Landing next month on Verizon Wireless' high-speed network, LG today introduced the VX9800 high-end vertical clamshell featuring a smorgasboard of capabilities more typically present in smartphones than mere mortal handsets. Among the highlights are EV-DO for high speed data transfers, music player capabilities, miniSD card expansion, a 1.3 Megapixel camera and much, much more.
Eerily similar to the form factor of the Nokia 9300 Communicator, the LG VX9800 has opted for an unusual design which provides access to a standard keypad and 9-line, 65K colour screen with a resolution of 160 x 128 pixels in closed mode. When opened, the handset not only reveals a full QWERTY thumbboard, but also a 262K colour screen with a resolution of 320 x 256 pixels.
A V CAST handset, the VX9800 supports dual-band CDMA 800/1900 MHz with EV-DO for theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps, and is compatible with video downloads as well as streaming at 15 FPS. In addition, the handset also features a 1.3 Megapixel camera which both shoots stills and records video, the latter at resolutions of up to 320 x 240 pixels at 15 FPS in 15-second clips and 3G2 format.
Other imaging features include a LCD dual mode for self portraits, as well as an integrated Flash; self-timer settings ranging from 3 through 10 seconds; adjustable brightness and white balance settings; and night mode. Should the 128 MB internal memory of the handset prove insufficient, the VX9800 also offers memory expansion via its miniSD card slot, and connects via USB to offload pictures without the need for a memory card reader.
Equipped with Bluetooth, the VX9800 surprisingly includes not only the Headset and Handsfree profiles, but also Dial-Up Networking to allow laptop and handheld users to connect to Verizon's high-speed network on the go. For music lovers, Bluetooth is arguably not the best means of listening to music from the MP3 player of the VX9800; its 2.5 mm headset jack or dual stereo speakers are likely to be preferred.
Speakerphone capabilities are also present, with the VX9800 supporting not only speaker-independent voice recognition in English and Spanish, but also text-to-speech. With concern to software, the handset is equipped with a PIM suite and several minor utilities, as well as a Mobile Web 2.0 microbrowser.
Another software feature of the handset is VZEmail with Wireless Sync, which lets users synchronize e-mail, calendar, contact and task information over-the-air with a PC of their choice, as well as directly with POP3 or IMAP e-mail accounts. Measuring in at 4.57" x 1.97" x 1.0" and 5.2 oz, the LG VX9800 claims a battery life of up to 4 hours of talk time and up to 250 hours of standby time from its 1,300 mAh Lithium Polymer battery.
The LG VX9800 will be available beginning on September 26 for $350 USD with a two-year service agreement.
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