As our last Audience Special presented a review about the Siemens Gigaset S675 IP
(Audience special 5 - Siemens Gigaset 675 IP user review) I would like to present you an user review about the Siemens Gigaset 685 IP now. Thx Jon for this nice work!

If you want to publish an article on this blog pls send me your proposal to this email: info@gigaset-blog.com

I am looking forward to read your input!

Here now Jon's review:
The short version, to save you reading the rest: the S685IP seems to work quite well. The S68H is.. less impressive.

The long version: I've had an S685IP (which comes with an S68H handset) and two additional S68H handsets for a week now. I'd realised that my fixed-line phone/DSL provider (Vodafone Germany, which on a technical level is run by Arcor) was actually using SIP for everything. The box that they provided me with is an integrated DSL modem, firewall and WLAN router - and also has analog and ISDN ports. It converts calls made over these ports into SIP calls. Since everything's using SIP anyway and since they make no secret of the address of their SIP gateway, a SIP phone seems like the best way forward.

Read the full story: Siemens S685IP DECT IP Phone, S68H Handset

Vonage is a VoIP provider which might be used with Siemens Gigaset IP products. Blog reader Julie shows us how she fixed a bug while using the Siemens Gigaset S450 IP and Vonage. She had problems to make an outgoing call although she was able to receive incoming calls. Read the full story here:
Audience special 2 - Using Siemens Gigaset S450 with a VoIP ATA

Now the VoIP provider announced a new CEO: former Cingular Wireless executive Marc Lefar. At the same time Vonage gets a $215 million cash infusion from Silver Point Finance LLC. Let's see if those measures might rescue the company...

Sources:
Vonage Names Marketer Lefar as CEO
Vonage to Name New CEO, Nears Refinancing Deal

People who wear hearing aids will now find it much easier to make phone calls, thanks to cooperation between Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices and Siemens Audiology. Together with the wireless transmission unit known as the “Tek Set” and a Siemens Gigaset cordless phone with Bluetooth, the Siemens “Pure” line hearing aids assume the function of a headset. The user can then hear the other party clearly. The interference from physical sources often experienced by hearing aid wearers using conventional telephony is hereby a thing of the past.

Until now, people who wear a hearing aid have had to hold a telephone handset in a certain way to avoid interference when signals are transmitted from the phone’s loudspeaker to the hearing aid’s microphone. Thanks to Pure hearing aids used in conjunction with a special wireless transmission unit called the Tek Set, and Siemens Gigaset Bluetooth phones, making calls is now much more comfortable.

Setting up the connection to a Pure hearing aid is just as easy as registering any common Bluetooth headset. Once the devices have been linked, incoming calls are indicated acoustically by the hearing aid. The call can then be answered with the aid of the Tek Set, a remote control unit with an integrated microphone, and the call is conducted directly via the hearing aid, without the user having to hold a handset to his or her ear.

The Siemens Gigaset SL370, SL560 and S680 phones as well as their answering machine and IP versions are suitable for connection to the Pure hearing aids.

The Internet-capable Siemens Gigaset phones Siemens SHC can now be used to call further information from the Internet directly onto the phone's display. The screensaver can show the latest status of online auctions at eBay, a daily horoscope and the user’s personal biorhythm. The new free services expand the range of information available, which used to comprise the weather forecast and online phonebook. Users can choose the desired IP service in Gigaset.net at http://www.gigaset.net and access the service using a Siemens Gigaset hybrid phone, such as the Siemens Gigaset S685 IP. The information will appear on the display, without the use of a PC.
If the user has selected the eBay service, for instance, the highest bid and the remaining auction time are shown. The service shown on the display can be changed in Gigaset.net at any time - for example if users wish to see their personal biorhythm or daily horoscope. (All Gigaset IP phone users can also call each other free of charge via Gigaset.net.)

All the information services can be set-up on the portal http://www.gigaset.net. Users obtain their personal account data for logging onto Gigaset.net via the Siemens Gigaset IP phone’s user interface. This allows them to choose a service and display it as the screensaver on the phone. To follow the current status of an eBay auction, users enter the respective article number in Gigaset.net and the latest bid is automatically shown on the display until the auction is ended.

But: If you are interested in those new features please check this "Field report" first:
New Gigaset.net feature: Bid-Watcher for eBay

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC) is following up on the success of its Siemens Gigaset C450/455 with the Siemens Gigaset C380 as well as the C385 with an integrated answering machine. The Siemens Gigaset C380/385 offer long standby and talk times, ECO DECT, brilliant voice quality and handsfree calling. They can also be used to send and receive SMS text messages.

The handset’s standard batteries let users call family and friends for up to 25 hours and can go up to 240 hours without being recharged. The phonebook has room for 150 entries for people with a lot of friends, and handsfree calling is a snap: The user just plugs a standard headset into the 2.5 millimeter jack on the handset. The Siemens Gigaset C385, with an answering machine that can record up to 25 minutes of messages, ensures that no call is lost.

Thanks to the ECO DECT technology, the Siemens Gigaset C380 and C385 cut power consumption by up to 60 percent compared with conventional Siemens Gigaset phones. They slash the transmitting power needed by nearly 100 percent when the handset is idle or being charged.

For all basic phone lovers:
The Siemens Gigaset AL280 makes your phone conversation a truly convenient experience with its hands-free function. Enjoy the brilliant sound quality thanks to the HSP™ technology during hours and hours of talking: the Siemens Gigaset AL280 features a long talk time of up to 25 hours and a standby time of up to 210 hours. With its phonebook for up to 80 entries, you can store the details of all those who are important to you. And with a list of the last 25 missed calls including time and date, you always know who has tried to reach you. If you want to install a phone network, the Siemens Gigaset AL280 is also expandable to up to four handsets.

High Sound Performance™ (HSP™)
The HSP™ technology allows you to catch every detail not only while holding the receiver, but also while talking hands-free. This allows you to continue with what you are doing around the home while talking to your family and friends at the same time.

More information can be found here:
Siemens Gigaset AL280

In this last part of The Siemens Gigaset Story you will read how VoIP became the most important topic for Siemens Gigaset since the year 2006 until now. This article is a continuation of those 3 prior posts:
The Siemens Gigaset Story 1 - How it all began
The Siemens Gigaset Story 2 - The new millennium
The Siemens Gigaset Story 3 - Expanding the portfolio

Let's go on now with the storyline:
The Siemens Gigaset C450 IP, the first hybrid phone to permit cordless telephony over the fixed-line network and the Internet without the need for a PC, was launched in the year 2006. In addition, the first additional services were now offered, including klicktel’s online phone directory, which could be easily accessed from the phone.

» Read more...

Siemens and ARQUES Industries AG have signed an agreement to transfer an 80.2% stake in Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH & Co. KG (SHC) to ARQUES as of October 1, 2008. “SHC is a very solid business with sound core operations and high value-creating potential. We intend to expand the company’s market leadership in the premium price segment, improve its market penetration worldwide and strengthen the successful Gigaset brand,” said ARQUES CEO Michael Schumann. With this step, Siemens is rigorously continuing its strategy of focusing on the three Sectors Energy, Industry and Healthcare. “In selecting a partner for SHC, measures to guarantee locations and employment were of particular importance to us,” said Siemens CFO Joe Kaeser. Regulatory approval is pending.

» Read more...

José Costa e Silva (48) is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the executive management team of Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH & Co. KG (SHC) since August 1, 2008. Before moving to SHC, José Costa e Silva was Head of the Services Business Unit of Nokia Siemens Networks. Mr. Costa e Silva has many years of international experience and speaks German, Portuguese, English, French and Spanish. In addition to his engineering degree from the Technical University of Munich, he also earned a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD in Fontainebleau.

» Read more...

One has to admit: This is creative recycling: In Thiruneermalai (India) the street lights are run on human waste. National Geographic reports, that trash from an area housing complex is collected in a sump, where the methane gas produced by the "sludge" is used to run a generator. The obtained biogas provides 3,000 watts of electricity each day, which is enough to keep the city lighted during the night. So let's go: Come on baby light my Siemens Gigaset ECO DECT phones.

Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices GmbH & Co. KG (SHC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens AG with its headquarters in Munich. The company was incorporated on October 1st, 2005 after it was carved out from the former business sector Cordless Products at Siemens Information and Communications. The business focuses on the design, development, manufacturing and distribution of a range of high-quality products under the brand Siemens Gigaset, including phones for landline and Voice over IP calls, routers and gateways (DSL and WiMAX) as well as home media products. The portfolio also includes software solutions for consumers and service providers. SHC is headed by Dr. Jochen Eickholt (CEO), Thomas Kresser (CFO) and Costa e Silva (CMO).

» Read more...

Looking for a place to park your new Siemens Gigaset? Brando suggests pulling up The Chair, a $6 gadget stand. To me it looks like one of those chairs you used to sit on at the times one went to the lido kiosk eating French Fries. Definitely big style! If you do not have a Siemens Gigaset phone, at least Barbie will have a nice 15 cm high chair to sit on.
(via brando)

The latest Firmware update 07/2008 for the Siemens Gigaset C470 IP, C475 IP, S675 IP and S685 IP enables an eBay push notification on your Siemens Gigaset handset. The new application allows you to observe one eBay auction including the current bid, the bidder himself and the minutes to go until the auction ends. All these information can be seen on the screensaver of your handset. But as it is not possible to place a bid it is only an additional feature and not meant to replace the regular bidding via your computer.

And this is how the Bid-Watcher for eBay works:
Open www.gigaset.net in your Browser. After you are logged in scroll down to the "Bid-Watcher for eBay section" and enter your selected article number. Save your options and you are done. From now on the auction for your article number will be displayed on the screensaver and will show the current bid, the bidder and the minutes to go until the auction ends.

Field report:
Of course I tried the feature myself :-) So there are a couple of things you have to consider: First if you use the keys of the handset the eBay information is of course not visible. When you stop using the keys it while take a couple of moment until you see the Bid-Watcher. If the Handset is not placed in the charging station, the screensaver will disappear after a couple of seconds because the display will turn black in order to save energy. So a constant "Bid-Watching" is only possible if you either push a key from time to time or you put the handset in the charging station, because then the screensaver will be displayed constantly on the handset once activated.
If the handset is in the charging station the information of the Bid-Watcher updates every 15 minutes. In the last 30 minutes of the auction all information will be updated every minute. But bear in mind: As it is not possible to place a bid this feature is generally only additional to your regular bidding via computer.

Here you find all details of the firmware:
Siemens Gigaset C470 IP / C475 IP / S675 IP / S685 IP Firmware update 07/2008

If you are one of those guys who buy phones only because you need a simple device to call - and to call only - then this one here is your go:
the Siemens Gigaset A580 and the Siemens Gigaset A585 with an integrated answering machine are new entry-level models from Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC). With talk times of up to 25 hours and a handsfree function with good sound quality, the devices are still very convenient. Standby time goes up to 210 hours.

» Read more...

Dear IP-phone community,
pls take notice of the updated firmware of the Siemens Gigaset C470 IP, C475 IP, S675 IP and S685 IP!

How to update the firmware

You don't need to download files. The firmware is updated directly online by the Siemens Gigaset C470 IP, C475 IP, S675 IP or S685 IP. You can easily initiate the update by three steps:

1. Menu » Settings » Base » Firmware Update
2. Enter base station system PIN (default setting: 0000)
3. Press the display key "Yes" to start the download

If your firmware is already up to date, the handset informs you. No action is needed then.

And this is what you get:

New Features

* Compatibility with A58H and C38H Handsets (including Infoscreensaver as Liveticker)
* New languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Russian (country and handset dependent)
* BEL, NLD: Autoconfigurationcode-enquiry added in the Handset's connection assistant

» Read more...