Customer Reviews

Audiovox XV6600 PDA Phone (Verizon Wireless)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm ranking this 4 stars against the other phones that verizon has to offer. So the only reason it is 4 stars, its the only pocket pc available from them currently. A Samsung i730 is due out -soon- whatever that means.. but i couldnt wait.

The good:

+Touch screen phone buttons

+Large vibrant color screen

+Battery life is great (for me), I noticed someone wrote a review mentioning battery life was bad. That is true if you have Bluetooth on all the time.

+Slide out QWERTY keypad that lights up for visability

+Microsoft Operating System, and limited versions of Outlook, Excel, Word, Internet Explorer

+Ability to write on the screen anywhere with stylus and have it recognize handwriting

+SD Memory port

+Bluetooth

+A decent Digital Camera built in

+Ability to get POP3 or IMAP email (unlike proprietary palm or blackberry)

+Plays mp3's and media with media player 9

+Terminal services

The Bads:

-Internet Explorer revision is 4.0 and it is locked by default so i cant install an update.

-Cant seem to install software easily or the phone is completely locked from putting anything non verizion on it.

-Handwriting recognition is fair at best. It seems to recognize cursive better than manuscript. I've tried to customize the letter menu to how i write, but after spending a hour doing so, it worked worse than it did with defaults.

-Cant use MP3 ringtones, must be .mid or .wav (what were they thinkin on .wav??? if you cant do mp3)

-Bluetooth kills battery life

-No 802.11x wireless

-Screen Scratches fairly easy

The Ugly:

--Had it lock up a couple times where i couldnt do anything and had to pull the battery.

--Earpiece on phone is not very loud

--Ringers are not hardly noticible in volume


If there were any other options pocket pc wise on Verizon, I would definately look in to them. But this is the only thing they have and its better than blackberry and palm, even with its problems. I love the email abilities of this phone, and the scheduling is great, plus you can link up to your PC and sync them.

I can live with the various glitches here and there, but the ringer and earpiece volume is something they didnt think through so well. A speakerphone would have also been nice. The phone does have some great portable features in excel, word and the browser isnt too bad. Its fairly quick browsing internet considering its using the standard phone network. But the browser does limit you to what kinds of sites you can go to because of its 4.0 revision.

One thing I thought was pretty nifty is the terminal services or remote desktop client thats built in. I was able to log in on one of my web servers and poke around.

This phone definately has some good features and some irritating qualities. So until Verizon releases the Samsung pocket pc, I have to rate this the best phone they offer.

As a network admin, I was asked to provide 15 of the bosses and administrators with smart phones. After much investigation, we settled on the Audiovox xv6600. We've been using them for two months now and the results have been mixed...

The good -

Wireless sync works great with Exchange server and does provide a nearly real time connection to the office and critical data from Exchange. The internet (which goes full broadband in about 4 days in my area) is also a very useful function. The ability to read Word and Excel docs has been well received. Finally, the bluetooth function is useful but buggy.

The Bad -

The battery on every single one of these units will not make it through the 8 hour work day - even if the unit is never removed from it's pouch and used. In fact, about 7 of them will not make it past 2.5 hours! The functions are great, but when the unit is unuseable due to poor battery performance, you have to question it's value. Incidentally, Audiovox still has no enhanced battery available.

Additionally, my users have to perform resets (sticking the stylus in the reset hole) at least once a day as the phone function 'hangs'. Sometimes the unit times out while trying to dial out (even with a full signal). The unit will then not receive or send calls at all until you reset it. This problem is probably more attributable to the phone software operating on a Microsoft based operating system or possibly due to the wireless sync function.

Finally, the Bluetooth wireless headsets are great while they are working. In fact, mine works great on my regular (nonsmart) phone. But the xv6600 often needs the headset to be reinstalled or randomly chooses not to allow it to answer calls. But I attribute that to the burden of the Microsoft operating system it resides on. A challenge my nonsmart phone does not need to overcome.

Finally -

The xv6600 is a good idea, but it has a lot of bugs and creates a ton of support tickets for us. All in all, I'd be satisfied with it if the battery could just last all day. The other issues are ones that Windows users get used to after a while and learn to live with (freeze ups, nonreponsive programs, etc).

There are 2 types of devices like this - there are the PDA-Phones and Phone-PDAs. By this I mean that there are PDAs that have a phone built into them and there are phones with PDA functionality added. This device is a PDA-Phone. It's primarily a good, full featured PDA, similar to anything you'd by from HP, for example. As a phone, it's pretty much just a standard phone - standard sound quality and standard reception. The key here is to think about which you need more - a PDA or phone. If your primary need is a phone and you want PDA functions, get the Samsung i730, but if you're a PDA person who's tired of carrying a phone around as well as your PDA, get this product.

Pros:
Very nice screen - as good as my HP 2215 and about the same size. With 64k colors, it shows photos, video, etc. clearly and with good color reproduction.
Fairly fast processor - a 400mhz processor, just about matching my HP2215 and considerably faster than my wife's HP1945. Applications are responsive - even processor intensive applications such as transcriber and voice command. I know you can get faster PDAs, but this one is certainly more than good enough for 99% of everyone.
Good amount of memory - even without a SD card, 128mb will do for most folks and since it has an SD slot, you can pump it up easily.
Easy to use phone application - this was my first experience with the Windows Mobile O/S and the phone application is very easy to use. Not too many "bells and whistles", but it works just fine.
EVDO - the web browsing on this thing via EVDO is just wonderful. In my city I'm consistently getting 400 to 500kbps, which is nearly as good as you'd get in a busy Starbucks using their not so cheap Wi-Fi connection and it's everywhere, not just near a hot spot. With added software I can even transfer files at reasonable speeds to and from my home computer from just about anywhere.
Keyboard - I don't use it much, but it sure is handy when I want to type anything of more than a few words. I've got some pretty fat hands and have no trouble with hitting the correct buttons either. Good tactile feedback on them as well. And the blue glow from the backlighting is cool too.
Sound quality (non-phone) - I use this device as an MP3 player as well and it performs very well (though the included headphones are a waste of space - don't count on using them if you want decent quality). Sounds at least as good as the Creative Zen Jukebox we use in the car.

Cons:
Weight - for a PDA or a phone, it's a bit chunky. Much heavier than either my Sony-Ericson phone or my HP2215. But, to be fair, it's replaced both and is probably lighter than both put together.
Size - big for a PDA, easily 15% longer than my 2215. Huge for a phone. Again though, probably overall smaller than both put together.
Battery life - just below average for a PDA and not good at all for a phone. I've been getting about 2 to 2 1/2 days of standby time out of it. I will say that I got much worse at first. This, I discovered was because the default for the device is that *any* button can turn it on. If you keep it in your pocket, you'll be turning it on so much, the battery life will easily drop to just a day or less of "standby". Fortunately, there's a "lock buttons" application setting that changes it so only the power button will actually turn on the device. Talk time hasn't been an issue, but then again, I don't spend hours a day on the phone.
Backup program - whoever wrote the built in backup program for this device should be ashamed of themselves. Never has it taken so long to backup a mere 25mb to my SD card. HPs backup program is easily 5 or 6 times faster.
Voice Command Via Bluetooth - Verizon/AudioVox needs to fix this - it doesn't work at all.
Quiet ring tones - the ring tones that come with this device are horribly quiet. They're fine in an office environment, but get into the car and you'll miss your calls. The good news here is that it's easy to fix by just getting a louder ring tone - and since it's a Windows Mobile device, you don't even have to buy them - just get any ol' .WAV or MIDI file and you can use that. I ripped down a nice loud sound from a CD and saved it to the device as a .WAV and I'm quite please with the sound.
Phone sound quality - truthfully, while everything is understandable by both you and your caller, the phone sound quality is just not as good as a real top of the line dedicated phone. My wife's Motorola E815 is noticeably better sounding. But again, all I was looking for is to be understood and this phone provides that very well.
Face grease on the display - one of the problems that any device like this is going to have is that since you hold the display up to your face to talk you're going to get a pretty nasty film on the screen. Plan on cleaning it a lot. A buddy of mine says he's got a screen protector/anti-glare cover for the screen that fixes this, but I've not actually tried it yet. Also, if you're going to use a headset, this becomes a non-issue as well.

Things I don't care about but that you might:
Camera - 640 by 480. Yup, it's got a VGA camera and flash. Seems to take decent pictures.
Charging cradle - it can charge the device and an extra battery at the same time. Nifty, but I'll never be so far from charging that I care.
EVDO availability - only in about 50 cities right now (I think) and most airports. My city and all the close by ones are completely covered, so I couldn't care less that EVDO is not available in the back of beyond. However, if you live in the back of beyond, you certainly would.
Price (service) - EVDO isn't cheap. Even with my corporate discount, it's nearly $40 per month, which is nearly what I pay for my home broadband that's literally 10 times faster. For me, this didn't matter as I'm going to use this a lot. $40 is a high price to pay if you're just going to use it sometimes though.

Overall, I don't regret my purchase at all. I was looking for a good solid PDA that would provide enough phone functionality to allow me to go to a single device and the 6600 has done that for me perfectly.

Ok. After reading all of the enthusiastic reviews of the XV6600 and being influenced by those reviews, I thought I would ring in with my less than positive thoughts about the product.

Pro's:

This is a decently integrated phone/pda/mini-computer. It does what it says it will do: make phone calls, keep a calendar and contacts list, and let you do office related work normally reserved for your desktop PC (word documents, excel spreadsheets, etc) or laptop, though you will lose some formatting when you use the Audiovox as it is not as capable and powerful as your desktop pc.

The Audiovox has a very large screen with lots of brightness control.

You can get Verizon's EVDO network access for high speed internet connection.

There is a difficult to use, but useable nonetheless, keyboard that slides from underneath the screen.


Con's

Call reception is horrific. The Treo is better but not by much (I borrowed my friend's Treo 650 for a while to compare). The sound quality is not very good even in flat areas that are not obstructed by hills or mountains or buildings. The poor sound quality coming from the speaker in the earpiece doesn't help matters at all.

As most people alluded to, the speakerphone, ear piece volume, and ringer volume are not even up to toy cell phone standards. This product should never have been released until those issues were addressed (quality control at Audiovox must be very poor). Audiovox has promised that it is working on a software fix for these issues but I believe the quality of the components of the phone are the issue and there is not much a software upgrade can do about that. This device never should have passed any sound quality or clarity tests.


The screen is huge but not very good. It would figure that if you take the time to do a screen that big, it would be done correctly. The Treo 650 and Samsung i730 are both terrific compared to this phone as they both have very bright screens with very high contrast. They just look great. You won't notice how lacking the Audiovox screen is until you see it next to a Treo.

Don't let a Verizon salesperson sell you on their EVDO network as it is not available everywhere. In my area, we have a sort of enhanced dial up called National Access and Enhanced Service. It is not much faster than dialup. Make sure that EVDO is completely up and running in your area before you start handing over close to $50 a month for the service. Also, Internet Explorer 4.0 is too old of a browser so you won't be able to view many websites, so don't be alarmed if some web pages come through as garbled letters. Also, be on the lookout for web sites that offer mobile versions of their sites for folks that view web pages on their phones and add them to your favorites list. ALSO BE AWARE: You cannot upgrade from IE 4.0 on this device. The hardware configuration prevents upgrading, another short-sighted move when making this phone. You will be severly limited in your web search abilities. If you need to access your company's web site to email and do other work, check with your ISP to make sure the site can be viewed with IE 4.0. So, again, be on the lookout for web sites that are mobile pc friendly or get a pda phone that is upgradeable or already comes with the newer version of IE.

You have to do soft resets on this device on a regular basis; it is a Windows based pc after all. Windows based devices are not known for their stellar reliability and this phone is no exception. Even after doing a software upgrade from the Audiovox website, the phone is still locking up on a regular basis. I have missed phone calls because the phone has locked up while receiving a call. (Your phone should not elicit negative reviews from your boss. It was even suggested that I get rid of the phone).

They decided to include a 0.3 megapixel camera on this phone. You have to stand right on top of an object to take any decent pictures of it. I sat 4 feet from my fan and took a picture of it and the picture came back grainy and useless. I had to get as close as 2 feet before I got a picture in which I could actually see what I photograped. All of the pictures I took were fuzzy at best and as the owner of several digital cameras, I know how to take pictures. The camera was definitely an after thought. It would have been better to release the camera version later, after they figured out how to get useable pictures from the camera.

The biggest con of them all: Battery life is tragically bad at best. I don't get more than 2.5 hours of talk time from a battery and about 8-10 hours of standby time. The Treo gets far more use from each battery charge. My guess is that most of the battery's power is used keeping the big screen lit. Again, another issue that should have been addressed before release of the device. They could have built this model with a higher capacity battery, for example, or figured out a way for the device to have a lower power-consuming rest mode.

Final Recommendation:

When comparing the Treo 650 and XV6600, they both have decent pro's and really glaring con's. The Treo locks up but not nearly as much as the XV6600 and is more intutitive to use and in some areas is more capable (call reception, screen clarity, ease of use out of the box, more low-cost after market accessories available right now). User reviews from some web pages rate the Treo as not much better than the XV6600, except that the Treo is a known, and mostly reliable, entity.

If you don't need a pda phone, don't bother. You should really stop and think about what you need from your mobile device. Most mobile phones come with contact lists and some even allow you to input address book information or let you sync to your computer so that you can load contact and address book information onto your cell phone (For example: some motorola models have this feature in addition to features that allows you to put your calendar dates and appointments on your cell phone). If you are thrilled by the prospect of being able to listen to music, view movies, access the internet from your device, and be able to do documents without hauling around the laptop, great. But if you don't truly need it, stay away from pda phones unless you are willing to put up with the headache of a bulky phone that may lock up a regular basis. I recommend you find a phone that will allow you to download your contacts and calendar appointments from your computer. I ordered Motorola E815's for my staff (there is software available that allows uploading of contacts and calendar dates, is bluetooth ready, has camera and video capture modes, and plays mp3's with a mini SD card).

Additionally, there are cheap accessories for the phone but you have to look really hard as a lot of sites are overcharging for their accessories. There appears to be more less-expensive accessories out there for the Treo 650. Definitely get a screen protector kit for your pda screen before you start using it (I use Write Shield but there are many cheaper alternatives). Also note that though you can play mp3's on this device, you will need to use the earplugs that come with the device or a similar alternative as the jack is not a standard headphone jack.

Please think long and hard about whether or not you need this device or any other pda phone. I watched a salesman talk two people into pda phones who weren't even sure if they needed them but were thrilled with the toy factor; don't get something like this if you don't need it. If I wasn't expected to send spreadsheets and documents from any location, I would have ordered an E815 for myself.

I am reading a lot of negative reviews about this phone and wanted to add my 2cents.

People have complained about not being able to lock the screen. All you need to do is go the start menu click settings, click system, click button lock, select your options to only turn on when you press the power button. This way you can answer calls and not accidentally press anything else while walking around.

People complained about the quality of the phones materials. I have had the razr v3 and the treo 650. This is buy far the best made phone I have ever seen. My "all metal" ravr got marked up in a month and my treo 650 got beat up in a few days. The XV6600 is two months and no marks at all. Even after several drops. Just go to the store and check it out.

People complained about its size. I found it easier to carry then the treo 650 due to its lack of exterior antenna. The XV6600 fits better and for what ever reason I just liked it better to talk on.

People complained about voice volume on the phone. They were right. It's not the best. The treo was better. But the razr was about the same.

People said when you take the battery out you lose data. What are you talking about? That doesn't happen at all. And the battery slips out easy? Not at all either. It's a pain to get out. Not as bad as the razr battery. That thing was a huge pain. However they were right about the battery life. Get a car charger.

People seem to like the email function. Lol, it's the worst. If you want email get a blackberry. Verizon has something called VZmail or something like that. What it does is it allows Pop accounts (but not gmail) to sync. You have the option to push these to your device but your battery will last half a day if you do that. What's good about this is that you can sync with your email accounts when you are ready for the email. Nothing worse then getting a problem email when you are in the middle of another problem. (with gmail forward them all to another pop account like yahoo that way u can still use your gmail.)

Good stuff: The device is fast. The keyboard looks worse then the treo 650's and is not as user friendly but still great. The web is very very fast. Beats the crap out of everything else. Software problems not as bad as the treo's. It is annoying to check for missed calls and voice mail on the xv6600. But go to (...) for some great downloads that will fix or add to anything you want. Same if you get a treo 650.

Over all I think where the treo 650 lacked the XV6600 did better and vice verse. If you go with the Treo 650 you will be happy and if you go with this one you will be just as happy. Both aren't perfect. Check them out both several times in the stores before you buy. Some people that left negative reviews don't really know what they where talking about. I really don't either. These devices are very complex. But you need them if you have a busy schedule. Good luck

Before I settled on this phone, I was using the Treo 650 for a week. I like both phones. I'm happy with my XV600, but there's always a nagging feeling to go back to the Treo 650. As one reviewer put it, what the XV6600 has, Treo doesn't and vice versa.

Here's the pros and cons:

SCREEN SIZE: XV6600 has a bigger screen than the Treo, but the Treo's screen is brighter, clearer, and sharper. I opted for the larger screen to be able to view more of my Excel files or internet sites.

INTERNET: XV6600 boasts Verizon broadband, EVDO, while Treo uses Verizon's "Blazer." Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between the speeds. In fact, the EVDO sometimes seems slower than the Blazer on the Treo. I really wanted that "broadband" access so I went for the XV6600, but it's annoying how slow it seems. Additionally, XV6600 comes w/Internet Explorer 4 which doesn't allow me to access certain web sites. The Treo had an "optimized" internet viewing program that made viewing certain web sites easier than XV6600.

BATTERY: XV6600 lasts about 5-6 hours of use, while Treo lasts much longer.

PHONE: You can hear much better on the Treo than the XV6600, even on speakerphone mode. Plus, the Treo has Photo Contact ID.

DESIGN: The Treo looks very sexy, while the XV6600 looks like a calculator. Treo's sleek, shiny, curvy, smaller design beats the large dinosaur style of the XV6600. I can fit the Treo in my pocket and not look like I have a brick in there, which is the case with the XV6600.

EASE OF USE: Treo is much easier to use out of the box than the XV6600. Palm's OS is intuitive. After a while, the XV6600 becomes easier to use.

PROBLEMS: I chose the XV6600 after reading so many reviews of the Palm constantly hanging and freezing, however, I've had one hard reset (losing all my data) and numerous soft-resets, on my XV6600. I haven't had one reset on my Palm.

SOFTWARE: About the same, but I think there's more of what I like on the XV6600. I wasn't crazy about the Windows folders and subfolders system, but works for me since I'm used to that on my desktop.

BOTTOMLINE: While I was writing this review, I can understand why I have that nagging sensation to go back to Treo, however, I'm happy with my XV6600. I like the fact that it almost replaces my desktop. I can connect to the internet, watch movies, listen to music, do my finances, check my emails, watch a slide show, take pictures, and use it as a calculator.

Initially, I had concerns with batteries needing to be changed or recharged by midafternoon, but after a couple weeks of daily use I've been going 14+ hours on a single battery. Buying a backup battery is definitely a worthy investment though. Also, tone down the backlight just a touch to decrease battery consumption, but you don't need to keep turning the bluetooth on & off.

I also had a full system loss with a 3 foot fall onto carpet, so do be sure to backup the memory (not just syncing) with the sync software.

Beyond that, I love this PDA phone. It may be a bit bulky/heavy, but to get this screen size, you have to sacrifice a bit; if you take into account the fact it can replace your current cell phone and pda and pager, it's actually light on your belt!

(And BTW, it DOES have a speakerphone - press and hold the green "answer" button to activate it during a call!)

I now have had this product for two months. I migrated from T-Mobile's (same manufacturer HTC) to the new platform. I loved the old one, and they have made the new one even better.

Strong points:

It can be used with one hand! Impossible with the previous model, this one sports new buttons that allows one hand usage (Windows, Mail, Explorer, and OK buttons).

It has blue tooth, and it works great with Jabra headsets. I have not found a way to use the Jabra for other than phone usage. It would have been really nice if you could listen to music cordlessly too!

It has has a built in Camera. Not the best, but I used it to capture my whiteboard before erasing it, and the pictures are readable.

Bright Screen. The old one was bright enough that you could used it as a temporary light to find your way in dark areas (say in the garage)!! this one is brighter and colors are much better.

Fast Verizon broadband. OK, so it is not a real broadband, but it comes darn close to being one. Even with the limited space, I have pulled maps from Google, searched internet, and synchronized with outlook. It costs $49 but works. Similar packages from TMobile and Cingular are much better priced and do not work.

The SD card slot is now moved from the bottom of the unit to the top and is less likely to fall off.

The weaknesses:

The battery. It runs low much faster when blue tooth is enabled. I opted for the car charger, it was a good choice.

The sound Volume. It is too low. Try to catch the call in a semi crowded area, it is next to impossible. Enter the Jabra blue tooth headset. it vibrates and is louder than the earpiece on the phone. The speaker phone works very well too. You will need the car charger!


Overall I am very pleased with this device. Verizon has a $99 package that includes the car charger, a leather case, and the Jabra headset. They also discounted the phone $100 when I added the unlimited internet access ($49). There is not time limit and I could cancel that plan the next day, still enjoying the $100 discount. clearly priced to move, I highly recommend this PDA phone.

I use a cellphone for my primary phone and the xv6600 wasn't for me. It has a lot of wonderful features, such as easy, reliable internet browsing, pocket word and excel and a nice large screen. Since this was my first PDA, I found it distressing that there was no manual issued with it, nor was the accompanying CD Rom of any help. They tell you NOTHING. I tried to download the manual from my desktop 3 times. Nothing. I'm certainly no IT guy, although I do use a computer every day and am able to navigate smoothly through most issues. Everything I tried to download was a nightmare. I had the phone for fourteen days and did not once hear it ring, although I received many calls. They say that you need to download another ring tone and it will be louder....buy why? It bothers me that a device with this price tag needs to be 'messed' with before it will function properly. In order to efficiently use it, you'll have to use the stylus, so don't expect to be able to walk around and dial. It does have a really nice QWERTY keyboard that slides out, but it literally takes two hands to open. Very rough. The pda synched with my computer really well and I was able to e mail and work with few problems. The phone does freeze quite a bit, which was distressing. I would open my 'start' menu and it would scroll uncontrollably for up to fifteen minutes. Battery life was fine for me because I don't HAVE to work remote, but if I absolutely needed to, it would have been bad. I didn't mind the bulkiness because of all of the options it carries, however, if you keep it in your bag or pocket, it turns on all kinds of programs. Someone said they received a message from me and it was five minutes of me talking to my DOG.....and I never called them!! Okay, sure, I talk to my dog (you know you do)but it's a little scary that my phone was making calls on it's own. I'm glad it didn't call my boss. I read in a review that you can lock the phone so it can only be turned on by the power button, but it irritates me that I had to read that in a review instead of looking through the product manual that it doesn't come with. I also found out that it has a speakerphone, but I read that online as well. Basically frustrating and cumbersome. I rated it three stars, because if you are willing to navigate it, it has some very helpful programs, etc...but as a primary phone (I spent five minutes trying to beep someone into my building) it's not worth it. I took it back and got a $99.00 LG cell phone that I'm twice as happy with.

I have been using PDA's since 1997 and so far this has been one I have used to date. The integration of the phone with the PDA allows me to carry just one device instead of two. The XV6600 is not much bigger than my most current PDA, the HP iPAQ 2215, so to me, it feels fine in my pocket.

This does not have wi-fi, but has not been a problem since I also purchased Verizon's EVDO wireless data service. I have to say that the Internet has been fantastic!! It's faster than dialup and not much slower than my home DSL connection. So the lack of wi-fi has not been a problem for me. I purchased the combined voice and data package for $79.99 a month and includes 450 minutes on the voice plan. It seems a bit pricey, but I have a corporate discount of 20% of the plan, so it makes the monthly payment a little more bearable.

Also, the Bluetooth radio has been working great. I have been able to pair it up with no problem to my Plantronics BT320 headset and my Navman 4410 GPS receiver at the same time.

The one thing I would recommend getting is Microsoft Voice Command 1.5. It makes the whole experience much more enjoyable!! The only problem is that it does work through my Bluetooth headset since the device itself does not support it.

Phone quality has been pretty good. I will say that the volume on the speakerphone and the headset are a little bit on the low side, but not so bad that I can't hear it. I would recommend that you try this first before purchasing.

Overall, I love the XV6600 and would highly recommend it to anyone.