Great Phone, but is it the Ultimate Cell Phone? The LG VX7000
Written: Jun 22 '05 (Updated Mar 22 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great reception, Long battery life, Photo & video capabilities, Rotating camera lense
Cons: Slightly bigger than other similar flip-phones
The Bottom Line: Not only does the LG VX7000 have excellent reception and call quality, the battery life is great and it takes photographs and videos
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| jps246's Full Review: LG VX7000 |
With the ability to capture photographs and video, download games, access almost unlimited ring tones, store more contacts than you'll ever need and more, the LG VX7000 cellular phone is an all-around hand and easy to use cellular phone that should please almost all users.
Even though it was hard to part with my LG VX4400, I knew it was time when I kept visiting the Verizon store to look at the newer models with an embedded camera. So when I became eligible for several rebates from Verizon for a new phone, I knew it was time to upgrade.
I looked at several different models and I settled on the LG VX7000. To me, it offered the most features for the most reasonable price. In fact, when all was said and done, I ended up not even paying anything for it. I guess that's one of the few benefits of being a life-long Verizon Wireless customer.
What immediately caught my eye was the ability to take both pictures and movies and the large color screen that the VX7000 has when you open it up. It's bright and it's easy to read, even in fairly bright light.
Phone Basics
The LG VX7000 is a fully digital cellular phone that operates on the CDMA system and can also operate on a PCS system. It can work with both digital signals and with analog signals, though the quality of the calls is significantly better with a digital signal.
The phone is slightly bulkier than other similar cellular flip-phones. It weighs in at almost 4 ounces and is roughly 3.7 inches high, 1.9 inches wide and about an inch thick. It doesn't feel heavy and is lighter than my older VX4400.
You'll find all the basics you'd expect on this phone, from paging, messaging, voice mail and caller ID features to auto-answer, one touch dialing and a straightforward menu-driven interface.
The phone features a 27-key keypad. The keys on this keypad are about the same size as on other LG flip-phones, but slightly larger than you'll find on many of the smaller cellular phones. For me, this is a real benefit, I hate trying to enter a number or text message and push the wrong buttons because they are all so small and so close to one another. That's not really a problem with the VX7000 for me.
The VX7000 sports two different color LCD screens. One on the outside of the phone shows the current time and signals if any messages have been received. When a call in coming in, the outside LCD panel shows the number of the person calling (or their contact information if you have them in your list of contacts). On the inside, you'll find an 8-line full-color LCD screen that is backlit and offers excellent resolution and brightness. It does falter a bit in full sunshine or very bright lights. You'll find that you have to look at it from a bit of an angle to clearly see the screen. This screen makes it very easy to navigate the menu structure of the phone, to enter text messages, and to play games that you can download from Verizon Wireless' “Get It Now” service.
The camera in the VX7000 can take both pictures and 15-second movies with sound. Photos can be taken in for different resolutions, from the highest at 640x480 down to the lowest at 160x120. The phone also offers a digital zoom feature on the camera, though the picture quality suffers when you use this feature. The photos look excellent on the phone and are good enough to include in emails and use on the web. However, they are not of a high enough resolution to get quality prints out of. If you're taking pictures in the dark, there is a flash feature that does a decent job of providing light for pictures.
When it comes to movies, the VX7000 can take up to 15-seconds of video with sound. The quality is okay and looks very good on the phone. When you download it to a computer, it's still okay if you don't try to zoom in on the video.
A nifty feature of the VX7000's camera is that it's located between the two parts of the flip-phone and rotates, which makes it easier to go from a self-portrait to taking pictures of someone in front of you.
The photo and video capabilities of the phone are accessed through the press of a single button (that has a picture of a camera on it). Press it once for photographs, press it twice for video. Saving pictures is easy, as is browsing through your galleries of photos and videos. Once saved, the photos and the videos can be sent to other users or to an email address.
The phone offers voice-activated dialing. You record the voice cue for each contact and then in the future, you merely press the voice-recognition button and state the name of the person you want to contact. The VX7000 confirms your contact and makes the call. This is really handy when you don't want to or can't scroll through all of the contacts.
You can also use the VX7000 to browse the internet – though through Verizon Wireless you must pay extra for this service (I can't be bothered with the mini-sized web sites and trying to browse the web on a phone so I don't have the service).
The menu structure on the VX7000 is much like the other LG phones I have had or seen. There are five major directories you can first enter: Get It Now; Recent Calls; Messaging; Contacts; and Settings & Tools. The Get It Now directory is part of Verizon Wireless' service that allows you download ring tones, pictures, videos, software programs and games. In Recent Calls, you can review calls you have made, calls that you've answered and calls that you have missed. There are also call timers so you can figure out how much you have been using your phone. The Messaging directory includes all the voice mail, email and text messaging portions of the phone. You can compose and read text and email messages and you can quickly check your voicemail. Contacts is where you'll find all of your saved phone numbers. The VX7000 gives you the option, in addition to a name and a phone number to include a picture, a specific ring tone, multiple phone numbers, an email address and and address for each contact. Finally in the Settings & Tools directory, you'll find a ton of options for customizing your phone – from changing the background picture and the color theme, to the changing your ring tones – you can completely customize the VX7000 to exactly how you want it. This is also where you can adjust the master volume, change the contrast and brightness on either LCD or set up your call settings.
Some basic functions can also be accessed directly from the side buttons on the phone. On the left side of the phone is a master-volume switch that allows you to lower and raise ring tone volume and the volume of an individual call (great when you go from quiet to noisy situations during the same phone call). Also on the left is the voice-dialing activation button. On the right side of the phone you'll find the photo button, that allows you to quickly click and enter the picture taking mode on the phone.
The navigation functions of the VX7000 are accessed through 5 buttons and a circular key that allows you to move upwards, downwards and left and right. With these 6 buttons, you can access all of the directories and options on the VX7000.
The VX7000 also sports the standard headphone jack and so is compatible with virtually all hands-free headsets that are available.
The phone can quickly put into lock mode (where pressing keys won't accidently make calls) by pressing and holding down the “#” key. To unlock the phone you'll need to use your passcode (which on new phones is the last 4 digits of your phone number). To quickly put the phone into vibrate mode, you can press and hold down the “*” key. To get back into the standard ring tone mode, press and hold the “*” again.
Call Quality and Reception
The first thing I really noticed with the VX7000 versus my older LG phone was the increased reception area and the higher quality of the phone call itself. Several areas where I couldn't get a signal before or would get a very weak signal, I could carry on a conversation without any problems.
If you are in an area of strong digital coverage, it is hard to tell the difference between the sound quality of a standard land-line phone and a phone call with this phone. In areas with less coverage, you can tell and the other user can tell that you are on a cellular phone, but the quality is significantly better than I've experienced on any other phone.
Without digital coverage, the call quality significantly decreases – in those areas you will have calls filled with static and will probably experience dropped phone calls.
Standard Accessories
When you purchase the LG VX7000, you receive the phone and the following accessories: a rechargeable battery; an AC adapter; and a plastic clip holster you can use to keep the phone on your belt or clipped onto something else.
If you're looking to pay extra, a leather carrying case is also available for the phone, along with an adapter to charge the VX7000 in your car.
Battery Life and Talk Time
The phone is rated to have approximately 200 minutes of talk-time on a full-charge. That's just over 3 hours of talk-time and through my experiences with the phone, I'd say this was a fairly accurate representation. In fact, you may actually be able to get a bit more call time if you keep the back light on the LCD panel off and you don't use the phone for games or web browsing.
The standby time is rated by LG at 180 hours or about 7 days. I've never tested it this long, but the phone easily makes it through 2 or 3 days of not being charged if I don't make a significant amount of phone calls. For longer trips when I've forgotten the charger and only kept the phone on when I needed it, the charge lasted for several days.
Experiences
I've been very impressed with the VX7000. It's a solid and dependable cellular phone that gives me long battery life, the ability to take photographs, and has excellent reception capabilities that make it easy to use almost anywhere there is cellular coverage.
Navigation through the phone's menus is easy and the directory structure is straightforward, which makes it easy to quickly learn about the basic and more advanced features of this phone.
I love the ability to have a camera with me wherever I go. I can quickly pull out my VX7000 and snap a picture or two – whether it be some strange happening on the streets of Boston or a situation when you wished you had a camera and didn't. I even use it to post pictures directly to my blog when I don't want to be bothered with my regular digital camera.
Overall, I couldn't be happier with my LG VX7000.
Final Take
The LG VX7000 cellular phone should meet almost any users' need. Not only does it have excellent reception and call quality, the battery life is very good and it takes both photographs and videos.
If you're considering a new phone, the VX7000 is definitely worth taking a look at. You'll probably end up walking out of the store with one, just like I did.
More Cellular Phone Reviews
Nokia 5180 / Audiovox CDM135 / Motorola V120c / LG VX4400 / Kyocera KX414
Recommended:
Yes
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