A few more points not yet brought up
Written: Dec 15 '03
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Pros: Solid construction and great signal strength. Feels good to use.
Cons: Lack of side controls. Extra battery or headset required for > 60 min/day talk time.
The Bottom Line: Great phone for many. Tough, durable, and able to access web/email while on the go. The battery life is the trade off for the great color display.
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| lonesheep's Full Review: Audiovox CDM 9500 Cell Phone |
When I started writing this review I was listing all the features and describing everything like the others reviews here. But I got tired of the duplicity and decided to just highlight the unique things that I noticed. So, please read one other review to get the full scoop.
First there was a little disagreement on the battery life. It maybe fine for a phone with a big color monitor, but I couldn't live with this phone if I hadn't purchased the extended life battery. The extended life battery came with a new cover so it integrates in with the phone while adding an additional 1/8" thickness out the back.
If I only used my 3 minute "Hi honey, I'm coming home now" call, then the battery is no big deal. But on those days when I spend about 3 - 20min calls talking to clients, I have to plug in for a bit at home before going out to dinner if I want any evening use.
I did find that if I plugged in the hands-free headset in and closed the phone (shutting off the color screen) then I had more than double the battery life. (Phone engineers, why don't you shut the screen off after un-use??? not just the backlight...) -- Ok, enough of the battery musings.
Durability? Yes, definitely. After dropping it on to concrete from 6 feet more than once the phone still works like a champ. And I too like the construction of the hinge for the flip top, it has a solid feel and snap to it that makes it fun to use.
Signal strength?
Very good. I live where my providers signal strength is weak. My wife's phone always looses connection at home, but my trusty Audiovox CDM 9500 hangs on just enough and I can talk and rarely drop a call.
Extra Features...
As expected this phone has a good selection. This is what I found boring to re-list. Any spec sheet can tell you them. What I found useful was the alarm feature and the ability to change the Ringtone used for the alarm. I now use my phone for my alarm clock. See, I sleep sound and get used to the tone of my alarm after about a week. So, even a loud alarm doesn't work. I have finally found an Alarm that wakes me. When I really need to get up in the morning, I just change the ringtone for my Alarm on my phone, and the new sound catches my attention in the morning.
I also like setting different tones for different callers, It is nice to know who is calling from 20 feet away.
Whets negative about this phone?
Besides the battery life, I have to really think. Oh yah.
I set my phone to auto answer when I open it. But, if don't want to answer the phone for whatever reason, I have to let it keep ringing because to silence the ringer I would have to open it. So, side controls for volume would have been the icing on the cake of this great phone.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 165
Recommended for: Adventurous Technophiles - Tough and Durable
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Epinions.com ID:
lonesheep
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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