LG VX8700

Call Quality

Calls and speakerphone: We found calls to be loud and clear on the LG VX8700. We rarely needed to use the side volume keys to adjust the sound. Using the speakerphone didn’t degrade call quality, and we had no problem hearing callers over the speaker. Additionally, you don’t have to be too close to the cell phone when using the speakerphone to be heard clearly by callers. Although we love the dedicated speakerphone button on the keypad, you can’t activate it until you place a call. This isn’t such a bad thing since it automatically turns off when you finish a call. Also, if you need TTY capability for connectivity with hearing aids, it’s available here via an included accessory.

Audio quality: Playback of songs is acceptable through the cell phone’s speakers, but songs sounded a bit tinny. The LG VX8700 lacks a headset jack; however, it comes with an adapter. Unfortunately, it won't take your own pair of headphones. Instead, you’ll need to purchase an optional Bluetooth stereo headset if you want to listen to music privately.

Ease of Use

Menu/phone book: Like many Verizon Wireless cell phones, the VX8700 has a standard menu system; if you're already accustomed to it, using the LG VX8700 should be a breeze. That said, this is one of the more straightforward menu interfaces you’ll find on a cell phone. We particularly like how easy it is to use the phone book, which can store 1,000 contacts, each with five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, a picture, and a message ringer – sorry, there's no slot for addresses. If you want to find your phone number, you’ll need to dig through the menu system.

Camera/video: The LG VX8700 sports a 2-megapixel camera and the ability to record short videos. Though this camera phone lacks a flash, we didn’t miss it. On the plus side, the LG VX8700 probably has one of the fastest shutters we’ve seen to date. You can almost capture the moment when it happens, though there’s still a bit of lag time. You can also snap self-portraits, though it’s hard to see yourself entirely in focus since the external screen is a narrow rectangle. Our favorite feature is Photometry (photographers have a more technical term for it: metering); use it when choosing a specific spot to meter in your frame, which helps with unevenly lit scenes.

As for image quality, we found colors to be vivid and the images bright on the cell phone’s screen. Unfortunately, as is the case with many camera phones, we weren’t nearly as impressed once we downloaded images taken with the LG VX8700’s camera to a computer. We found outdoor photos lacked contrast, but the colors were true; colors on the indoor photos were muted. On the plus side, this cell phone has the least amount of noise we’ve seen to date. As a result, images didn’t suffer from pixilation -- a true plus! Additionally, we had no problem detecting sharp details in both highlights and shadows. Video quality is acceptable but not stellar.

Music: The LG VX8700 sports an MP3 player, and since the cell phone has 30MB of memory, you should be able to store about 5 songs on it as long as you don’t load up on too many photos or applications. If you want more storage, we recommend buying an optional MicroSD media card. You can play MP3s and WMA (Windows Media Audio) files on the MP3 player. As noted, the audio quality is pretty good through the cell phone speaker. Though the LG VX8700 lacks the ability to adjust audio-centric controls such as bass and treble, there is a Shuffle option.

However, unless you’re downloading music from Verizon’s V Cast service, getting music onto the LG cell phone is an entirely different story. You can’t transfer music from a PC to the VX8700 cell phone using Bluetooth. However, if you purchase an optional cable and software, you’ll be able to transfer WMA and MP3 files to the cell phone using Windows Media Player 10. The easiest way to transfer music is via a separate MicroSD media card. Once the card is formatted and you have a way to access the card from your computer via an optional reader or cable, you can then drag and drop your songs into the My_music folder on the media card. Then slip it into the storage card slot located beneath the battery cover on the back of the LG cell phone.

Connectivity/Bluetooth: We were able to pair the LG cell phone with a Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset. Call quality isn’t as stellar with a headset, but it is quite acceptable. We should note that while you still can’t use Bluetooth to transfer songs from a computer to the cell phone and vice versa, we had no problem connecting to an Apple computer. However, we couldn’t send pictures from the cell phone to the computer.

Design

Look and feel: If the LG VX8700 gives you the sense of déjà vu, there’s a reason for it: the cell phone looks a lot like it could fit into Motorola’s line of Razrs. Make no mistake, this isn’t a Razr. For starters, the outside is made of slick brushed metal, which helps keep smudges and fingerprints at bay. We should note that once the cell phone starts collecting marks, they aren’t the easiest to get off. But to that point, the LG cell phone comes with a black suede-like carrying case, complete with a spare pocket in front for storing money, credit cards, or business cards. If you carry it in this case, you’ll not only help protect the VX8700, you’ll also get a few stares when you pull it out of its protective covering.

While the LG VX8700 bears a striking resemblance to the Razr line of cell phones, it does have a few distinguishing marks of it own. For starters, we much prefer the placement of the buttons along the sides of the LG VX8700. Unlike the Razr, the VX8700 situates the record button under the volume buttons, not across from them on the other side of the cell phone. Why do we like this? Well, on the Razr, the voice record button tends to be on the opposite side of the volume keys, and we constantly find that we inadvertently hit it while on a call. Also, the external display is decidedly different and shiny. When not in use, the external display is a long thin mirror, which is best for checking to see if you have food in your teeth or applying lipstick. When in use, the external display shows time, date, network strength, battery life, and other alerts (such as whether Bluetooth is activated). Speaking of displays, the internal screen is beautiful. Colors are bountiful and bright, while letters and numbers are extremely crisp.

Keypad: There’s something eerily familiar about the LG VX8700’s keypad. It’s as if we’ve seen it somewhere before -- and of course, we have. It looks an awful lot like the trademark flat keypad found on the Razr. But unlike the Razr, the LG VX8700 sports a keypad backlit in white instead of blue. While you might think it would be hard to dial on a flat keypad, we found it pretty easy.

Battery Life

In the battery life department, the LG VX8700 is quite impressive. If we didn’t know better, we’d think the Energizer bunny was powering it. We found that we could last about five days before recharging when using the LG VX8700 regularly to make calls, occasionally surf the wireless Web, and send/receive text messages. Users who barely use the cell phone to make/receive calls and send/receive messages can wait well over a week before needing to recharge, while heavier cell phone users will likely need to charge the LG VX8700 every three to four days. We should also note that leaving the phone's Bluetooth activated does not have an adverse affect on the battery; however, playing music does.