Audiovox has done quite well with these 3 new phones. I had a chance to test the 9100 about a year ago before it was being released, I've only played with the 9150 (the 1xRTT version of the 9100), and I am now testing the 9155GPX (same as the 9150 with GPS in it for E-911 use).

To start off these phones look great. They resemble the previous 9000 model but are smaller and lighter. They also come with faceplates that you can change to personalize your phone. They are somewhat lighter than any previous model. You can put this phone in a pocket without feeling uncomfortable, although you will not forget it is there.

The menu remains similar to previous Audiovox phones made by Toshiba (3000, 4000, 4500, 9000), with little or no difference. Any user who is used to one of these phones will easily transition to the 91XX model phones, but new users will find the menu simple enough to adapt quickly. The phones have a 4 way navigation key set in the middle of the phone, with the right side accessing the menu, the left side accessing the phone book, and the up and down arrows controlling the headset/speaker volume. There are also 2 soft keys that correspond to words at the bottom of the screen. From idle these buttons correspond to redial on the left, and web on the right. These will change as you use the phone in different ways.

The 9100 comes with a 1 way speaker built into the phone. 1 way speaker means that you can hear without holding the phone up to your ear, but you must still speak into the microphone. This I found few uses for, in fact the only use that I found during a call was that it made it easier to listen to voicemail, especially when driving. For the newer 9150 model Audiovox saw the benefits of the 2 way speaker phone, and found a way to fit it into the future models, so both the 9150 and 9155 GPX have 2 way speakers. A big positive about having this speaker is that the phone rings through it. The 15 available ring tones sound great through the external speaker, and the volume is definitely loud enough for people who may use the phone in a somewhat loud environment (This is something that I complain about with just about every phone I use, so I was very happy with the ring through the speaker!). On the other hand, if you need the phone to be silent, it also comes with a vibrate option, so it provides the best of both worlds... turn the volume up when in loud areas and don't worry about not hearing it ring, or when you can't have your phone ring, put it on vibrate and still get your calls. I can't stress how happy I was with this ringer... I actually found myself turning the ring volume down. I have never had to do this.

The battery life for these phones is a bit above average. I am a very heavy cellular user, I can wear batteries down multiple times a day, and this one I was happy with. At some times I found myself charging on the way home, but only really needing to charge at night. This also makes me very happy.

So far we have a phone with a great ringer and great battery... it gets even better. The phone works extremely well, even in poor signal areas. Many times throughout the day I find myself in an area where I may have only 1 bar of signal, and sometimes no bars whatsoever. With 1 bar of signal I found sending and receiving calls and SMS messages no problem. I did notice a bit of a delay receiving SMS messages when there were no bars of signal, but to my surprise I was still able to send calls and SMS messages, so apparently the signal strength indicator is not quite accurate, but it's better to be off in this manner, rather than showing good signal when it really is only marginal. Now on the topic of signal strength there is one little footnote. The antenna on this phone is overly large. The antenna is actually longer than the phone... I really see no need for this, when it is pulled out it really reminds me of a fishing pole. Well, under normal circumstances there is almost no need to pull the antenna out, but it is worth noting.

Speaking of SMS messages... I found the system very easy to use. Audiovox utilizes the T9 predictive text entry, which I have lately become a big fan of. It makes it easy to type whatever you have to say without having to press multiple buttons multiple times. You will also see nice little displays on the screen when you're sending your message (if that interests you..?) and you will also get a confirmation notice which is a nice touch. Whenever you send a message, a copy is saved in your outbox which you can always access just by pressing the envelope key. This also comes into use when you receive a message, you just hit the envelope, select inbox, and then select the message you want to read. Very simple and straightforward.

That covers the over all usage of the phone... now on to something more important to many. The phonebook. The phonebook is just like that of any of the previous model Audiovoxes. I don't know why, but they continue to store the numbers in numeric order.. Speed dial 1 then 2, then 3. This really bothers me since I'm a Motorola freak, and I'm used to the phone book being in alphabetical order. You can only store 1 phone number per entry (still stuck on the Motorola thing), so being in numeric order you may be searching for quite some time before you come to the right number. Especially if you're like me and have no idea what number you store people at. You can search the phone book if you think this feature works for you. I've never had much luck with it, but I suppose if you hit search, then begin to type in the name you can pull up what you're looking for that way.

To wrap it up... The difference between the 3 phones and which I would recommend to who. First of all, they are all CDMA phones, so AT&T is out, Voicestream is... any company that is not CDMA is out. The big companies you will see promoting these phones are Verizon, Alltel, and Sprint (At least in my area). The phone is Tri-Mode 800Dig/Analog and 1900 PCS. This allows you to take part in the National Plans that are offered, or Verizon's growing America's Choice Plan. So, depending on what you're looking for from your phone here is what I would recommend. To make it easy, if you want one of these phones immediately, the only one available is the 9100. The other 2 have not been released to the public yet. The only thing the other 2 will offer you is a quicker connection to the internet. This is not quicker or more advanced mobile web on the handset, but a quicker connection when using the phone as your modem for our computer. So if this is not you, the 9100 is fine (and will probably be much cheaper). Now the only difference between the 9150 and the 9155GPX is that the 9155 GPX offers a GPS service so that 911 dispatchers can use the GPS satellite systems to track the user (or at least the phone) within a couple feet of its exact location. This is something that the FCC is pushing for right now because 911 must rely to heavily on user description of where they are, and the lengthy process of the cellular provider tracking information on specific calls, which is very ineffective. It is the way of the future, but depending on what you need from your service you may not want to part with the extra $$$. I know I wouldn't. Understand this: THE GPS SYSTEM IS ONLY FOR 911 DISPATCHERS. THIS PHONE WILL NOT TELL YOU WHERE YOU ARE OR HELP YOU IF YOU ARE LOST. It may be possible in the future to have a setup where you can get directions based on where you are with an operator who can track you with the GPS system, but that's not available right now.

Anyway, I think that covers it. If you have any other questions feel free to email me, or post the question in response to this review.

2 Thumbs up for each of these new Audiovox creations!


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): NA