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Audiovox CDM-9000

Requirements: Service provider for Web browsing, e-mail, and carter ID Est. Street Price: $199 Manufacturer: Audiovox Corp., 800-645-4994, www.audiovox.com

YOU'VE PROBABLY READ ABOUT WIRELESS application protocol (WAP), the HTML variant behind a new generation of wireless phones able to access Internet portals, online trading houses, a growing list of content providers, and e-mail (plus voice calls, of course). After testing one of the first WAP phones, Audiovox Corp.'s CDM-9000, we're intrigued--but hardly ready to ditch our PC for browsing. The new handsets can only grab snippets of pertinent text (no graphics) off the Web.

As a late-model cell phone, the slim, 4.8-ounce CDM-9000 is first-class: Its trimode design overlaps wireless bands to give you seamless coverage as you travel, its sound quality is good, and its battery life (130 minutes in analog and 380 minutes in digital mode) is fantastic. But we were mostly curious about its browsing abilities.

Our evaluation unit included voice phone service, but we had to create a separate account for $9.95 a month to access Verizon Wireless's e-mail and data service. A Web-browsing phone is only as good as its service provider. Nor is it as simple as typing in your favorite Web address; to launch a site, you usually need a different URL to access content for WAP-enabled devices.

Though we had some trouble reaching WAP sites, Vernon tech support pointed us to www.cellmania.com's mGuide, a listing of phone- and pager-friendly portals. But these also suffered slow loading and access problems. By contrast, Audiovox's preselected sites for news, weather, and sports were fast, reliable, and easily read on the excellent LCD screen.

As for e-mail, spelling out messages on the phone keypad took time, and sending text meant deciphering confusing icons. As mobile phones grow ever more complex and capable, intuitive icons and documentation grow ever more important--but the CDM-9000's manual was puzzling, too. It took quite a search to find the key to type in the period in a Web address.

For now, forget tossing your notebook PC in favor of an all-in-one voice/Web/ e-mail handset. You might swap your personal digital assistant for a WAP phone, but wait for more sites and standards before signing up for Web service.