Making a Call

When the phone is in automatic Standby - you first need to press the little button in the centre of the scroll wheel to activate the phone, then you simply tap the centre of the LCD display to access what is essentially a mock-up of a Serene keypad. Quite natty actually, and after a little while i am getting used to scrolling and clicking to dial a number. Most of the time though, you will be probably recalling numbers from memory anyway. I would imagine it would be a real pain if you've lost your old phone and need to start afresh entering hundreds of numbers though!

The 'Down the Pub' test..

I've not done this yet, but i'm sure the little flip down stand will strike a killer blow when you all plonk your mobiles on the table. I'm sure this was unintentional - but it really does allow your phone to sit up and be noticed! 😂

Everyone who has seen the phone has liked it, and not one person has failed to be impressed by the sound quality - so it is scoring highly on the wow factor. Everyone seems very comfortable holding it too, so Mr Lewis has done his job well!

Matt will be conducting the full 'down the pub' review on Friday, but has promised to give a full review and stay sober in return. If he lost it i would have to send Bang & Olufsen one of his limbs by way of apology, so he will be in full 'reporter' mode - with a review to follow very shortly after.

Accessories..

Earset 3..  I sat looking at this, thinking "okay - so how do you detach the one earphone when you want to use it purely for phone calls?" - but no, it's basically a pair of A8's and a button sized microphone with a hang up/answer button inbuilt. I drove out of Heathrow Airport and called a friend to test it out, and making a phone call in Stereo is wierd!!  Once you get used to it though, it's fine - but you do wonder if it's really safe having both ears effectively 'blocked' from the sound of the outside world whilst driving.

My friend said he could hear me loud and clear, as did the next three people i called - so the microphone works well. 

---------

Docking Station 

Not a DECT as is the Serene - just a curved piece of brushed Alu with a sort of cradle. Looks nice though, and very unobtrusive.

 ----------

Carry Bag 

Oh my word.. why?!!  Imagine a leather coin purse similar to the ones pirates heartily toss to each other in the films - but made of black coarsely woven nylon. Then, embroider a big gaudy B&O logo on it in dazzling white, and line it with what looks like the skin of a jet black short-haired hamster. Then - you have the idea..

One to give the children to hold their dinner money methinks.. it may impress the other kids at school - or it may start a rousing game of "capture the doubloons" as your child is forced to walk the plank.. Not B&O at all - a soft touch plastic case would have been preferable to this thing, surely?

Conclusion

Every persons opinion will be different on this one, and that's the beauty of individuality - but here are my own personal thoughts.

Would i find it useful to me?  -  Well, no - not me personally. I have B&O around me all day at work, and around me all evening at home (heaven, i know!) - so i would rarely use the inbuilt speaker. I would either sync it with my cars bluetooth for music, or just use it as a straight phone. If i was on the tube or train, i couldn't see it being socially acceptable to blast out music - so i wouldn't use it there. However, in a Hotel Room, on a picnic - or even relaxing on the beach the Serenata would be an incredible gadget! I had a bath earlier this evening, and had it playing quietly in the background - which is something i'd never have dreamed of doing with my other mp3 phones.

Value for money?   -    Again, on the face of it - no.  However, if you actually stop and think about it - it is!  The internal engineering is world-class, the design is world-class, the build quality is world-class - and you're not going to see them on every street corner. Exclusivity is a pleasant by-product of high pricing, and the only thing i find isn't world class is trying to use it as a normal phone. Yes, i know it's not a 'phone' per se - but you can make phone calls from it, so i expect it to be a little easier.

Would i buy one?   -    For all the frustrations of the texting and calling, i will actually be very sad to see this phone go back to Bang & Olufsen next week. It's achingly cool, and although my Nokia E61 runs rings round it as a phone it just looks hideous in comparison to this beautiful creation i have sitting in front of me!  Bang & Olufsen have seriously not disappointed in it's design - it's B&O, of that there is no doubt.

Will it sell?   -   I hope so.  I see the vision that B&O have, and it's to be different.  You can't compare this to the iPhone, and really you shouldn't. At the Gala Dinner after the launch, i sat next to a photographer had an iPhone, and not having seen one i demanded he hand it over immediately!.  I'm much bigger than him, so he did 😂  I was totally wowed by the gadgetry and navigation, but when he played music on it - it was woeful compared to what i had just heard from the Serenata. This is the difference - the Serenata doesn't even want to compete, and it certainly hasn't tried. It does its own thing - and does it brilliantly.

Well - that's my review. Sorry if you have fallen asleep midway, or have been bored senseless - but as i said, i'm a novice at this!

If you have any questions, i'll do my utmost to answer them as best i can.

Lee

🙂 

a brilliant review. Thanks 🙂

This has just strengthened my desire for this phone. I don't text, and i rarely call people who aren't already in my phone book and i live and i live and die by my MP3 player. (BS2)

Oh and i hate the phone that i have at the moment.

jazz

Sorry about the temporary 'Bermuda Triangle' with the images - i built this thread up "behind the scenes" and when i rolled it out onto the General Forum the links to the images became invalid - Gah!!

All fixed now, only took a few minutes.

Lee

😁 

Hi Lee, thanks for the great review, the pictures help get a better idea of how "big" the phone is, and also lets us see the accessories & details like the glass used for the display.

I do have a couple of questions:

- does it have an FM radio, or just digital music playback?

- B&O talked about the "line in" connection to your car receiver or even to bigger BeoSounds, someone even talked about BeoLink integration: is it Masterlink connection or simple line output on the docking station? What are the audio connections on the phone and on the base?

- I also heard about a car holder, what is this? Just a holder, or a car-styled docking station with proper power & audio in/outputs?

- I find the ringtones ridiculous, so can you use one of your music tracks as a ringtone?

Thanks for the precisions!

A very interessting review Lee, thanks a lot for this!

I also have one question left:

So as i understand, the navigation is done with the wheel, and you touch the display to come to "Music" or "More". So is this toch functionality just this? Or is the touch screen also useable in other ways? For example to select a menu item? 

Hi Lee, thanks a lot. Realy good job.

Two questions, Is the sound better than in an iPod with A8? Is there any compatibility with iTunes?

Regards.

A fan rockin tastic review,

Any idea about the price

With regards,

faisal