Step up to some serious power and svelte portability with the Audiovox SMT5600. At just 4.24 inches high and 1.82 inches wide, it's the world's smallest Windows Mobile Smartphone. In addition to making calls, the SMT5600 lets you do things you'd typically need a PC to do, like email, text messaging, instant messaging and web browsing-- all from one integrated phone. What's more, the unit's software is designed to sync seamlessly with email, contacts and calendar information on your PC. This Smartphone also ups the ante for mobile music and video lovers with Windows Media Player 10.
The SMT5600's Web browser is fully HTML compatible. Browse your favorite sites with ease. |
The "Today Screen" keeps tabs on all your important functions, tasks, and applications. |
DesignThe large 2.2-inch, 176 x 220 screen dominates the front of the device. The SMT5600's controls maximize available space on the small unit. A four-way selection button allows you to navigate and control the Windows Mobile interface. Up/down keys are located on the left side of the unit for quick menu navigation. A mini-SD card slot is housed in the battery compartment, underneath the unit's lithium-ion battery. The rear of the phone sports a VGA camera with video capture capability. A power key and infrared port are housed on the top of the unit, while a universal charger/data port and headphone jack are present on the bottom.
Calling Features
The SMT5600 has all the latest calling features folks have come to expect. The built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear. Voice activated dialing makes calling your friends, family and associates as easy as saying their names. The phone's Bluetooth connectivity means that your favorite Bluetooth headset is fully compatible.
Messaging, Internet and Tools
The SMT5600 is designed as a complete solution for people who want to bring their office with them. The unit comes packed with pocket versions of Outlook, Internet Explorer and MSN Messenger. Pocket Outlook features integrated calendar and email functions, as well as a contacts list that is cleverly integrated with the phone's dialing functions. Microsoft's ActiveSync software keeps the device synced with all of your PC's Outlook information (via Bluetooth, USB, or IR connection). Users who want Internet connectivity on the road with their laptop or PDA can select an AT&T Mobile Internet package and tap the SMT5600's wireless modem capabilities.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the MPx200 including a voice memo recorder, a calculator, a to-do list, and an alarm clock. T9 predictive text entry technology is also included.
Imaging and Entertainment
In addition to a VGA still camera, the SMT5600 is capable of recording video clips to its built-in 64 MB of memory. Memory can be upgraded to 256 MB via the mini-SD card slot. The inclusion of Windows Media 10 on the SMT5600 opens up a whole range of possibilities for this phone. Use the phone as an MP3 player. Discover and purchase more tunes via the Windows Mobile music store. Sync the device with Windows Media Player 10 on your PC to download last night's TV shows so you can watch them whenever you want. For gamers, the phone supports Java-based and Windows Mobile game downloads. It ships with Jawbreaker and Solitaire.
Vital Statistics
The Audiovox SMT5600 weighs 3.58 ounces and measures 4.24 x 1.82 x 0.69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of digital talk time, and up to 140 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
What's in the Box
Audiovox SMT5600, applications CD, stereo headset, travel charger, standard lithium-ion battery, user's manual.
1 The best phone available.
The combination of intelligent features, bluetooth, video/audio and Windows Media Player 10 make this the best phone and certainly the best SmartPhone available. With the addition of a 512 MB MiniSD card the phone will hold 34 hours of video.
The only complaints are the rocker button is difficult to click.
2 Best Phone ever had
Iam yet to test more functions on the phone. Big screen and more features. Video quality is good.
3 It rocks in everyway
This phone is really a look into the next gen convergence devices you will be seeing in the months to come. Speaker is loud, camera quality is good, gprs is strong, ATT reception in houston is as bad as most people say it is. The only (im being really picky) thing missing is a querty keyboard. However it is well compensated by the great nokia style (maybe even better) T9 typing.
4 Its really that good but....
Let me first tell you that i have researched this phone high and low..
Yes, it is really as good as cheap as it sounds! It has everything....Camera, Bluetooth, IR, USB, Windows Mobile 2003....one GREAT advantage over its strong competitor Mpx 200 is...the miniSD goes in the back which to me is an advantage...who wants a memory card sticking out from the side > Mpx 220
frankly, theres nothing out at there at this price with so many features but let me tell you to keep the following things in mind which collectively made me return the phone.
1. This is a tri-band (forget what all the websites claim that this is quad-band, its not)
2. The phone is great but it is cheap plastic...within 3 days just moving it in and out of pockets scratched the screen with 3-4 scratches..i am very careful not to throw it around or slide it across surfaces but it is very susceptible to getting scratches
3. Im not sure why people complain about this but yes..it has an average quality 640x480 camera, to me this is an emergency snap device, not a carl zeiss quality camera
4. This is a problem with Windows Mobile, not this phone but ofcourse you have to live with the OS in the phone...the more apps you're running ..the slower the phone becomes since they're still in the memory...you have to constantly go to task manager and close them to free memory..just closing an app while using it DOES not close it...it just minimizes it
5. Finally, i absolutely hated the idea of putting in my calendar every day by pressing keys 3 times till i got my letter..if your PRIMARY purpose is data/email, you CANNOT live without a keyboard on the phone...
So far...i still have not found a sub $200 keyboard phone with comparable features of this phone...the hunt goes on :)
5 Best phone I've had yet
Let me just say first off how small and light this phone is. I've had clamshell phones that weigh the same, without the spetacular features this phone has. I love how PDA-ish this phone is without the bulkiness and excess software that regular PDA's come with. I can connect to my Lotus Notes server without a hitch, and surf the internet beautifully. The only drawback is the interference. If you have this phone anywhere near speakers, you'll get some buzzing. Highly recommmend this phone to anyone who wants advanced features.
6 SMT5600 and RF Inteference
I'm surprised no one has commented on RF interference caused by the phone. When I turn it on in presence of my desktop I hear all sorts of static, buzz and other noise (in my desktop speaker system) while it initializes. Also have had trouble with the phone interferring when using various speaker phones in conference rooms. One person that has one said that when he turned his phone ON in a during a conference call it caused lots of noice and RF static to the point that the speakerphone line hung up.
Sort of makes you concerned about the RF safety of this device.
Bob
7 small yet feature-packed
As the other reviews state, this phone is absolutely awesome! Despite being compact, it does everything it says it does, and it does them well. One of the few early smartphones that got a lot more things right, than wrong.
The only problem is the rocker nav button is a bit sloppy sometimes, and the camera does not have a flash, so pictures in dark dont turn out as well.
Wait for the SPVc550 in May...
8 The Best Smartphone Available
The 5600 is without a question the best smartphone on the market as of now. It is the only phone to house WMP 10 which is a great plus for music and video. The speed is quite amazing and all the software that it comes with such as photo contacts is a plus as well. The screen resolution is as good if not better then that of a pocket pc. The only problem that I have with the phone is the fact that the mini sd card is under the battery. Therefore, you must take out the battery in order to put the mini sd card in its slot. However, it does not bother me that much because using programs like Pocket Divx Encoder, I can watch 4 full movies on my phone with perfect sound and quality. This really is an entire multimedia center in your pocket! The bluetooth works like a charm and its quite fun to set your own MP3's as your ringtone. ATT's service is quite great around me and if you are looking for your next smartphone or phone in general, with such a low price I would not look any further then the Audiovox SMT 5600!
9 Great Phone for budget oriented people.
Got the phone a few days ago and its the best ey candy thing I have ever got in my pocket. Very slick yet powerpacked. Ringtones are not adequate/abundance in terms of variety but I can use any from my PC (thanks to the supplied PC Sync chord).
Biggest gripe is however its small size which is at the same time its biggest plus point. Keys are quite small and the 4 way joystick can be reall pain to use at times.
ATT service is pretty bad in my area and so I have hard time getting quality voice transmission from my apartment.
Amazon usually slap you with a 30 dollar data plan with certain plans. I would say, get it even with this bummer. All you have to do is call ATT customer service and cancell your data plan. You will be just fine without plan.
10 Great Phone
This is a great device. I was a little skeptical about the Windows environment on a cellphone, but very intuitive and easy to use.
I moved my SIM from an Ericsson T610 and this phones beates that one in all aspects, battery life, functionality, RF / radio etc.
Great formfactor, much more like a phone with add on PDA functionality than a bulky PDA that can make phone calls
Display is also fantastic!
11 Great phone, little to complain about.
I've had this phone for about a month now, and so far am happy with it. The few things that bother me about it and bump it down to 4 stars:
1. The speakerphone is not loud enough.
2. Same with the ringtones. With the ring volume set all the way up, I cannot hear it ringing over the car radio, which I don't have all that loud.
3. I didn't expect to, but I like the case that came with it, with one exception. I'm OK with the fact that you need to keep the keypad locked when the phone is in the case, because this type of case constantly puts pressure on the buttons. The problem is that when you receive a call, the buttons to accept or reject the call become activated, and several times the "reject" button has been inadvertantly pressed by the act of taking the phone out of the case.
Note: I did not buy the phone from Amazon because I was not willing to commit to the $29.99/month data plan that they force you into. I paid more for the phone elsewhere, but did not get stuck with this costly option.
12 very good phone; watch out for data billing though!
I used this phone for about 3 weeks. Audiovox hardware quality is quite good. Tactle feel is very good, although the buttons seemed to be too small. MS Smartphone 2003 OS worked very well also. I mostly tried out internet access using the IE browser. The data rate feels like a 9600 baud modem. The windowing software lets you view a page in reduced mode and text as single-column. This helps, but it's certainly no substitute for a real PC/browser experience.
Beware that if you choose an inadequate data plan, the charges add up frighteningly fast. For example, my detailed billing showed over 16 megabytes of data usage in a 4 day period. AT&T charged me $490 at their default rate of $0.03/kb. That is well over 10x my normal monthly bill! Beware with AT&T - their billing department did nothing to ease that unexpected financial burden. In fact, they used my verbal admissions against me, stating that since the billing rate was legitimate, and I knowingly accessed internet data during that time, that they had no "provision" to provide me with a discount, reduction or financial easement.
I wound up returning the phone within the 30 days of purchase due partly to complications regarding rebate compliance, and partly to the disappointing internet experience. The billing issue came to my attention long after the phone was returned.
As for AT&T service, it was adequate. I did have a couple unexplained incomplete and dropped calls. Most of all it was a good experience.
13 excellent phone for the money
Having previously been a Cingular subscriber in California (now in New York), I was extremely apprehensive about purchasing another phone from them and being disappointed with the reception. With the SMT5600, I have been extremely pleasantly surprised. The phone is feature-rich, incredible battery life (4 days between charges with normal usage), easy to navigate, and has fantastic community support -- the phone was extremely popular in Europe, and a number of web sites are out there to support tweaking of your preferences.
Also, with the addition of a MiniSD card for storage, you can download music from a couple of Microsoft Janus-enabled online music stores including FYE Download Zone and Napster. It's awesome to be able to download music and listen through the (included) stereo headphones in full quality.
I've never been this satisfied about a phone. I'm a very, very happy customer for this one.
14 Cool phone to have, few things to complain
This is a cool phone with very cool features. This has all of the general phone features available + unique features:
Lets start with complains:
Cons:
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* No good way to start a favorite program quickly. You have to browse through the start menu by pressing several keys. This is a real bad user interface.
* Leather case style is not user friendly. You cannot answer/make calls while it is in the case. You have to first pull the phone out of the case. This is very annoying if you want to answer a call.
* The 5-way button is little hard if you want to use the middle one. You really have to press exactly in the middle other wise it will go either up or down because of its rotation style.
* The LED could be sometimes annoying especially in the night if you keep near the bed. This should be controllable somewhere from "Settings".
Pros:
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* Phone comes with sync cable, leather case, stereo headset, and travel charger. The bottom line is you don't have to go out for any accessory.
* phone is rugged and small.
* It comes with all standard features bluetooth, infrared, speaker phone, stereo sound, camera, camcorders, contacts, calender, user profiles, call history etc. + all standard windows applications Internet explorer, file explorer, windows media player and several other applications.
* Scrolling contacts is a breeze. I can browse all my 200 contacts in less than 5 seconds. Thanks to 200MHz processor.
* It comes will plenty of user available non-volatile memory around 25MB. That is far higher than its counterparts.
* As you type a number it will automatically bring all the matching numbers. This is very useful in dialing a number if you have lots of phone numbers.
* Windows media player 10 is good and the speed is very reasonable. You really feel that you are watching a video. I don't see any delay in starting any application. All applications load and run very quickly.
* You can upgrade the memory with a miniSD card and keep videos or audios (incl mp3) to watch or listen.
* Phone standby time and talk time are excellant. This is far matching or exceeding other phones in this category.
* There are hundreds of 3rd party applications available to play around with the phone. One website I found is http://www.smartphones.net.
* With camcorder you can shoot endless video (I mean till you are out of memory).
* Camera is reasonable with 640x480 (VGA)
* Sync with microsoft outlook for contacts, calender and tasks is a breeze. Just plugin the phone and it will do all for you. Another cool feature with sync cable is you can charge the phone while syncing. I use sync cable to sync and charge at office and travel charger at home.
Possible future enhancements:
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* Display can be touch sensitive with on/off for easy navigation. This could be a cool feature for PDA users and totally replaces PDA.
* Right now this phone comes with 850/1800/1900MHz. It would be better if it has 900MHz and can be used any where in the world. That makes the phone more competitive with much higher priced Mpx220.
* Another fancy upgrade could be a mega pixel camera. It simplifies the life without a digital camera. May be I am asking too much with such a small phone.
In summary it is like a miniature computer in your hand with phone as an extra feature you don't find on a regular computer.
15 Great Features - Poor Reception
My experience with this phone can be summed up by the heading itself. This is one of the coolest phones that I have laid my hands on, I believe it has every feature that you can imagine and a very convenient form factor. Top that with a brilliant screen.
However, the reception of the phone is very poor. I would love to blame A&T for that but my fiend has an T610 from Sony and he was able to get 3 bars inside the house while this SMT5600 got zero bars at the exact same place. Moreover, there seemed to be some hissing sound that was always in the background during the conversation. I guess all the features in the world can not make up for the poor sound quality. I have a Samsung e715 right now and this does not even come close to that in terms of reception and voice handling.
I really liked the phone, too bad I will have to send it back.
16 Cool and well built.
First a complaint with Amazon: This great phone is advertized at as little as $-25, but it is impossible to order the phone with that combination of service plan.
To get the $50 MIR from AT&T you have to order unlimited mMode, but Amazon oly lists other plans. I basically wanted the 39.95 450 Nation wide and unlimited mMode for 24.95.
I ended up ordering the "Silver 500" plan and no data plan, since i did not want to risk being stuck with some wierd limited and expensive data plan.
AT&T (Cingular) helped me port my old Sprint number and get me the plans I wanted. I assume Amazon will still honor the rebate.
After two days of use the phone is pretty cool, but reception is not as good in tough areas (like my house). I had tested a couple of different friends' GSM phones at my house, and the SMT5600 is not as solid as the others I tried. In fact, I think it might be worse than the sprint phone I was tryig to replace.
Internet radio over GPRS is kind of cool, as is ActiveSynch to the PC.
17 Best. Phone.EVER.
I was starting to get really apprehensive about this phone before it arrived shortly before christmas. It does everything I thought it did before I bought it, but after I ordered it I had started to talk myself into thinking it did a bunch of stuff that you can do on pocketPC's but not on windows mobile, smartphone edition. As it turns out though, there are only three things I'd do to improve the phone:
1.) faster USB transfer--it feels like USB 1.1, and may well be for all i know
2.) I wish there were a way to sync to standards-based ical files so i could use it with mozilla calendar instead of outlook
3.) wifi support, along with the bluetooth currently supported, so it could use the internet without having to go to a GPRS signal when its not connected to the computer.
that's it. that's my only three bitches about it so far.
first i'll note the form factor, since that's not readily apparent from the photos on amazon. This phone is only ever-so-slightly larger than my sony-ericsson t610 (which is the second smallest phone i've ever owned, second only to the samsung s105 from a few years ago). it fits nicely in your hand, although sometimes the mike seems to not be close enough to my mouth since my girlfriend can hear me better on speakerphone--or maybe i'm just pressing it to my cheek. tough to tell. but that says something for the speakerphone as well--its quite nice, good volume and mike. nobody has complained about it so far.
It plays mp3's and windows media, as someone else noted. The default player is windows media player 10 mobile, which is ok for those files, but about 2/3 of my collection is in vorbis (.ogg) format, so i downloaded pocketmusic smartphone from www.pocketmind.com which handles them quite well. I also downloaded PowerCalendar from handango, which greatly improves upon the default calendar application with all kinds of extra fields and the ability to create snippets of text you just insert with a couple of buttons, for appointments and such that you make frequently, eg "Phone call with "...
the included version of explorer is pretty decent--it has an option to limit display to one column to cut down on the sidescrolling, which is oh-so-nice. I'd still rather be running a micro-gecko browser, but it'll work quite well for now.
you can play ringtones in mp3 or wma format as well, which allows me to use songs like Danzig's "Mother" for my ringtone--awesome for turning heads in a quiet restaurant or business meeting.
It will take mini-SD cards (nota bene: these are NOT the same as SD/MMC cards--they're smaller, although they usually come with an adapter to use in SD readers that i think might also work in cameras--haven't tried.) for memory expansion, but right now all i can find are 128MB cards, although rumor has it 512 MB cards exist. I want one.
The camera is the best i've seen on a phone--still not great, but the pictures are a damn sight better than what you'd usually find on a phone. its got a lot of options on the camera i won't go into here, but its cool and works well.
the other included applications like mail work about like you'd expect, with support for pop and imap and SSL connections. (the ssl was a happy surprise). something worth noting that nobody else has mentioned is that the phone has a j2me environment (the one from tao i think) so in addition to .Net Compact Framwork apps designed for smartphones, it will also run existing j2me apps, which is friggin awesome. There are currently a lot more of those available than the .net CF variety.
I think its worth noting that this phone has managed to wow a confirmed geek (me) who has somewhat unreasonable expectations and desires for convergence and interop between his appliances. This phone won't exactly replace a laptop, but you can easily leave your pda and mp3 player at home, freeing you of the burden of a batman-style utility belt when you're out and about.
18 everything
This phone does everything! It's a phone, an mp3 player, a video player, synchronizes with Outlook or OS X apps, it has a camera, plays games, has Internet access, can set any media to be a ringtone.... The list goes on and on. I've had it for 2 weeks and still am having fun playing with my new toy.
19 Great Phone
With everyone putting more in your pockets why not less....forget about your PDA and your IPOD, just get this phone it does it all I use it as a PDA, with T9 typing in stuff is easy. Check the web, I use it to check my hotmail accout. Also I use as my mp3 player it sounds great even without headphones I don't understand how a little speaker is the phone can but so load and sound pretty good and using the headphones sounds as good has my friends IPOD it does not fit the same amount of music as a IPOD but do yu really have 20,000 songs that you on you at all times. My phone can carry about 160 songs and if there good songs thats more then enought. But the coolest thing it will play movies you can fit 3-4 hours on it and it looks great I can even read the credits of the movie the picture is that sharp. Ever person I have shown the phone to is blown away but it, and love that it plays movies. Only two problem: First the windows 2003 system it runs on takes a little learning curve but when you get to know it its powerful little system that can do a hell of alot. Second to get all your info music and movies you have to use USB witch is great use the data transfer is a little slow and 2 hour (256 MBS) movie might take 10-12 mins.....but all and all its a great phone!!!!!
20 I love this phone!
After reading the many positive reviews I bought this phone, and activated it with AT&T (Cingular stores sent them all back -you have to buy elsewhere and activate online). This is a great phone. It effectively integrates several functions. For my use, I now carry the SMT5600 instead of a PDA, phone, and email device.
Coverage is great. AT&T combines AT&T, Cingular AND T-Mobile towers for an unbeatable coverage. I used TDMA previously, and this coverage is better. I downloaded the "Church Bells" ring, which cuts through noisy environments - in fact if I set the ring volume full up, it really startles me when the phone rings! Other reviewers have noted poor earpiece volume, but I have not found that to be a problem. My callers can't tell that I'm on a cell phone.
The PDA function is super. Syncs with outlook perfectly. The only problem is if you sync with multiple PC's, the 1st time you sync with the 2nd PC, all the contacts duplicate on the phone. With each successive PC sync, the contacts double again! I would advise clearing you contact list on 2nd, 3rd, etc. PC's before syncing.
Email over GPRS is great! I use IMAP to my corp. exchange server. It's cool to not be disturbed by the phone, when you are at your desk reading email - the phone knows that the email is read and doesn't notify you of new email, unless you are away. On the other hand, when you are away reading mail on the phone, your mail on the server is shown as read back at the office!
MSN instant messenger works Great, too.
Having Calendar on the phone is neat. When you're in a meeting, the phone automatically switches to "silent" mode.
Battery life is good, but if you use the non-phone functions frequently during the day, keeping the backlight on, expect to charge daily. Now that I'm not playing all day, I don't come close to depleting the battery in one day.
Another reviewer complained about the clunky method of navigating the menus. The reality is that is a complicated mini-PC, and takes several hours to learn usable funtions and features. If you take the time to learn, navigation can be easy. CE helps by displaying your last used icons at the top of screen.
Of course there is the Bluetooth, MP3 player, ability to install limited CE applications, lousy camera, mini-SD memory slot, games, etc. The only downside for me is the lack of keyboard - but that would increase the size. I'm learning T3, and I like the small form factor.
This phone is also sold as an I-Mate SP3 Smartphone.
21 An absolutely excellent phone. Too bad service is Cingular
In almost 15 years of cell phone ownership, this is the absolutely best phone I've owned. Excellent audio quality, perfect (tiny) form factor, high build quality, and flawless Outlook syncronization (usb or Bluetooth). I have an mpx220, RAZR, TREO 600, and Blackberry 7290 as well, but this is easily the best phone of the bunch. The Blackberry has better email, and the Treo seems to have a better application base, but neither factor is enough to make me give this up. If you're considering the RAZR, also consider that this phone is smaller, cheaper, and has substantially more functionality.
One note: my phone was locked to AT&T and Cingular told me I'd have to purchase a new (non-smt5600) phone after the AT&T acquisition was completed. Absolutely not true. This phone still works and if necessary can be unlocked quickly, cheaply, and easily using this site http://simlock.c500-unlock.com. It can then be used with ANY SIM card. This is nice when traveling to Europe where inexpensive pre-paid SIM cards are readily available from vending machines.
Cingular, on the other hand, is the pits. See my 7290 and RAZR reviews for a summary of my experiences with them.
UPDATE: I'm taking this down from 5-stars to 4. This phone will not allow you to use voice dialing from the bluetooth headset if the keyboard lock is on. This a a huge wart on an otherwise great phone, it borders on making the voice dialing feature useless; Even worse is that although it should be a snap to fix nothing's been done about it. Shame on Audiovox,
...msg
22 Perfect - if you don't need QWERTY
...which I don't. This gizmo is great! I previously used a Samsung i330, which feels like the size and weight of a toaster compared to the Audiovox. It's the perfect size, not like the bulky Treo. This phone is awesome and syncs w/Outlook beautifully. MP3 player, expandable storage, camera (including video), voice recognition (including launching apps), speakerphone, bluetooth, voice recorder, and I barely notice it in my pocket. Battery life is great and the screen is bright and beautiful. I love this phone so much I haven't even taken the screen protector off yet.
23 Amazing phone.. .
With everyone lookng for moto or Nokia or even SOny ericsson, audiovox has come up with this gem (Apparently its jus their brand name and they dint make this one). Its small, handy and packed with features.
I bought it on amazon and had it unlocked by shelling out 40 bucks and am using it with my T-mobile sim. This combo rocks. Excellent cust service coupled with a phone which serves u well.
The reception is somewhat lacking - mostly like my Sony Ericsson t610 phone. So its neither a huge improvement or a disaster. Camera is much much better than in t610 and that of mpx220 which i had for a day before returning it.
I guess mpx220 has windows media 9 while this one comes with WMP 10. Go get it if u havent.. its worth what u pay for... whatever it is !
(...)
24 Audiovox SMT 5600 - great phone!
I bought this phone over a month ago because I wanted a phone that would sync easily with Outlook and it was very reasonably priced. I purchased it for about $160 which included a $50 rebate. I was annoyed when I went in to purchase it because I had to buy a data plan (along with voice) in order to get the rebate. In fact, I had to get the most expensive data plan (I intend to reduce it to the cheapest once I get the rebate check). I have to admit though that I have enjoyed surfing the web on my smartphone more than I would have ever expected.
I also purchased a BlueTrek Bluetooth Wireless Headset to use with this phone. I have used it extensively and it works beautifully. It has been very reliable with strong crystal clear transmissions. There is no discernible voice quality difference when I use the headset versus talking on the phone directly.
The ActiveSync with Outlook also works great. My only disappointment is that Outlook Notes do not sync with it.
I know there has been some chatter regarding inadaquate volume. I can only think of once or twice where this has been an issue. I tend to avoid using a phone where there is a lot of ambient noise anyway.
My understanding is that Cingular is not going to carry this phone now that they have subsumed ATT. It's a shame because this is a great phone.
25 Prototype phone
I bought 2 of these due to the hype and returned both within one week. Here were the problems:
- Signal: Either no signal (like my office, where T-Mobile works) or many dropped calls, particularly when you're driving.
- Stability: Phone crashes often (both phones) and restart time is what you've come to expect from Microsoft.
- Immature software: Software interface is awkward (try using the task switching feature...) and seriously lacking in functionality. Seems like the philosophy is to push the customer to purchase 3rd party software ($10/pop) for basic functionality like alarm, calculator, tasks sync, etc...
- Battery life: If you're using this thing to look up meetings and talk, expect less than 1 day.
- Headset: Comes with metallic headset for both ears. When you try to use it in the car during the winter it freezes your ears (if you left it in the car) and the second ear plug is a problem.
- AT&T wireless: They have a terrible reputation and they deserve it. For 1 week at their network I spent over $40 due to incorrect billing (even when they say they've credited you, they haven't). At some point, you will loose patience waiting on the phone and just pay to leave. Maybe Cingular will correct this.
Bottom line: It will take much to convince me to try AT&T/Cingular and/or Smartphone again. Save yourself the hassle.
26 Such GREAT potential... Falls just short!
I picked-up the SMT5600 from the Cingular/ATTWS National Business Office and was very excited to receive it the next day via FedEx... From all the reviews that I read, it was quite the unit -- best form-factor, top technology, and a value-laden feature-set that has been unseen yet in the Smartphone world.
The SMT5600 definitely delivers on two of those three points. The unit looks very tech-sexy - small, compact - with excellent overall styling. Its screen is absolutely beautiful and is a pleasure to view. Even its smaller buttons and the much-talked-about D-pad weren't an issue to me in any way. In fact, I adjusted to them very quickly.
Certainly, the combination of WindowsMobile 2003 + Bluetooth + Speakerphone + Great Battery life (I would consider myself a pretty heavy user of both voice and data... Charged the unit once every 2-3 days) speaks for itself.
HOWEVER!!!
** READ! ** If you use your phones in noisy environments (airports/offices/cars/downtown streets), you will find it quite difficult to hear callers in your earpiece on the SMT5600. Even with the volume maxed-out all the way, I'd say that this unit only gives 60-70% of the normal volume I could get out of a phone such as the Treo 600 or Motorola V60. The call CLARITY was fantastic (and the caller whom I was talking to could always hear me), but it simply wasn't loud enough.
Before you make your purchase, do yourself a favor and read the AT&T Audiovox Support Forums . As you'll see, MANY users are reporting this problem - and as of 12/16/04, Audiovox or Cingular has no new firmware to solve this issue.
Because the most important part of any Smartphone is the PHONE itself, I couldn't give this model a rating higher than 2 stars. Straining to hear every conversation was a constant bother while owning this phone and was the single-largest issue that lead me to packing it in its box and sending it back to Cingular.
Such a shame -- SO many great features, SUCH great potential. It just misses the mark on the most important thing: being able to hear a phone call!
27 The PDA phone you've been waiting for
This phone is great! For the last four years I've carried around my old 'brick' of a PDA phone made by Kyocera. I didn't buy a Treo because I'm not a heavy mobile e-mail user--I just need to scan my emails for emergencies and type out a quick "yes" or 'no'. The Treo is big and the qwerty keyboard on it is tiny.
The Audiovox on the other hand is the smallest and lightest phone I have ever seen. Yet it is feature-rich: it does just about anything a phone can do. Downloads and sends emails, synchs with Outlook, takes pictures and movies, plays MP3s--and it does all those things well.
I had to change my wireless carrier to AT&T to get this phone but it was worth it. I can't recommend this phone too highly.
28 This phone is as good as it gets for me...
What I love:
- it's small, slim, and very lightweight
- the light sensor under the 0 key that decides whether or not you need the backlit keypad (you can turn this on or off)
- the quality of pictures is amazing for a teeny little camera phone, and you can choose filters (auto, daylight, incandescent, flourescent, night, grayscale, sepia, and cool). Takes great pictures from an LCD monitor to use as your wallpapers on the phone
- that it's a camera, speakerphone, camcorder, media player, MP3 player, voice recorder, and task list (although I would have preferred a notepad function)
- the big screen that has great clarity and color range
- expandable to 256mb using a MiniSD card
- can assign voicetags for easy dialing and photo ID for friends (love the animated GIF templates option for the IDs)
- can block your caller ID to anyone not in your address book
- I love the back button (just like on your browser)
What annoys me:
- I really miss having a simultaneous ring AND vibrate option, like my old TDMA
- the manual is LACKING REALLY BADLY. Expect to figure some of the stuff out on your own or seek help in message boards
- volume is a bit low at it's loudest
- the camcorder is pretty choppy, but that's to be expected
- it's too easy to accidently scroll when trying to hit the action button
- should be permitted to customize your home screen more, along with color choices (there are currently only two choices for font, none for the rest of the color on the home screen)
- no headphone jack ... why would you listen to your MP3 player without headphones (you can use the earpiece, but it has a unique jack so you cant use a normal headphone jack)? The phone plays songs very clearly even though volume is limited that way, but I don't know that everyone around me wants to hear it too.
- wish it had the MiniSD card slot on the outside instead of under the battery
Overall, I'm in love with this phone, and the bad points DO NOT outweigh all the good. Buy this phone while you can!
29 AT&T WS adds extra $29 to your $39 plan for this phone
When you add AT&T WS plan you can't unselect $29.99 data service!!!
The phone is good, where service is too high.
30 Excellent all around phone
A lot of details have been covered in other reviews, however, I wanted to emphasize how USER FRIENDLY this phone is despite the many features it has. I change phones every 6mths to a year but am pretty sure I'll hang on to this one for longer simply because its a complex phone with a simple interface. Main reasons for liking this phone:
- Great feature set: EVERYTHING I need in a phone
- Size: small and thin form slips easily into pant pocket, light enough to forget that its there
- Looks: attractive design (looks better in person), large, vibrant screen, uncluttered face
- This is the first phone I've had where everything is so intuitive that I have not yet consulted the manual.
- Windows Media Player 10 rocks!
- Synchs with my MS Office programs seamlessly and without any meddling by me
- Camera/video quality is great for fun use. Quality is not dissimilar to some megapixel camera phones. Keep in mind that a 1 megapixel phone camera will not yield pictures close to a 1 megapixel dedicated camera. Existing phone cameras serve only for entertainment purposes, and this one does not disappoint
- charges through the USB while it synchs (I haven't had to use the AC charger yet)
- Outlook compatibility is excellent - full contact details including addresses and birthdays, detailed calendar entries, etc.
- feels solidly built
Minor nit-picks:
- don't like the flashing LED indicator on top
- rocker takes a little getting used to, but I got used to it after only a couple of days of use
- volume can be a little louder
Overall verdict:
I use my phone mainly as a phone. In addition, I use it to keep my contact info, appointment list so I know where I'm supposed to be at any time, and to browse the web while I wait for my wife to finish shopping. For these uses, this phone is the best I've ever had. If you're looking for it to wash the dishes, you may be disappointed! Hope this helps
31 Excellent phone
I bought this phone to use with a Bluetooth GPS system. [...]
The features of this phone exceed what I normally need, but its nice to have. Reception and menu navigation are a easy. It comes with stereo headphones, case and ActiveSync software.
32 This is the one!
I am very happy with this purchase. For starters, this has got to be the best deal out there for a Smartphone. But, forget about the deal, this is a great device at any (reasonable) price! Not only is this the best Windows Mobile device I've ever had my hands on, but this is the best all-around mobile phone I've ever used. It's small, the sound quality is excellent, the software is stable and feature packed, and unlike previous Windows Mobile devices, the phone fuctionality is rock solid.
Check this out, you can set it to be aware of your Outlook calendar to the extent that it automaticaly puts the phone in Meeting mode (silent) when your calendar says you're in an appointment. So cool.
I guess the only thing I would change would be the 'time' setting - it doesn't pull the local time from the network like traditional mobiles do; you have to set (and change) the time manually. Maybe I just haven't figured out the setting for this yet, but it is the only 'miss' I've noticed so far and the rest of the features on the device more than make up for it.
One last great feature (that is sadly missing from most other devices) is that this phone uses a non-proprietary mini USB port on the phone for both AC and ActiveSync charging. That means that any USB/mini USB cable will charge this thing. Great design!
33 This phone is great!
Ok -- What I like in a phone are good call quality; long battery life; and ease of use. This phone has all those things! Then, when you add in the more fun than professionally usable camera and camcorder PLUS the capability to view Office files (need to purchase software) and to view good quality videos on your phone + BLUETOOTH + SPEAKERPHONE.....wow!
The price is too good to be true also. You always think something might be wrong when looking at such a deal but I can't see it. I can only think that Audiovox is wanting to gain a foothold on the big electronics players and being price competitive and building a solid phone is how they are going to do it.
.....A flip form factor might be nice....but really that's just being picky.
34 Consider sendo x as well
I have been researching a smart phone for a while now and have had the opportunity to use the smt5600 and really like it. The size is definetly a high selling point for me and the functions and processor plus rebate make it a great buy! Though if you are considering a smart phone also consider the sendo x. I have read many positive reviews about it and am debating between the two models. You will probably not find it for very cheap, I could not find the sendo x on amazon though it has a comaparable size different os though great funtions.
35 Great phone but has some problems.
Dust is a known problem with the C500 and has not been fixed with the Audiovox release. It took less than 2 weeks to get dust under the screen. Not just a few specs either, but dust that interferes with the view.[...]
Next problem was with AT&Ts service. I am a T-Mobile user and have no signal problems anywhere, but using AT&Ts service I had problems making calls from anywhere but work.
Final problem was that the phone is locked. To have the phone unlocked you must pay just under $40.00.
[...]
I am stuck with this phone because I sent the rebate in immediately and am no longer eligible to return the phone to Amazon. I have no landline and since AT&T's service didn't work for me I had to cancel the service under the 30 day trial.
Since I'm stuck with the phone and I do like it I had it unlocked so I could use my T-Mobile account. This was easy and everything was great for a little over a week. Now I'm having the dust issue. The problem now is that if Amazon replaces the phone I will have to pay to have the new phone unlocked again. I also called Audiovox and was told I could send the phone in but they couldn't guarantee I would get my phone (unlocked) back.
If you are an AT&T user and their service works for you this is a great phone and I would highly recommend it. If you want to unlock the phone and use it with another provider then you have been warned.
36 Bluetooth problems
All the good things said about this phone are true, but there are major problems with bluetooth implementation. Here are two issues I found.
First, bluetooth dialing doesn't work. Actually, it works the first time the number is dialed from another bluetooth device (I used Dell x30), but after that attempts to dial via bluetooth just fail. AT&T Wireless rep confirmed that there is a promblem with Windows Mobile 2003 OS and it's not clear when if will be fixed. And I tried two phones, both have the same problem.
Another issue is with seding files via bluetooth. You can exchange contacts just fine, but I couldn't send pictures from the phone via bluetooth. Once you hit "Beam" button, indicator says "Pending"... forever.
Those problems may not affect everybody, but I thing bluetooth is an important feature and if it's there it should work. This is not the case with this phone.
37 An experienced MPX200 Smartphone User's Review
About a year ago I purchased the Motorola MPX200 Smartphone running Windows Smartphone edition 2002. It was a beautiful phone and would be true winner if not for two very important flaws....battery life and reception on AT&T Wireless's network. The battery wouldn't last for a full day and it supported only 1800/1900. Apparently 850 is the band you need if you are going to use AT&T with any success. I successfully upgraded it to Windows Smartphone 2003, albeit with not help from AT&T. I had to find the update out on the web.
Alas, because of the battery and reception issues I needed to find a new phone and I couldn't imagine giving up on all of the great features found in the Windows Smartphone platform...full synchronization with Microsoft Outlook's email, contacts, calendar and tasks among other things.
Along comes the SMT5600 and everything I read about it was great. I bought one and love it. The battery life is very good. I get about 2 days and I am a heavy user of data and voice. The reception is also amazing. Whereas I couldn't use the MPX200 in my apartment and many other places in NJ, I haven't had a single problem so far, even if I only have a bar or 2. All of the past things I loved about the MPX200 are present with the addition of a camera, blue-tooth and a cool photo caller-id app (I know the MPX200 had one, but it didn't work). I plan on getting a 512MB miniSD card for music, files, etc. Anyway, 2 weeks in and it has been a great experience. I love it. Enjoy.
38 Great phone in a small form factor
This phone was exactly what I was looking for - it's very small so it really fits into the pocket (I don't like to wear phone on the belt) and at the same time it has a big color screen. The screen is, probably, one of the best features of this phone. The contrast, resolution and clarity are just great. It has many additional features some are very useful (very easy sync with Microsoft outlook), some are not so useful (camera images are not something you will probably want to store). The mp3 player works very well. The speakerphone is very convenient and of high quality. Battery lasts reasonably long. The buttons are small and not very convenient but what could be expected from such small phone. Among the shortcomings that defnitely could be avoided are very inconvenient 'enter' button (that could be easily confused with 'up' and 'down') and sometimes not very intuitive user interface (for example, while finding the contact). Overall, still, it's a great phone if your main priority is to have a small phone with a big clear screen.
39 The Best Yet
I bought this little powerhouse (hardly any larger than my Nokia 8260) four days ago and it's everything I'd been looking for in a Smartphone. Looked for over a year and nearly bought a Siemens X56 and an MPX200, but each had major flaws, including older slower software and processors. This phone has no noticeable software lag. Punch a key and it's right there. I couldn't stop playing with the phone during a two hour train ride the day I bought it and intermittently for the next couple of days - great way to learn how to use it
Finally I can retire my PDA (IPAQ ) and take just one device with me to business meetings and on trips. Just navigating the menus is a pleasure because of the bright, easy to read screen and the familiar Microsoft interface. You'll have to get used to the lack of a touch screen and enter/synch any serious data via your PC, so this is not a Blackberry substitute. But my biggest concern, navigating through 1000+ names (while driving) to make a call has been solved brilliantly. Just start keying in the first or last name (one keystroke per letter) and the software narrows the list down based on all the possible letters represented by the number keys pressed. So that after three or four keystrokes, you're there; it's faster than scrolling.
Two important things to note. First, on Nov. 15 AT&T's GSM coverage improved in many service areas (check with your AT&T rep) when they combined tower coverage with Cingular. I stuck with my TDMA phone way too long because GSM just didn't have adequate coverage on eastern Long Island.
Second, because the SMT 5600 is so new, accessories are few and far between. My dealer didn't have a car charger, so I ordered one on the internet that is now on back order. Fortunately, battery life is excellent. And if you want to load up on software and/or multimedia files, you'll need a larger, hard-to-find min SD card.
Finally the price is right - $199 after rebates with an AT&T service plan.
40 Smallest and therefore best smartphone on the market.
Think of all other smartphones... bulky, crammed with too much extra features no one needs.
Take a phone similar in size to the old (and for the time, the best)
Nokia 8260, make the screen just big enough to be functional, look great, and still keep the same small form factor - cram in Bluetooth, infrared, full color, Windows Mobile 2003, the best T9 preemtive text/dictionary I've used thus far, and you have the Audiovox SMT5600!
AT&T is the exclusive service provider for this gem, and as Cingular has acquired them and already has the MPx200 flip-smartphone, they're not likely to pick it up. But damn, if the AT&T/Cingular network is good where you live, GRAB THIS PHONE!
I've never been more happy with the phone, software, activesync with my home and work PCs (well, just the calendar @ work), and plan on keeping it for a year or so... lol - until a worthy contender comes along that fits in the palm of my hand.
41 Great Phone! But!
This is a great phone. It is small and lightwieight and does just about everything I want in a phone. The speakerphone is nice and loud on both ends. My old Audiovox CDM9500 had a speaker phone but I had to yell into it and the other party could bairly hear anything. This means that you can answer the phone on speaker phone and continue cooking and talking at the same time by placing the phone on the counter.
I was disappointed in the reception around my living area however I found that the hiss I was hearing in the earpiece is from WIFI interference. I don't get this hiss when using the speakerphone. I purchased the phone for the ability to run apps like Quicken or MSMoney but they don't run on a smartphone only on a Pocket PC. The smartphone apps available for this phone are limited. The screen is great but the camera is always dark even when set to night mode. I am finding that this phone doesn't switch to the best signal tower unless you lose the signal completely even if there is a better signal from a different tower nearby. You can manually change towers though. All the apps seem to always be located on the last page so you have to scroll through a couple of screens in order to get to the programs. The last quirk is that this phone doesn't have a qwerty keyboard so you have to type using the numberpad. This can be time consuming if you write a lot of messages or email. At least I didn't have to purchase a data plan at $49+. You only need a mmode plan which costs a maximum of $24.99 for unlimited data usage.
42 Best phone ever!
This is my very first smartphone, and I absolutely love it. Most important that it runs .Net Compact Framework and I can develop and run my very own mobile software using C#.
SMT5600 has one of the very best, biggest and brightest screens I've seen, the built-in VGA camera delivers color-intense shots, and you can expand the built-in memory by adding inexpensive Mini SD cards.
Reception is also great, way better than on my T-Mobile T610. Voice quilty is awesome. MP3 ringtones are not bad either... Just stick them under /Storage/Application Data/Sounds
For this price, SMT5600 is a steal.
43 Great phone!
I can't recommend this phone enough. It is da bomb.
Would I trade in my laptop for the phone? No way. However with this phone you can toss your PDA!! I have to have a cell phone any way and this cell phone is the same size as my old Nokia phone. But this phone does some things my old Nokia cell couldn't. I always have my email up to date. If you send an email to my work I get it in minutes on my phone. My calendar is right there so I know when I'm supposed to be where. Again this syncs with my work calendar so I only have to put my meeting in one place and I can keep up no matter where I am. Like all Windows SmartPhones it keeps my contact list from Outlook so when you call me it shows me your name. And any contacts I enter on the phone get synched up with my Outlook contacts for a single list. Say bye-bye to having to update my cell phone manually when someone's number changes. And there are thousands of add-on programs from tip calculators, currency conversion to flight information that you can install on this phone. If you add a miniSD card you can install up to 500MB of programs and data on the card, leaving your internal 20MB storage wide open. By using a 3rd party software package you can even synch your Lotus Notes!
What is great about this version of SmartPhone is that it actually works a lot better. Outlook Always Up To Date (AUTD) is new with the 2003 version and it works GREAT! The mini-IE browser is no joy but it is quite functional. I actually use mMode now. And getting the latest traffic and weather is a snap. Also new with 2003 is the ability to have more than one email inbox. I have my home POP3 email and the mMode IMAP4 email set up on my phone now too. If a friend emails me at my home address I get it on my phone. Very nice. Throw in a camera and Bluetooth support and you've got one great package!!
There are a couple of minor things that annoy me. The "enter" button is hard to get just right - about a third of the time I hit the up or down arrow instead. Also the Left and Right softkey buttons are hard to hit without also hitting Home or Back button. This is because the real-estate of the phone is so compact.
So bottom line is this. You have to have a cell phone in this day and age. Why not have one that works for you? This SmartPhone works so good you can toss out your PDA! If you travel a lot or spend a lot of time outside the office this is the phone you want. It'll help you keep your life organized.
44 Good value for money
A smartphone for free is really a good deal in itself, but to pamper you a bit more these are a few features that seal the deal for me:
1. extensible storage through min-sd slot
2. bluetooth/infrared/usb connectivity
3. J2ME with MIDP2.0
4. Everything microsoft. Things work more smootly, little learning.
You have familiar concepts like Task Manager, Favourites, My Documents etc.
5. Excellent reception, form factor, design.
With that said, you would wonder how does it stack up against competition like MPx220. In my opinion MPx220 does give you lots of extras like a higher resolution screen, folding design etc. but the price difference makes up for these issues for me.
Here are a couple of Gripes I had:
1. No quick access to toggle Bluetooth.
2. "Unique" 5-way navigation key - hard to use.
3. Insufficient documentation. Even though the manual is over 200 pages it fails to mention seveal menu items. But this is a popular platform so there are lots of forums for help.
4. Only comes with headphones, wish they had a headset instead.
(...)
45 THE ABSOLUTELY BEST PHONE, SMARTPHONE OR NOT, ON THE PLANET
Not long ago, I read an intriguing article asking us brand-loyal cellular phone buyers to consider brands other than Moto, Nokia, etc. So, I wandered into my local AT&T store, zeroed in on the Vox SMT 5600 (behind 4 other waiting to see this phone) and finally was able to hold the mock-phone version. The AT&T salesperson saw my plight and immediately pulled out a real one from the box. It was love at first sight. Small, but a bigger screen than the MPx 220 and other Smartphones. I have spent just under one week tyring to learn this phone. And although it's a little harder to navigate through, once learned, I found there's almost nothing this phone can't do. The SUPERMAN of phones--at least Smartphones.
With Window's Player 10, even TV shows can be downloaded and brought to the brightest screen I have ever seen. I know for a fact that (the Razr V3 from Moto, is supposed to have the best screen with 125,000 colors)this phone is the best for this size screen.
With ActiveSync 3.7, keeping my tasks, calendar, e-mail and contacts is a breeze. I sync'd 450+ names and many more numbers, along with my multiple events in my calendar in less than 5 seconds. The only downside to 3.7 is that it still won't synch with Outlook 2003.
The camera is a bust, but I don't buy a cell phone in lieu of my Canons. If I were in an accident, the camera would be perfectly ok.
There is plenty of memory in the phone without purchasing an additional miniSD card, but I will purchase the latest 512 MB card for video, etc.
The biggest beef most people have had with the large toggle switch is that it's not a joystick type. Well, I can tell you, that with a little practice, it's a great, easy-to-use navigation tool and, for me, much easier than that the joystick.
I usually keep a phone about 6 months to a year and get the newer, latest and greatest phone, but I believe I will keep this at least 1 year. The only thing I need is to have it unlocked, which as of now, I have not seen one.
With this phone's hot screen, high-impact polycarbonate body, bluetooth, a true synching with MS Outlook, full browser capability, great phone attributes (speed dial, voice tags, large buttons for dialing), T9, very clear speakerphone and internal audible clarity, and a very long battery life (longer than advertised), ONE CAN'T GO WRONG IN PURCHASING THIS PHONE.
The article that led me into getting away from the Motorola and Nokia phones was literature at its best--truthful, insightful and convincing.
46 amazing phone...
You must go to a local store and try out this phone. It is great. I have had over 3 GSM phones and played with many others but this one blows them all away. If you are looking for a small phone packed with features and great syncing capabilities with Outlook look no further!
47 Jack of all trades, master of none.
Yes, it does a lot of things. It plays MP3 but the dual bud headset is uncomfortable and cheesy. It plays video if you happen to have a card big enough to store it. It browses Internet if you enjoy dealing with those super tiny fonts and average one penny per KB charges. How about sync with Outlook? Great but sorry, not your note. How about Instant Messaging? No problem! Let the other side wait presuming you can finish your thumb typing. Taking pictures? Do you really trust this small gadget over your digital camera? Bluetooth accessories? Mini SD card? You better make sure your wife believe the phone won't function without those. So why on earth do you think you really need this phone?
48 Wow! Awesome PDA Smartphone
I spent a lot of time researching PDA phones,from blackberrys to the new Treo 650. I settled on this baby for a number of reasons:
1)It syncs flawlessly with Outlook at home or work , calendar right on screen with reminders.
2) Phone quality is awesome, has Bluetooth and I use a Jabra headset.
3) The use of Windows media 10 is awesome. TV and vid quality excellent.
4) Email works flawlessly, as well as news upates, sports, web, etc.
5) Camera is ok, I did not buy it for that,if you want an awesome camera may not be for you.
one small drawback, keypad is small, but very usable, toggle stick great!
BEST OF ALL IS THE SIZE! SO SMALL..light!
Not like a Treo or blackberry.
BUY THIS PHONE!
49 Finally, a Windows Mobile superstar!
This phone is amazing. It's quite small, very flexible and has surprisingly long battery life. I use it primarily for calls, to read (not write) email, surf mobile-friendly websites and keep my calendar up-to-date. Sound quality is solid. Love that you can get a 512 MB miniSD memory card and load this up with songs, pix and vids. Probably wouldn't recommend this phone to hardcore phone-gamers due to the non-joystick.
The fact that this has Bluetooth is huge. Gives you lots of headset/accessory options, plus you can get very compact (foldable) travel keyboards that connect via Bluetooth.
If this phone had 802.11 WiFi (it doesn't) it would be ridiculous. As it stands, it represents a huge leap forward in smartphoneland.
50 A rocket in your pocket!
This phone is COOL and I've had a lot of different phones over the years. It's very small and light-weight, something like 3.2 oz (half the weight of the Treo smartphone) and the Windows Mobile software is just incredible! My only complaints (and it lost a star for this) are that the rocker switch is a little clumsy and the screen is not a touch-screen. I could even deal with the rocker if only I were able to use a stylus on the screen instead. One other complaint is that the mini-sd card can only be changed by removing the battery. There's room for a slot, put one in! That is a rediculous and unnecessary inconvenience. Audiovox, are you listening?
Other than that, I am very impressed with this phone and the wireless capabilities that AT&T (Cingular) add to this device are priceless. Streaming video, WMA, MP3 and AAC support in the Windows Media Player version 10 Mobile are awesome features and the built-in Bluetooth adds tremendous value.
I carry a Treo 650 smartphone for work. While it has some incredible features that would make it preferable over the Audiovox phone, it has two big drawbacks, and those are it's weight and that stupid custom headset jack that requires an adapter or specialized headset. Why can't it use a regular 2.5mm headset like any other device? That said though, The built in keyboard is very nice to have once your fingers get used to tapping the small keys and when you add Pocket Tunes to it for playing your tunes and streaming audio, the Treo is a much better device overall despite it's hefty size.
51 Excellent Phone
I have just had this phone for about a week and its great!! The features are great.. if you are looking for a phone cum PDA(thats why they call it a SmartPhone!!) this ia an excellent option. Synchs perfectly with outlook. Camera is decent. the best part is the Windows Media Player 10. Plays mp3, avi movies flawlessly. The only shortcoming is that the joystick key is a little clumsy to use, but i guess with a little practice one gets the hang of it.
52 Great PDA but not a good phone
I got this phone yesterday. tons of features. works great as a PDA. Unfortunately the phone quality is not good. frequently dropped calls and bad reception. I still love my old Siemens S46
53 Great phone, incredible features
This phone replaced an older Nokia phone that was very small so I was a little worried about how this will fill in my pants' pocket. Let me just tell you that sometimes I have to check to see if I still have the phone in my pocket because I just don't feel it.
The size is just optimal, small but with a large color screen. It has full phone features and almost full PDA functionality. What is nice is that using it as a phone is as easy as using a simple phone without any frills. The Microsoft Smartphone 2003 SE operating system is quite easy to use and it does not take long to master. This version of operating system has many improvements over the previous versions and it comes with a lot more programs (like TaskManager, File Manager, Photo Contacts).
You can add your own ringtones (only MIDI and WAV), customize the colors and images. For some other phones you are forced to buy the ringtones from the cell carrier.
Installing applications is very easy and you can find a lot of applications on the web. However most of them are not free (though not expensive). The software available will increase soon as 2 new Microsoft Smartphones were launched recently in the US.
The phone has Windows Media Player 10 Mobile edition and it supports transfer of subscription audio content. This means that you can pay a monthly fee to one of the digital music providers (only those that support a "subscription to go" service) and take as much music as your memory holds with you. This is gonna revolutionize the music industry. Go to playsforsure.com for compatibility with online music services. This phone is certified for both Downloads and Subscription.
The major dissapoitment for me is that this phone only supports a miniSD memory card. This is not an SD card and it is more expensive than an SD card, you cannot find a miniSD card bigger than 512MB and you have to remove the battery to replace it. Also most of the retailers don't have this type of card and if you go to a store it is most probable that they didn't even heard about it.
Also the navigation button is a little difficult to handle and playing games is not very easy though some games look really good on this.
Also the data plan is kind of expensive but this will get better as time goes.
About battery life I can't comment much since I don't use the phone very much and I am charging it every day anyway but it seems ok to me.
54 This Smartphone ROCKS!
The SMT 5600 is the first Smartphone that I have owned, and if all Smartphones are like this, then I'm a believer! Although I have been playing around with it for over a week now, I am still being blown away by its incredible functionality.
First, the battery life has exceeded all my expectations. Being used to charging my phone every night, I was quite surprised when I woke up after forgetting to charge it and saw that the battery was listed as full. For the last 4 days I've been testing the battery on this thing, and am happy to report that I'm still seeing life left in it.
Second, for some reason all of my previous phones have refused to get service in my house. This is no longer a problem. In fact, I haven't dropped a single call since I started using the 5600. I can't even remember a time when a call was breaking up.
Next, the form factor and features of this phone are top of the line. The phone is small, light, and feels good in your hand/pocket. The large color screen is bright (even in sunlight) and the volume of the phone is great. It even has Bluetooth, a VGA camera with camcorder, speakerphone, and a mini SD card slot.
Finally, I have been amazed by the Windows Mobile OS. I was a little nervous at first that the phone would be too complex for me, but have been pleasantly surprised by the overall ease of use. After only a few minutes of setting up my connections and ActiveSync, I was able to press a button and have all of my contacts, calendar, and e-mail on my device in about 20 seconds. For me, it's great to know that I have all of the info that I need with me at all times.
Although it's great to always be in touch with the info you need, it's even better to have some fun :) From games to MSN Messenger to Internet Explorer, the 5600 has more than enough to keep you entertained (it has never been so easy for me to check the football scores while on the road). Best of all, this device is the first to feature Windows Media Player 10. While I didn't know what the big deal about this was at first, I've since realized that it allows me to customize my playlist, view album art, and download content from my favorite music and video services without worry that my device won't be compatible.
So far...this device has it all. Now it's time to make it even cooler by downloading some applications and games. Seeing as this is my first Windows Mobile Smartphone, does anybody have any suggestions?
55 Best smartphone (and smallest) to date
I previously owned an Motorola MPx200 before moving to this new Audiovox, and I'm very pleased all around with the switched. The 5600 is far superior to the MPx200 in every way, including battery life, application responsiveness and signal strength.
When you first hold this phone, you will be shocked at how small it feels. It's slightly taller than the MPx200, but it's about 2/3 the thickness. This makes a big difference in easy it is to put in the front pocket of your pants (for guys). For women, I'm sure it'll make a big difference since you'll likely be using a purse.
I'm sure manufacturers could make it smaller, but I'm not sure if they really want. Here's my reasoning: The Audiovox 5600 is small enough that it's easy to put in your pocket, yet big enough to have large screen (2.2"). It also has a reasonably sized keypad that makes data entry perfect for people with slender fingers, and just slightly inconvenient for folks with fatter hands :)
The screen is exceptionally bright and is easily seen in direct sunlight.
The camera is nothign to brag about, but com'on... are you really going to take pictures with your cell phone and get the printed+framed? Primary use of cell phone camera is to capture quick shots of impromptu things.. more or less "silly" shots that you email or send via MMS. This Audiovox suits that perfectly, and is even good enough to take pictures of notes on a "whiteboard" (think of an office environment) to easily keep a record of a meeting.
Some people make have trouble with the input method of the keypad. Audiovox opted to use a "rocker" style switch instead of directional pad like the MPx200 and 220. This keeps the keypad compact and in my opinion, was a great decision. Some folks might not like it though.
It's worth noting, that this phone is the same as the European SPV C500 (aka Imate SP3). Only difference that I know of is that the European version is 900/1800/1900 GSM versus 850/1800/1900 GSM. Thus, if you are a traveller to Asia, I think this phone might not be ideal since they use 900 over there AFAIK. The addition of the 850 band (that was missing on my old MPx200) has made my reception on AT&T MUCH, MUCH better.
At the time of my review, it is not possible to unlock these phones. The unlock mechanism for the SPV C500 fails for this phone for some unknown reason. However, if you intend to get this unlocked, don't let this stop you from buying this phone. It'll only be a matter of time.
I considered waiting longer for new MPx220, but after holding one in my hand, I was sold on this Audiovox. Not only is the MPx220 larger, but the screen is also smaller and not as bright. The advantages of the 220 however, are: Quad band vs. Triband, 1MP camera and faster processor. However, in real usage, I did not discern a difference between the performance of the Mpx220 vs. the 5600. When comparing photos taken from each camera, i didn't notice a big difference either. Considering the Mpx220 is a 1MP camera, it's disappointing it's not blowing the socks off the 5600.
All in all, the 5600 is the best (and smallest!) smartphone that exists. Performance, battery life and functionality is excellent. I give it 5 stars.
56 It's the one finally... Definitely the MPX220 killer.
I have been waiting for a decent phone that is small in size but with more functions than regular cellphone. I was waiting for Treo 650 or MPX220 since colleagues in the office have been using MPX200 and Treo 600 with good experience. And then I saw this SMT5600 listed on AT&T's site the other day. Did a little bit research on the net and went ahead ordered one from AT&T after reading so many praises from Asian and European sites. At first I was a bit hesitated because of the 'Audiovox' brand. Then I found out everywhere that this particular phone is made by HTC, a good cellphone maker from Taiwan which has been building many PDA phones for various cellphone carriers around the world. Now, here are things I like about this phone:
- Very small and thin. Comparing to my SE T610, it is just a bit longer but thinner. Very easy to leave in my front pocket without the bulkiness.
- Long lasting battery. Very much needed for me.
- Large and bright screen.
- Comes with all the functions I need: Bluetooth, Outlook Sync...
- Very good and stable firmware so far and the build quality is just superb
- Since I don't rely on this camera for good quality picture, the included camera is actually amazingly better than the one on SE T610.
- Very fast navigation thanks to the powerful 200MHz process
Two thing I don't appreciate are that it is SIM locked by AT&T. And, AT&T has really bad reputation on not supplying unlock code to its users. Never can understand why even after the contract ended, they still won't unlock the phone for you. This makes foreign travel very difficult and inconvenient. For loyal AT&T customers, this might not be a big deal tho. Also, if you order from AT&T, you are 'forced' to order their Mobile Internet plan. They won't sell you the phone without this additional plan. And, you cannot cancel the Mobile Internet Plan anytime during your contract. IMO, the internet plan should be an add-on depending on the need of the customer. So I returned my unit to AT&T and order from Amazon. No internet plan is required plus I get the handsome rebate. Very cool I tell you!
Anyway, if you need to feel it, go to a local AT&T Store or order one from here. You won't be disappointed if you don't mind the candybar type of phone. Comparing to the software bugs problems, low battery life, poor image quality from the new MPX220 and the bulky and heavy of Treo, I like this one very much!
57 Very Awesome Phone!
This phone is SIM-locked to AT&T. There are no unlocks available as of 10/22/2004.
This is the only Windows Mobile Smartphone 2003 shipping with the new Windows Media Player 10, which makes syncing music/videos/etc from your computer a breeze.
I was worried to see that this phone showed ZERO signal bars inside my house (I do live in a "low signal" area), but the phone made/received great sounding calls without dropping any.
BlueTooth is great for ActiveSync'ing over, and you can setup voice tags for your contacts that can be used to voice dial, including voice dialing from a BlueTooth headset.
Battery life is MUCH improved over previous Windows Mobile Smartphones. I'm not much of a talker (maybe 10-30 minutes a day) and can go ~3 days before having to recharge, with BlueTooth constantly on (but not discoverable).
WM Smartphone 2003 syncs Outlook Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks seamlessly. It doesn't sync Outlook Notes, but you can buy a cheap 3rd-party program to do that. Pocket Internet Explorer seems a lot faster in this version of the OS, too.
Phone looks great, feels great, sounds great. With Amazon's 30-day guarantee, you really can't go wrong.
58 Is this phone locked to ATT only?
This is the same phone as C500, Dopod 565, and all OEM from HTC Typhoon in Taiwan. My question is whether this phone locked to ATT only? Can it be used for Cingular, Tmobile also running on GSM network?
59 Good multi-purpose phone
The Audiovox SMT5600 is a very good phone that includes the 2nd edition of the 2003 Windows smartphone software. It is sturdy and stylish with good battery life and a comfortable feel in your hands. It also includes bluetooth, which works great with my motorola bluetooth headset. I enjoy the ability to listen to music via the new Windows Media Player. With the Mmode music store it works like a charm. Phone has a light sensor that will adjust the lighting on the keypad according to the condition of your location. With that said, I think the joystick could have been a little better. Sometimes is hard to press your selection without hitting right or left. It takes some getting used to. Good buy overall.
