I tossed the Samsung and got THIS!
Written: Jul 06 '01 (Updated Aug 13 '01)
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Pros: size, weight, signal strength, clarity, durability, outside caller ID
Cons: battery LIFE!
The Bottom Line: You better get this phone. I have no regrets. But buy an extended battery. I did.
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| dg1201's Full Review: LGIC LG-TM510 Cell Phone |
7/6/01 Oh lord, just when i thought i had the best (read my Samsung 6100 review), this lil gem comes along. And I couldn't resist.
I really loved my Samsung 6100 but it was just a SINGLE BAND PHONE! Usually, that didn't bother me but since I am travelling more often now, I need at least a dual band. And this TM510 isn't just a dual band, it's a TRI BAND, if that matters any. But i guess it does since I have been able to use my phone regardless of where I am, on or off network.
I was at the Verizon store here in South San Francisco. The guy who helped me was very knowledgeable. I saw this phone on the display and was drawn to it right away. I also saw the Motorola v120c (http://news.verizonwireless.com/images/wireless/phonehome.jpg)
and was fascinated by it as well, maybe because of the fact that it has an FM radio capability. So I played with both. The screen and font on the v120c were soooo small, and the side buttons used to navigate around were very uncomfortable to use because they are rather painful to press. I also made test calls on the v120c and the other party said i was very muffled. Guess it was a bad unit. On to the TM510. Ooh, I loved it right when it powered up. The cool indigo backlight was soothing, instead of that greenish yellow light most other phones have. It is also so tiny, about as tiny as those Motorola 2 way pagers. I love closing the flip, it feels very secure. The phone is well engineered, it feels sturdy and durable, which surprised me. I am not too familiar with the brand LG (Lucky Goldstar) so I was kind of hesitant as to what i was getting into but I just went ahead and bought it. The guy said it was a very good phone and I should try it out.
I am glad I did and am very pleased. Everyone around me wants to play with my phone! The keypad layout is very nice too, I like the "clicky" rubberized buttons. The menus are simple to navigate and understand. Forget about using the manual. I didn't use it at all because it is a piece of crap. You're better off playing around with the phone and learning that way. Although the phonebook does not list entries alphabetically (argh!), i guess that's just something minor i'll live with.
As for reception, it does a good job of holding a signal, not quite as solid as my Samsung but it's pretty close. My boyfriend owns a Timeport and we were inside this bar. I looked at his phone and it had no service. I looked at mine and it had two bars. Good job! He's jealous! And he's still with Sprint.
I now have Verizon and feel more secure with it since it is THE largest network in the country. Customer service is good and the plans are good too. I am on the Digital 450 plan w/free long distance & free roaming across 5 states. Pretty good deal. Another plus is the wireless web. With Sprint, they used to charge you like 15 or 30 cents PER MINUTE if you're not signed up for the service. With Verizon, there's NO CHARGE, you just use up minutes in your plan. Halleluiah! SMS or text messaging is also available on this phone, a new and fun feature I love to use. I can send & receive e-mails on this phone easily. It's so fun!
The voice dial on this phone is very good too. I use it all the time since I don't have the patience to scroll through the UNALPHABETIZED phone book! The manual says there is a limit of the numbers you can store for voice dial (around 30 i think) but i'm sure it's more. You can store 198 entries, and 5 numbers per entry. That's PLENTY of storage! The phone also has Voice Memo Recorder for recording short messages or conversations (for the spies out there haha). There's a neat answering machine feature you can substitute for voicemail and you can listen to messages and not waste airtime. Wow!
Ok so battery life sucks. What do you expect from such a small phone. I found this newsgroup online that gives instructions on how to program the phone to extend battery life. Too cool! I tried it and so far it seems to work. Join this yahoo club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/lgtm510usersclub and discuss the phone, ask questions, get answers, etc. It is very helpful. The message number for programming the phone to extend batt. life is #44. Somehow, the phone's slot cycle is preset to 1, which apparently causes the phone to use up more power and thus drain the battery faster. Switching it to 2 will help it conserve energy but may cause calls to be directed to voicemail once so often. I think that happened to me once. Program the phone at your own risk! Read post 44 to find out more. Also, leaving the backlight off during the day will help. Another group you can find to get details on this phone is http://open-news.pacbell.net/drn-bin/wwwnews?alt.cellular.verizon. I suggest organizing the group by subject so it's easier to find the LG-TM510 topics.
The outer LCD is THE BEST. That was my prob. when I tried out the Samsung 8500. I got annoyed having to keep opening the flip to screen calls. Not a problem with this phone.
It also has many many ringtones, which beats my Samsung. But like the samsung, I can assign each caller a specific ring. I like that a LOT, sound caller ID. It also has a Vibrate/Ring option, which the Samsung did not have.
Clarity is very good on this phone. As good as the Samsung so I don't really miss it. It is almost equivalent to a landline. I also am happy I can use my Plantronics handsfree with this phone; it has the standard 2.5mm jack. This phone has all the goodies the Samsung has plus more! Much more really. And I am happy with this purchase. No regrets. No dropped calls.
By the way, the phone i have is BLACK with (ooh!) iniglo light, not silver like the one shown. Here's the picture:
http://www.app.airtouch.com/images/shared/phones/phones_med_cream/lg_510_cream.jpg.
7.10 I was talking to my boyfriend on my cordless phone and he said he could barely hear me. So i switched to this phone. He said the difference was amazing and that I sounded clear as a bell on this phone!! Wow!! What a keeper! Also, I programmed the phone for auto AGC (audio gain control) and i notice the sound and clarity improved!
8.5 Had the phone for a month now. I am still crazy about it. Yeah, the phone book is just something awful but the T9 input works nicely. Here's a tip: i've noticed that all the names you store into the phone book are also stored into the T9 database, making it a lil faster to search for names. I tried it. It works. All you do is enter the first 3 letters and hit "0" to select the appropriate spelling (while in T9 mode of course) and it'll find what you're looking for. And when I'm really lazy, i just boss the maid inside the phone around and tell her to dial a call for me. Heheh, don't worry, we're buddies. =) Voice dialing still works like a charm.
I also put in an order for the extended 1100mah battery (aftermarket $34.95) so I'm excited to get that, even if it'll add a tad more bulk to the phone.
8.10 Aha! Here's another tip that I got from the forum. To supposedly get increased bars, set the phone to be in CDMA mode instead of automatic which automatically switches over to analog mode and causes static and/or dropped calls. Setting to CDMA mode ensures a DIGITAL only mode. I found I got a few more bars after switching!
I also bought an aftermarket extended 1100mah battery. We'll see how it compares to the original 900mah battery.
8.13 Ok, the extended batt. lasted me standby time of about 3 1/2 days. Not that great. Maybe I still have to condition it. Also, the new club to join for the TM510 is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TM510
I hope I was helpful. If so, please rate me! (^_^) thank you.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149
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Epinions.com ID:
dg1201
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Location: CA
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 16 members
About Me:
karaoke queen.
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