Compatible with AT&T cell phone service, the Audiovox PPC 4100 Pocket PC phone is Audiovox's first GSM PDA phone. It features a 400 MHz XScale processor for top-flight speed, as well as a speakerphone, infrared capabilities, an SD card slot, MP3 player, and the all the Pocket Microsoft software you'd expect from a PDA, including Pocket Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Windows Media Player. All this is displayed on a very large 240 x 320 pixel, 65k color LCD screen.
Calling Features
Used simply as a phone, the 4100 features a touch screen and stylus for easy navigation to a variety of handy features, including speakerphone, a dedicated voice mail button, voice mail indicator, volume select/display, and signal strength indicator. You'll also get polyphonic ring tones, call restriction capability, a headphone jack, and more.
Messaging and Internet
When you want to get online, GPRS Class 10 functionality provides uninterrupted and very quick data transmission and seamless nationwide coverage. Navigation and connectivity is made even easier via the built in Pocket Internet Explorer browsing software. The 4100 also provides MMS text messaging and MSN Messenger capabilities.
Organizer
The real backbone of the 4100 is its PDA/organizer capabilities, which include a fully loaded package with Pocket Outlook, MSN Messenger, Pocket Internet Explorer, Transcriber, Pocket Word, Media Player 9, and Pocket Excel, as well as Terminal Services Client, Note Taker, Voice Recorder, Active Sync, and a standard calculator, calendar, and alarm reminder system. You can sync up your organizer data with your PC wirelessly via the infrared connection , using the included Microsoft ActiveSync software.
Fun and Games
For fun, the 4100 comes with an MP3 player with which you can download music from innumerable providers on the Web or directly from your computer's hard drive. You'll also get Microsoft Pictures editing software, and the games Solitaire and Jawbreaker.
Vital Statistics
The Audiovox PPC4100 weighs 6.16 oz. and measures 4.29 x 2.69 x 8.5 inches. Its Lithium Ion batteries are rated at 255 minutes minimum digital talk time, and 104 hours minimum digital standby time. It runs on GSM 800/1800/1900 MHz, using the Windows Mobile for Pocket PCs 2003 Phone Edition platform.
What's in the box
Audiovox PPC 4100 PDA phone, desktop cradle, and software
1 this is bad
I can't order this phone because the service plans or no good and if you call for help all you get is a run around. The plan for $39 is $85 and you can't change it. This is a trap and make you paid more. I wanted this phone but i can't get it because of the service plan.
2 Audiovox has terrible customer and technical support
Beware of Audiovox support. They are rude and are very stingy when it comes to the warranty. The charged me for repairs even though I had the phone only three months. The screen is good and the applications are wonderful but the phone is fragile.
3 Best phone ever made: It has ALL
Have been a regular pocket pc user for last few years. Carrying a pocket pc with a cell phone always made it troublesome for me and thus was looking for a phone which has both the capabilities. And I must say that I have found one !
Audiovox PPC 4100 is the phone of choice. After reading through the reviews, I thought that this phone is not worth buying and has its own hardware problems..but still went to buy this phone and I must say that this was my best decision.
Firstly, I liked the phone size. It is a very sleek phone (of course with Pocket PC capability) and thus fits into the shirt pocket very easily without popping out of the pocket. Screen size is big enough for reading emails, contacts, calander and notes. It is not bulky as my Pocket PC 3600.
Some of the features that I liked about this phone are:
1. Silent mode and ringtone mode
2. Pocket Internet Explorer
3. SD Card
4. Wireless connectivity (Infrared)
5. Stereo headsets
Product manual on the websites said that phone comes with only one stylus..but it came with 2 (which was kind of cool).
Adding a 1GB SD card makes this phone even a substitute for an IPOD (Though this phone may not hold 10,000 songs as IPOD but this is a PHONE...).
This phone is so convenient for use that one can check all emails (I can even connect to my office email server) and thus one can be connected even while travelling.
Amazon.com has $200 rebate on original price of $349.00 which makes this cool tool cost only $149 which is far less for a Pocket PC phone compared to i700 or HP phones. The phone is a tri band GSM phone and thus can be used anywhere in the world.
Phone comes with wonderful Microsoft Mobile OS 2003 which has very nice features. And if you are already a Pocket PC user, you will love this phone.
Business or personal..PPC 4100 suits all needs !
4 Works fine as phone & PDA
Two and a half months of use and I've been pretty happy.
Works fine when used as a regular phone (i.e. up to your ear) and the PDA features are very quick to operate, due to the very fast processor. I also really like it's small size, smaller than other PocketPC Phones I've seen out there. It's easily pocketable in a shirt or pants pocket.
Phone reception has been better than average, even internationally. Jotting down a note or opening a file while on the phone is a seamless operation. The PPC4100 comes with a lot of storage capacity and great screen. I've used it to watch videos and listen to music.
On the minus side, I wish it had a louder ring and louder volume in speakerphone mode. Also, I wish it had built in bluetooth and WiFi. But, for the price, it's an excellent value.
I'm very happy to not have to carry my phone AND separate PDA, anymore!
5 PPC4100 OK - AT&T Wireless Berry Berry Bad
WARNING, AT&T Wireless now ships the PPC4100 locked to their network. Audiovox can't unlock it and says their contract with AT&T Wireless requires them to ship only locked PPC4100's!
When this phone first came out it was shipped unlocked meaning that it could be used with any GSM carrier. I bought mine through AT&T Wireless, the carrier from Hell. I bought mine with service I wanted at my companies corporate rate . When it arrived I had to take it to a local AT&T office to get the SIM activated. They set up my account completely wrong. I didn't worry about it at the time because I had service and I assumed that customer service would easily straighten that out. NOT!!!!! I couldn't even get different customer service reps to agree on what my account was set up for much less get it changed to the service and rate I signed up for. I tried for over two months to work with AT&T Wireless but when I got a bill with roaming and long distance charges, which were included free under the plan I had agreed to, I had had it. I canceled the service and revoked their authorization to charge to my credit card. There's much more to all this but it's just more of the same crap.
I got T-Mobile service, inserted their SIM, and was good to go. The PPC4100 wasn't locked to AT&T Wireless. Unfortunately a month later the phone developed a screen problem so I sent it to Audiovox for repair under the warranty. No problem, Audiovox shipped me a new one immediately.
Guess what! The new PPC4100 is locked to AT&T Wireless and I can't get them to unlock it for love or money. Their customer service reps just pretend that that they don't understand my problem and keep running me around in circles. I took the phone to a local AT&T Wireless store and received no help which escalated to my standing outside the store to ask customers not to do business with AT&T Wireless. During all of this I did not significantly raise my voice, use profanity, make any threats of any kind, or any other inappropriate behavior.
The Mall security guards didn't see it that way. They arrived in time to hear me ask the first customer about to enter the store "please don't do business with AT&T Wireless". That is all I said but the mall rent-a-cops said that I was breaking the law and would arrest me if I didn't leave.
Wonderful service AT&T Wireless gave me isn't it! American Express is being very slow in disputing the AT&T Wireless charges against my card but as soon as that is settled I'm returning the phone and all the accessories I bought for it and buying a better PPC phone for about the same price. With service from T-Mobile of course.
6 Nice PDA, Poor Wireless Device
As the review title says, PPC4100 is a nice and compact PDA with quite an attractive look, but its a very poor wireless device, to say the least.
Because it comes with ATT Wireless thats notorius for bad GSM service (as I know), it made the matters worse and I didnt know whether to blame the carrier or the phone for such poor reception and signal, and terrible voice quality. Given that people DO use ATT Wireless in NY/ NJ without going nuts about it, I can only blame the phone for it.
Comes with Windows Pocket PC 2003 installed, fluid graphics and other good PDA features. Had to send mine back to Amazon.
7 What Audiovox has not fully disclosed in Ads
I am returning my phone without even using it for this reason: the manual advises against using it like a conventional phone.
In their 300 page User's Guide (p.27) it says, "unlike conventional cell phones, the PPC4100 is not designed to be held against the ear when the phone function is used. Holding the unit against your ear during phone use is contrary to the design of this product and is not recommended."
It goes on to explain the proper way to use their product, "Attach the single ear bud headset or enable the speakerphone during phone use."
It seems that the authors of the documentation went out of there way to avoid revealing just why.
I don't know about you but this re-definition of what a "cell phone" is seems like a grand imposition. Not only on the user but quite possibly the public too. Some users may choose to use the speaker phone in restaurants and other public places because their ear buds are tangled at the bottom of their pocket or purs.
I believe that not designing the "cell phone" to be used like a conventional cell phone is a basic flaw-in-concept.
Here is my take on all this:
Did the designers consciously choose to ignore real-world scenarios?
Maybe users have discovered they can indeed use it like a conventional cell phone, but how am I to know that.
The following unanswered questions lead me to return my purchase.
1.) Why did they choose not to design the phone to be used like a conventional cell phone?
* Was it really a flaw in their design, such as forgetting to make a button to disable the input screen when talking on the phone so one's cheek doesn't unknowingly erase or edit files? - If that's all they are protecting us from we all know how to work around that.
2.) What will happen if you try to use it like a conventional cell phone? Why don't they tell us so we can make the judgment? And why not tell us up-front so we can make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase the phone.
* Is the speaker unable to turn down low enough not to harm your ear?
* Is the antenna going to fry your brain?
* Will the side of your face brushing the touch-sensitive screen cause the phone to hang up on your friend or customer - or cause the phone to delete files on the phone?
* Will you drop the "phone" because it is not the usual phone shape?
* Will your skin oils or make-up rub off on the screen - and is that all the designers are concerned about?
All of the possibilities were suggested in discussion with the wirless provider and with an Audiovox representative. To be fair neither he nor the wireless provider was aware of the advisory until I directed them to the documentation.
8 Audiovox PPC 4100
Its been a great phone. I'm a professional pilot, crossing the US regularly. Its coverage using ATT&T has been far better then Sprint about equal or better then Verison. Its main flaw is it's messaging/voice messages. The phone rings once if you miss that one message prompt then the only clue you have a voice message waiting is visual. This means having to occassionally make a consious effort to look at the phone. I've missed several important timely messages!
