A great phone
Written: Dec 24 '01 (Updated May 20 '03)
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Pros: Lightweight, Good Call Quality, Good Price, fairly rugged
Cons: No key lock to prevent accidental calls, unintuitive web navigation
The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a solid digital phone and aren't concerned too much about web access, then this phone is a great buy.
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| jps246's Full Review: Audiovox CDM135 Cell Phone |
This phone is small enough to fit easily into almost anywhere, but not so small as to make it difficult to use when you would like to make a call. The screen is large enough to give you plenty of information (date and time on digital networks, voicemail alerts, missed call information, web access if you want it). The phone itself is pretty rugged and I have knocked it around quite a bit and found that it has continued to work without any problems. The only thing that has happened to the phone is that during one drop a small crack appeared in the view screen The keys are easy to read and are responsive to the touch. I do not find myself often dialing the wrong numbers or having to delete accidental numbers while I am dialing.
One very big problem I have found with the phone is that there is no key lock. I often have the phone in my pocket and almost everytime I pull it out and it has dialed some nonsense number or connected to the web. I never wanted the web access and I finally had to call Verizon and have them shut it off so I wasn't charged when I logged on. I explained the problem to them and they said that it happens fairly often - you would think that would tell Audiovox to put a key lock on the phone.
There are plenty of other options on the phone, even if the Key Lock option is missing. You can change the ringer type and volume, change the volume of your key punches, enter tons of phone numbers, track your missed calls, dialed calls and answered calls.
The missed call manager is a bit odd to use. When you miss a call, the screen will tell you (eg. "1 missed call") and to see what the call was you have to cancel out of that screen and go into your phone log, find which missed call it is, then punch that one so the information about the call comes up (phone number, time of call, etc...). I have voicemail so I don't bother with trying to figure out missed calls, if it is that important they will leave a message and I will get back to them. But the weird way to find out the information about a missed call is annoying since I am naturally curious to see who has called me in the past.
The phone is web enabled if you can stand using it. I received a three month trial with the phone when I got it and I probably tried using the web access 2 or 3 times. I just could stand using it. The screen does have space, but for web information, you are constantly scrolling to read more and the navigation while on the web is not always that easy. You can use yahoo messenger or other messenger services, but again, very hard to navigate and who wants to sit there trying to figure out which keys to press to get the right text. I wouldn't suggest this phone for someone who is looking for a phone just because it is web enabled.
Call quality on the phone is great, especially in areas of digital coverage. Without the digital coverage, quality is fair, but better than the average cell phone. I find myself using the this phone more often than my home phone while I am at home because the quality is comprable and I have strong digital coverage at the house.
For those worried about radiation waves...there is an antenna that extends out from the phone and away from your head. Much better than those phones with the built in phones.
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2/9/02 Update
I have found that there is a key lock on this phone. If you hold down the "#" key it will go into key lock mode. To get out of Key Lock you have to enter your password, which is the last 4 digits of your phone number. You can also put the phone into 'manner' mode which will cause it to vibrate when there is a call, instead of ringing. You can do this by holding down the "*" key. To put it back to the normal ring mode, just hold down the "*" again.
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Other Cell Phones I have reviewed:
LG VX4400 - http://www.epinions.com/content_100374122116
Nokia 5180 - http://www.epinions.com/content_10947432068
Motorola V120c - http://www.epinions.com/content_84884622980
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 29.99
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