LG VX8600: Sleek, Shiny, and Elegant
Written: Dec 13 '06 (Updated Dec 16 '06)
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Pros: Gorgeous! Sounds great, looks even better.
Cons: Services and accessories will cost you extra $$$; sleek surface can get smudgy
The Bottom Line: I love it so far.
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| mashimaru's Full Review: LG Chocolate Clamshell VX8600 Cell Phone |
* X-Mas Present ... For Me!
I wanted a pretty new phone and was enticed by the LG VX8600 (the "Chocolate"). So cute! I hesitated getting it because I had two slider phones before, and I was kind of tired of them. And a friend told me that his Chocolate's touch-controls are sort of annoying to use - sometimes his finger would brush against it and he would hang up on a call. So I was holding off on the Chocolate. But when I saw the ads for the new *color* Chocolate's, I was further enticed. I think more phones should come in different colors! (I would love the white one.) But I was still iffy about the touch-controls and about getting another slider phone.
So when I heard about its successor, the LG VX8600 - which is a flip-phone and the touch-controls are limited to the MP3 player - I was pretty excited.
* THE FEATURES
The neat things about the LG VX8600 are that it has an MP3 player, and can access Verizon's V-Cast service.
~ MP3 Player
I didn't think I would even use the MP3 player. I've got about 45 gig's of MP3's by now, and I haven't even ripped all my CD's yet. (Ripping takes time. *sigh*) I've got them stashed in my 60 gig iPod, and can't imagine replacing that.
You can buy and download music from Verizon, but you can also transfer songs from your PC. That requires the Verizon Music Essentials Kit ($30). The Kit comes with a USB cable, the V-Cast Music software, and a headphone/mic set. Setting up the Kit was pretty simple and I was able to transfer songs right away. I was able to transfer my MP3's without converting them to WMA files. (However, the LG VX8600 can also play WMA files.)
Since the phone only comes with about 23 mbs of native memory, some of which is taken up by other software and data I need, I was left with less than 10 mbs of available memory. That's only room for about 2-5 songs, depending on how big the files are. And once I start taking pictures and videos, I won't have much room at all. So you will probably need to buy a Micro-SD card to really make use of this feature.
So I wasn't sure the MP3 player was going to be of any use to me. But once I downloaded a couple of songs onto my LG VX8600, I couldn't help but think that this was a pretty darn cool feature. Now I can't wait to buy a Micro-SD card, so I can start whittling down my MP3 collection to 2 gig's worth of essentials! The phone even has an internal speaker - the sound is obviously not going to be good as actual speakers, but for a small hand-held device, it is quite awesome. A great new way for me to enjoy my music!
As I mentioned before, there are touch-controls in the front of the phone that controls the MP3 player when the phone is closed. The buttons are only illuminated for a few seconds each time, and that time can't be adjusted (as far as I can tell), but you can always turn them back on by hitting any of the toggle keys on the side. And you can control the volume with the volume toggle key on the left.
In any case, when the buttons are illuminated, it is indeed possible to accidentally brush against them and unintentionally skip a song or pause it, etc. I thought that the touch-controls might be annoying to use, but the more I use it, but more I think they're neat. They look cool, they contribute to the beauty of the phone, and they're fun to use.
~ V-Cast
V-Cast is a Verizon service that lets you watch streaming video at a pretty fast speed on your phone, using Verizon's EV-DO network. The service currently features TV clips, music videos, etc. And it's a very amusing little feature. Although the video quality is just okay, the streaming speed is satisfyingly fast (although you will endure some buffering from time to time), and it's nice to be able to enjoy bits of "The Colbert Report" while stuck in line somewhere. And I can watch The Simpsons Movie trailer about five more times before I am totally sick of it.
The service costs $15/month, and it's free for the first month. Some content will cost you additional money - e.g., a new Justin Timberlake video will cost you $2.49.
Aside from the MP3 player and the EV-DO function, the LG VX8600 also has Bluetooth and Speakerphone. (For some reason, the Chocolate phone does not have a Speakerphone.)
* THE LOOK: Exterior
The LG VX8600 looks simply gorgeous. I love the sleek, shiny exterior with its metallic trim. The phone itself is just beautiful and very well-made. The screen is also great, beautiful clarity and vibrant colors. (220 x 176 Pixels, 262,000+ Colors)
The numeric keypad is one solid piece with buttons flush to the surface, so you can't really dial by feel, but it does minimize dirt getting into the nooks and crannies. I like it just fine, I don't have any problems with it at all. The layout of the keys are nice, as well - just the classic formation, with the SEND button on the left, the END button on the right. There's a four-way navigation key that can be programmed to anything in the menu. My only teeny-tiny quibble with the keypad is that the two soft menu keys are right next to the navigation keys, making them easier to get mixed up with each other.
The phone also has two toggle switches on the sides that control the usual things, like Volume, Ring Volume (on the left), and a Camera and Voice Recorder/Speakerphone key (on the right). The toggle switches are kind of skinny, because they are on the top half of the phone (next to the screen), instead of the bottom (next to the keypad), but I have no problems with them.
The external display shows Reception Level, Battery Level, Time and Date, when the phone is inactive. It's also a high-res wonder that just adds beauty to the phone. You can even select a different wallpaper for the external display that's different from the internal display. However, I don't think there's a way to adjust the backlight timer for the external display, as there is for the internal display and the keypad.
The LG VX8600 has two ports - one for the micro-SD card, and another proprietary port which is used for everything else: the USB cable, the power cable, and the headphone/mic set. The LG VX8600 does come with an adapter for that port that lets you use standard 3.5mm headsets.
* THE LOOK: Menu
I have no complaints about the LG VX8600's menu. It's very intuitive, well-laid out, and easy to use. In my previous cell phone reviews, I usually had a comment or two about things in the menu I would change. But so far, I don't feel like LG VX8600's menu is missing anything. Hurray!
* THE CAMERA
The LG VX8600 has a 1.3 megapixel (1280 x 1040 Pixel Resolution) camera, with a 8x digital zoom, and a self-timer. It takes pretty nice pictures, and it is definitely the nicest cell-phone-camera I've had so far. But it doesn't even have a flash, and if you want a better camera on your phone, you can find it on other phones. Also, the maximum video resolution is only 176 x 144 Pixel Resolution, which is kind of lame.
(If you want a better cell-phone-camera, you might want to check out the Samsung SCH-A990 which has a 3.2 megapixel camera - it's more like a camera with a cell phone attached than the other way around.)
* THE SOUND: Talking
The earpiece sounds fantastic. I'm kind of picky about this and bad sound is a deal-breaker for me - it was the main reason three of my previous phones weren't keepers. The phones I did keep and like sounded consistently good, and I was happy with that.
But the LG VX8600 sounds noticeably better and clearer than any phone I've used before. I love it.
* THE SOUND: Ringing
The LG VX8600 comes with a good collection of very basic rings and beeps, which I appreciate. It doesn't have much else, though, just a few muzak-y tunes. I guess Verizon wants you to download ringtones.
I would be happy to download a few ringtones if the www.VerizonWireless.com site worked. It works well for other things, but when you get to their "Get It Now" website where they sell their ringtones and wallpapers, I can't seem to get it to work, it just constantly keeps freezing during my search. And the when I select the LG VX8600 as my phone, it says nothing is available.
* Verizon Wireless:
This is my first time using Verizon Wireless. I've tried all the major service providers in my area except Verizon so far. I haven't had serious reception problems with any of them, but I have found that this isn't true of everyone. My cousin lives in San Bernardino County, and nothing but Verizon works for her. (When I visit her my phones didn't work there, either.) And my Chocolate-owning friend works in Ventura County, and Verizon is the only service he's tried that doesn't work well there. So it really just depends on where you are, I think.
Luckily, Verizon service has worked fine for me. Good call sound, no dropped calls yet, no other reception problems. So aside from the fact that they need to update their "Get It Now" website, I have no complaints so far.
On the VerizonWireless.com website, the LG VX8600 is listed at $179.99 with a 2-year contract, and $129.99 with an online discount. To buy the phone without a contract would cost $249.99. I bought my phone at Wirefly.com and paid $99.99 + tax (There is a $100 rebate that I can send in 6 months after purchase).
* Similar Phones for Comparison:
A similar phone as the LG VX8600 is the LG CU500 which is available from Cingular. They don't look the same, but both phones are made by the same company, so they appear to be phones with similar features, but with a few differences:
- The LG CU500 features a rotating camera lens and better video quality (320 x 240 Pixel Resolution).
-The MP3 controls in front of the phone are actual buttons and not touch-controls as on the LG VX8600.
-The LG VX8600 features a better interior display.
Another similar phone is the new Cingular SYNC a707 by Samsung, which boasts a similar set of features.
* CONCLUSION:
The LG VX8600 is one of the best phones out there of its kind. It is certainly the best *looking* phone, and I am really impressed by its sound quality and features. I probably would have also liked the white Chocolate phone too, but I would have missed the Speakerphone function, and may have been annoyed by the touch controls.
The LG VX8600 is a beautiful phone all around. It looks and feels gorgeous, sounds great, and has some really nifty features that I enjoy. It's been a pleasure for me to use so far, and I'm really happy with this purchase.
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To give you an idea of what I look for in my cell phone, here is a list of cell phones I've used during the last six years:
* LG TP1100 (Sprint)
* LG TP5200 (Sprint)
* Sanyo SCP-8100 (Sprint)
* Samsung SGH-d415 (T-Mobile)
* Sidekick II (T-Mobile)
* Motorola v180 (T-Mobile)
* Samsung SGH-x475 (T-Mobile)
* Motorola RAZR (T-Mobile)
* Samsung SGH-E635 (T-Mobile)
* Samsung SGH-c417 (Cingular)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 100
Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
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mashimaru
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Location: California
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"Heavy is the head that eats the crayons!"
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