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CNET editors' rating:
2.5
stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 14 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The
good: The UTStarcom CDM-180 has a landscape internal display, as well as voice commands and dialing.
The
bad: The UTStarcom CDM-180 is hampered by a small navigation array, a disappointing VGA camera, poor audio quality, and low battery life.
The
bottom
line: A simple phone with a funny shape, the UTStarcom CDM-180 suffers from substandard features and poor performance. And sadly, it doesn't take full advantage of its quirky display.
Specifications: Carrier: Verizon Wireless ; Band / mode: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 / AMPS 800 ; Combined with: With digital camera ; See full specs
Price range: $17.00
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 12/14/2005
The UTStarcom CDM-180's black and silver color scheme is simple--neither attractive nor repellent. The postage stamp-size external display shows a bright 262,000 colors and displays all the usual information, such as the date, the time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID (where available). On the left spine is a volume rocker and a camera button, while the rear-facing VGA camera is mounted on the top of the phone near the hinge, just where your finger will go as you open the flip. Below the lens is the battery latch, but since it's exposed on the right side, it's far too easy to remove.
The UTStarcom CDM-180's design is marred by some annoyances inside the flip. First off, you'll notice the 1.8-inch-diagonal display has a landscape orientation--not something you see every day on a cell phone. With support for 262,000 colors, it does its job well, but we were divided over the usefulness of the landscape design. While it's useful for typing long text messages, the only other applications that take advantage of the 1.6-inch landscape LCD are the camera photos and the games, which were designed specifically for it. Other images such as wallpaper, however, are simply stretched to fit, and Web pages have a white vertical strip to the right when no graphics fill. Any long menus also require more scrolling since not as many choices fit on a screen.
You would think the UTStarcom's wider body would result in larger dial and navigation keys, but strangely, that's not the case. Dial-pad keys are widely spaced, which will help those with large fingers, but the navigation array is shockingly small, as are the dual Back and Speakerphone keys. On a different note, the Send-key backlight is closer to turquoise than traffic-light green, and the End-key backlight hues skew nearer to purple than red. The rest of the dial pad and the soft menu keys are poorly illuminated with a bright but splotchy cool-blue backlight that actually makes it harder to read the keys in the dark.
If you're going to design a phone with aesthetics that are sure to attract attention, it ought to be packed with features that reflect the interest its looks will receive. Yet for the most part, the UTStarcom CDM-180 offers a run-of-the-mill feature set with just a couple of standouts. The 500-contact phone book has room in each entry for five phone numbers and two e-mail addresses. Contacts can also be paired with any of 20 polyphonic ring tones or a picture for photo caller ID. Other offerings include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, e-mail support, 1-minute voice memos, 99 speed-dial entries, a calendar with a scheduler, a notepad, an alarm, a world clock, a calculator, and a stopwatch. Aside from the basics, you get a speakerphone, as well as voice dialing and commands, which require training for complete hands-free dialing.
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- AudioVox,
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 14 reviews
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Where to buy
UTStarcom CDM-180 (Verizon Wireless):
$17.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$17.00 | Yes |
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