest.
Versions
The Siemens SL45 came in three versions:- Siemens SL45 - original edition, with a 32 MB memory card, sync station and stereo headphones in the package
- Siemens SL42 - a cheaper version introduced later, with a 16 MB memory card and no sync station or headphones
- Siemens SL45i - a version with a new firmware with JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
support, and a slightly stronger battery
These three phones are electronically identical, and the SL45i's firmware can be installed in the SL42 and SL45, thus enhancing them with a Java virtual machine.
Features and specifications
- Physical dimensions
- Dimensions: 105 mm x 46 mm x 17 mm
- Weight: 88 g
- Processor
- Siemens/Infineon C166C166 familyThe C166 family is a 16-Bit microcontroller architecture from Infineon in cooperation with STMicroelectronics. It was first released in 1993. It uses the well-establied RISC concept, but features some microcontroller-specific extensions such as bit-addressable memory and an interrupt system...
- 13 MHz during standard operation and MP3 playback
- 26 MHz when Java midlet running
- Siemens/Infineon C166
- Battery
- Li-Ion 540 mAh (SL42 and SL45)
- up to 170 hours of standby
- up to approx. 5 hours of audio playback
- up to 240 minutes of conversation
- Li-Ion 650 mAh (SL45i)
- up to 230 hours of standby
- up to 330 minutes of conversation
- Li-Ion 540 mAh (SL42 and SL45)
- Communication
- dual-band GSMGlobal System for Mobile CommunicationsGSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
: EGSM 900 MHz / GSM 1800 MHz - support for SMSSMSSMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
sending and receiving - WAPWireless Application ProtocolWireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
1.1 through CSDCircuit Switched DataCircuit Switched Data is the original form of data transmission developed for the time division multiple access -based mobile phone systems like Global System for Mobile Communications... - CLIP functionality
- conference call support
- dual-band GSM
- Memory
- MultiMediaCardMultiMediaCardThe MultiMediaCard is a flash memory memory card standard. Unveiled in 1997 by Siemens AG and SanDisk, it is based on Toshiba's NAND-based flash memory, and is therefore much smaller than earlier systems based on Intel NOR-based memory such as CompactFlash. MMC is about the size of a postage...
slot - 32 MB card included (SL45 and SL45i)
- 16 MB card included (SL42)
- known to work with at least 1 GB cards
- MultiMediaCard
- Display
- graphic monochrome, 101 x 80 pixel
- can contain up to 7 lines of text
- orange backlight
- Sound
- monophonic ringtone support
- 39 standard ringtones
- up to 3 custom ringtones in internal memory
- ringtone composer
- reads ringtones in standard MIDI file format from memory card
- MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
digital audio file player with ID3ID3ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself....
tag support, through headset only - voice memo and voice notice
- Other features
- personal information manager
- address and phone book with up to 500 entries (plus 50 on SIMSubscriber Identity ModuleA subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
card) - date and time functionality
- stopwatch
- alarm clock, reminder list
- calculator
- T9T9 (predictive text)T9, which stands for Text on 9 keys, is a patented predictive text technology for mobile phones, originally developed by Tegic Communications, now part of Nuance Communications....
system for SMS writing - vibration alert
- up to 7 user-defined sound/vibration profiles
- quick dial
- voice dial
- call filtering
- 4 integrated games
- 3 internal language versions + language files on memory card
- Java functionality (SL45i firmware only)
- Java MEJava Platform, Micro EditionJava Platform, Micro Edition, or Java ME, is a Java platform designed for embedded systems . Target devices range from industrial controls to mobile phones and set-top boxes...
/MIDP support - proprietary Siemens extensions
- Java ME
- Computer interoperability
- Serial (COM) port
- IrDAIRDAIRDA may refer to:* Infrared Data Association, in information and communications technology , a standard for communication between devices over short distances using infrared signals...
port - Microsoft OutlookMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available both as a separate application as well as a part of the Microsoft Office suite...
synchronization
Criticism
The SL45 series was a professional model and thus very highly priced at the time of release. It was sometimes criticized for its bugginess, particularly in that simply sending too many SMSsShort message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...
could cause the phone to crash, and for being relatively delicate - there are many known issues of vibration alert, or MP3 player control buttons on the side of the case stopping functioning after phone fall.
Firmware
The SL42, SL45 and SL45i share the same electronic components, and thus firmware can be exchanged between them. It can enhance functionality of SL42 and SL45 with Java support. Relatively simple structure of the firmware code, and the ease of new firmware installation (standard serial cable included in the box is suitable) led to many custom firmware modifications (patches) sprung over the Internet. These correct software bugs, change the phone's graphics, or even add new functionality like key remapping, calling pictures, or detailed battery information.User base
Due to the above mentioned firmware enhanceability, availability of many Java applications further enhancing the feature set (with, for example, sending of long SMSSMS
SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...
messages, e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
reading, video playing, and E-mail client
E-mail client
An email client, email reader, or more formally mail user agent , is a computer program used to manage a user's email.The term can refer to any system capable of accessing the user's email mailbox, regardless of it being a mail user agent, a relaying server, or a human typing on a terminal...
functionality), MP3 player functionality and memory card slot, and also for being fairly priced after a few years since its release, the SL45 series gained a huge user base, constantly developing new firmware patches, Java applications and hardware modifications, enhancing the phone's functionality. Many fans of the model claim that there is no mobile phone which can replace the SL45i (either the original one, or SL42/45 enhanced with SL45i firmware) for them.
The phone is indeed very versatile and has a huge feature set, especially when compared to other phones of its time, although it lacks many features now considered standard for modern phones, like colour display, integrated camera, polyphonic or digitized ringtones, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
and GPRS functionality. Modern phones with memory card support also can be natively connected to a computer's USB port, greatly improving transfer speeds when compared to the SL45's serial
Serial port
In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...
connection; this limitation can be, however, omitted by using a third-party memory card reader.