This phone has one utterly fantastic feature: "whisper mode." Mine is set to use it all the time. I can whisper, talk normally, or shout, but I always sound the same on the other end. This means you can speak on the phone virtually anywhere and in any mood.

Other pros and cons:

Incoming sound quality: very clear, as long as you don't both talk at once.

Ringer: Not loud enough. I frequently miss calls because I don't hear the phone ring. I've heard that there is a software upgrade that fixes this. I've tried the over-the-air software upgrade but it didn't help. I haven't gone to the Verizon store, however.

Voicemail reminders: often arrive late and stay on after you've listened to all your message.

Missed-call reminder: very annoying. You can turn these off, in which case you won't know you missed a call (see above) until you look at the display. Or you can leave these on, in which case the phone will beep at you persistently (every minute or so) until you press a key. There is no option for just one.

Voicemail notification: a lovely tune, which usually gets comments from people nearby. Still, I would rather hear the phone ring in the first place.

Menus: Very annoying and time-consuming. Press OK at the wrong time and you're back at top level. Press the wrong key when editing a phone book entry and you have to start over. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

Battery: decent life, quick recharge. Vibrate mode seems to use it up a bit quickly.

External display: the flip has a one-line display with a handful of colors. You can customize the color (in addition to the ring tone) for callers in your phone book. This is quite nice.

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Usage tips:
1. Always use whisper mode
2. Don't bother extending the antenna. You need the antenna, but length doesn't seem to matter.
3. Assign categories to the people in your phone book so that your caller ID will be colored accordingly. This makes it easier to decide whether to pick up.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 50
Recommended for: World Travelers - Works Anywhere and Everywhere!