Verizon's CDM-8945 musicphone reviewed

It's a little bit of a stretch to call the EV-DO equipped CDM-8945 from Verizon a musicphone, since it doesn't even have external music buttons, but you can use the phone's fast connection to snag songs off of the V Cast Music store at $1.99 a pop, (with a $15 monthly subscription) so we guess it counts. But even with that fast connection, PC Magazine thinks this phone is too much for too little, since the phone can range in price from $180 to $300, yet doesn't even have Bluetooth. They found the UTStarcom phone to be fairly solid, with decent reception and audio quality, but the 4.5 hour talk time wasn't so hot, and the speakerphone doesn't work when the phone is shut, making car-based conversations even more difficult. PC Mag calls the 176 x 220 color screen "thoroughly average," and the VGA camera isn't going to win any awards either. At least there is a TransFlash memory slot for storing downloads, and you can use the 2.5mm jack for a wired headset, though if you want to get music off of Windows Media Player you'll need a $30 kit with a USB cable and stereo headset

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 5th 2006 7:15AM]

I think in this phone:
Good: The UTStarcom CDM-8945 comes equipped for 3G EV-DO networks; it supports Verizon V Cast video and music services; and it has an MP3 player, a TransFlash slot, and a large internal LCD.

Bad: The UTStarcom CDM-8945 lacks Bluetooth and external music controls; it's saddled with a VGA camera and a single mono speaker; the performance is uneven, and the small menu font may require some squinting to read.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 18th 2006 4:56PM]

it has a nice flip clamshell design, check here for more pics http://www.cellphonestalk.com/cellphonereviews/verizon/cdm8945/gallery.html