FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Like most BeoWorlders, I'd seen the "spy" shots of the Serenata before I actually handled the product. However, when it was fished out from it's box I really was taken aback!

Firstly, it is absolutely beautiful to look at. The online pictures really don't do the handset justice in my opinion! Never before (even with the Serene) has a mobile caught my attention like Serenata did out of the box - you don't have to touch it or use it to know that it's a cut above the rest in terms of quality and design.

Secondly (and this isn't necessarily a bad point), the phone was far larger than I'd envisaged! Standing at 11cm high, and 2cm thick, it's no leviathan - don't get me wrong! I just imagined it to be far smaller from looking at the photographs posted on BeoWorld before.

Serenata's shape makes hadling very easy - it sits neatly in your hand like an old friend! The black outer casing is soft to the touch and appears to be be coated with some kind of mark-resistant laquer - no fingerprints or greasy marks here (unlike the Serene)! 😁

The inbuilt stand at the rear flips down solidly, and gives me complete confidence that it won't be snapped off as soon as that horrific first accident occurs, as it's fixed firmly into the aluminium heart of the unit itself. I immediately loved the way the Serenata looked when in "desk mode" - with the phone elegantly leaning back at a 45 degree angle, it really sets itself apart from anything else available today.

Sliding the speaker up and out from behind the main user interface will take some practice if you wish to look cool and impress friends, but again, once extended, it feels rigid and firm, and gives you the impression that maybe - just maybe, Bang & Olufsen have had a think about potential buyers who may not want to keep the phone in 1) A horrible leather case, or 2) The equally horrible nylon coated carry-bag!

So, after much stroking, opening, closing, and turning the jog wheel for no reason whatsoever, I popped my '3' SIM card in, and fired her up..... 😉

You're doing a good job of this Matt.  Just like a real profeshnial Keep it up.😁

Andy T.

Enjoying the reading!

Now now, his typo rate is much lower than mine usually is. It can be proof read later. I just like the style this review is being done in.

Nicholas 

USING SERENATA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Right.... fast forward now..... I've been sitting looking at Serenata in the office all day, but the manic work rate has prevented me from playing with it at all!

So now I'm just using the phone in my daily comings and goings, and basically using it where I'd normally whip out my trusty Nokia N73 ('Would be the best phone available today - if it had Wi-Fi'). How would the Serenata do?

SIM Data Transfer

Before using Serenata, I needed to switch all my names and numbers over from the Nokia SIM. Simple enough - just scrolled through the Phonebook menu (as detailed in Lee's previous review), selected "Copy All From SIM", and hey presto - within 10 seconds 100+ details had been transferred to the Serenata's phonebook! Excellent. We're off! 😐  (Later I was to find out that there was a slight problem here - read on to find out what).

Phone Calls

Hmmm. No buttons! No worries though - simply tap the screen whilst the phone is in standby mode and hey presto - an "Old School" circular dialling pad appears!!

 (shamlessly swiped from Lee's post).

Like Lee, I first had some difficulty in getting to grips with the scroll wheel - the blue cursor on the display moves at a ridiculous speed! Soon though, I learnt to control my Lewis Hamilton-esque thumb, and slowed down to make dialling a doddle. Simply highlight the relevant number in blue, and click the centre button on the jog wheel to confirm. When the full number is shown, click the left centre (Green) side, and away it goes! Easy!

I must admit though - I have only done this twice in four days - if you are anything like me, you dial the numbers in your Contact List 99% of the time, so any problems you may or may not have with this method are limited to the occassional fumble. Dialling from the Phonebook is easy - highlight your chosen contact and click the green side of the jog wheel!

So, you've entered your number, and you're ready to talk. What does it sound like?

Well, this one was a foregone conclusion if you ask me! Serene was excellent at making and handling calls, and every user will agree that the clarity from it's speaker during conversations was second to none. Well, now it's second to Serenata!

Obviously signal strength varies from place to place (ask Lee - LOL), but as my network has pretty good coverage around Eastbourne, so interference was minimal. I was hugely impressed by the clarity of the call - no hiss, no echo - just the sound of the person on the other end of the line, clear and crisp!

However, as I'm usually on the move, I preferred using the "Handsfree" option - simplified, I simply slid the loudspeaker out from it's hiding place, and the call was amplified to room-filling level. I can only guess that the microphone's sensitivity was increased, too, as I could sit 5/6ft away from the handset and have a conversation easily with the recipient! This is important to me, as I don't wish to get caught by the Police whilst I'm fumbling around with a phone in my lap and shouting, as the poor soul on the other end can't hear a thing! 😂

The third option for calling is with the EarSet 3 headset, which is included with the Serenata. Lee had already warned me about this new gadget - unlike the Earset 1 & 2, the Earset 3 is based on the A8 headphones, with a microphone added for good measure! This results in a strange "stereo" conversation with the person on the other end of the line - which sounds fantastic!!!!

Any user of the A8's will know their capabilities when it comes to music playback (this is their primary role with the Serenata, too), but they are extremely effective at creating a realistic soundstage when it comes to conversation, and are far more comfortable to wear than the previous efforts from B&O! 😁

Text Messaging

As a 22 year old with an active social life, texing is most important to me!

As all modern genlemen know, ladies cannot pick up the telephone and simply speak to you - they find it easier to momentarily turn their thumbs blurry and hammer out a small essay instead.

Therefore a reply within 5 minutes is required - 6 minutes and I'm clearly cheating on her with another woman!

Unfortunately, future Serenata owners will need to sit the other half down and re-negotiate the 5 minute rule, as I'm quite certain that even writing "OK honey! xx" cannot be completed within less than 7!!

The lack of a keypad is noticable from the start with Serenata (if you hadn't realised that by now, then shame on you). Dialling is fairly simple - we've covered that earlier! Texting, however, is not. Infact, it's nigh on impossible!!!

Texting can be divided into two methods:

 METHOD 1 - IMPOSSIBLE

Method 1 is standard Text Messaging. On a normal phone, you press the number key as many times as it takes to allow that letter to appear, then move on. With Serenata, you use the jog wheel to highlight three letters, the click the jog wheel until that letter appears, then you scroll to the right to move on. If that wasn't complicated enough (and it really is!), and you feel confident enough to tackle punctuation and spaces, the lower touch screen functions come into play!

 You'll see at the bottom of the screen three symbols - these can be pressed at any time, and are as follows:

1. PUNCTUATION MARKS / SYMBOLS             2. UPPER / LOWER CASE LETTERING                3. SEND MESSAGE

Simply brush your finger over any one of the functions to open a sub-menu (apart from Lower/Upper Cases). With Punctuation Marks and Symbols, this fills the lower half of the screen with every Wingding you'd ever need when sending your loved one a "I'll be home at 8 - :o) x" text. Same principle as with the letters here - scroll over your chosen symbol and click to add it to the message.

So, you get the idea here - it's fairly awkward and slightly annoying to have to manually enter each word, so.....

 METHOD 2 - POSSIBLE, WITH PRACTICE

SWITCH ON T9 AUTO-INPUT!!!!

Obviously you need to still scroll through, but rather than click on each letter continuously, the clever predictive computer within the Serenata guesses what you are trying to say! Once the word is complete, you can scroll through other possible matches by touching the "Send" part of the lower screen, which changes to "Matches" when T9 is in use. It still takes much longer than a standard phone, but it makes it bearable to use again!

Without a shadow of a doubt, anyone who purchases a Serenata in a month or so should make T9 a priority - even if you send one text per month, you'll need T9 on! Chances are without it, you'll take a month to send one anyway, so it's a better deal allround!

PROBLEMS ARISE.....

So, the message is ready to be sent! Excellent. Brush the "More" portion of the touch screen in the top right hand corner, and select "Send Message". The next "Add Recipient" menu offered me the following:

ADD FROM PHONEBOOK

ENTER NUMBER

ADD FROM GROUP

Like most people, I was texting somebody I knew well, and so highlighted and clicked on "Add From Phonebook". Simple!

Once into the phonebook screen, I selected the chosen recipient, and the Serenata automatically entered the number for me. Only one thing left to do now - confirm "Send".... and away it went (a full 30 minutes after I commenced typing the message in).

However.... this is when I realised that I, and/or the phone had made a grave error!!!

SIM CONTACTS!

Apparently (and certainly without my knowledge), the Serenata had stuck two fingers up to the Nokia regime which had ruled my SIM for the past 12 months, and hilariously / terrifylingly listed all home numbers as Mobiles within it's memory (if one contact has two numbers under the same name, you list them accordingly - Home, Mobile, Work etc).

How did I discover the above? Well, one particular (and very personal) message was sent to my girlfriend's mobile (or so I thought).

What had actually happened was this: I'd hit "Send", Serenata had swapped home and mobiles over in it's memory (without my knowledge), and the text message had been read out to my girlfriend's mother by Tom Baker (Dr. Who / Little Britain) and the magic of BT's home text service. 😳

First I knew of this was when aformentioned girlfriend rung up in laughter / tears, asking why I would ever send that to the house instead of her own mobile! Oblivious, I told her to shut up, and explained I'd done no such thing. Later, she visited my home and the conversation continued - which prompted me to check the phonebook to check I hadn't swapped the numbers round myself during the SIM change.

To my horror, there it was - her home number listed under "Mobile" - along with numerous other contacts!

A lesson to be learnt!!! I'm not sure if this is just a Nokia / Serenata problem, but I presume it's just the way one phone saves data and another uploads it! If I'd had a Samsung I'm sure the error would not have occurred!!

Any future owners beware though - it needs to be checked before you send ANYTHING!!!

😂

More to be added later... I have a prior engagement which I'd completely overlooked!!!

I'm well aware that everyone wants to hear about how the Serenata got on when paired with a PC (not a Mac - sorry - I'm sure Peter will oblige!), and I'll pop that in another post as soon as I get back.

Sorry!!!! 😁

Have fun Matt.....

Great story about the phone...