Audiovox CDM-9900
Average Ratings
Mediocre phone - am returning it
From the raves for this phone I can only assume that we all have different needs and that many of you are having them met. I am taking the phone back because it fails -- as a phone.
I use cameras for pictures and find my entertainment elsewhere than through ringers and wallpaper. So here are my grievances:
Cons:
The speakerphone is on the back, where you speak on the front. Senseless design, and the speaker is tinny. Those who love the speaker...welll, I don't know what they're comparing, but my prior Audiovox 8900 was much better on this count. This is a comedown.
The voice activation software is failing about 30+% of my voice calls. My prior phone never failed. I speak clearly and articulate well, so its them, not me. If you make any change of inflection or any other nuance, the call fails.
The call history is a major regression. In a world of voicemail we all make many calls to reach a person. Audiovox made a big improvement with the 8900, which only recorded a call once, despite repetitions. For this one, call home 4 times and no one's there? You'll have your home number listed each time. It's a mess.
The text messaging feature is too complicated. If you read a message and go back to it later to reply, you can't reply because it's saved. Dumb.
In summary, Audiovox is a disorganized company, with many software features in past phones being rejected in favor of regressions to older models.
The battery life is significantly below posted estimates.
You can't open it with one hand - the hinge is too stiff.
Pros:
Yes the screen is beautiful and large. But it's a phone, not a TV.
The feel in the hand is good and I like the larger size.
Dial buttons are easy to differentiate.
Audiovox 9900
I have owned this phone for three days so far a friend of mine bought it and when I heard that they were supposed to be increasing the price of this phone on the 12th I decided to jump on the low price of 49.99 so far the phone seems to be a pretty well constructed phone feels solid. I read the specs on the phone and how it is supposed to have a very long talk time as well as standby time. So far I have tested the talk time and you get about 2hrs and 20 mins talk time. the standby time has yet to still be tested. The battery life is so long because all the screens on the phone go blank when you are not using the phone or when you have connected your call.
Pros:
Camera phone, video phone capabilities,price before Oct 12, very loud when using headset or speaker phone which works great when you are in the car at higher speeds and traffic, you can leave it plugged in over night to be charged and it will stop when fully charged.
Cons
The handset earpiece has a sweet spot like the motorola t720 if you don't hold it exatly you can't hear the person on the other end, The call quality sometimes is a little jittery almost analog, you have video and camera phone but verizon charges extra for use of these features for you and who ever you send these files to,(Verizon has to get on the ball and start including these features like Sprint and Tmobile instead of being the evil empire and forcing it's subscriber base to limited service with surcharges for everything), the voice dialing button is on the inside and you have to hold it down a few secs before speaking the persons name.
The verdict good phone with many features but the verizon service cripples it's capabilities without everyone having the added services. Unless you want to take pics and video and send it to your self! I have 10 more days to decide does it stay or does it go? Hopefully someone from Verizon reads this!!!!
AWESOME! THE BEST PHONE OUT!
As a Verizon Sales Manager... To sum it up... GET THIS PHONE. I traded up my A670 and I am loving life. Get this phone with Verizon as your carrier and you will have your cake and eat it too!
NO audible alert for missed calls.
I was testing this seemingly great phone after my new Motorola V710 kept dropping calls. This phone seemed perfect. SEEMED I say, because after I missed a few calls and the phone failed to alert me, I started digging into the manual. GUESS WHAT! It has no setting to audibly remind me that I missed a call. I dont care how great a phone is - including my friends' phones...if the phone can't audibly remind me with a beep that I missed a phone call - then the phone is useless to EVERYONE. Sure the phone will beep nicely if a voice mail or everything else under the sun is missed, but NOT FOR A SIMPLE MISSED CALL. The phone goes back to verizon tomorrow.
Ok Phone
This weekend I was upnorth in Kalkaska, Michigan on a Motorcycle trail ride. While riding in the state forest I came across a group of people huddled around a person so I stopped and asked do you need a cell phone. They all yelled YES! I gave them my v710 which was holding 2 bars digital in the forest and we were able to call 911 and get the EMTs out there to help. The e911 chip did no good as Kalkaska 911 was not e911 ready (They had not been given the money for upgrade yet). When I was leaving I found that 2 people there had cell phones that had no signal and this was why they needed mine. Which phones you ask, Nextel i710 and the other was the new cdm9900. V710 is not so bad after all!!
Good phone. But not as good as I thought.
A couple days ago, I returned the LG4500 that I bought a week ago. The original phone I turned in was the Motorola V60i. I really was pretty happy with the 4500, but I wanted newer technology. After reading the reviews on this site, I was convinced to give back the 4500 for the 9900.
I won't waste time on the pros. I basically concur with what has already been written. I just thought it would be helpful to others to point out (or stress) a couple cons.
1. Speakerphone doesn't work when closed
-this had been pointed out already, but I didn't consider as much as I should have due to it only being mentioned 1-2 times out of 20+ reviews.
2. There is no VAD button on the outside of the phone.
-this one is VERY significant to me. most of my phone use in the car has always been done w/out taking the phone out of it's pouch (using a hands free device). With my v60i or the 4500, I could hit the VAD button on the outside of the phone (while it is closed in it's pouch), and say a name (or say a few commands on the 4500). I guess I'll have to get more of a fixed setup in the car, where I'll snap the phone in place somewhere, and leave it open. Either way, it is a step in the wrong direction for me.
3. The GetItNow tones and games are scarce.
-The 4500 I had for a week had 6+ companies to choose from for tones, and had VARIOUS games--- recent ones. The 9900 has 2 companies for tones (none of which provides digital audio), and VERY few games-- games like Tetris?!?!
I figure they're just a little behind with the GetItNow software, and hopefully I'll have all the choices I want in the next month.
The phone is good overall, but we're all different. The VAD issue I pointed out happens to be kind of critical for me. I thought it would be good to make others aware that are reading these reviews.
