Can We Talk?
Written: Aug 04 '02 (Updated Aug 05 '02)
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Pros: Lightweight, web-enabled, clarity, blt-in speakerphone, inexpensive
Cons: Flimsy antenna, somewhat difficult navigation on web and address book
The Bottom Line: I'm tempted to give this phone five stars, and may eventually do just that in an update. Time will tell.
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| kiminnc's Full Review: Audiovox 9155GPX Cell Phone |
BACKGROUND: Before I plunge into my review on the Audiovox 9155GPX Tri Mode 1X CDMA Phone, you should first know a little about me and my particular needs and criteria in choosing a cellular phone. I’ve had a cell phone for the past 7 years and don’t use it very often. I’m a mother and have been in college for the large portion of these 7 years, and simply wanted a way for childcare providers to reach me if something was wrong with my kids. I also wanted a cell phone to be able to call for help if my car broke down. I don’t make many casual calls like “Have we already seen this video?” or “Do you want chicken or pizza for dinner tonight?” I also don’t make a lot of business related calls like “I’m running late for my 4:00 appointment, can he see me at 4:30?” or “What will the late fee be if I pay my bill tomorrow?” I’ve had 2 cell phones in the past 7 yrs. and have been happy with my service at Verizon, but my cell phone was so big and bulky it looked like one of those old-fashioned 2 way radios. The battery life was non-existent, rendering my phone obsolete. I didn’t know diddlysquat about cell phones, but knew that I needed a new one if I was going to continue with the cell phone service.
TO MARKET, TO MARKET: Before I went shopping, I got on the internet and began gathering information to see if I even NEEDED a cell phone, and if so, what type of phone and service I needed. One site had a cell phone quiz, which asked some questions about usage and personality (?) It then gave recommendations on what it deemed the five best phones for me. The results were the Nokia 8260, a couple of Panasonics, an Ericksson, and a Sanyo. One thing I listed as a priority was a small-sized phone, as I was sick and tired of schlepping around a big phone. Another feature I was looking for was “ease of use”. Because I keep my phones so long, I wanted a long battery life and updated communications capability. Last, but not least, I wanted a fairly inexpensive phone. I was willing to pay up to about $80 and no more! From my reading on this topic, it was suggested that one should shop for the wireless service FIRST, and THEN shop for the phone. So before I fell in love with a phone, I wanted to make sure I got a service I was happy with.
There is a Radio Shack right around the corner from me, so I decided to start there. They carried a little, tiny, Sprint flip phone (my friend had one of these, and they easily fit in your pocket!) that I’d seriously considered. I had discounted the idea of buying a phone and then buying a calling card because the minutes cost a lot more and I’m sure I’d forget to buy new cards. This would completely defeat the “emergency” use. The salesman there was so nice and helpful --- actually TOO NICE!! Basically, he advised me that if I was satisfied with the service from Verizon, I should check them out because I could save the activation fee if I was already a customer. I walked out a little confused and pondering the commission structure at RadioShack, as I trundled down to the Verizon store.
This Verizon store was the same store where I’d purchased my current phone. What was REALLY weird, was that the manager and the salesperson were the same ones that had been working there 3+ years ago!! The manager helped me, and he’s a real soft-sell type guy. What I’d learned from the communications information I’d found on cell phones is this:
Analogue – Antiquated, but sometimes the only available service in rural areas.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) - A digital service that is fairly widely used these days and identifies its users by individual codes.
TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) – Shared cellular channels by time intervals (kind of on its way out, but still widely used in many popular phones such as the Nokia 8260).
So what does all this mean in “real life”? Talk to me like I'm 5 yrs. old!! The manager at Verizon explains it this way:
In North Carolina (my state), there are still a lot of rural areas where only analogue signaling is available. If I’m worried about my car breaking down in a rural area of North Carolina, I would want to consider a phone that has the capability of transmitting analogue. Scenes from “Deliverance” are running through my mind. Okay, I am!! Add this to the list of “need to have”.
Now for the CDMA/TDMA conundrum………Hmmmm. Seems that if TDMA is falling out of favor for the digitally enhanced CDMA, than I need to go with CDMA! He shows me a several phones that offer the “Tri-mode” feature. In other words, these phones have all three communications capabilities. Okay!! Sounds like a good idea, but I bet it’s gonna’ cost me!! I weed out all the phones that seems to big and bulky, and then all the phones that are out of my price range, and finally come down to the Kyocera QCP 3035e and the Audiovox 9155GPX. Both of these phones will cost about $49 (new) with a 1 yr contract. The Audiovox has a vibration feature and a built-in speakerphone with voice recognition that the Kyocera doesn’t have, so the Audiovox wins out. Another decision breaker is that the Kyocera isn’t as ergonomic and is a little heavier and longer. I know that this sounds crazy, but the Kyocera had an "angry" look about it. Both have web-browsers, which I decided I really needed to have (look in the dictionary under: compulsive behavior). I knew that this was a lark, but what the heck! It would be nice replacement for the 4-inch thick yellow pages in my back seat and I DO use e-mail a lot. With the WAP feature (web enabled), I could catch up on my email while sitting in waiting rooms. After deliberating over the “local” calling package and the “national” package, I finally opt for the national (knowing that I probably won’t need a lot of long distance calling capability, but that it will make my husband happy). Additionally, I purchased a battery-charging adapter that plugs into my lighter for about $17.
OPERATOR, GIVE ME PENNSYLVANIA 6-5000!: Okay, let the games begin!! I’ve never been a “cell phone” person and could hardly even remember my number most of the time. Now, I’m sitting on a rocket and have no idea what I’m doing. Here are the features and specs for the Audiovox 9155GPX:
· Tri Mode 800 MHz Amps, 800 MHz CDMA, 1900 MHz CDMA
· 1xRTT Compatible*
· MSM5100 Chipset
· WAP Browser: UP 4.1*
· Data Capable (up to 144kbps)*
· GpsOne
· Multilingual - English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
· Caller ID*
· Enhanced Speed Dialing
· E911 Call
· 7 Line Display with Adjustable Text Size
· 11 Melody Ringer / 4 Ringtone Selections
· Memory Alpha Scroll and Search
· Enhanced Phone Book with 99 Name and 297 Number Memory
· Voice Activated Dialing
· 2 Way Short Message Service*
· T9 Text Input
· 2 Way Speakerphone
· Vibrating Alert
· Three Way Calling*
· TTY Capable*
· Voice Mail Notification*
· 5 inches x 1.8 inches x .8 inches
· Weighs 3.8 ounces
(I got these specs from the Audiovox Home Page at http://www.audiovox.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/product_mainpage.d2w/input?prrfnbr=1306761)
First, I wanted to check out the menu. The Audiovox 9155GPX menu button is located in the center of the phone just under the read out window and this is the launching button for most of the features. I’m not going to go into great detail about the mechanics of this phone, but let’s just say that this menu button allows you to look up phone numbers, get on the web, program different types of rings, program voice-recognition for speaker phone, etc. This phone doesn’t have games as I have no need for them. The Audiovox 9155GPX has 15 different “melodies” for rings, that range from familiar classical pieces to more contemporary tunes. The menu button is fairly large and easy to operate.
The phone book feature is a tad cumbersome. Phone numbers can be assigned by name (storage for 99) or they are assigned a number (storage for 297). For phone numbers with assigned numbers, such as 1,2,3, 4, etc., you either have to remember the number assignment or go through a somewhat tedious task of scrolling for it. I decided that I’m going to use the voice activation to avoid this. Programming voice activation for phone numbers is a simple task requiring just a couple of button pushes and verbally announcing the name of the person into the microphone. If I decide to call my children’s school, all I have to do is put the phone into the speaker mode and say the name of the school and it will dial the number. Nice, huh? I guess it’s best to have a system for voice retrieval, like always using first names or last names, or some other consistent pattern.
The Web feature is kind of cool, but I’m still in learning phases on this feature. It’s really pretty easy to retrieve e-mail, but the web browsing is a little trickier. I think that this feature will improve over time, but right now it’s a little clunky. This phone doesn’t have the enhanced, rich, graphics, it’s a text-based browser. The problem is that you have to scroll and scroll to get to what you’re looking for. In reality, I probably won’t use this feature a lot (but I kind of knew that when I bought the phone).
The vibration feature is nice, and I wish I’d had this in my old phone. It would have been great to have the subtlety of a vibration over a ringer when I was taking college courses. It’s very embarrassing to have your phone ringing in the middle of a lecture. It’s also very easy to summon this feature (a button press or two). My husband thinks it’s sexy to picture me using the vibration feature (sigh).
The built-in speakerphone makes it possible to talk hands free while your phone is sitting on the seat next to you. I LOVE this feature and it will probably be the way I use this phone all the time. I’m easily distracted I’m afraid, and have avoided using my phone while driving to prevent an accident. With this feature I’ll feel a lot more comfortable talking and driving.
The Audiovox 9155GPX also has the E911 feature, which allows emergency rescue operations to locate you if you are in trouble. Hmmm…….will I WANT to be located? My husband likes this feature though (wink). I really HOPE I won't ever need to use this feature, but I’m glad it’s there anyhow.
I read some reviews on this phone AFTER purchasing it, and it seems that most people are happy with the clarity of sound found in the Audiovox 9155GPX. I haven’t had a chance to really test its limits, but will be vacationing in an iffy digital area soon, so I’ll soon find out. Just for local calls, the clarity is awesome!! This phone also has caller ID, but don’t they all now? I haven’t done a whole lot of callbacks from caller ID numbers yet, so I can’t comment on this phone’s effectiveness in that area. Am I, perhaps, unpopular??
The battery life is advertised by Verizon as up to 150 hours standby (Digital) and up to 125 minutes talk time(Digital). Both the guy at RadioShack and the manager at Verizon claim these estimates to be very conservative. I haven't yet tested either usage or battery life to it's fullest extent yet, but I'm sure that I will eventually. I'm always lousy at keeping my phone charged. I believe these times listed are average or even better than average than most phones in this price range.
YEAH, BUT IS IT CUTE?: Mmmmm……this phone isn’t as cute or stylish as a lot of others. It does have a couple of faceplate colors that can be purchased separately, but they’re nothing special – just different colors. I’ve heard that they’re a bit tricky to change out. I’m perfectly happy with the brushed metal, “granite” color faceplate that the phone came with. This phone doesn’t have the “quality” feel of the Motorolas, but it does feel sturdy for being a smaller phone. Nothing “flips” on this phone, it’s a basic, exposed, interface. The keys are big enough to manage, and it has a choice of blue or amber for the read out window. To be honest, I haven’t attempted to change the blue color to amber – I kinda’ like blue :) There is a retractable antenna, but already, the antenna doesn’t want to stay extended. This could pose a problem and I may have to look into this. Some of the phones I’d tried were so tiny they felt awkward. At 3.8 ounces, this phone is almost featherweight compared to my old phone. It’s a little long to slip into your pocket at 5 in., but because it’s longer it feels more like a real phone! I am really happy with the appearance and feel of this phone. There’s nothing teenybopper about this phone’s appearance.
BOTTOM LINE: So far, I’m very happy with my Audiovox 9155GPX. I’m anxious to see how it performs in long distance travel and in more rural settings. I also have some more tinkering around to do with the web browser and phone book to fully appreciate all this phone has to offer. I’ll give you an update down the road to let you know how it’s holding up over time. For now? This is a feature-laden phone that is compact in size and weight and doesn’t cost a lot of money ($99 new without a service contract). Good clarity, enhanced web capability, voice programming and dialing, and the tri-mode prompt me to highly recommend this phone to anyone with needs similar to my own.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 49.99
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Epinions.com ID:
kiminnc
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Location: North Carolina
Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Too much of a good thing is wonderful!---Mae West
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