well it's bollocks. Never had a bad word said since i've had it, it amazes people and i absolutely love owning this phone. Who here actually cares what PC world think??

As a mobile phone I couldn't ask for anything more, I haven't even used the camera function.

steve wozniak of apple has one and loves it , i guess he knows a lot more about tech than the plebs who write for pc world

i saw one in the flesh a few months ago and was quite impressed , it was beautifully made and had a wonderful ring tone

the interface was interesting too

i'd nominate the blackberry etc , they just look truly awful

( "The twelve grimmeste and most platteland phones" )  ?

I just work here as a Perm. Resident, and I don't own a Serene, but the words above are unknown and not part of the North American lexicon. I can attest that it is not German, French, Italian, or Romanch.

Since another member recently questioned the need for sub-forums, and foreign language sections, perhaps someone here could translate the above for  us.  Is it perhaps The King's English ?

"platteland" would mean "rural area" in Dutch,
so my guess it isn't Dutch !

SWISS_2:

( "The twelve grimmeste and most platteland phones" )  ?

It can be almost guessed, but anyway:

grimmeste ... ugliest

platte ... buls**t (mobiles - in the article's context or, indeed, more softly said 'lamest' etc)

Both are Danish adjectives

Platte land (as Ignace pointed out) is Dutch ... how it got into 'translation' though is a bit of a mystery to me, too 

Grimmeste is ugliest in Danish, so I guess that's what it's supposed to be. Especially since the authors name seems Danish too.

Google doesn't do a very good job translating.

PC World also bashes the Serenata here.

A patois of Danish and Dutch ?   Interesting.   

I had a Serene for a while and to be honest was not impressed. Mine was unreliable - the motor for the opening would keep trying to shut it when it was already shut and ran down the battery - went back to Struer but came back just the same. The camera was useless as it was incredibly difficult to line up. The screen tends to get a mark across it and I tired of the ring tones. I am afraid my boring iPhone knocks spots off it as a phone. I agree it impresses other people but the most important person to impress is the owner!

It never impressed me (neither the Serenata) - seems to me they try to be different for different's sake without offering any real advantge in return.

Peter :

The camera was useless as it was incredibly difficult to line up.

It's actually very easy - if you share the vision of the phone's creators that the world is 'vertical' and therefore best pictured in a vertical format, that is!

I'm not a great fan either, but what is PC World doing reviewing Mobile Phones?  It's like Mobile Phone Monthly reviewing PC's.. a bit wrong.

Yes, i don't like Serene's - i will admit that, but it's purely the usability i don't like. As a design / form i think it was innovative and very stylish indeed.

Lee

Touch wood.... but mine is OK. It has taken many falls too. I do miss my iPhone though.... and when the new one comes I will probably be upgrading back to that. That however is a phone the does not like to be dropped.

I am still using mine and find it OK as a phone and very good for sending texts once you get the hang of the circular layout and avoid touching the wheel which will send the cursor to somewhere other than where you want to type. As remarked above, the camera is actually very easy to use if used in vertical format (i.e you look down onto the screen whilst pointing the camera lens/ hinge forward.) This way of using the camera was missed in just about every review and resulted in an unjustified criticism of the camera function. (But B&O should have given some guidance in the instructions!)

As Peter says, it doesn't stand up against the iPhone.

Graham

Peter :

I had a Serene for a while and to be honest was not impressed. Mine was unreliable - the motor for the opening would keep trying to shut it when it was already shut and ran down the battery - went back to Struer but came back just the same. The camera was useless as it was incredibly difficult to line up. The screen tends to get a mark across it and I tired of the ring tones. I am afraid my boring iPhone knocks spots off it as a phone. I agree it impresses other people but the most important person to impress is the owner!

Ah, you must have had it in a place where a magnet was present!! So sad that B&O weren't thorough with their knowledge of the product, they should have warned that placing the item near magnets sets off the motor! My Victorinox satchel has little magnets that keep the main flap of the bag shut, if the hinge came close to one of the magnets inside the pocket, it would buzz away until i moved it away from the magnet. Discovered this when i put it on top of an alarm clock (with the little speaker on top) where it opened and closed itself!

Camera is just an add on and by no means for serious use, living with this phone for almost 2 years now the screen does have light keypad marks, but it's easy to live with, and the ringtones are fantastic, they are dignified and tasteful - every other phone is tacky in comparison.

The Serene is perfect for me, i use it to SMS and call, and nothing compares to it's performance, style and quality. If this one fails i'll source another one somehow!

Dave:

The Serene is perfect for me, i use it to SMS and call, and nothing compares to it's performance, style and quality. If this one fails i'll source another one somehow!

Texting on this phone makes me feel like an idiot. I still have not gotten the hang of it..... I have the predictive text switched off as well... as I need to Switch between German and English often. Very annoying. This was something fantastic about the iPhone. On the up side, I have saved so much money on texting !

I have tried lots of phones.

My enthusiasm for the Nokias, HTC's and Iphones of this world wanes after a few weeks of owning one.

Not the same can be said of the Serene - Its simplicity keeps me hooked.

Nothing unncessary - simply the phone - mobile telephone

Being an artist, my tastes may not be main stream - I am just grateful that I can appreciate the serene for what it is.

I liked my Serene except when I had to manually dial a phone number.  I would always find the number jumbled as the cursor jumped from front to back of of the numbers,  made me want to throw it out the window.  The rotary retro dial may look good but could not pass the ease of use measure of pleasure.  The phone book is great but no one has every number in it.  The camera should have been left out, they could have made the price lower or made more profit.  Also the web access should have been axed, nothing to see on that size screen.  They forgot KISS keep it simple stupid.