Cellphone Reviews Blog

LG 5225 Prepaid Phone STi Mobile

The LG 5225 features a sleek, lightweight clamshell design boasting an internal 4,096 color LCD display that is 120 x 160 pixels. There is also a large 96 x 48 pixel external 65,000 color LCD display which shows time, date, signal strength, battery life while in standby mode. When the phone receives a call, the external LCD displays Caller ID. For ease of use the phone has side volume. Inside the phone you will find a 5-way navigation key and two soft keys that make this phone extremely user friendly and easy to operate. There are also 4 one-touch shortcut keys to the calendar, text messaging, web browser, and downloads.

Click here to see information on available STi Mobile rate plans.

Calling Features
The phone has 16 chord Polyphonic Ringtones and vibrating alert. Unique ringtones can be assigned to specific callers so that you don’t have to look at the number to see who is calling. You can store up to 200 entries in the phone book.

Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The LG 5225 supports both text messaging and web browsing. T9 predictive text entry is included on the phone which enables you to easily send text messages and emails. While browsing the web you can download ring tones and wall papers to personalize and customize your phone. Web browsing gives you the ability to look up sports scores; read headline news; check the weather report by zip code or city; get the latest stock quotes and financial news; or enter your own URL and browse the web.

The LG 5225 also includes several tools to enhance your life such as a scheduler which gives you the ability to set appointments in your calendar with reminders; an alarm clock; a notepad for jotting down things you wont want to forget; a world clock; easy tip calculator; and calculator.

Imaging and Entertainment
Browse the web and download ringtones, pictures and games on sites like www.3gforfree.com.

Vital Statistics
The LG 5225 phone weighs only 3.50 ounces and measures 3.50 x 1.896 x 1.00 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 2.5 hours of talk and 190 hours of standby. It runs on the CDMA 1900 frequencies and the phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What’s in the Box
LG 5225 handset, AC charger, lithium-ion battery, user’s manual, STi Mobile user’s guide.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Horrible
Screen cracked in the first month, battery dies quickly and once I have cleared out my messages the phone continues to page me as if I still had a voice message. You are better off with two tin cans with a string tied between them.

4 Stars Great Basic Phone
The phone is a great basic phone. Light, small with an external display. I have had mine since Dec ‘05 and it’s been fine.

StiMobile’s customer service is a little lacking, but for the price it can not be beat!

1 Star STI is the worst service carrier ever
STI is the worst service carrier ever. I called twice to make sure they can transfer the promotional air minutes to another existing account. But after I activated my cell phone, they ate their words.

At the same time, I found whenever I made a phone call, they charge me once the phone call is connected, even though no one answers the phone. This is one of their hidden charges.

My experience is so bad, I will never use their service again.

1 Star JUNK phone worse company
I’ve been using STI Mobile for over 4 years now. Things are alright if you don’t mind a weaker signal than competitors, rarely use your cell phone AND don’t have a problem. If you have a problem of ANY kind YOU will pay for it with ridiculous amounts of YOUR time YOUR money and YOUR frustration. Even though its STI Mobiles fault. Unless you almost never use your phone, a low minute plan from any other company is well worth the couple extra dollars!!! One unhappy customer shows a company has poor standards. Do a little review research and you will see overwhelming unsatisfied customers.

Buy/More Info

LG enV3 VX9200 Phone Maroon Verizon Wireless

Buy/More Info

LG Chocolate VX8500 Phone White Verizon Wireless

LG’s newest mobile treat, the VX-8500 Chocolate offers minimalist-inspired style and a silky-smooth slider design. Deluxe features include support for V Cast Music, glowing touch-sensitive navigation keys, a powerful integrated music/video player, a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, and a microSD memory slot for extra storage. If you value extreme style mixed with powerful substance, this is the phone for you. And now, the VX-8500 is available in white chocolate.

The Chocolate’s sliding keypad keeps it hidden until you need it (black version shown). See the phone in 3-D.

Design
The phone features a seriously attractive open-faced design with an internal antenna and a vibrant 240 x 320 pixel, 262,000-color TFT/TFD display. A touch sensor click wheel, similar to iPod, and sliding design set the phone apart stylistically. Opening the slider reveals a numeric keypad, as well as the 1.3-megapixel camera and LED flash, which are housed on the rear of the phone. The volume and voice slide keys are on the left of the phone, while the music, camera and “end” keys are on the right side. A memory card slot is provided for MicroSD/TransFlash memory cards of up to 2 GB capacity (additional cards sold separately). The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.

Calling Features
The Chocolate boasts powerful calling functions, such as speaker independent voice dialing, which makes it easy to call contacts by simply saying their names. No prior voice training is required and you can even speak individual digits to the phone for quick dialing of numbers you know by heart. And because the Chocolate is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.

The Chocolate’s internal memory can hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures as well as ringtones to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones, and a number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon’s Get It Now service. Lastly, the Chocolate’s GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.

Diminutive size and incredible music functionality make this phone the complete mobile companion.

Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The phone’s support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the Chocolate’s built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There’s also a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon’s optional Mobile Web 2.0 package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit–a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Chocolate is fully compatible with Verizon’s V Cast service. With V Cast, you can download and stream high-quality video. Need news and weather? Get the latest Accuweather forecast delivered right to your handset, or stream CNN news headlines. ESPN sports updates, entertainment news from E!, and even Sesame Street content for the kids, are all available. V Cast also serves as a portal for enhanced 3D games, making it possible to have more fun with a new breed of realistic games.

Verizon’s music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Chocolate all the more desirable. With V Cast music, your phone is a music player, letting you jam out wherever you are. It’s also a music store, and you can download songs instantly to your phone. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that’s right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.

A number of handy software tools are bundled with the Chocolate including a voice memo recorder that can record calls, a calculator, a calendar, and an alarm clock. You can even set the alarm to wake you to your favorite music. Also included with the Chocolate is Verizon’s VG Navigator software, which allows you to get real-time, turn-by-turn audible directions as you’re driving.

Imaging and Entertainment
The Chocolate’s is a 1.3-megapixel digital camera features a flash, as well as digital zoom, self-timer, night-mode functions, and brightness and white balance controls. The camera also offers up to one-hour of video capture. A built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer, offering MP3 and WMA playback, lets you keep your music playing in the background. You can also take advantage of the Chocolate’s Bluetooth wireless headset capability, allowing you to hook up a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones.

EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage
Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.

Vital Statistics
The LG VX-8500 Chocolate weighs just 3.53 ounces and measures 3.80 x 1.88 x .69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 384 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one-year limited warranty.

Note: The LG Chocolate supports the Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, Advanced Audio Distribution, and Object Push for vCard. It does not support all Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star To Much of a headache!
I will get right to the point…

My phone constantly calls people in my contact list daily (without my knowledge). The keypad freezes for hours at a time and I cannot use the phone at all! The screen goes crazy and just automatically scrolls out of control. I have had this phone for 8 months and had to replace it twice already! It really wears on your patience. You can adjust the touch sensitivity, but it doesn’t help. I have had it! Most of the time I can’t even use the damn thing! UGH!!!

1 Star Hate this phone!
I bought this phone because it was new and cute. It was cool for the first few months I had it, now I constantly want to throw it against a wall. The touch buttons either freeze CONSTANTLY making it hard to navigate the phone or is ultra sensitive resulting in random calls to people on my contacts or most recent calls list. The phone also calls when it is in my bag or in my pants pocket.. even with the LOCK ON! The sensitivity of the phone will also cause scrolling through contacts or text messages difficult because if you press too hard, itll freak and wont stop scrolling. The camera on the phone is also very fuzzy.

The only good thing about the phone is that I’ve dropped it accidently and non-accidently many times and it has managed to stay functional.

5 Stars Hot Chocolate
I don’t think people should buy advance devices or phones if you aren’t planning on utilizing the features on the phone. It’s like buying an Audi A8 but you walk everywhere???? I Dont get it??

4 Stars Hershey, eat your heart out!
Ive owned this phone since Memorial Day. I tryed the display model first before buying and thought the touch sensitive buttons were very annoying. But i adjusted the sensitivity of the buttons in the Settings & Tools menu, in the Touch Keypad option, then hitting Sensor Level, and picking from: Low …Medium…High…and Super. I have it on HIGH, and now it doesnt bother me, and ive learned how to use the buttons.

The battery life on this phone runs out after about 3 hours or so of use, tops, when your talking or using the camera function, for either taking Pix or Flix (videos) In my experience, it doesnt last as long as id like. You might want to upgrade the battery, so it lasts longer.

And never charge the phone will talking on it. I heard that the best way to charge the phone is to when it has either one or no bars, shut the down, then charge it. And be carefull not to overcharge it, becouse that messes up the battery…so theres an option where you can have the phone make a sound when it has completed charging. Which you can find hitting OK for the menu , then under Settings & Tools…then Sound Settings…then hitting Service Alerts…finally hitting the Charge Complete option, either picking On or Off.

The camera this phone has is nice. It takes pretty high resolution looking photos, for a phone. Its pretty cool cuz you can choose between various resolutions: 1280×960…640×480…320×240…176×144…160×120.

Which is pretty awesome.

And taking videos is conveniant. You can adjust the time limit for the video, when youre in video mode and going into options and going into the time limit option and picking from either 15 seconds, or Available Memory, which time is only based on your phones own memory or a memory card, which you can choose between which you want your videos saved to by default. I thought that was cool.

The spin-wheel looking thing on the front of the phone, is actually just a directional pad for taping UP, DOWN, LEFT or Right…and OK, in the center. (The latest LG Chocolate the chocolate 2.0, actually has a metal type of spin wheel that actually spins for easier scrolling)

I didnt know if a slider-phone would feel comfortable while talking, but it feels normal. And it slides up and down easily, and feels like its sturdy and built well. And the ear speaker looks small, but is pretty clear and can be set to be pretty loud. It also has a SPEAKER PHONE, which is usefull. The micophone for talking into is sorta hidden and is tiny, but people can allways hear me loud and clear.

A word i think used a lot to describe the design of this phone is “MINIMALIST”…and i think less is definatly more becouse it looks awesome. It has that whole APPLE inspired look going on, which was no coincidense, im sure. It has this futuristic/retro look to it, and i think is pretty hot in WHITE. (the other colors like Strawberry pink and mint green, are sweet as well)

I mainly bought this phone for fashion and for its music player capability. Which i finally figured out how to upload songs to it, where it actually works. ( Make sure your downloaded music IS NOT copy protected. If you use a media player like WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER, i believe version 9 and up, offer and option within the TOOLS option and under either the Copy Music or Burn Music tab…there youll see a copy/song protection box….MAKE SURE THATS LEFT UN-CHECKED, or your phone wont allow you to play the song files, even if youre using your own music library.)

Speaking of the portable music player capability, the LG chocolate is my first mp3 player…ive never had one, and allways wanted an iPod, but i never could afford one, and my computer is too old and nothing ever meets system requirements. But with this phone i bought a CARD READER (A Sandisk brand Mobile card reader/writer called the “MOBILE MATE SD+ ” which is compatiable with many different memory card types, including MICRO SD ,which is the memory card LG choclates use.)

The music player side of this phone gets the job done, and you can catagorize by PLAY LIST, ARTIST , GENRE, SONG, etc. Some of the options for the music player includes SHUFFLE, Repeat , etc.

The phone even has a button on the right side thats dedicated to accessing the MUSIC player,alone. (not to mention its own dedicated Camera button and END button for exits out of something or holding it down to shutdown the phone, or start it back up)

The ear phones adapter it comes with only fits 2.5 jack head sets. but you can buy a pair of ear buds by LG that has another adapter, and also a 3.5 adapter, which has a button on it for answer incoming calls. This 3.5 jack is essential cuz youll want perhaps better headsets or ear buds (the package is sold sepretly for around 20 bucks, and is worth buying since you need earphones anyway…since the LG does not come with earphones.

Until you get your earphones, the phone has a speaker which you can listen to your song files or whatever, with. The earphone adapter is a bit bulkly, but its not gigantic, just kinda ugly-ish, but it doesnt stand out that badly.

I really appreciate the Portable Music Player side of this phone, its a neccessity for me since ive collected the entire discography of QUEEN, MetallicA and AFI, among many other albums. So this makes the LG Chocolate the biggest selling point for me, besides the fact that it looks hott. Hotter than the iPhone ,in my opinion, but thats just on the looks, period.

The only weakness this phone has is the stock battery life (which is just ok) and the Touch sensitive buttons, that are about 80 to 90% dead-on accurate. becouse sometimes you usually find yourself pushing a button twice, or more. BUT it didnt take me long to get used to the touch screen buttons.

This is the best fashion phone ive seen, and it works pretty good too.

I recommend this phone for people who want to make a fashion statement,

and who also want a decent music player, and do other multi media.

I really like this phone, and it looks awesome. I love the white color.

2 Stars Battery sucks
After a few months, my battery life dropped to 5-6 hours, a tech at Verizon told me I could purchase a “heavy duty” battery for a mere $50 or so. No thanks: would you buy a car if the dealer asked if you wanted to upgrade to a heavy duty battery?

Also, the touchpad on my chocolate goes brain dead intermittently, hope the replacement is better. In summary, I DO NOT recommend the chocolate.

Buy/More Info

LG Versa VX9600 Phone Black Verizon Wireless

The LG Versa for Verizon Wireless provides the best of two mobile technologies, combining a 3-inch touchscreen featuring tactile feedback with an attachable QWERTY keypad for easy typing of long messages and email while on the go. This phone is compatible with the V Cast Music and V CAST Music with Rhapsody services, which enables you to purchase songs through your phone and download them via Verizon’s fast EV-DO data network. You’ll also benefit from the phone’s A-GPS receiver, which enables you to access Verizon’s VZ Navigator service for turn-by-turn directions. Additionally, the Versa is compatible with the Mobile Broadband Connect service, allowing you to use the phone as a modem for your laptop.

You can personalize your LG Versa phones based on your messaging needs–either attach the QWERTY keypad to the phone or leave the keypad at home (see larger image).

The 3-inch touchscreen offers tactile feedback and a built-in accelerometer rotates the screen automatically (see larger image).

Other features include a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, multi-format digital audio player, Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (up to 16 GB), a full HTML browser with support for Flash and RSS feeds, Visual Voicemail, and up to 4.8 hours of talk time.

Verizon Wireless Service
With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, you’ll enjoy fast access to the Internet and Verizon Wireless multimedia services (additional charges applicable), with average download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps and peak rates up to 2 Mbps. (Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.) The V Cast Music service enables you to download songs instantly to your phone, or purchase music through your PC and transfer the files to your phone. If purchased from your phone, you’ll receive two copies of the song: a Windows Media Audio Pro Plus format at 64Kbps stereo is sent to your phone, and a Windows Media Audio 9 format at 160Kbps stereo is sent to your account in the V CAST Music online store for downloading to your PC. V Cast Music offers nearly 2 million songs, with more being added all the time.

In addition to the V Cast Music service, this phone is also compatible with the Verizon Wireless V CAST Music with Rhapsody, which enables you to access this exclusive digital music service for RealNetworks and for MTV Networks. V CAST Music with Rhapsody delivers unlimited monthly access to music on up to three Rhapsody-compatible mobile phones and players and online on multiple PCs and Web browsers. In addition, customers who purchase music over-the-air are able to download the master copy of the songs or albums to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where music can be played.

With this GPS-enabled phone, you’ll be able to access the Verizon Wireless VZ Navigator service (additional charges applicable) for voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, heads-up alerts, local search of nearly 14 million points of interest in the US (such as landmarks, restaurants and ATMs), and detailed color maps. And the Chaperone service lets you easily locate your loved ones from your Verizon Wireless phone or PC in real time. After defining a zone, such as an area designating a school or summer camp, you’ll be sent an alert via text message when the Chaperone handset enters or leaves the zone.

Getting on the Internet is easy using the Verizon Wireless Mobile Web 2.0 package, which allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. The Verizon Wireless Media Center wireless download service is also fully compatible with this phone. This pay-per-download service features application downloads, games and productivity tools. You can also personalize your handset with ringtone downloads using the Media Center service.

With BroadbandAccess Connect (subscription required), you can use your smartphone as a modem for your notebook when you connect the two using a USB cable–or open a Bluetooth connection–enabling you to access the Internet or your company intranet. The tethered modem capability is ideal when you’re traveling and need to use your notebook to check email, access corporate networks, or download large files like presentations and reports. And with BroadbandAccess Connect, you won’t have to buy an extra PC Card or other devices.

Phone Features
The LG Versa is an elegant candybar-style touchscreen phone that also includes an attachable QWERTY keyboard for those times when you need to type a lot of messages while on the go. The 3-inch touchscreen (240 x 480 pixels, 262K colors) features an animated 3D interface and you can customize up to three home screens with favorite features and applications. The built-in accelerometer rotates the screen automatically from portrait to landscape, and you can use rotation movements to steer games. An ambient light sensor controls the brightness on the LCD according to surrounding light, and a proximity sensor turns LCD off when placing a call. The touchscreen also offers a virtual QWERTY keyboard.

The LG Versa can be detached from its keyboard cover and used on its own.

The phone securely attaches to the folding QWERTY keyboard, which helps protect the screen. When attached to the keyboard, the leather-like back of the phone includes a secondary monochrome OLED screen that provides quick access to current time, signal strength, and battery life.

This phone provides the latest version of Bluetooth connectivity–version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), which makes pairing with the included headset as well as other Bluetooth devices a snap. With EDR, you’ll get a faster connection that makes transferring files and using the phone as a modem for your laptop hum along nicely. And with the embedded A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones or other compatible devices. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking–surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server (additional charges applicable).

The 2-megapixel camera offers five resolution options–1600 x 1200 (default), 1280 x 960, 800 x 400, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels–and a 2x digital zoom. It offers advanced features including face detection, SmartPic Technology (which helps to compensate face color), customizable brightness and white balance settings, multiple shutter sounds (including silent), and a self-timer. After snapping your pics, you can use the image editor to zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons, and write over images. This phone also captures videos with sound in three resolutions–640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels (default)–and you can choose to record 30-second videos for sending via messaging or up to an hour for saving to your PC.

The digital audio player offers compatibility for MP3, WMA and unprotected AAC/AAC+ formats, and the phone allows you to multitask while playing music–hide player to send messages, edit contacts, and browse the Web. You can create and manage playlists right on the phone and the library can be organized by artist, genre and album. This phone also has a music-only mode (or flight mode) where the cellular radio is turned off, enabling you to still play music (Bluetooth connectivity is still operable).

When the QWERTY keyboard is attached, the phone includes a secondary OLED screen on the back.

The HTML Web browser includes Flash and RSS feed support, and you can keep up to three windows open and switch from one window to the other to view pages. You’ll be able to keep up with your personal email with built-in connections to MSN Hotmail, AOL, and Yahoo! accounts. In addition to SMS text and MMS multimedia messaging, you can also access popular instant messaging (IM) services (AIM, MSN, Yahoo!). T9 predictive text entry technology makes it easier for entering text while composing email and text messages.

Other features include:

• MicroSD memory slot with support for cards up to 16 GB in size
• Visual Voice Mail: delete, reply and forward voice mail messages without having to listen to prior messages or voice instructions
• USB Mass Storage: transfer files between microSD card and PC
• 2.5 mm headset jack
• Text, picture and video messaging
• Supports threaded messaging
• Personal organizer with calculator, EZ Tip Calculator, calendar, alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock, notepad, and drawing pad with character recognition
• Speakerphone and voice commands
• Bilingual interface – English and Spanish
• Phonebook with up to 1,000 entries with multiple contacts
• TTY/TDD-capable
• Hearing Aid Compatibility = M4/T4
• In Case of Emergency contacts

Vital Statistics
The LG Versa weighs 3.81 ounces and measures 4.16 x 2.07 x 0.54 inches. Its 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4.8 hours (290 minutes) of talk time, and up to 430 hours (17.9 days) of standby time. It runs on the CDMA 800/1900 frequencies as well as the Verizon Wireless EV-DO data network.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Good phone but screen freezes up
I exchanged my phone for a new one twice and still have a problem with the screen freezing up when i don’t respond to a missed call or a missed txt right away. I thought it was the phone itself but judging from other peoples reviews, it seems that the phones software may have a bug. Does anyone know of a patch or update?

Once the screen freezes, the LCD stays on and drains your batteries which eventually powers out within a few hours.

Other than this issue, phone is great.

5 Stars A really good phone from Verizon

I love the features, the screen, the keyboard, closing the keyboard and it auto locks, the cube effect between screens, good calendar, calculator, tip calculator, world clock, etc.

It multi-tasks so I can listen to music while doing almost everything. If I make a call or use the navigator the music stops. When I exit the app the music starts where it left off. I can text and do most other functions and the music plays in the background. When the music is playing it puts a ribbon across the top which blocks some of the icons under it but you can move the icons to get them out of the way. When you receive a text the music stops and while reading the text the music does not continue until the text screen is exited. Seems like that is something that should be fixed.

The voice commands do not seem to work very well except for using it to make calls. I could not get the right song to play and when I said goto navigator every time it goes to the calculator.

The internet browser works as expected for a phone. I would like to have seen a floating magnifier. You have to do 2 clicks and a slide to magnify the entire page and then rub the screen until the part of the page desired is shown. This works fine but seems like fewer clicks could be designed.

The navigator is the typical VZNavigator with its inherited cut-down features compared to a real gps. It depends on a Verizon network connections for maps but has a good gps for location tracking. I have 30 days free then I will activate the subscription for a month when traveling.

The user interface was very well thought out. There are a lot of features and shortcuts. I love the way you can locate a contact quickly. The favorites screen for adding contacts is very convenient. I wish the media screen allowed a play list to be added to it or an album.

The camera has a flash and they cut back a bit from the Dare as it is 2mp instead of 3mp. What is a phone camera for anyway? It is unlikely you will win the photography Pulitzer award with a phone camera but then again who knows. I use my camera to take photos of faces for my contacts and that is pretty much it. There are plenty of features with the camera including a panoramic mode that allows you to take 3 shots to form a panoramic view. It shows you the right edge of the previous shot so you can align the next shot. Now if the world would just hold still long enough to get the next shot. The focus to shot time is really long at about 2-3 seconds and the lens is way to slow for an action shot. You can turn the autofocus off, there is a timer, auto save on/off, face detection, spot or average focus, 3 shutter sounds or no shutter sound, white balance, change resolution. The video works well for a phone camera.

The speaker is loud but only a mono speaker. The bluetooth works perfectly. The rings are very loud and a lot to choose from. You can easily add your own ring tones with the USB Mass Storage mode on a Mac, Linux, or … what was that other abstract operating system out there? WinDose or something like that.

You will not make a fashion statement with this phone as the case is mud ugly. The nice thing is that it protects the phone. Sure would have been nice if they had provided a place for the included stylus. I guess that stylus was an afterthought.

The contacts are always available. The contact program is a bit light as it does not have the ability to put the address in. That would be really handy and especially if it was linked to the navigator.

The keyboard is just awesome. It has plenty of room for big fingers and all the standard symbols are available right on the keyboard.

The reception seems to be very good. I noticed that I am getting 1 to 2 bars more than with the Glyde and about the same as the Krave.

There is no software included. It seems that there are issues with the drivers working with Verizon’s Rhapsody program. I hope the get this fixed soon. For now you can access your memory card by putting the phone is USB Mass Storage mode.

There is no such thing as a perfect phone but this one is worth the extra money. Have you noticed that the ones that are cheap are the ones that everyone is having problems with? You can get a Glyde online for 50 dollars. The new Glyde with the resistive screen may be worth the 50 dollars if you really only want to talk on the phone and do not care about the other features. Then the other features become a bonus. If you want a phone that you can talk on and actually use for music, browsing, quick texting, and limited navigation then the Versa seems to be a good choice.

4 Stars Great Phone – bad battery life
I was looking at touch screen phones with a QWERTY keyboard, and after all my research I decided on the Versa. My wife got the LG Dare. Overall its a great phone, the touch screen is very responsive, and of course the attachable keyboard is great. Only thing I was not very impressed with, which others users from various review websites have noted with is the battery life. I dont use the internet, I mainly use the phone for texting. With an average of about 5 texts a day and I’ve had to charge the phone every other day. I believe this is because the detachable keyboard lights up when attached to the phone and this drains the battery life. I’m sure without the keyboard the battery life would be much better. Again besides the batter life, this is a great phone. If your debating between the Dare and Versa, I would say go for the Versa. (The Dare does have a much better camera).

3 Stars Great phone with a freezing screen
I’m going through a 3rd Versa right now. After getting a missed call, and not getting to it right away, the touch screen freezes. The battery has to be taken out and put back in to get the phone back to working mode. Despite all that I really like the phone and that’s why I kept going back to Verizon to exchange for the new one, thinking that it just could be this phone. My 3rd exchange was yesterday and just one day later, the phone froze again after a missed call. My patience has ended at this point, hope you’re more lucky if you’re getting this phone.

2 Stars Freezes often
I bought this phone due to what I have heard about LG and the functions it has. The phone is great when it works correctly, but the problem I have had is it freezes up when a text comes in and you don’t view it within a few minutes. You then have to remove the battery to shut it down, then restart it. This was my first LG and will most likely be my last. I would not recommend get this phone until they work the bugs out of it.

Buy/More Info

LG Vu CU920 Phone Wine ATandT

Elegantly and simply designed, the LG Vu CU920 for AT&T features a stunning 3-inch touchscreen that provides excellent viewing of AT&T’s new Mobile TV offering, which allows you to watch TV-quality programming from Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox, NBC, and more. This wine red-hued Vu CU920 even comes with a TV antenna that can be extended for optimal TV reception. This quad-band GSM phone also runs on AT&T’s dual-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, making it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music’s partners Napster and eMusic.

Enjoy AT&T Mobile TV on the LG Vu’s brilliantly colorful 3-inch interactive touchscreen.

The intuitive touchscreen controls makes it easy to navigate through all the features of this power-packed phone, which also includes a 2-megapixel camera that can be used with AT&T’s Video Share service, multi-format digital audio player, and downloadable games. Other features include Bluetooth connectivity for communication headsets and stereo music streaming, microSD memory expansion (up to 4 GB), FM radio, access to email and instant messaging, and up to 3 hours of talk time.

AT&T Service Options
This AT&T phone can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas. The AT&T 3G network uses the dual-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900 MHz network (also known as WCDMA), making it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services with speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. It also gives AT&T the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services.

The LG Vu also features Bluetooth stereo music streaming, MicroSD expansion (up to 4 GB), and an FM radio.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you’ll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it’s fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go. You’ll also enjoy quad-band GSM connectivity, which allows you to make calls in more than 190 countries and access data applications in the more than 135 countries where AT&T offers international data roaming.

With 3G connectivity, you’ll be able to access AT&T’s Video Share service, which enables you to send a live, one-way video stream to another compatible phone during a standard voice call. The service also allows you to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. (Customers must be in an area served by the company’s 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.)

You get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the go, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, stream music video, discover what’s playing with Music ID song-recognition software, and find out what’s hot with The Buzz music news portal. And it has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T’s MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.

Note that if you want to enjoy the full audio and video capabilities of your UMTS phone, be sure to select a MEdia Max service plan option during checkout. If you do not sign up for a MEdia Max service plan option, you will be paying per KB when you use the over-the-air UMTS audio and video features on your phone (upwards of $10 per minute).

Choose from a wide assortment of channels from AT&T Mobile TV.

AT&T Mobile TV
AT&T Mobile TV with FLO is a revolutionary video service that delivers full-length television content and sporting events from top networks to your phone while you’re on the go. Joining with MediaFLO USA’s award-winning FLO TV service, AT&T Mobile TV with FLO provides an intuitive program guide that makes it easy to flip from one channel to the next. The service includes more than 150 simulcast and/or time-shifted programs, as well as live sports events, from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon. Additionally, the Mobile TV service includes two channels exclusive to AT&T users:

• PIX, from Sony Pictures Television, offers a variety of contemporary films, including comedies, cult classics, action films and family favorites from the studio’s vast library.
• CNN Mobile Live provides users with access to 24 hours of breaking news with live streaming anchored coverage from CNN.com Live as well as CNN’s most popular programs, including American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN Election Center, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360?/em>, and CNN International.

AT&T provides several packages for accessing Mobile TV, and it offers parental controls that provide content filtering and purchase blocking on your phone so that you can restrict access to content that may be inappropriate for younger viewers.

The intuitive navigation lets you quickly move from one function to another.

Phone Features
With a focus on simplicity, the LG Vu CU920 has a large 3-inch interactive touchscreen that’s accompanied by a minimalist scroll bar design. The touchscreen provides vibrating haptic feedback so you know that you’ve pressed a button, and it includes a screen lock to prevent unwanted key actions. The phone also includes three hard keys–send, clear, and power/end–right below the screen. It comes with 155 MB of internal memory and it can be expanded using microSD memory cards up to 4 GB in size. The phone book has a capacity for 500 contact entries, each with space for storing 5 numbers, 2 email addresses and a picture ID.

This phone also shines as a mobile digital music player, with compatibility for MP3, WMA, AAC, and AAC+/eAAC+ files, customizable equalizer, playlist creation and management, and large capacity storage via MicroSD memory cards. Synchronize music from your PC (including music files from online services such as Napster and eMusic) via USB 2.0. The phone also offers USB mass storage capabilities for storing your most important documents and files.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 1.2 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, object push, file transfer, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking–surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server. Send contacts, calendar events, and pictures/videos/voice memos wirelessly. The phone stores up to 20 Bluetooth pairings.

Lift the antenna for great TV entertainment.

The 2-megapixel camera offers five resolution settings–from 1600 x 1200 pixels for prints to 160 x 120 pixels for sending via MMS–and it features a 2x digital zoom, multiple shutter tones, night mode, multi-shot capabilities, self-timer, and customizable brightness, and white balance. An in-phone photo editor lets you resize, crop, rotate, and add color effects. You can also shoot video clips at 320 x 240 and 176 x 144 pixels. You can keep shooting for as long as you have space on your microSD card, or cap the length at 42 seconds for sending via MMS.

In addition to voice calls, text messaging, and MMS capability, the phone is also compatible with mobile email from services including Yahoo!, AOL, Windows Live, AT&T Yahoo!, and BellSouth, as well as instant messaging (IM) from AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo!. The Vu also comes stock with a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing via MEdia Net (with WAP 2.0, WML, iHTML, xHTML, and WCSS compatibility). T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for entering text on handsets, is built into the unit–a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

Other features include:

• Speed dial (8 entries, plus 1 voicemail default)
• Speaker-independent voice commands
• Voice memo recording
• 11 unique ringtones with vibrate and silent modes; real music ringtone support
• Flight mode for listening to music and watching video with the phone functionality turned off
• USB charging via computer and mass storage capabilities
• Java 2.0 support for downloadable applications and games
• PIM tools: Calendar, alarm clock, notepad, calculator, tip calculator, world clock, tasks, stopwatch, unit converter
• Bluetooth profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures)

Vital Statistics
The LG Vu CU920 weighs 3.16 ounces and measures 4.25 x 2.16 x 0.51 inches. Its 1000 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 250 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as AT&T’s 850/1900 MHz 3G frequencies (UMTS/HSDPA).

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Pretty poor on all accounts.
Seemed like a decent choice at first, but this is a pretty miserable device. The text input method is constantly reverting back to Abc, the alert choices for text messaging are too limited, if you opt to talk without the headset device, your ears launch the various apps accidentally, interrupting your call, and there’s no way to customize your menu, for example to avoid accidentally launching the idiotic TV service. I hates it.

1 Star A Smart Phone In Hiding!
The LG VU is trying to be something great. Unfortunately, it just doesnt deliver. It falls FLAT on every aspect. The TV antenna is so 1980’s. I have no idea why its even on here. The touch screen in all honesty is very unresponsive. I hate comparing everything to the iPhone, but after the iPhone arrived on earth. It truly has raised the bar for everyone else. The touch screen really is unresponsive. I found myself pushing down hard at times to make the phone do simple operations. The keyboard is to small to really enjoy the act of texting because everything is so cramped! The battery life is beyond poor. I hardly used the phone & it would die within the same day. No USB charger include. The TV or video function of the phone serves no purpose because it comes through very sloppy & blurry! Nice try LG, but poor execution!

4 Stars If you want an iPhone, get an iPhone
I chose the Vu over the iPhone & a few other touchscreens–not b/c the Vu is better than or just as good as the iPhone, but because for my purposes, it makes more sense. I wanted a stylish-looking phone that was lightweight and easy to use, that could check email and get on the internet, that could handle a few apps, and that didn’t cost much. I’m pretty happy with the Vu, even recognizing that I would prefer an iPhone if cost didn’t matter. Here’s how I decided:

1) After reading online reviews, narrowed my choices to iPhone, LG Vu, LG Xenon, & Samsung Eternity (I was already an AT&T customer). Visited the AT&T store to try out phones, and narrowed it further to iPhone or Vu based on ease of use and size/weight. In terms of functionality and ease of use, the iPhone wins; its touchscreen is superior to any brand, it supports the most apps, it does cool tricks (like that turning-on-the-side thing), and it’s easiest to sync with my Mac. But the Vu was lightweight, fun, and intuitive to use.

2) Cost comparison. For me, iPhone’s required data plan was more than I wanted to pay. The math: Vu over 2 years (life of contract) works out to about $1,590 ($6 phone/shipping + 450-minute plan + monthly taxes/fees + $15 unlimited data plan). iPhone, if I bought a refurbished 8GB (cheapest option), would be about $2,050 ($99 phone + cheapest iPhone plan + monthly taxes/fees). Difference = approx $460 over 2 yrs. So, were iPhone’s advantages worth that much to me? Ultimately, no.

3) Things I like about Vu:

- Easy to use. Simple & quick to get on the internet, make calls, reach your apps, change settings, etc. The few physical buttons are convenient and easy to get used to.

- It is a really sweet-looking phone. Love the wine color.

- Screen is bright, crisp & easy to read.

- Lightweight & compact compared to other touchscreens. iPhone is bigger (won’t fit in a pocket as well) and significantly heavier.

- Can’t comment on Mobile TV since I don’t get service in my area. That would not have been an important feature to me.

- Voice dialing works great.

- It’s a bargain and accessories are cheap.

4) Drawbacks of Vu:

- Limited ability to download and use apps unless you’re a pretty proficient hacker/programmer (see #5 below).

- Generally, touchscreen works fine but scrolling can be tricky. The screen simply isn’t as responsive and accurate as the iPhone. But we all knew that, right? It’s fine for dialing. For text, you can use the dialpad or a QWERTY keyboard. QWERTY keys are quite small so I do make mistakes; this is a problem with all touchscreen phones. A stylus might help. I wouldn’t write a thesis on the phone, but I do update my facebook status, check email, run searches, send text msgs, no problem.

- Lack of Gmail or POP/IMAP support. You can use the phone’s email software for Yahoo, Hotmail, a few others, but not Gmail. You can download Gmail’s user-friendly app which works great except…see #5.

- Fingerprints like you wouldn’t believe. It’s ok, though. No one’s looking that closely.

- Limited # of bookmarks allowed. Irritating since AT&T forces some useless ones on you that you can’t delete.

5) About apps. One thing I love about iPhone is the ability to download a gazillion useful apps. For Vu, there are a few apps available, all with monthly subscription fees, from AT&T. Bleh. Here’s the thing. The Vu has a lot of untapped programming potential. It supports Java, which theoretically could give you functionality pretty close to an iPhone’s; you can find non-iPhone mobile apps all over the internet. But AT&T, no doubt to protect the iPhone’s market position & higher-priced plan, has placed an annoying Java security feature on the Vu so that when you run a 3rd-party app (i.e., one AT&T didn’t sell you), you get an annoying permission screen at every turn. If you go to www.lg-vu.com, you can find detailed instructions (even video) for how to hack your Vu to get rid of this feature, as well as delete all the trial version apps and other nonsense that are on the phone. I’m working on this–haven’t succeeded yet, but others have, so I’m hopeful I’ll eventually get it. Meantime, I downloaded gmail and googlemaps (free apps) and I put up with the security feature. Doesn’t prevent me from using the apps; it’s just annoying. Happily, there are lots of mobile websites optimized for phone use, everything from shopping to news to lolcats, so you can do quite a bit even without apps. You do not need an app to use facebook or twitter or to look up movie times, gas prices, or weather, or watch youtube (it’s blurry).

So if you really want an iPhone, get an iPhone. If you know the limitations of the Vu and nevertheless think it meets your needs–esp. if you just want a good phone (no internet/apps)–I think you’ll be very happy. This is a really nice device. Just don’t expect it to be an iPhone.

3 Stars IT’S ALRIGT
I USE TO HAVE A BLACKJACK PHONE, AND I WANTED TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT, I LIKE THE LG VU EXPECT THE FACT THAT I HAVE TO TURN IT OFF EVERYDAY SO MY INTERNET SERVICE WILL WORK. ALSO, THIS PHONE IS NOT THAT GOOD FOR TEXT MESSAGING. I LIKE THE BLACK JACK WAY BETTER, BUT KNOW I HAVE A CONTRACT SO I AM STUCK.

1 Star Select another AT&T phone Please
Select another AT&T phone Please!!! Phone would have been fine if it didn’t freeze all the time, when certain actions are requested. One example, is the phone could receive texts fine, but if you wanted to foward the text to a friend that includes graphics & audio, YOU CAN FORGET IT! PHONE WOULD FREEZE & CUT OFF ON ITS OWN. Also you can’t select your own ringtone for all received text messages (not the special ringtones for certain contacts in your phone), you had to use one of the 10 assigned pre-loaded LG tones. Corny! Terrible touch phone. If possible upgrade to a smart phone.

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