Audiovox SMT 5600 / SPV C500 (HTC Typhoon)
Average Ratings
Liked it, but Returned it Nonetheless
I had this phone for two weeks, using the 30-day return policy from AT&T, which I must give much props to.
During this time, these are the pros and cons I found. I've starred those which I found most important.
PROs:
* Awesome syncing with Outlook, when it works, including all phone numbers for contacts, filtering contacts, all emails in all folders
* Same size as my (IMO medium-small) T616, with many more features
- Absolutely the best display I've seen on a mobile phone so far
- Bundle from AT&T includes Outlook 2002
- Handles web pages with included browser very well
- MP3 playback with included stereo headphones is great
CONs:
* Bluetooth syncing is problematic, I'm not sure if this is due to the phone or ActiveSync on the computer, but I had to carry the USB cable around with me to have connection to computer work always
* Design of phone always felt like it might fall out of my hand when using it with one hand, and Lock/Line insurance won't cover this phone
* I hit the joystick enter button only about 2/3 of the time, usually going up or down instead
- No auto-keylock! What are they thinking?
- Speakerphone volume too quiet
- Can't view Excel or Word files like a Pocket PC can
- Uses miniSD cards, which are hard to come by and only available (currently) in small sizes
Great Phone
I have had this phone for about two months. I watch full length movies on this phone. on a 512miniSD card i can store 2 maybe 3 FULL SIZE movies it requires you using pocketdivx and making the movies smaller in memory but it looks and sounds the same to me. This phone has made my life easier, i easily sync it up and have my schedules/appointments transfered to my phone. You can add games, but I'm not a game freak. The reception is great (att cingular). I like when i have the phone on its holster and the SPECIFIC ring tone rings then i know who it is without picking up the phone, makes it easy for me to reject calls with the reject button that appears when your phone is ringing. Trust me on this one, the reject button will come in handy. This phone can record videos too which is awsome.
Now the internet explorer is GREAT, i have been able to visit just about ANY site on this phone and the sites are fully functional, though there are few that i cannot access, but VERY few, i thought that it can only access the special mobile sites, but no way, this phone goes to any site, BE SURE to get a data plan, or it will cost you about $200 on your bill, i learned the hard way, get a $40 unlimited plan.
I like the photo contact feature, i think its cool, bluetooth, speed dial, voice dial, all works like a charm.
CONS!
No flash on the camera so it its really dark your screwed, even though it has different settings, still no flash.
The scroll pad gets time to getting used to, but I'm ok with it now.
Battery Life is not that great.
Thats it for me, this phone has everything i need, its small and will surprise your friends when you tell them what it can do specially when you show them the movies in your phone). I like it because its not big and bulky like the treos
Beautiful, high quality feel.....
Yes, this phone is just about as beautiful as they come. Made with some of the best material. Large, beautiful screen. Great buttons, very tactile.
That's where the good for me with this phone ends.
Bootup was VERY slow. Took 3-5 mins just to bootup when I turned the phone on. The same was true about turning it off though not quite as long.
Navigating through different screens was painfully slow as well.
Battery life was not good at all. With minimal use I had to charge the phone every 2nd day.
Putting my own ringtones and pictures on the phone with the supplied data cable was easy, however, it also caused the phone to LOCK UP. Had to delete them from the dat file to get the phone to work again. Simple .wav and .mp3 files. Pics were a small 1.4x1.4... no reason they shouldn't have worked.
Perhaps I got a bad phone perhaps they are all like this and others accept the slowness as standard... for me it wasn't worth keeping the phone so I took it back.
I should note, the user interface was very easy. Having the datacable and software in the box was a great benefit. Signal strength was par for the course. Camera was terrible in any condition.
If I had to rate this phone on appearance and workmanship I would give it a 10 out of 5... performance was subpar for me which is why the below average rating.
Like the 2nd go around...still not sure tho!
Well, I used the 30 day return policy once, due to poor battery life, and interfering reception in the ear on random calls, and I may, now that Cingular has taken over the Giant, use the return policy once more. Obviously with a Windows based phone, one must treat it like a PC, which I think many users are neglecting, (meaning needs a reboot AT LEAST every other day, slow boot-up, etc.) and I have not. However, the battery hardly improved on the second one, and even tho the reviews on the Moto MPx220 are shaky, I may make the switch to get a more protected (clamshell) and Rollover min. capable phone (w/o getting an Unlock key). So heres my list:
+PROS+
+Familiar Windows layout
+Great screen, good camera, nice back lit, auto nite read for buttons (pretty colors 2!)
+Good looks, small and light for what it is
+WMA files for ringtones (plenty loud for all you morons that can't figure out how to Edit a profile's volume, it's time to go back to your old Nokia 5160, This phone can pierce ears w/both its speaker, and ear piece volume for conversations No ?'s about it)
+Nice easy to use case allows USB access while in use.
+Mini SD expandable Flash memory
+Rocker Joystick
-CONS-
-Basically no usable Bluetooth file transfer or ActiveSync connection: USB only!
-WEAK Battery (must charge 5-6 nights a week)
-No easy Bluetooth On/Off
-Zoom only works in 320x270 qual. or LOWER
-Getting phone out of case for calls has prematurely rejected them a couple times..SUCK!
-DUAL BAND ONLY!
-Small volume/camera buttons
-Hard to hold, especially with cold dry, or sweaty hands -not ergonomic for the '5 digits'
-Dust under Screen on no-access phone face.
-Grainy pics in zoom modes due to lower qual. foreced pixels.
-Rocker Joystick doesn't 'Enter' properly all the time
That's all for now..after using this phone for just over a month, there's not much else to figure out...oh the full manual's a semi-large download directly from Audiovox's website. I hope the MPX220 works
This phone almost had me
I got this phone and thought it was going to be the greatest phone I've ever owned, despite having a smaller battery life than compared to my Nokia 6820 (which the 6820 is tough to compare any phone to anyway since the battery life on it is great). However, after several days I ended up returning it. My main reasons were:
1) Dust getting under the screen. I've read in forums concerning the C500 version that this is a known issue (appears to be the same with SMT5600) and can be sent in to get the screen replaced with a better seal through HTC.
2) The main reason I returned the phone though is because I like having long tones when alerted of SMS messages. This is because I work in IT and prefer longer tones so it gives me time to hear the alerts if we have problems. However, with this phone, once the tone starts there's no stopping it. So if you're in a public place and that tone starts, the only choice you have is to turn the phone off to get it to stop. VERY ANNOYING. I need a phone where I can press at least one key to get it to stop. I've even gone through the menus, reading the SMS message, etc. with the tone still playing.
But that is for me personally.
I really cannot say too much on the battery since this is the first phone I've owned with so many features and such a nice screen. But I personally think the battery life is decent when considering what the battery is powering (screen, processor, etc.).
And if the capability of not being able to stop a tone while it's playing for SMS or email notification does not bother you, I HIGHLY recommend this phone.
One of the best phones yet
I thought the Nokia 6620 was it, however, the Nokia does not compare to this phone.
A few people have complained of reception issues. IMO, the signal bars can sometimes be deceiving. I can make and receive calls sometime with a single bar. On some occassions, I've had no bars and still succeeded in making calls.
PROS:
TRI-BAND (YES, THIS IS TRI-BAND PHONE) which the previous reviewer has incorrectly stated dual-band.
Good Reception
PDA like device
Decent quality video (at least I don't get choppy video as I did with the 6620)
Decent Camera (for a 640x480)
CONS:
No native support for NOTES sync with Outlook.
Terrific Windows Mobile Smart Phone
One of my friends purchase this phone the day it was released. Due to unfortunate circumstances he had lost his mobile phone and needed a new one. We went to the nearest AT&T store to see what they had to offer. In the back of the store, my friend spotted a demo unit for this phone. Neither of us had either seen or heard of this phone before but it's specs looked terrific. It is a smart phone that's uses the Windows SmartPhone 2003 operating system. It has infrared, bluetooth, a mini Secure Digital slot, 65K color screen and runs Java. The price listed at the AT&T store was $199.99 which we thought was a good price for this phone but because we also get a corporate discount the phone only cost $120.00. This was a great deal.
The display is very clear and so is the phone's reception quality. Downloaded new software is extremely easy and my friends contacts are easily synced with his PC using active sync.
My friend couldn't be happier with this phone. I would have also gotten one but I'm on a CDMA network and will have to wait for a CDMA version.
better computer than phone
Con's
I've had the phone for less than a month and it got stuck in headset mode, rendering the phone useless unless the headset is plugged in. I'm going to have to return it. I can still sync and do email, but its not much good if I can't make or receive calls without the headset.
I have similar cons to others:
The navigation bar is the best scrolling device I've ever seen, but its hard to select the right item. Unless I press the bar down just perfectly, I wind up moving the selection up or down instead of selecting probably 15% of the time. I thought this was something I would learn over time, but after using it for several weeks I still have the same problem.
You don't turn it on as much as you boot it up. It takes over a minute before the system is up and ready. Shut down is almost as slow.
Battery life is about 2-3 days.
Shortcuts. Maybe I haven't figured it out yet, but many of the "quick keys" require you hit the on/off button to get the menu. It's hard to do this when holding the phone in one hand. Not very quick in my book.
Poor contact navigation. Not sure if its Outlook or the phone. On any other phone, I would get to E by hitting the 3 key twice. On this phone, hitting the 3 key brings up all entries that contain all the contacts with D,E and F anywhere in the name. If you hit 3 a second time it just finds entries with 2 D's. Could it really be this bad?
Pro's
Excellent display. Clear and bright with great clarity
Sync with Exchange. Works very well. I can get through email faster than my PDA.
Web browser. If you go to full page mode, you can navigate large pages really well using the nav bar. The bar rocks when you have to scroll long distances.
Form factor. I bought this because I can carry it in my pocket. Its small and light.
Memory. I've got a couple of hundred emails, lots of contacts and a number of pictures. I use the voice recorder for tasks. I still have room for hundreds of pictures. Pretty amazing.
Best phone I've ever owned!
I have owned this phone for a little over a week, and I must say, I'm extremely pleased with it. It is the perfect compromise between form and function. Granted, one could purchase a full-fledged PDA phone, but personally I've noticed those to be a bit bulky and overbearing. This strikes a nice balance, and is small enough that I don't even notice it when I have it on me.
PROS:
- Speakerphone/Ringtone speaker is VERY loud, yet is still able to be crisp and clear.
- The screen is exceptional. I've never seen a screen this good in a standard form factor phone.
- Feels solid and nicely built.
- Camera, despite being only VGA quality, takes fairly good pictures (much better than my old SE t610).
- Windows Mobile 2003. What more can I say, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of third-party apps, and it feels enough like a PDA without being "too much".
- Synchronization is flawless (with WinXP/Outlook 2003).
- USB charging is GREAT! Whenever I go to work, a friends house, etc. I only need to bring the USB cable if I know they have a computer, instead of the whole power brick.
CONS:
- VGA camera (I know I mentioned this in the pro's, but a 1MP+ camera and/or flash would be better)
- The number buttons are a bit too far below the phone's center of gravity. Sometimes, when dialing a number, it almost feels like the phone will slip out of my hands. But, I'd gladly endure this to allow for the large screen!
One other thing, I have had zero problems with the nav button, unlike what has been noted in other reviews. I enjoy the ease of vertical scrolling, and haven't had any mis-clicks.
not so fast
The concept about this phone is just great, I mean it can do just about everything you would want a gadget to do, plays music, watch movies, view photos to name a few.
Pros. very small, great screen, very good battery life.
Cons. only one, while playing videos or music using window media player 10 you hear a chirping sound, very annoying, not just that but any third party application too. I tried a replacement and it was even worse, I am getting a third one but I doubt that it will work. I asked the sales rep from cingular, " is it possible to get 2 bad phones? and she responded " Yes " I got this phone because so many users were satisfied with it. If I had read a review such like this one I would not have taken the chance to buy it. Remember 2 Phones!!! the same exact same problem, If you appreciate the quality of sound in music like I do you have been warned. I even got some software called mini lyrics magic which allows you to add more bass and a whole bunch of effects to music, the chirping sound was still there even more noticeable while the source are spoken words. this sofware is amazing, if your phone is working properly you got to get this software, too bad mine didn't.
