Audiovox/UTStarcom XV6600 review

Bottom line: this is the most impressive Windows Mobile device I’ve used, with great functionality and capability. Verizon’s BroadbandAccess works great, and the built-in QWERTY keyboard is a terrific feature, but battery life could sure use some improvement.

First, the gross physical attributes. The converged-device market has started to coalesce into two form factors: sticks (like the SMT5600 and palmtop devices, which range from the small Treo to the big ol’ HP 6315– and this device. The XV6600 looks like a conventional PocketPC device, but when you slide it open that’s when you really notice the difference. The screen is brilliant, large, and colorful; I think it’s equal to the 6315’s screen, although perhaps a little brighter in sunlight. Below the screen are the standard set of Pocket PC phone buttons: four hard buttons for Windows Mobile, plus red and green phone buttons.

The 6600’s QWERTY keyboard slides out from beneath the screen. Greg Hughes called it a “pimple-style chicklet bubble layout”, and sadly I have to agree– the keys are little recessed circles, and there’s very little tactile feedback when typing. The keyboard on the Treo is superior, although it’s a good bit easier to enter text on the 6600 thanks to Windows Mobile’s predictive-text engine. (There’s also the fact that you can enter text using only the stylus on the 6600, which of course you can’t do with the Treo).

Phone: the 6600 worked quite well as a cellphone. However, I had trouble making calls since there’s no hard keyboard available for dialing– unless you pull out the QWERTY, in which case there’s no way to tell whether you’re hitting the number keys or not. Many of the heavy Pocket PC phone users I know have Microsoft’s Voice Command installed, and that’s probably the best solution, but I didn’t try it. Speaker and speakerphone volume were good.

Messaging: What can I say? It’s Pocket Outlook, which worked fine over the air and when syncing with my desktop.

Synchronization: As with the SMT5600, I had a few minor problems with ActiveSync on the desktop, but those were easy to resolve. Over-the-air sync with EAS worked well, although I didn’t use it much because of the phone’s terrible battery life.

Bluetooth: This device has great Bluetooth support if you install the available update from Audiovox. I switched from the Jabra FreeSpeak 250 headset to the GN6210, which is essentially the same hardware; after installing the update, I was able to pair the headset and make and receive calls. Range wasn’t that good; the manual suggests putting the phone on the same side of your body as the headset, and I found that if I didn’t do that, I’d get some crackles and static.

Other: it’s a darn good thing this unit has a replaceable battery, because the battery life is terrible. I got about a day per battery charge, and that’s without using the device much as a phone at all. The ringer volume was too low; I missed several calls in airports, taxicabs, and other noisy environments. I never got used to the keyboard, which has basically no “feel” to it.

The one killer feature I haven’t mentioned yet is Verizon’s EVDO network, which offers up to 2Mbps of wireless service. It worked flawlessly in my tests in DC and Cincinnati (well, until my battery died). I didn’t have the right cable to tether the 6600 and use it as a laptop data modem; if you’ve got Bluetooth in your laptop, the process is simpler– in which case you’ll find that Bluetooth is too slow to keep up with EVDO! (Instructions for tethering in USB and Bluetooth modes are here).

Bugs and annoyances: Verizon doesn’t offer this phone with WiFi or a camera, even though other carriers (notably T-Mobile and Cingular) offer versions that have both. The phone would sometimes spontaneously reboot, and it kept bringing up a data connection even though I wasn’t running any data applications (that I knew of, anyway).

Overall, I was impressed with the 6600. Even though it lacks WiFi, it’s much better as a phone than the 6315, and it’s more usable as a PDA than the 5600. However, the large size and poor battery life made it a poor fit for my use, and it’s expensive to boot. However, the EVDO connectivity is a killer feature for mobile users, and once VZW and UTStarcom solve the battery life problem this will really be a contender.