Review: Audiovox SM5600 Smartphone

Posted on October 22, 2005

VOX OMNI POPULUS WHATSIS
by Russell Johnson

I have always been intrigued by the notion of a do-everything personal device. My military career (roughly paralleling the heroics of George W. Bush) exposed me to the M1 steel helmet. The “pisspot” as it was called, was a wash basin, cooking cauldron, latrine, shovel and, if caught with your pants down, you could bonk somebody over the head with it. I thought the Swiss Army Knife was a cool idea but I rarely had use for a screwdriver and a corkscrew on the same day. Mine ended up in the “unclassified” drawer in the kitchen along with the half-dead batteries, rubber bands and expired lotto tickets. And, call me strange, but I have always hated cellphones: carried one as only as a necessity. I could never figure out the menus. I panicked the first time someone sent me a SMS message, thinking it was either a virus or a testy message from God, and shut the phone off.

But, I finally found a personal device, at least as useful as my old M1 that caused me to reassess my bad attitude. It is, sound reveille: the Audiovox SM5600 SmartPhone.

Audio Story MP3

My wife and I were due for new phones and plans from Cingular, which we subscribe to only because we travel internationally and their GSM phones work almost anywhere, better in fact in Delhi or rural Thailand than at home. She bought a Treo 650 (see her review next week) and I bought the Audiovox. The SM5600 is a Windows Mobile Edition phone. It looks like Windows and quacks like Windows, so if you know Windows you’ll master it quickly. This little 3.7 ouncer will provide you with a half-fledged shirt pocket PC that does most of the really useful things you laptop does, including Outlook email, a calendar, task lists, web browsing and video. It synchs up flawlessly with your laptop or desktop to transfer you entire contact list including phone numbers and emails. It plays high-quality stereo audio. Add to that, usual phone stuff: a VGA camera and camcorder and voice memo and you have a device that will inspire you to leave the laptop at home.

The SM5600 is not for big time email users as it does not have a QWERTY keyboard, forcing you to key in John Wayne-style phrases. If you of “the enterprise” (the business mindset not the Starship) I would recommend the Treo. But theSM5600’s brilliant, color 2.2 inch screen works perfectly for reading email, email newsletters and limited web surfing. Its stripped-down version of Internet Explorer allows you to bookmark web sites and even media. We use it as the modern equivalent of a transistor radio, listening to Connected Traveler Radio in stereo anywhere in the world. The device comes with stereo earbuds and serves as a good MP3 player(I use it with noise-cancelling headphones on flights) . We added a 1GB mini-SD card. Not the storage of an iPod, but far more functional and with long battery life, estimated at 140 hours of standby time. I can believe it as I charge mine only once a week.

It also has an excellent speakerphone, better than the fixed business phone in my office. When driving, I toss the SM5600 in ashtray and it works great.

Fashion-wise, this device will easily fit in any pocket without altering your line, if you are blessed with a line. I often carry it in my shirt pocket as it is not much larger than a card case and is virtually weightless.

So, what’s not to like?

The little rocker button navigation system is difficult to use. If you press it wrong it will sent you off in the wrong direction. The keys light up brilliantly in the dark but are small and symbols are slow to key in. The camera shoots rather soft pictures, even though I did manage to shoot a panoramic with it, stitching the photo together in PhotoShop, with good results. Also, once you turn on an application, you have to go to the Task Manager on the menu to shut it off. It may be all right to leave it running but it can slow down your phone. I have put task manager on a voice command so all I do is shout “Task Manager” and up it pops. Sounds kind of weird in a crowd.

But, all in all, I love my little Audiovox SM5600: I can’t pee in it, can’t whack the enemy over the head with it, but like the M1 Steel Helmet it has become my trusty pal. And unlike my other Windows machines, it has not crashed once.