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

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.

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...

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...

This article focusses on how Siemens Gigaset tried to reach all consumer target groups through the expansion of its portfolio and the launch of certain niche products from year 2004 onwards and is a continuation of those 2 prior posts:
The Siemens Gigaset Story 1 - How it all began
The Siemens Gigaset Story 2 - The new millennium

The Siemens Gigaset E150 was the first phone in the Siemens portfolio to be tailored to the special needs of older people. It offered extra-large keys and numbers, louder ringtones and an emergency call function. The concept was a huge success in the market, and in 2004 the E150 was certified by the German Gesellschaft für Gerontotechnik (Society for Gerontotechnology).

» Read more...

"Dance to save the world!" is declaredly the quite overblown slogan of the nightclub Surya in King’s Cross (London). It isn't the first power-generating dance floor to use the surplus dance energy of clubbers, but it is the first one to hit the UK.

The picture on top shows how the dance floor usees a piezoelectric system which produces electricity as the dancers jump up and down. Batteries underneath the dance floor charge the energy which is partly used to power the nightclub.

Cute idea! I hope the owner of the nightclub managed to purchase one of those
Siemens Gigaset ECO DECT phones... ;)

(Source: www.inhabitat.com)

As promised here : The Siemens Gigaset Story 1 - How it all began, I would like to continue now with The Siemens Gigaset Story. Read what happend from the new millennium onwards...

...The new millennium saw the introduction of the Siemens Gigaset 100 and a change from an angular to a round design language. At the same time, a trend toward miniaturization had emerged among technology products, and the Gigaset 3000 Micro, the smallest DECT device in cellphone format, conquered the market.

» Read more...

Watch this cute video of Linksys' upcoming WRT610N Ultra Rangeplus Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router.
Did anyone ever complain about the strange Siemens Gigaset naming? :-)

If you wanna see some clear product presentations check this: Gigaset Blog Video Category

Once again it is time to introduce you a new series of posts: The Siemens Gigaset Story. Like the Audience Special (see e.g. Audience special 5 - Siemens Gigaset 675 IP user review) all posts share a common feature. All Audience Special share the fact of beeing created by the readers of the blog. All posts of the Siemens Gigaset Story Special offer you backround information of the company that operates behind the Siemens Gigaset products.

So let's get started with our first part of the Siemens Gigaset Story:

The information society is characterized by its ever accelerating pace of developments and innovations. Siemens has helped shape developments in telecommunications for more than 150 years now – and for the last 15 years with its Siemens Gigaset cordless phones. In October 2005, the former CPE unit of Siemens Communications was carved out to create Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens AG that develops and manufactures Siemens Gigaset phones as well as broadband and Home Media products and markets them in 69 countries. As the world market leader in DECT phones, SHC is committed to high standards of quality and environmental protection and produces the vast majority of its products at its plant in Bocholt, Germany. Then as now, Siemens Gigaset products set important trends and are driving evolution from cordless phoning to today's Internet telephony and the Connected Home.

» Read more...

Hey guys,

this is a special post for all of you living in Austria & interested in HD receiver. So go on reading if you can ;)

Der Siemens Gigaset HD1 Combo High Definition Receiver für DVB-S und DVB-T läßt Sie Konturen schärfer und Farben intensiver erleben. Die „High-Definition Television“ Technologie zeichnet sich gegenüber dem herkömmlichen Fernsehen durch eine sehr hohe Bildauflösung aus. Dadurch werden Farben und Kontraste schärfer und intensiver dargestellt. Um die HD- Auflösung am eigenen HD-kompatiblen Fernseher darstellen zu können, wird ein HD-fähiger Receiver benötigt. Wer also kein Ticket für die begehrtesten Spiele der Fußball-Europameisterschaft erhalten hat, kann sich das „Stadion-Feeling“ ganz einfach ins eigene Wohnzimmer holen. Mit dem HD-fähigen Receiver von Siemens lassen sich die gestochen scharfe Bilder einwandfrei empfangen. Der Receiver stellt somit eine ideale Ergänzung zu einem hochauflösenden Fernsehgerät dar. Einfach durch den HDMI-Anschluss mit dem TV verbinden – und die Europameisterschaft kann beginnen.

Neben der Möglichkeit höchste Bildqualität zu empfangen, bietet der Receiver noch zahlreiche Zusatzfunktionen. Eine komfortable Sendersuche – manuell oder automatisch zu bedienen – ist ebenso mit an Bord wie Speicherplatz für 2000 Programme und eine Teletext-Funktion. Weiters besticht der Receiver mit einem integriertem Smart Card Leser (IRDETO ), einem Common Interface (CI) und einem digitalen Audioausgang, der die Europameisterschaft auch zu einem akustischen Erlebnis macht.

Als Österreicher hat man die exklusive Ehre den Siemens Gigaset HD1 Combo High Definition Receiver online zu bestellen. Hier gehts weiter:
Siemens Gigaset HD1 Combo High Definition Receiver

Wer noch mehr Fakten braucht schaut hier weiter:
Technische Daten zum Siemens Gigaset HD1 Combo High Definition Receiver

The Dutch designer Jelte van Geest's constructed a robotic chair that follows you when you wander around the room. By order of the Openbare Bibliotheek Endhoven the designer built a chair with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology which allows the chair to recieve your current position. The chair and your library card are equipped with RFID-sensors which allows the chair to follow you while searching for your books. If you leave the library crossing a line next to the checkout counter, the chair returns back to its docking station to recharge and to get ready for the next one. Imagine: You walk around your flat making a phone call with your Siemens Gigaset and your chair is following you...

(via: technabob.com)

It is well known that the old Romans were fancy gamers. This roman glass gaming die was once sold for some $17,925 at an auction by the well-known Christie's auction house. Historians identify the symbols as Roman, but it is still not clear what game they played... Unfortunately Alexander Graham Bell & other scientists gave birth to the telephone not before the 19th century. I'd loved to see a Roman telephone...
(Source: Christie's)

Dear Gigaset Folks & Friends,

good news for all of you living in Austria: Since today 9:01 CEST you can purchase Siemens Gigaset products online! Consistent with the upcoming soccer in the lovely countries of Austria & Switzerland one might order a Siemens Gigaset online now, without leaving your sofa & missing a soccer game of your favorite team. ;) If you order your Siemens Gigaset in June you will recieve a Gigaset-Cup (up to 100 Euro order value) or a Gigaset-Bag (more than 100 Euro order value).
Btw: The Gigaset-Bag is by far the coolest Gigaset giveaway u can get from Siemens Gigaset. And believe me: I am seen quite a few :-P

Here is the direct link to the shop:
www.siemens-gigaset-shop.at

A German shop is also available for those of u living in Germany:
www.siemens-gigaset-shop.de