Audiovox Cell Phones
Audiovox -- Car Stereos and Cell Phones too
Audiovox was originally a car stereo company that made unspectacular aftermarket car audio. Today Audiovox brings their penchant for the less expensive and unremarkable to the cell phone industry.
When browsing the lines of mobile phones for any particular carrier, Audiovox models will often dominate the less expensive end - but that doesn't necessarily mean they're poor quality. Sometimes they'll make a good compromise between the handset you really want and the ones you can actually afford. It's a fair market space to occupy and has turned Audiovox into one of the largest names in the industry. Lately, Audiovox has ventured into higher end territory with Smartphones that have the stuff that makes gadget freaks smile.
Take Audiovox's PPC6600 (also the PPC-6601 and XV660 depending on desired bandwidth and plan). This is fully functional PDA Smartphone with a large high-resolution screen. It runs the latest version of Windows Mobile and with 128M of RAM internal with an expandable SD slot. The PPC-6600 is aimed squarely at competition with the Palm Treo and similarly priced Pocket PCs. The screen is larger than the average Smartphone because the PPC6600 is really a Pocket PC that doubles as a cell phone. As such, it has a larger screen than the Treo and other dedicated Smartphones - and larger keys means easier typing than on the tiny menu-driven systems offered up by many Smartphones.
But the price (around $350 at this time) puts the PPC6600 into Pocket PC territory where more full featured dedicated Pocket PCs can be obtained, like the Dell's Axim X50 and Asus MyPal line. A real Pocket PC will have a larger screen for better video playback and even have built-in cameras that take pictures over 1 megapixel in size. The Audiovox's camera takes pictures at 640x480, which is on the higher end of the industry standards but is only .3 megapixel. The 240x320 pixel screen will be a blast of color for those accustomed to only tiny cell phone screens, but for true Pocket PC aficionados this is nothing to write home to mom and dad about.
Audiovox's other high-end offering shows some real promise. The SMT 5600 is another Smartphone that's not really trying to be a Pocket PC. This one is much smaller in size and will fit comfortably into your pocket. At $300 at the time of writing this is a good choice for someone looking to delve into a digital wireless phone with email capabilities. This one also runs Windows Mobile operating system, supports Bluetooth and has even has a VGA camera with video. Its tiny 2.2 inch TFT screen delivers impressive images at 64K colors.
The SMT 5600 handset has earned praise through industry review, even if there are a few minor quirks. One that seems almost unforgivable is the odd placement for the SD memory card, behind the battery. This makes changing memory modules a rather clunky and inconvenient affair. The design is also small, a plus for portability. Since there is no qwerty keyboard it's not the handset of choice if you plan to compose emails of more than a few words.
Audiovox's line of mobile phones might not be the most memorable. But they're a major player in the industry and deserve consideration when making your choice, especially when making compromises between cost and features. With the right promotional incentives to go with a particular cellular plan, you might just find an Audiovox in your hip pocket.