Note: I checked with Verizon and the phone I am reviewing is the VX8360 and there never was a U8360 of any brand. The links below this review all lead to the phone I am reviewing which is the VX8360. Am trying to get a new listing added to clarify this.
I just recently upgraded my LG VX8360 phone to the LG enV Touch and, I have to say, I miss my simple but incredibly reliable VX8360! It's not fancy but it can do a lot more than it looks like it can do and the battery life is the longest of any cell phone I have owned. My son now owns the phone and he loves it because he's not into texting - or really anything but using the phone when necessary. He loves the music player and it has become his new favorite player!
About the LG VX8350 and My Experience With It
I got this phone in March of 2009 and loved it. Still do. But I wanted something that was more text friendly and higher tech (Why, I don't know) so I gave up the phone to my son who had a slightly older LG that was acting "wonky".
This is a clamshell phone and is dark blue, somewhat of a change from all the black cells out there. It's about 3.7 inches long by 1.9 inches wide by 0.8 inch thick. It's small but not tiny and, when flipped open, it's the perfect size to make calls. It's also quite light yet durable.
The outside of the phone has a little window (about 1.2 inches diagonal) that can be customized with a photo and a banner. The phone also has music keys that can be accessed while the phone is closed. The closed phone shows a lot of info. You can see the time, date, battery life, signal strength, and the number (and pic if you choose) of the person calling you all without opening the phone.
When the phone is flipped open, there is a very vibrant 2" diagonal screen. It really looks good with my own wallpapers that I simply sent to myself. There are features to customize the phone and the way it is laid out and there is a really good speaker phone that can be accessed with a touch of a button.
The keypad is raised and easy to use. I never messed up when dialing like I have in the past with other cell phones. The numbers you dial are displayed in huge numbers on the screen or you can dial from contacts or voice commands. You can assign a picture to each of your contacts and it will pop on the front screen when they call or when you dial their numbers. I love that feature and have come to rely on the photos rather than the numbers to know who's calling me (and who I'm calling).
Scrolling through menus is incredibly simple. In fact EVERYTHING but one thing on this phone is very simple. You can simply scroll to the desired function and then scroll to the subcategory and do your thing.
There is a dedicated speakerphone key which s handy. I didn't use that often but it was loud and clear when I did use it.
You can store 1000 contacts, assign photos, add email addresses and other info, assign ring tones to contacts, etc.
The phone also comes with a bunch of features I never used like a stopwatch, notepad, world clock, and a video voice recorder which is cool but I just never bothered using it.
I didn't use this phone to access the web (Data charges are too high, in my opinion, and I have so many computers including an HP 10.1" Netbook, that I don't need my phone to go online) but you can use the V-Cast program to download stuff or you can get email and browse the web. I did try all this during my free trial phase and it was really simple to use.
There are a bunch of ring tones to choose from and, to be my relief, they are loud. I need loud ring tones because I have hearing loss and because I house my phones in cases in my purse and tend to miss calls because I don't hear the phone ring. This phone blasted the ringer I chose. I also made my own ring tones and sent them to my phone and, while they were lower in volume, they sounded great.
The camera is a 1.3 megapixel and was typical camera phone quality. I moved up to a 3.2 megapixel with my LG enV Touch and I don't see a whole lot of difference in quality. In good lighting, the LG VX8350 Cell Phone takes decent pictures. In dim lighting, because there's no flash, quality is greatly diminished. The same goes for the videos you can take on the phone. They look best taken outside or in a bright room.
I actually bought this phone for the music player qualities. It can hold up to an 8 gig Micro SD card which I bought. I easily synched the phone with my music folder on my computer and the songs were split up into several subgroups. I also had two exercise play lists on the card which I could access easily.
As far as the sound for music, it's great. The volume is wonderful, the sound is good, and the phone worked flawlessly for me as a music player. I bought Bluetooth headphones and was able to pair them in seconds and had no issues at all with listening to music, pausing, fast forwarding, going back, and talking on the phone while the music paused. You can't talk on the phone with the music playing, but who would want to?
The one annoying thing I noted and I don't know how to fix (but I know it CAN be fixed) is that a "lady" speaks the numbers you are dialing. That is OK when you're not in a crowded place but I don't want someone shouting out the phone numbers I am dialing in places like doctors' offices or anywhere where people are around me. I tried to turn her off but she wouldn't leave. My son inherited her and he can't turn her off either. We're going to the pro: My 23 year old techy son. I'm sure it's a simple command. Certainly the phone wouldn't permanently speak the numbers you dial and not allow you to turn that off. My son turns the volume all the way down when he dials to avoid it for now.
One other thing that was a little annoying is that the headphone jack is a 2.5mm one meaning I couldn't use standard headphones or headsets with the phone. I had to buy special "cell phone" ones. Of course, the problem was solved with the Bluetooth headset and headphones but still, it's a slight, albeit non uncommon, annoyance.
You can set the phone to vibrate, vibrate and ring, or ring. You can set an alarm as well. There's not much you CAN'T do with this phone! It's simple to look at and use but has all the features that someone who isn't a text hound could want.
Oh, and the battery life? AMAZING! The LG VX8360 Cell Phone has the longest battery life of any phone I ever owned. It just goes on forever. Meanwhile, my pricier, high tech new enV Touch has the battery life of a rock. It barely gets through the day. I truly miss the amazing battery life of the LG VX8360 Cell Phone. I could listen to music, talk for hours, play around with features, leave it on stand by, and a week or two later, the battery was only halfway drained. Verizon says the phone is rated as having 5.26 hours of talk time and 26.7 days of standby time but I found it had more than that. It was just crazy how long that battery would last!
In all, the LG VX8360 Cell Phone served me well and I somewhat miss it. It was light and easy to use. It had the volume I needed, the features I liked and the battery life I always dreamed of. My issue was that I wanted a phone that was more text friendly. Of course, I could text with the VX8360 but took me forever. I hated the T9 function so I had to press every letter key and keep going until I got the letter and capitalization I wanted. It wasn't AWFUL but, as I started to text more, I knew I wanted something easier to use.
Sound quality on calls though was very, very good and I never dropped a call or had issues with sound. It came through loud and clear. I got signals everywhere and I never did see a no service message no matter where I went. I picked up signals where even my son's LG Dare couldn't.
If you want a phone that's more of a mid-tier type that will serve you well as a good basic phone, a music player, or even one that surfs the web, allows you to read emails, and gives you access to the V-Cast service, this phone is a very good one to try. It's isn't super high tech per se but it has many features that you wouldn't expect on such a phone and they all work really well.
The phone is also super easy to figure out. You won't need to read and study a manual. It's all right there on the screen for you to scroll through and access. I miss it. I'm seriously wondering if the env Touch is worth the "coolness" factor when the battery dies after a day or less. Honestly, the LG VX8360 Cell Phone sounded clearer, was louder, had better ring tones, and was far, far less complicated than the enV Touch. If only it had a virtual keyboard or some other way for me to text quickly, I would never have given it up.
My conclusion
The LG VX8360 Cell Phone is not for techies but it's a great all around cell phone for the masses. It's sleek, light, and attractive. It has many features and all work well. The music player alone is worth having the phone. The sound, to me, was almost as good as an MP3 Player and programming was so easy! The phone has a good speaker phone, a nice sized inside display, and a good keyboard. If you want to surf the web and read emails and IM others, the option is there (for a fee). The phone takes up to an 8 gig micro SD card that can be inserted into an adapter and into your computer or you can hook up the phone to the computer with a USB cord (which also charges the phone).
In all, this phone will satisfy those who want a great phone with excellent sound, a very long battery life, a music player that sounds excellent, a typical camera and that isn't amazing but darn decent, and even those who want to surf the web and download games and music. It really is a sturdy, feature packed phone that is super simple to use. If you plan to text a lot, if you don't mind the typical numeric key pad texting style, you're all set. I couldn't get used to that and wanted to text faster on a real keyboard. I got that but lost battery longevity, added weight and bulk, and lost the excellent volume I need.
I may just swap with kid and take back my LG VX8360
This is 4.5 star phone in my opinion. I will go with 4 stars and recommend the phone highly. It's a powerhouse that's so simple to use!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $79 upgrade Recommended for: World Travelers - Works Anywhere and Everywhere!
Music-focused clamshell phone with dual stereo speakers, external music playback controls, and Bluetooth stereo music streaming Access V Cast Music wi...More at Amazon
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