Excellent Evaluations

Verizon XV6700

February 21st, 2006

So you’re in the market for a new cell phone and you want a PDA running Windows Mobile 5.0 with a QWERTY keyboard. Well, you’re in luck. The XV6700 from Verizon (PPC-6700 on Sprint) will rock your socks off. I purchased it from Verizon for $299 and happily pitched my Treo 600 in the trash never to look back. Here’re the ups and the downs of this fantastic device.

Pros
The biggest pro for me is Windows Mobile 5.0 (or wm5.0). It’s awesome and is a breath of fresh air compared to the Palm inspired nightmare I was living in with my Treo 600. It comes with mobile versions of the major Microsoft Office applications which enable you to open and create Word and Excel documents. You can also view PowerPoint files. The first day I got this thing someone emailed me a PowerPoint file that I had to review and comment on quickly. It was so convenient to open it, view the file and then email my comments back all while out on the road.

For those of you using Microsoft’s Exchange email server you’ll be living in the world of push email that was previously the sole domain of Blackberry users. I haven’t used push email on this phone but here’s what it does; when you get an email on your mail server, it forwards a copy of it to your phone and you are alerted to it. The mobile version of Outlook is installed on the phone to handle email duties and like its desktop cousin it works fine. POP3 email is a breeze as well. I’ve had no problem downloading and sending messages. The way ActiveSync downloads your email from your desktop/server and stores the messages on your phone is a lifesaver for those on the run all the time. It’s very nice to be able to review a message that was previously downloaded to your desktop. Windows Explorer works great and the data transfer seems to be just as fast via EVDO as it is with the built in WiFi.

Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is very nice. I’ve been listening to more radio on my phone while driving then the actual radio in the car. For those who subscribe to XM radio and want to listen without a satellite receiver WMP10 delivers. I’ve been watching live streaming video events with this phone and I’ve got to say it works great. The player has a landscape mode which uses the full-screen and looks dynamite.

All the other “phone” type applications work great. The speakerphone is loud enough, the text messaging application works well, the dialing application and contacts software function without bugs. If you’re listening to streaming radio and someone calls the phone will mute the media player in favor of the phone call.

Cons
The battery life on these types of devices can be poor and this is the case with the XV6700. If you’re a power-user you may want to keep a charger in your car. I have to charge the phone every night or I’ll run into problems. The lack of physical buttons for dialing might be an issue for some. Being a Treo refugee, I do kind of miss the real number buttons that the Treo has. Most people who purchase are going to want to get a voice dialer. The camera is not all that great which probably won’t be a big deal to most people. It works okay and the video function is fine. Some have balked at the MiniSD card however I had no trouble finding a one and two GB memory cards at Frys.

All in all I really like this phone. It’s by far the best PDA phone I’ve ever owned. The data speed is smoking, the WiFi and Bluetooth 2 integration is great and the keyboard is unbelievable. I would heartily recommend that anyone interested in a PDA phone give the XV6700 a look.

Rating: 5/5
Url: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/controller?item=phoneFirst&action=viewPhoneDetail&selectedPhoneId=2200

Entry Filed under: Cell Phones