Which is better LGVX10, Audiovox 9500 or the Moto T720?

Having used motorola's in the past, startac and v60, and testing LG's in stores and taking a look and mooching off of my friends' phone... I can definitely say that I made the right choice in upgrading to the Audiovox CDM9500. This phone has it all, and I can't stop using it (my bill next month is going to be atrocious).

First, for the competition. Motorola's have always worn out very quickly with bad battery lifetime (seems that I was scrambling to replace them), and they've never felt solid and sturdy. The T720 has major bugs and I don't know a single person who's kept one, especially since this Audiovox hit the markets... I've known people to swap a T720 for a CDM9500 "3" months after their purchase b/c Verizon knows that the T720 is crap. Motorola is getting lazy with their quality and field testing. LG's haven't been known for the best quality either. A family member of mine was in Korea recently to visit family and she was asking opinions of LG (it's a Korean company) from people over there, and they said that wireless electronics from them are crap. The VX-10 might look like a good choice now, but at $99.99 with only a B&W screen and confusing menus... I would go with the CDM9500 (which I did). The Verizon saleperson whipped out her CDM9500 (right off of her belt clip) and gave me a demo with her personal phone, personalized ringers and schedules and such... and told me to avoid the T720 like the plague and the only reasons to choose the VX-10 would be for smaller and lighter, worse screen and menu, less options, and to spend more money. A new LG, the VX4400, is slated to hit the markets any day now for Verizon. Color screen, coll design, lightweight flip (no speakerphone though) . BUT, it's been slated "any day now" since last October (Verizon and LG ads in magazines been showing pictures of it since then). Tells you something about Verizon's new field-testing results (they don't want another T720 in their stores). Besides, the screen is small and I wanna enjoy my color LCD.

With regards to the CDM9500, this thing has everything that you could possibly want. I love to drive, so the speakphone option was very appealing to me. It's clear and the people I've talked to said that reception was great with it, even from the inside of car cruising the bumpy streets of Boston. The screen is awesome, 64k colors on a large and crisp screen. It's makes the phone a little bigger than some others, but it's well worth it. It may be a little larger, but the weight is great. It's not one of those phones that you're going to feel like is missing when you're actually holding it against your ear and using it. I've always had that complaint about mini cell phones... I wanna feel it in my hand. The clarity is great... people can't tell that I'm on a cell, and the earpiece is clear (the only thing is that sometimes the earpiece volume is a little low... it rings low naturally, but when the line is picked up, the volume is higher. Don't be fooled by the volume of the actual ringer).

The build quality is great... it's the result of a collaboration between Audiovox and Toshiba... one known for its wireless quality and the other for its hi-tech electronics and top-of-the-line quality. It's got a sturdy flip that clicks in place both open and closed, never feels like the hinge is going to give way or snap. The ringers are loud and the vibrate option will shake your hip. It's stylish with an external two-line LCD that tells you everything. This thing holds a signal in the worst places (signal wise), and the call quality sounds as though you've got a full four bars, even when you're bordering on one. It won't totally eliminate dead spots (only Verizon can do that), but it'll work wherever it can latch on to even the most minute signal.

Okay, now for the one thing that everyone else complains about that I don't mind. The battery life with the included 650mAh li-ion battery is somewhat short (only 90min of digital use), and I bought the extended battery from Verizon when I bought the phone because they gave me $10 off. With the current price of the phone ($149.99 - $100.00 mail-in-rebate with an old phone = $49.99). The extended battery brought my total to $200.00 before rebate, and when I get that back, everything is well worth it.

Go to a store and test it out and see if you like the look and feel of it. Ask the salesperson to give you a demo. I would definitely go to a Verizon store, because I don't think any of the "Authorized Sellers" are even allowed to carry this phone (the Radioshacks and resellers in my area all say that they don't have permission to sell and their warehouses don't even carry them... but that could change since the phone is still very new). Holy... this is long enough. Good luck with your purchase. Hope this helped.

- Fred

 

No problem... glad I could help... enjoy the phone. Heard that the LG VX4400 came out, and it's listed on Verizon's website. From what I've heard so far from people who've checked it out, stick with the Audiovox ;-) Just don't trust the LG build quality yet.

- Fred

 

I can't speak about the LG, but between the T720 and CDM9500, there is no question that the 9500 is much better. The reception and clarity are far superior to the T720.

 

Hi:

BUmmedic I read your post on the Audiovox CDM9500. Just prior to reading your review I was torn between getting the new LGVX4400 and the CDM9500 with my new Verizon service.

I must admit I was swayed by your review. I am awaiting the CDM9500 but am concerned about the following and would love to hear fruther from you on this:

1. I just learned that the SAR rating on this phone is as follows:


CDMA-1.38
AMPs-1.38
CDMA PCS-1.25
This is kind of on the high side and I am a little sorry that I didn't find that out before ordering the phone. Further I have been reading and hearing such good things about the VX4400 (admittedly the phone is new and the reviews are not all out there yet).

I figured that I would buy a car kit (not just a handsfree kit) to keep the high SAR rating from my head constantly. Actually I am sharing this phone with my godmother who is older and I am concerened for her.

Are you hearing anything new about the VX4400 that is good as I still have 15 days to return the AudioVox if I want.

Thanks for the input.

 

Jude... the actual SAR ratings for this phone are listed below. I searched on the FCC web site (www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid) using the FCCID CJ6DCE46036A and pulled up the test report for the CDM-9500 with the SAR ranges. They are as follows...

Max SAR rating:

AMPS = 1.330 W/kg Head and 0.591 W/kg Body
CDMA = 0.636 W/kg Head and 0.327 W/kg Body
PCS CDMA = 1.350 W/kg Head and 0.341 W/kg Body

As you can see, the SAR ratings are a lot lower for CDMA (which is the principle radio frequency that you'll be using, and maybe PCS in some areas), so if you're in your home area you'll be fluctuating from 0.636 to 1.350 for your head and 0.327 to 0.341 for your body. Remember, these are the maximal, upper-limit measurements as measured in a scientific lab under conditions to elicit the highest radiation. In real world use, I think you'll experience levels a lot lower than this. It's your call.

So far, from what I've heard of the LG, it's a nice phone, but for more money, it's not worth it. Sure it's better than their previous phones and they're improving with every wireless product, but the CDM-9500 has a better screen, better build, better reputation for wireless quality and software stability (LG's are notorious for software problems and lots of fixes), speakerphone, easier menu system, and a more intuitive overall layout and operating system. I would go with that you have. That's my personal (and baised, I just got off the phone) opinion.

- Fred

 

Hi Fred:

I am so grateful for your feedback.
Wow..I am surprised to see your numbers. I must say that I am confused. Do you know that I got those SAR numbers from the Audiovox website? I feel unsure about which numbers to rely upon.

I may seem neurotic but Fred one of the persons who will be using my phone has a history of brain tumor in the family and that is why I was so concerned about the SAR. Which set of numbers is reliable and why would Audiovox provide me with such a high set. I am happy to hear about the CDMA rating. I am a system administrator so I understand what you are talking about as I did a review of the protocols and technology involved in cell phones and services...clearly the anaolog brings the highest SAR...I would be much happier to know that your numbers are right but I am shocked that Audiovox would provide me with such high numbers.

I hope I made the right decision with this phone though I feel happy to hear that you feel it is a good phone...would you still buy the Audiovox CDM 9500 right now if you were I and had the joice between this phone and the LG? Right now both are the same price.

Fred, you have been so helpful... so please let me ask you one more thing...my godmother who is older will be using this phone...I advised her that we could buy a hands free car kit for this phone. ....but the same person at Audiovox advised me that a hands free "car kit" could not be used with this phone.

Oddly at the following website: http://www.mobilizenow.com/dis_cart.cfm?NFS=21937140&CFID=1055844&CFTOKEN=96849722
they are purporting to sell a Quantum 3000 handsfree kit for the CDM 9500..so I am not clear on the answer to being able to use a handsfree kit with this phone...I was concerned that the built in two way speakerphone on this phone would interfere with such a kit.

My godmother hates those over the ear and even over the head ear pieces with boom mic..so I was hopeful of getting her the Quantum but Audiovox's Rep seems to imply that I can't use such a kit.

I would appreciate any feedback on the handsfree car kit if you know anything about it and if push comes to shove and I have to buy my godmother and regular handsfree kit...what brand would you suggest.

I am grateful for the time and input you have provided with your responses.

 

Oh Fred on last thing:

Below I am pasting a review which someone did of the Audiovox CDM9500..I am very concerned about the quality and volume of the phone because my godmother who will share the phone is much older.

I am hoping that the review below is the result of a bad phone...I also read such mixed reviews on the quality of the speakerphone..that is built in...

What do you this of this reviewer's comments. I am sorry to bother you fred but since I am making this decision for two people and since Verizon gives 15 days...to change..I am trying to get all the info possible..although stupidly maybe we bought the extended battery for the Audiovox..and I don't know if they will let us return that in the 15 day period.

Anway here is one reviewer's opinion of the Audiovox..what are your thoughts:


ssiegler,
I had the AudioVox CDM-9500 for about a week and I sent it back. I now am trying out the LG 4400. My original phone was an old Samsung 850, very similar design to the LG

The 9500's screen was big & beautiful, by far it's best feature in my opinion and the sound quality was generally great, however, I had been told that I sounded like I was talking under water at times, and other times the volume on the receiver dropped to just above a whisper, for no apparent reason. In all fariness though, I noticed this on the LG a couple times as well while it had full signal strength, so in retrospect it could have just been Verizon, or it could be the hardware, unsure.
For me, the 9500's minor inconveniences were that unlike the LG, there are no side volume controls, which after being used to them on my old Samsung, the fact that the 9500 did not have them was a real nuisance. The side controls on the LG also let you mute the ring of an incoming call, activate the backlight on the external display, and there's a third button just below the volume controls that enables the Voice Dial. You cannot access these features on the 9500 without fumbling about the keypad to activate them, so the side controls are very nice

The keys on the 9500 are smooth and flush with the phone chasis as opposed to being flush but tactile rubbery keys like the LG, this makes the LG easy to use. There also didn't appear to be a lamp alert mode on the 9500, meaning the lamp flashes when a call comes in but the ringer and the vibrate are suppressed, this is called "Silence All" mode in the LG.

With my old Samsung I can be driving down the road with the windows open and people cannot tell whether I'm on my cell phone or on a wired phone. The mic cuts ALL background noise out except me, the AudioVox did not appear to do that. The LG's mic is not quite as good as the Samsung for cancelling out background noise, but it seems far better than the 9500's mic.

As for the LG, apart from the mic not being quite as good as my old Samsung, the only other thing I noticed was that for some weird reason it decided to reboot itself about 3 times in a row, for no real reason. This was at about 2:30 in the morning so I'm not sure if Verizon wasn't doing something weird with their signal, although I can't see that being the reason, at least I hope it's not. A friend of mine has the LG also and he noticed it reboot a couple times while he was just playing with the downloaded modtones?? I've seen some other posts about this issue as well, so I'm thinking I'll call Verizon just to make sure I can get a replacement phone if I notice it happen again. Possibly a firmware update for the phone can fix the problem?

Other than that, so far everything else is great. The LG's internal screen is considerably smaller than the 9500 but it's a very nice screen, and the external screen is considerably larger than the external AudioVox screen. The LG's external screen also has multiple colors that you can set, as well as the ability to assign a particular color to incoming calls,missed calls, msgs, etc. so the selected color flashes on the external display

Perhaps I just got a bad Audiovox phone, I'm just stating my experience with the one I had, however, the lack of side controls and the flush keys on the 9500 are enough to keep me from going back to it. There was also a review on PhoneScoop about the 9500's sound dropping as well, so I know it wasn't just my phone.

 

Jude... you're peace of mind is the most important decision when buying a cell phone. If you're going to be uncomfortable and worry about the SAR ratings, then don't keep it and wait/get another phone that you'd be happier with. The volume on my Audiovox has never "dropped" out, and I still have my own apprehensions when using the speakerphone, thinking people won't hear me unless I'm right next to the speaker/mic, but I've held conversations from across the room with it on my desk. The earpiece volume is a little lower than on my previous phones (Moto's tend to be really loud), but I still find it adequate, and the reception is better than most landlines I know of. I'm happy with my purchase, and I'm just giving you my two cents about everything. In the end, it's going to be your personal feelings on your decision, and I can only hope that I've helped you make the right choice for you. Good luck!

- Fred

PS - If there's anything else I can help you with, don't hesitate to post.

 

Hey Fred:

You have been so great with your input and I thank you.
I realize I am just a bit neurotic right now. My brother is dying of cancer and I am driving up and down over 80 miles a day and I realize that I am over worrying about things...we need a good phone right now and it was probably the worst time to order one since I am focusing on maybe too many things at once.

I am so glad to hear from you that your speakerphone works so well and it will give me an indication when we receive ours which should be tomorrow morning.

About the SAR...I was just wondering why these numbers were so different...which do you think is more accurate?
Finally..do you know anything about an external car kit and its compatibility with this set.

If you don't mind..we we do receive the phone if we find that there is anything going on weird with it would you mind if I post more to get further feeback from you since you have had experience with the phone.

Thanks again for being so helpful despite my incessant worry that I am making wrong choices.

Jude

 

Anything you need, just post and I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours. As for the SAR ratings, I think Audiovox erred on the side of caution and gave out higher-end values so they wouldn't be accused of deceiving people to think that they were getting lower doses when they might be experiencing higher. Why they didn't just give the range, I don't know. Also, the jury is still out as to cell phones and brain cancer... there are arguments for both sides and enough evidence to keep them at each others' throats about cell phones until we're so evolutionarily advanced that we're communicating telekinetically. I'm very sorry to hear about your brother. I hope that he, you, and your family and all doing well. Best of luck and my best wishes to all of you.

- Fred

 

I have to agree with Fred in his assessment and review of the 9500. It is a wonderful phone and I simply love mine. The screen is a sight to behold, much bigger, brighter and sharper than any color phone on the market today. I haven't experienced any problems with the volume or speakers and they work perfect. I love the speaker function and also the voice dialing. It is the most accurate of any phone I've used. The menus are simple and easy to navigate unlike the LG's and Motorolas. The battery is a bit weak, but with proper charging and discharging a couple of times when I first got it, I get two to three days normal talk and standby between charges. I also bought the extended battery as a backup. Reception is incredible; I get a signal where other phones do not. In fact it's so good that I never have to raise the antenna.

I've read on other forums about so many problems with LG phones software, although I don't have any experience with any of them. I did try out the Moto 720 and it is a piece of junk. The screen is dull and grainy and the phone just feels cheap and flimsy. Plus there are so many issues discussed in forums about its short battery life, locking up and poor reception ability. And the menus are a nightmare to navigate through. Of all the color phones I'm familiar with this one lands in last place hands down. The Samsung AH500 that Sprint has is fairly nice, but the screen is small and so are the buttons. And when you use it the case gives.

To me the Audiovox just wins hands down over all these phones. It has a definite quality feel to it (missing in the other phones, except for the LG 4400) and has a nice click when you open and close it. It is a little larger than these others, but not by much. It still fits nicely in your pocket or purse and the large screen is worth the small increase in size. Even though the belt holster is plastic, it was well thought out as it will accomodate the phone with either the standard battery or extended one. It's evident that a lot of thought went into this phone and I wouldn't trade it for any other phone on the market, regardless of the carrier.

 

Dear Fred:

First thank you so much for your kinds words and wishes about my brother. Unfortunately he died tonight.

Now because of this I really need the cell phone. I have set it up tonight since we will desperately need it the next couple of days.

All seems to be working great just as you said. (Well the speaker does not work that well in the car..too much background noise I guess and I have it at the highest volume.

Fred I have this critical question: I will try to be as clear as possible.

My goal was to set up the phone so that when we missed a call it would give a continuous reminder tone.
Given that goal - I read the manual and did the following:
I set the Beep Alert to ON in the Tone/Settings Menu and I also set the Service Alert to ON
Next in the Message/Settings Menu I set the Voice Mail to Loud Beep and I set the Text to Loud Beep (I know that I can pick any tone I want.
Much to my dismay: when we get a voice mail - the ONLY thing that happens is that the outside green light on the external part of the phone flashes AND we see on the Sub display - Missed Call. The phone does not at all provide us with reminder beeps...ALSO..there is no Icon of a mail folder display either on the sub display or the Main display.
ODDLY...when we get a text message the phone does provide us with reminder beeps..althoug it only provides us with one beep and does not do it again.
This Can't be right..and I am worried that in the middle of all this we will have to return the phone.
I mean it is clear that I have programmed the phone to give us reminder beeps for both text and voice mail.
Fred do you have this problem? Is this normal?
So far today I have used many features..save for things like locking the phone and VAD.
Gosh I would hate to have to return the phone.
The other bad thing about the phone is that when we miss a call and I view the voice mail and then I press on the "mail" icon which is between the soft keys at the top of the phone it tells me I have no messages even though I know that I do since I just saw it on the display. In fact when I call my voice mail box by pressing *86 with Verizon..it tells me I have messages.
What bothers me is that there is no way to remind myself that I have voice mail once I clear the screen and I can't get the reminder beeps to work..all we have is the flashing green light.

Would love your feedback as soon as you can.

Jude

 

Jude... I'm very sorry to hear about your brother. My condolences to both you and the rest of your family.

I just sent myself a test voicemail, and I got my phone to ring loudly to notify me of the new VM, and then to ring again every 2 minutes.

1. Hit the message button beneath the display (the envelope)
2. Go to "Msg. Settings"
3. Go to #4, "Alert"
4. Go to #1, "Voice Mail"
5. Select "Loud Beeps" (this option repeats the tone approximately every 2 minutes, unless the VM came in while the flip was open/phone was in use. This only notifies you repeatedly if the VM comes in with the flip closed and it remains closed. As soon as you open the flip, or if you're looking at the screen when the VM comes in, there's a notification screen telling you that you received a VM, and your soft keys give you the "listen" and "ignore" options. You can CLR or END, in addition to hitting hte "ignore" soft key, out of this screen if you don't want to check yet. The envelope icon will appear on both LCD screens as long as you've got unchecked VM, but the tones will not sound if the flip is open when the phone receives VM notification.)
6. Hit the back button (on the navigation key) or the CLR button (clear) to get back to the VM/e-mail/text/page alert menu
7. Go to #6, "Settings"
8. Choose #1, "Tone length" (mine's set at the default "1 sec." length)
9. Hit the back or CLR button
10. Choose #2, "Tone volume" (mine's set at 4 bars)
11. Repeat for e-mail/text/page/acknowledge alert if you wish to set these the same way.

A couple of things...

1. You set the single beep alert on... this means that when you adjust your phone's ringer volume (F31) to off, then an incoming call will sound off as a single audible beep.
2. You cannot do the 2-minute repeat notification with a "custom" ring. At least I don't think you can.
3. If you want the phone to default to your ringer selection (either normal or vibrate) when notifying you of an incoming VM/e-mail/text/page, then you must choose a custom ring for your notifications (instead of "loud beeps" in the steps above). For example, if you're notification is set to "loud beeps," but your phone is set to vibrate (maybe in a theater), the phone will still audibly notify you of your VM/e-mail/text/page with loud beeps every 2 minutes, even though it's set to vibrate on a call. If you select a custom ringer (the low/loud beep is actually ringer #2), then when you're phone is set to vibrate, your notifications will vibrate also, and if it's set to ring, they will audibly sound like the default setting.
4. In the car, I set the speakerphone volume to 4-bars, and I find the best position for the phone is clipped to the visor with the flip partially open during a call so that the speaker/mic is directed towards your mouth. I've used my speakerphone plenty this way with no complaints from the people on the other line.

I hope all works out well.

- Fred

 

Fred,

I just bought an Audiovox CDMA 2000.... It has "Get it now" .... But where the heck do I get wallpapers? I've looked everywhere. Thank you in advance,


TJ

 

Hi Fred:

thank you for your good wishes..it's about 6 am and I am heading upstate to assist with preparations for the funeral..but I also have this 15 day thing hanging over my head with Verizon so I am trying to take care of business with that.

You - as has been the case so far - are very helpful...but based upon the information you gave me I think we will have to return the phone and I will tell you why.
Every bit of information you gave me..i did exactly..and by the way..I didn't write this previously I tried very permutation of those instructions as the manual said...I tried beeps, Loud every two minutes and I tried custom tones..I absolutely have the setting for voice mail and text set to alert but only get alerted on text..and nothing else..I think there is a problem with the phone.
I also tried the phone with the beep alert set to on and with it set to off. I just can't get the phone to notify us of a missed voicemai.

Morever I forgot to ask you this and this is important:

When the phone is OFF (not standby) but off and a voicemail comes in while the phone is off. WHEN we do turn on the phone we have absolutely NO indication at all of having received a voicemail..there is no flashing light, there is no message on the display, there a surely no beep tones..this is very WEIRD..in fact the only way I know we have voicemail is that I simply call our voicebox and see that we have several messages...something is not right unless that is normal for this phone which would be sort of dumb. Please post whether you have this experience.

Also Fred one thing you didn't respond to if you don't mind doing so here:
When we do have a voice mail...I tried pressing the "envelope icon" which is located between the soft keys..and then I select "Voice Mail" option and it always says we have NO Message even when we do have voicemail.

I have sent an e-mail to verizon maybe it has something to do with the way they have our voicemail set up..cause I have read the manual over and over and the information which you provided is exactly what I have done and it does not work right...would you just let me know your responses to my questions above.\
Thank you so much again for your help.

 

First... for xwildx... there is currently no known way to download wallpapers from Get It Now (GIN, in shorthand), or off of the internet, from personal photos on your computer, etc. VZW is currently working on a GIN program that would allow the downloading of wallpapers from sites/servers/companies that are contracted with GIN. Of course, this will probably be associated with a charge per wallpaper or set of wallpapers.

Jude,

If the envelope is visible on your LCD screens, then that's your VM indicator and you don't need to go and hit the envelope button for it to tell you. There is a VM button there in the envelope menu, but I've never used it, so I don't know. I'll have someone leave a VM on my phone later today and I'll check that to see if it tells me anything.

Second, when you start the phone and have a VM waiting for you, you should get an indicator (again, should ring if your flip is closed, and just show the screen indicator if open) that tells you that you have VM waiting. Again, I will test this out again to see because as yet, I don't turn my phone off much and have never gotten a VM during a time that my phone has been off.

I'll get back to you as soon as I can (prob later this afternoon).

- Fred

PS - Sorry to hear that the phone is not working as it should... once we trouble shoot these two things, I would definitely take it back to VZW with the results and ask for a switch.

PSS - Try a programming sequence (turn off, turn on, press *228 then SEND and follow the prompt to program phone). If *228 doesn't get you into on-air programming, try #228, can't remember which, but I think *228 works. The computerized operator will tlel you to press #1 for programming or #2 for roaming update. Do both (requires a reboot each, must do one or the other at a time).

 

If there is no way to download wallpaper... Why is that advertised as one of the "features" of this phone? I'm kinda bummed now. That was one of the selling points for me. And why are ther NO GAMES at all on this phone other than the ones you have to pay for? for a $150 phone you would assume at least there would be SOME game ? Is there anywhere to download FREE games?

 

Hi Fred:

I have a break right now - in between wake hours - I am still dealing with the phone...I am using my notebook to share this with you.
I realized that I had read the manual from cover to cover and I could not be programming this phone incorrectly.
I thought to myself that there might be an issue at verizon's end..so I spoke with them..well guess what.

Oh I probably never shared this info with you but do you know what I do for a living? I am a computer Network/System Administrator. I am new to cell technology but I know how to read a manual...and I just figured I can't be reading this incorrectly..I had programmed the phone correctly...However, your experience with the phone itself is invaluable to me and that is why I have been buggin you.

READY? I asked to speak with someone at Verizon who understood networks and that person and I had a technical conversation and ready...they activated my voice mail box BUT forgot to turn on the Voice Mail Service so that their network would notify my phone when there was voicemail..so guess what..all is working now...that is icons, Voice Mail (with the envelope icon) now shows me the number of calls in voicemail..and of course the "alert is also now notifying me". How about that? Yikes.

Anyway..here is one more thing for which I want to tap into your experience with the phone: When you are on a call...AND...another call comes in...and it goes into voicemail (so you are on the phone and the phone is open when a call goes into voice mail...what indicator do YOU (you personally Fred) see on your phone to tell you that you missed a call. It is clear that the alert beep will not work..but do you see a "message" indicator either on the sub menu or menu of your phone...this is the next thing I need to test now..so I can make sure it is working.

I am so grateful for your input Fred...at this point I will have to get as familiar with cellular networks as I am with TCP/IP LAN WAN networks.

I will check this site again after the last set of "wake" viewing hours for my brother. Unfortunately we got this phone right when all of this happened so I have to keep dealing with it before our 15 days are over.

Thanks
Jude

 

xwildx... as of right now, I don't know (and I'm a member of a Audiovox CDM-9500 forum that has a lot of members that are really concerned with these developments and discoveries) of any way to download free wallpaper or ringers or games for VZW phones with GIN. I don't know about LG and data cable availability and the possibility of uploading information (games, wallpaper, ringer, etc.) from your personal computer, but I haven't heard of anyone being able to do this with other phones. I suggest you try to find another forum or create your own within this group of forums for your particular phone and hopefully others with your phone who have more experience with that particular model will reply and be able to help you more. I own an Audiovox CDM-9500, and we have our own Yahoo! group for these issues. Good luck.

=========================================================

Jude... Glad to hear that you were able to work out your VM problems with verizon over the phone.

As for receiving a call when already on a call and having that caller leave a VM. I think that's happened to me once with the CDM-9500, but lots of times in the past. A number of things may happen...

1. You'll hear the call waiting beep during your call, and the 2nd caller will get kicked to VM after a number of rings. When they leave you a VM and you're still talking with someone, your envelope icon may show, you may hear an audible prompt (a beep, etc.) while on the call to notify you, and your screen will change to a VM notification screen. This happens when I receive a text message or e-mail when on a call, so I'm assuming this is what happens when you get a VM.

2. You will not be notified of a VM until you end your current call... as soon as the call is ended, your envelope indicator will come on, you should hear an audible alert, and your screen should display an indicator screen/picture for your VM telling you that you got new messages. You should also, at some point, maybe after you END out of the indicator screen or check your VM, get a missed called indicator screen. For example... when you end the call, you should hear and see new VM indicators and the screen should show that you've got a new VM (the same as if you got one while you're phone was off/closed, and you opened it up to the VM indicator screen). You can END/CLR/ignore out of this, or go on to check your VM. After either END/CLR/ignore or checking your VM, you should get a missed call indicator.

I'm not sure, but more than likely, #1 is what you'll get. When I was on a call, the screen changed to a new message indicator screen (animation with envelope and mailbox), and my envelope indicator came on. Hope this helps.

- Fred

 

Jude and xwildx... sorry, xwildx, but I misread and thought you bought an LG VX2000, but you mentioned a CDMA2000, which is the Audiovox CDM-9500, as far as I know. I recommend going to the following link to find the best online group for this phone. We have our own forum and files sections with FAQ's, tips & tricks, photos, etc. There are a couple files in their for new users of the forum, and I suggest you read that first before posting because that may contain answers to a lot of your questions.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/audiovox9500

- Fred

 

Hi Fred:

Fred, we are in Poughkeepsie New York today and for the wake and funeral hours.

We are finding that we get reception outside but when we go into a restaurant and into the hotel..we are unable to make calls.

Also in our building we get good reception but when we go into our elevator we get nothing...my friend can make and receive calls in the elevator.

Do you find this to be the case with your phone?
You know it unfortunate that consumers aren't able to learn which actual component is used as the transceiver and which phones enjoy the reputation for a well built transceiver.

The phone has been otherwise nice....I am just tryng to take advantage of the 15 day trial period at Verizon..
Are you hearing anything New about the quality and reception of the LG 4400..i know you posted once that people did not think highly of LG in Korea but if that was so then I wonder why Verizon is using their phones so much...

Would love your thoughts on this issue of reception in the buildings.

Jude

 

Jude... the reception issue can just be a product of coverage in that P-town, NY (sorry, I'm not even going to attempt to spell that). Every wireless carrier has different coverage. Does your friend have Verizon? If he can make calls inside and in elevators, then I would suggest you take your phone, shut off, shut on, immediately type *228 and SEND, and follow the voice prompt for programming. WARNING... only do this if you're in a home calling area, not any type of roaming. If you do this while roaming BAD THINGS will happen when you get back to a home area. If he's not on Verizon, then his provider may just have better coverage in that particular area. I get that all the time in Boston where I can make calls and other can't and vice versa depending on the make of phone and especially the service provider.

As for the VX4400, VZW prob signed a major contract with them as a phone provider and just wants to get as much out of the deal as possible. Sprint LG's are plagued with problems, and Verizon's LG's in the past don't have any better of a track record. I was in the store today to swap out for a new 9500 because little did I know until yesterday that mine suffered from a known software issue that prevented me from programming in any voice-dialing shortcuts. It's a known bug in a minority of 9500's and VZW swapped me out no questions asked. I saw a lot of people looking at and experimenting with the VX4400. In fact, the salesperson who swapped me out asked me about my 9500 in a funny and inquisitive tone of voice, "Do you like this phone?" I told her that I loved it, and I would love it even more once I got one that voice-dialed. The customer in the next booth was actually buying a VX4400 at the same time I was swapping for a new 9500. Her salesperson was hyping it up and I was looking at him with a very skeptical eye, wondering how much his commission was going to be.

I played with a demo a little. The inside screen in nice (same color depth and resolution), but noticeably smaller and not as bright. The
outer display is larger, but unnecessary if you can do fine with the smaller one on the 9500 (and I don't need different colors out there
either). The ringers didn't sound as nice and clear. In fact, there was a little background hissing and minor distortion on several of
them. The sound quality was good, if not as good as ours, but the signal strength was fluctuating while my 9500 stayed on full signal.
My one big pet peeve was the flip strength. Ours clicks and if you push it back farther, it just doesn't move... there's no give
whatsoever. The VX1 and VX10 had a pretty sturdy flip with very little give, but the VX4400 seemed much more fragile. I could move
the flip a couple of millimeters if I pushed on it with my finger or pressed it up to my ear. That bothers me in a flip. Also, the body
creaks/squeaks when you open/put pressure on the flip and when you press on the keys (it actually felt like you were compressing the phone's body together as though there was a lot of empty space under the keypad. That's another build quality no-no. Feels like
cheap plastic... a T720 kind of feel.

I'm happy with my 9500 and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I think it's the best that VZW has to offer. That's my two cents...

- Fred

 

Hi Fred:

I read your most recent posting and I have and continue to welcome your "two cents" and more.

Tell me..can you give me a bit more detail about the problem with your phone...well to put it simply:

1. Is there a way to tell what version of the software you had that DID not work so that I can see if I have the version that does work.
Basicially how do I tell if my phone is one of those with the problem? We just got ours on Wed as you know. I am really interested in this issue.

2. You know Fred..I called Verizon tonight about the *228 and the rep told me "you should never do that"..she said option 1 was just to activate your phone the first time...and she did not explain option 2 so much except to tell me that my phone already has the current prl (whatever that is)...she went out of her way to say don't do *228. What's up with that.

Anyway Fred..I remain so grateful for you input and more importantly right now while I am attending a wake and a funeral and trying to make phone decisions at the same time.

I eagerly await your next post.

Thanks so very much.
Jude

OH Fred P.S.: you know how computers have an operating system with a version number and you can patch them...are there any techical pages on this phone so I can see if there is an OS and how to monitor if I am current etc...the book that comes with the phone does not say much.

 

Jude... if you go to the display menu and click on information (F26), it will tell you the phone's software version number (mine is 111.030), and your PRL and ERL ID numbers. *228 is useful because Verizon is always updating and installing new cell towers, and all it does is sync your phone with your new towers and download any updated roaming lists. Customer support is going to tell you not to do it unless you call in with a problem and they figure this might help. Many people recommend doing this once a month, others recommend twice a year. It's a toss up. Since the phone is new, I wouldn't bother. I only suggested it in case there was a misprogramming to begin with when they activated your phone. Doesn't happen often, but I imagine it does happen. After all, technology is not perfect.

My phone problem was a voice dialing entry error. When I would access my voice dialing menu (push the envelope key from the main display and scroll down to the voice dialing option), my list would be empty. I would then press the left soft key (assigned to "entry") and try to create a new entry. What's supposed to happen is the phone gives you a voice prompt through the earpiece that says, "Name Please?" You say the name once, it asks for it again, and you repeat it. If both times are similar, it accepts it and then gives you phonebook search options (number, alphabetic, etc.). You find the phone number you want to assign this to, and select it. Then you hit the left soft key to save and it asks you to confirm, you hit yes. Now your voice dial and saved for that number and you can press and hold the SEND key to get the prompt and dial by voice.

The known glitch is when your phone doesn't allow you to create new VD entries. When you left soft key "entry" an error message pops up that says, "voice dial entry error." Both Verizon and Audiovox have documented this glitch and Verizon swapped me out no questions asked. Try your voice dial and program a few in (I've heard that sometimes it lets you put one or a couple in there and then the error happens).

As for phone OS, I'm not sure about that. There are debug and phone setting menus that you can access, but I don't fool around with that stuff. You can change your idle banner, startup animation, etc. I would suggest reading the FAQ file at the previously mentioned yahoo group to get more information. Good luck, and I hope all is going well.

- Fred

 

Hi Again Fred:

Fred..I don't have the manual to our phone with us at the wake..

I did look at our phone and our version number is: 111.030 does this mean that we will have one of those quirky phones that does not work with Voice Activated Dialing? Is it all phones with this version number or just some phones?

Grateful again for your help during this difficult time.

Jude

P.S..so far happy with the phone..thank you for your suggestion

 

Fred:

One last thing..we bought the extended battery and used it for the first time this weekend..I will say this..there is NO way we got 2 hours talk time..and surely didn't get 6 days standby...we put the battery in on Saturday Morning...and most certainly did not use the phone 2 hours and we already had to charge it Sunday night..well actually..I think we made a mistake the battery was in the red zone and we needed it for the next day at the wake so we just charged it even though you are supposed to fully discharge a battery.

So at this point ..we are happy with the phone but disappointed with the battery life of the extended.

Now I must say this: we have the backlight set to always on because my godmother's vision is not great..as you know that backlight goes off on the main menu when you close the door but it stays on on the sub menu.

Any thoughts or suggestions.

Hey Fred...is there a tech website where you are collecting this information that I can use so I don't bother you so much.

I checked out Yahoo but I don't like that they want my entire birthdate just to post and read their board...any other websites you can think of?

Jude

 

Jude... no other websites off the top of my head. That's the biggest and best forum out there for the phone. You're software version is the same as my phones have been, so it's just some that have the VD glitch. You won't know until you try it.

As for the battery life, keeping the backlight always on will drain your battery extremely fast, and I'm betting that's what's doing most of it. I'm not sure about the full disharge cycles and what not. Some say it helps, others say it doesn't. I use the slim battery most of the time (usually charge every night even if I still have a full battery meter). I only used the extended if I know I'm going to be in a poor reception area (like spending all day inside in lecture halls and hospitals and such). So far, I've been doing all right, but I tend to recharge every day or every other day just to make sure I've got juice in case I need it). Get a car charger for the times that you're on the road and you should be fine... keep your slim battery fully charged and ready in case you need a quick change out also. Hope this helps.

- Fred

 

Hi again Fred:

You are so great!!!
Okay so do I understand correctly that even the new phone which you just got is also the same version number?

I created my first VAD tag..I think it worked correctly. Tell me if I am wrong. I created a tag Jude Office...the phone said Entry Confirmed and I linked it to a phone book entry...then I pressed and held the "green VAD/Send Key"..I was prompted name please..and I said Jude Office and it said dialing and called my office...is that it?...I will be so thrilled if all is working fine..right now it is a pain to have to do anything more with our phone.

Fred I don't know how to thank you enough..you have been so helpful and I am very grateful.
Fred in my profile I have displayed my e-mail address if you want to e-mail instead of posting.

He Fred I know what PRL is but what is ERL?

I am so glad I ran accross you and your suggestion for this phone..you are right..we have been very pleased with the speakerphone and with the phone in general save for those issues in those two buildings and Verizon's screw up about not activating our voicemail.

Again I remain grateful to you for your help.

Oh hey Fred..any ideas on a good nationwide paging service?

Best wishes
Jude