My Mini Computer Phone Has All I Need...This Review Tells All
Written: Aug 15 '06 (Updated Dec 10 '07)
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Pros: Great clarity, tons of options, Internet/email capable.
Cons: A little bulky and heavy but its expected with so many features.
The Bottom Line: Copious options, lots of memory and capabilities, great for on the go businesspeople.
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| ace3502's Full Review: LG VX9800 Cellular Phone |
I got this phone as a Christmas present for myself the day after Christmas in 2005. As soon as I saw it I was really intrigued by its shape and style. I got specifics from the teller at Verizon and ended up completely loving it. It's capabilities are endless and it hasn't done me wrong so far.
Durability
This was my number one concern when I bought this phone. If I am investing this much money (the phone retails for $420) into a phone and I KNOW that my clumsy self will drop it eventually, will it be able to withstand the fall. Just looking at it it appears to be a small computer so naturally my first thought is, I drop it and it's over. However that hasn't been the case so far. Believe it or not, after the first 4 days of having it I dropped it. As I always do I put my phone on my lap while I'm driving my car so I don't have to go fishing for it in my pocket if it rings. Well clearly I forgot it was on my lap, as usual, and I got out of the car and it hit the pavement. Now I did this on two separate occasions, (yes I know I am clumsy). The first time I did it it was in its leather case (which I will talk about later) the other instance it was uncovered. Both times I picked up the phone and it was in full working condition, minus a few scratches on the edges. So I would have to rate durability on the higher end for the phone if it can withstand such a fall. I have dropped it a few times since then and I have not had a problem at all.
Clarity
The clarity of the screen is impeccable. The outer screen is a bit small (160x128 pixels), but its very clear and you're able to see fine on it. With the help of the options in the phone, you can adjust the text size to normal or larger font if the outer screen is too hard for you to see. Once you flip open the phone you get your own personal television screen. The screen is very large(320x256 pixels)and enables you to see everything you want and need to do on the phone clearly. This is the screen used when surfing the Internet or checking e mail.
Portability
This is probably one of the only down sides to the phone. Since the phone is just about a P.D.A. or a Blackberry, it is a bit bulky. It is thicker and heavier than almost any other phone Verizon offers. (surprisingly it isn't longer, the length is about the same as every phone they offer) I don't notice it and I have little problem with the size of it. It fits in my pocket when going out or fits in the leather case (sold separately) that clips on to your belt very easily. Anyone who uses my phone however says that it is so heavy and bulky. As I said, once you are used to it, which took me about 2 days, you hardly notice it. The total weight is 5.19oz and it is just under 5 inches long, just under 2 inches wide, and almost exactly 1 inch thick. Although it doesn't sound very big, compared to phones like the Razr it appears to be a little more bulky. But fear not, for what you are trading in with size you are making up for with features.
Battery Life
I have had little problem with the battery life. Standby time is advertised as 8 days. If this is true or not I have no idea because I use mine every day as my lifeline to the outside world. I will say that the standby time is very good after using it for a whole day. If I forget to charge it for a night, without using it the following day, it will get me through most of the day on minimal battery and last until I can charge it again. It comes with a car adaptor charger which is great to use while you are driving in to work, especially if you forgot to charge it the previous night.
The talk time is advertised as 240 minutes (4 hours). I have never used it that long consecutively, but I have used it late in the evening (after a full day's use) and had conversations numerous times for over 2 hours 20 minutes (140 minutes). I would say the battery ranks pretty high with quality and ability to hold a charge, but then again it is relatively early on in my ownership and just like any other cell phone I'm sure it will eventually start losing it's ability to hold such a long charge after a year or two of use.
Camera
The camera feature is really neat. It comes with a built in, 1.3 megapixel camera with a flash included. The memory on the phone is excellent. I don't know the exact number of pictures it's able to store but I've had over 60 on there at one time with no problems. There is an external memory card you can buy to expand the memory and I'll talk about that a few paragraphs down in the MP3 Player section. The pictures are great quality, you can adjust the features change the style of picture, (black & white, negative, sepia etc.) The resolution of the pictures is adjustable as well.
It has a pretty decent zoom capability and you don't lose clarity with the zoom. The other adjustable features are the self timer, the flash, the brightness(which helps immensely in getting better quality pictures) white balance, shutter sound, photometry, and night mode. The only down side is you need to hold the camera very still otherwise the pictures tend to come out a bit blurry. Once you've taken the picture you can upload it to a website through your Internet connection on the phone (if you paid for one because it's extra per month), zoom in on the picture for a close up look, text message the picture to a friend, or save it to the phone and or move it to the removable memory card.
Wireless Web / E-Mail
This option is extra per month. It was $15 dollars a month for complete web access and $5 dollars a month for just e mail access. I got a free trial for a month when I signed up for it but did not renew it thereafter because I'm a poor, newly graduated college student and can't afford it. :) However, while I did have the free trial I made the best of it.
The connection was somewhat slow, it took a moment or two for a page to come up and seeing as how the screen is so small with no mouse it can be tedious to scroll down link by link on the page to get to where you need to. (Because there is no mouse you have to use the up, down, left, right, arrows on the keyboard to move the highlight cursor to your desired location. It automatically highlights each link that's on the page so that's why it can be tedious.) The wireless email was the same, the only plus to this was that it was very easy to type emails with the full keyboard on the inside of the phone. It isn't anything out of this world, but if you are a gadget nut and have to have all the accessories it is kind of cool to have.
MP3 Player
This is one of the best features in my opinion, and certainly the one that I use the most. The phone has a built in MP3 player. Unfortunately you have to go to Best Buy or a similar store to buy a mini scan disk memory card to hold the songs on and to transfer back and forth from your computer. I bought a 256k scan disk for $30 dollars and it came with a kit (USB ready) to plug into my computer and transfer songs on to. You can also transfer pictures and small sound clips back and forth from the computer as well so buying the memory card isn't a total waste. The card holds about 40 or so songs (depending on size) and it has fantastic sound quality. You can adjust the sound style to classical, stadium, concert, etc. and also adjust the play list to repeat one/all, or shuffle. It does put a bit of a strain on the battery if you use it for a significant amount of time, but this isn't a very big deal. By that I mean I've listened to it numerous times and have never had it shut off on me or anything like that due to usage of battery.
Now although Verizon advertises that you can download music (full songs I'm talking about, not just ring tones) directly to your phone, THIS phone doesn't have the capabilities yet to download full songs. They told me back in Dec/Jan that eventually I could bring my phone in to them and leave it for an hour or two and they would upgrade the software on it but as of now I do not have the ability to download the music. Which is fine with me because the songs are exorbitantly expensive anyway.
Bluetooth
When I bought the phone I bought the package that came with the Jabra Bluetooth Earpiece. It wasn't a necessity and isn't necessarily that important, I'm just a gadget kind of guy and wanted to get the latest and greatest things. You can click the link to read the review on that item, as I said it isn't a necessity but it does make things a bit easier. It connects to the phone very easily and the functions work somewhat well. As I said, take a peek at the bluetooth review after you're done reading this and it'll give you a better idea of things.
Get It Now / Other Features
The phone has Get It Now which most Verizon customers are familiar with. It is a program that allows you to download ring tones, background pictures, games, weather updates etc. The phone is great for this as the big inner screen makes it easy to navigate through to see what you want. The download times are very good provided you have decent reception wherever you are.
Final Thoughts Overall
I am very pleased with this purchase. Although expensive, (I was lucky enough to get a discount due to the promotions that were going on) the phone without a doubt has everything a young professional on the go would need. The features are great, the sound is terrific, and the reception is exceptional. I honestly don't know if I could go back to a regular phone now after having the flip open keyboard that I've been spoiled with on this one. This may just be the beginning of my love affair with Blackberry/PDA type phones.
Hope this review helped you, I tried to cover all aspects of the phone I felt were relevant to making a purchasing decision. Feel free to leave comments and check out my other electronic reviews:
Please Take A Look At My Other Electronics Reviews:
Bluetooth Head Set - Jabra BT150
Car Stereo - JVC KD S550
Clock Radio - GE 7-4894
Conference Call Phone - Polycom Voice Station
Cordless Phone - GE 27990
Cordless Phone - Vtech VT-1922
DVD Player - Panasonic-RV300
DVD Player - Toshiba-SD2109
Headphones - Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Noise Canceling Headphones
Home Stereo - Aiwa NSX-115
MP3 Player - Memorex MP8500 128MB
© 2006 - ace3502
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
Recommended for: Professionals On-the-Go - Internet and Email is a Must!
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ace3502
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Member: Andrew
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Reviews written: 107
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