Any reason B&O have decided to remove the Serenata from their website? It wasn't exactly a flagship product I know, but even still!

I bought one yesterday as my Serene packed up and I need a replacement phone until the Serene comes back from Denmark. I thought I'd try the Sereneta as I also fancied a new portable music player. I have to say that the sound is amazing and I am very impressed, especially with the A8s on. I was never that interested when they first came out but actually, I like it a lot. Funny how B&O always seems to grow on you, at least in my experience. I am still not happy about seeing Samsung written on the bottom but that aside, its a neat little product.

Simon.

They must have Sold the Serenata out by now? Or given away as a free gift? (no core business anymore now)

Well they are giving them away as gifts if you spend £3,000 or more at my local dealer and I think you are right that it is not a core product anymore.

Simon.

Hi Simon,

Congratulations! Last sales where good value. (I was offered one 8 weeks ago for 400 euro incl. the A8 earphones. And did not buy.)

Enjoy!

Regards, Robert

I think the Serenata is where it belongs: In the trash can

In my opinion it is still a designer joke and not a usable phone compared to Blackberry, iPhone, Palm PRE, etc.

I wouldn't have bought it for 50 Euro ;-)

But don't take my opinion to serious, just my 2 cents :-)

TWG:

I think the Serenata is where it belongs: In the trash can

In my opinion it is still a designer joke and not a usable phone compared to Blackberry, iPhone, Palm PRE, etc.

I wouldn't have bought it for 50 Euro ;-)

But don't take my opinion to serious, just my 2 cents :-)

Actually, I have been really admiring it since I bought it (as I tend to do with new B&O products) and I am really getting into it! Perhaps the mistake you are making is comparing it to other products and looking for similarities. When has B&O ever designed something that looks or behaves like anything else? It was never a product that I took much interest in but it certainly doesn't belong in a trash can! I don't agree that its a designer joke; I think its very well designed and it compliments the BeoSound 5 nicely. The idea and use of red and blue sections (phone or music) is rather clever I think. Blackberry's, iPhones and Palms have too many unnecessary features for me. I didn't see the point of buying any of them, neither did I want to be lumbered with a contract. I didn't pay a lot more than 50 euros for it brand new and believe me, for that price its an unbelievable product! Have a nice day!

Simon.

Simon - I think you are totally right - I recently called into the Tag Heuer UK flagship store and noticed they have mobile phones for sale at B&O (PLUS) prices. The Tag Heuer assistant was telling me about the amazing design (looked very ordinary to me!) and the fact you can have models with diamonds in (yuk!). The assistant asked me what phone I currently used, so I showed them my Serenata - he was absolutely amazed and LOVED the design and sound quality. He's hoping to get one now!

It is easy to misunderstand the Serenata, but it is a totally unique design and it gets lots of positive attention whenver I go out!

Cheers,

Tom

Thomas:

Simon - I think you are totally right - I recently called into the Tag Heuer UK flagship store and noticed they have mobile phones for sale at B&O (PLUS) prices. The Tag Heuer assistant was telling me about the amazing design (looked very ordinary to me!) and the fact you can have models with diamonds in (yuk!). The assistant asked me what phone I currently used, so I showed them my Serenata - he was absolutely amazed and LOVED the design and sound quality. He's hoping to get one now!

It is easy to misunderstand the Serenata, but it is a totally unique design and it gets lots of positive attention whenver I go out!

 

Cheers,

Tom

I think you have hit the nail on the head Tom, it is easy to misunderstand the Serenata and now that I own one I realise I made that very mistake when it was first released. In fact I misunderstood it right up until yesterday when I was buying it as I always thought it was a phone with an mp3 player, but I now realise it is a top of the range portable music player (and it really is) with the addition of a phone. I have been walking around my home today with the A8s on listening to tracks with the phone in my pocket. The sound quality is out of this world. I am playing lossless mp3 tracks and I cannot fault the sound reproduction at all, its quite incredible. As I listen I am reminded that this is where B&O have always excelled as a company, they truly are one of the best out there for sound reproduction and speaker development. I haven't used the phone yet and I don't think at this rate I will much! I am getting far too carried away with the music side of it. I am rather pleased about this purchase because I was going to buy a Beosound 2, a Beosound 6 or other portable music player anyway so now I feel i have killed 2 birds with 1 stone and got a top of the range music player along with a phone which is going to be very useful until my Serene comes back.

Simon.

Hey,

I didn't want to put you off the Serenata. If you are happy with it thant it's more than okay :)

I tried the Serenata for myself a week or so and I hate it. For me it is a perfect example of a "c'mon, we must have a super special design, no matter if it's useful or not!" ;)

If all your contacts are in the phone and you don't read Email, SMS etc. than it might be okay but it is a disaster if you want to do more than just make phone calls!

Btw: Is there an option to use your own ringtones in the meantime? While I tested the Serenata there was no such option!? Or perhaps I'm blind :)

It's a matter of personal taste to use that phone but I think the sales figures of iPhone, Blackberry etc. are speaking for themselves ;)

So Simon, if you don't mind me asking, what did you pay for your Serenata? I ask because you seem like you see great value in your piece.

Evan

Hi Evan,

I paid just over 150 euros for it brand new which I think is an amazing price and hence why I bought it. For that money, the phone is indeed a superb buy and easily justifies the price. However, I would not have paid the original asking price for it when it was first released ... as indeed I didn't!

Best wishes,
Simon.

Simon, did you buy from a dealer? I am very interested.

evman140:

Simon, did you buy from a dealer? I am very interested.

I thought you might be ... I was too! Yes, I struck a deal with a dealer and paid in euros.

Simon.

I guess that was pretty obvious. Did you buy it with something else with your serenata? Also, I'm not a big spender in my dealer, will it be a hard negotiation?

evman140:

I guess that was pretty obvious. Did you buy it with something else with your serenata? Also, I'm not a big spender in my dealer, will it be a hard negotiation?

Will send you a PM with the details.

Simon,

Just a personal note... it is always refreshing how you manage to find sunshine on a cloudy day!

I hope you enjoy your Serenata! ...you've just about talked me into one!

Thanks Jeff, a nice thing to say and its appreciated. I will send you the same PM I just sent Ev.

Going back to the original topic, the Serenata is not under the "phone" section of B&O's website, but among the "audio" products..

Hi Chris,

Yesterday when I checked http://www.bang-olufsen.com/ it was not under the Audio section, neither was it under the Telephones section. I just checked again now and it is still not their. It seems they have permanently removed the product from their site which I find interesting.

Simon. 

Simon,

In my free time digging around the B&O site, I found the software download for the Serenata which tells me they are still supporting it in a way.

Also in all this talk of B&O phones, does anyone know anything about the Samsung M7600-11? It has B&O's ICEpower tech and looks fairly recent.

Hi guys,

I've always hankered after one of these, albeit not as a main phone because of the complicated use. However I was blown away by the speaker quality and output through the headphones! Looks great too.

Vertu's have never got me going and quite why Tag who don't produce particularly exclusive watches are building phones priced to compete with Vertu (3k+) I have no idea!

Never been able to afford the price-tag unfortunately. Would any member be able to point me in the direction of procuring one at a reasonable price? I would be most appreciative.

Thanks all :-)

evman140:

Also in all this talk of B&O phones, does anyone know anything about the Samsung M7600-11? It has B&O's ICEpower tech and looks fairly recent.

Hi evman140,

Do you mean the Samsung M7600 Beat? It has an ICEpower amplifier and is a Samsung musicPhone with ICE technology. The 7600 supposed to have DJ functions, but it can't mix 2 music files ore more.

It is a good phone I have read in tests. A very good music phone. (It has the name Bang&Olufsen on the front side.)

I am considering to buy one.

Regards, Robert

Yes that is the one. Do you know if it is a sim card phone? Is it tri or quad band? I couldn't find any figures on it.

Hi,

here you can find all info about the Samsung Beat DJ phones:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=mobilephones&type=mobilephones&subtype=bar&model_cd=GT-M7600RKAXEU

btw: 150 Euro for a Serenata is a very nice price for experimenting with it. Would you be so kind to tell me how and where I get it for that money? :-)

Thanks

TWG:

Hi,

here you can find all info about the Samsung Beat DJ phones:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=mobilephones&type=mobilephones&subtype=bar&model_cd=GT-M7600RKAXEU

btw: 150 Euro for a Serenata is a very nice price for experimenting with it. Would you be so kind to tell me how and where I get it for that money? :-)

Thanks

Surely you're joking with me TWG? You're earlier post said it belongs in the trash can and you wouldn't pay more than 50 euros for it. Now you want to buy one at three times that cost? The price of a new Serenata is upwards of £295 depending on which dealer you visit. I have purchased more than £20,000 of B&O equipment in the last 2 years; my circumstances were different for this particular purchase. Shop around and look for the best price, that's what I always do before making any purchase. They sell on Ebay for £350 new. Perhaps that is an avenue worth exploring? I am sure you'll get a good price for one if you look around. All the best.

Simon.