LG VX9800 (Verizon Wireless)

I like mostly everything about this phone. There are some minor set backs when it comes time to consider which phone to buy. On the V, you cannot listen to speaker phone unless the phone is open. The keys are somewhat small, but it works out fine. In order to download music to the miniSD card, you have to remove the car, place the card in a card reader for your pc, download the music to the card, then place the card back in the phone. Also, you cannot take videos longer than 15 sec.

I love the camera on this phone. I must say, that this is one of the best pictures I've seen on a mobile phone. The video quality is Okay, but the still's are amazing. It features Bluetooth (WAP- acts like a modem) & it is very similar to a smart phone.

The service is incredible hands down. It beats Sprint, Definately Nextel, and Leaves Metro Crying. I have had 2 dropped calls in the last 4 months. With the other carriers, it was like every other day!

Overall Review 9/10.

I love the speaker phone and the clarity is fantastic! If you text message it is a must have! Best by far!

The new LG enV (or VX9900) is the successor to the LG VX9800. They have made some very good improvements and overall, it's a very good phone and a nice alternative to flip or soap bar styled phones. I have reviewed each feature on a scale of 1-10. Here goes:

Design (9/10) - Offers a load of features in a suprisingly small package. Compared to it's earlier design (the VX9800), this version is slimmer, less wide and just a tab bit taller. Edges are smoother and rounder. Biggest improvement is weight: from 5.19oz down to 4.6oz. Clamshell design reveals full QWERTY keyboard for ease of use with multimedia functions. Also resembles a digital camera.

Screen (9/10) - External screen small, but serves its purpose well for dialing, call functions, and as camera display for taking pictures. Internal screen is very big and vibrant at 262k-color, great for viewing streaming video clips and pictures as well as IM's.

Call Quality (9/10) - Call is clear and crisp. Most importantly, loudness is user adjustable and very loud!

MP3 Player (7/10) - Has just about the same features and use as a regular MP3 player (repeat, A-B, displays ID tags, music info, quality etc). Requires seperately buying the Verizon Music Essentials Kit (contains USB cable, software CD and earbuds) and a MicroSD card (for larger storage of music). After software is installed, getting music to the phone is pretty easy to do and playlist is easy to sort. Like all other MP3 capable Verizon phones, supports Windows Media files but not iTunes.

Battery Life (8/10) - Pretty good for a media phone, usual talk time lasts around four and a half hours, less if using features such as the online EV-DO network and VCAST. Stand by time rated at 460 hours.

Speakerphone (8/10) - Loud and crisp, rintones are clear and good sounding MP3 playback as well.

Camera/Video (9/10) - At 2MP, it's higher than most 1.3MP phones. Picture quality is excellent. Feels like the familiar digital camera during use. With flash, zoom, many exposure option and auto focus, it's camera feature is one step above other regular camera phones. Store either 15 second video message clips or up to 1 hour of video (if you have a MicroSD card for larger storage)

Bluetooth (8/10) - Supports many more bluetooth profiles unlike most Bluetooth ready cell phones. Can connect to peripherals such as printers, keyboards and audio equipment making it a useful feature.

MicroSD Slot (9/10) - Necessary if you want to store additional pictures, videos and music. Easy to pop in and very small (easily lost as well!). The cards are very cheap so its a great upgrade to get.

Internet surfing is quick thanks to the high speed Verizon EV-DO network and Mobile Web 2.0 supported mini web browser. Games and videos are available for download (for a fee ofcourse) through VCAST and the GetItNow! store. Although not a smartphone, capable of using IM service, email and chat options thanks to full featured QWERTY keyboard.

Overall, the LG enV has made a pretty nice improvement and continues to do so by offering it's users many different technologies in one cell phone. If your looking for a new Verizon Wireless phone, it makes a great alternative to the usual flip or soap bar style phone out there!

I text a lot and was getting soooo frustrated with the regular phones, having to push number buttons so many times to get the right letters. This is a great phone for texting with such a nice keyboard. I looked at the Treo and have a work-BlackBerry, but their keyboards are too small with buttons too close together. The flip-open keyboard is very cool and always impresses people who see it. The sound is good and both screens are easy to see, even in bright daylight. I'm still waiting for my 1 GB miniSD so I can use the MP3 part, but the ring tone music comes over with great quality and volume. Web surfing is easy with Mobile Web 2.0 and the keyboard, even getting up to date auctions on eBay!

Very cool features are the voice-dial, and the phone will read your text messages to you (how cool is THAT?) Camera quality is excellent, and that business card reader saves a good amount of time from punching in all the numbers and names. Lots of neat features, the only thing it doesn't do is being able to list mail addresses in the Contacts, even though it lists phones, faxes, email addresses - but it isn't billed as a PDA, so that's ok.

The only con about this phone is that the Send/Clear/End/Voice buttons are very small and hard to press the right one if the phone is on your belt.

There are enough gadgets to make a techie person very happy, and it's simple enough for someone who's not a techie to be able to use most of the features.

I LOVE THIS PHONE!