Today BenQ-Siemens announced three new mobile phones expanding further the already rich portfolio of the young brand. The new BenQ-Siemens SL91 is a luxury UMTS slider mobile, the E81 is the first BenQ-Siemens device in miniature format with UMTS features and with the E71 BenQ Mobile brings new materials to mobile phones manufacturing.

BenQ-Siemens SL91, E81 and E71

The top of the trio is undoubtedly the fashion slider BenQ-Siemens SL91. Equipped with a touch-sensitive keypad it resembles a lot the LG Chocolate that we reviewed not while ago. The main difference is the technology used by the two manufacturers. While the Chocolate used touchpad reacting to the electro-conductivity of a person's skin, the new SL91 would use a Force Sensitive Resistance technology which practically means that the BenQ-Siemens touchpad would react to pressure instead of electro-conductivity. This way the SL91 touchpad navigation keys can be used even with gloves - something impossible for the Chocolate. The fun doesn't end with the touchpad. The BenQ-Siemens SL91 also features a 2" 16M color TFT display with a QVGA (240x320) resolution along with a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus with a maximum picture resolution of 2048x1536 pixels, a microSD memory card slot, tri-band GSM/GPRS/UMTS support with video calls, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, stereo FM radio with RDS and a MP3 player. The retail package would also include a desk cradle for the phone which would serve the double purpose of charging the battery and connecting the phone to the PC for synchronization. The desk cradle would be fitted with an integrated microphone and stereo speakers and would notify the user of events with color light signals. The BenQ-Siemens SL91 would be available in the last quarter of 2006.

The second of the pack is the BenQ-Siemens E81. It's an UMTS phone with a classic bar shape and compact size. It features a 262K colors TFT display with a resolution of 176x220 pixels, microSD memory card slot, tri-band GSM/GPRS/UMTS support without video calls, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, MP3 player and a 1.3 megapixel camera capable of taking pictures at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels. The BenQ-Siemens E81 is expected to hit the market throughout Europe from September 2006.

The third and the last one of the newly announced handsets is the BenQ-Siemens E71. An interesting innovation is the material used for the silver-colored version of the mobile. The glossy surface of the classic-shaped bar would have a non-sticky coating keeping fingerprints to a minimum. The E71 would offer a 1.3 megapixel camera, a brilliant 2" 262K colors TFT display with a QVGA (320x240 pixels) resolution, as well as a microSD memory card slot, tri-band GSM/EDGE support, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, FM radio, and a MP3 player. The BenQ-Siemens E71 would be available in two color versions - a black one and a silvery one which are expected to be publicly available as of September 2006.