The LG VX7000 is a snazzy-looking mobile phone. But how about its feature set? Larry Garfield investigates to see if the VX7000 keeps up with the competition.
Exterior
LG's VX7000 handset is a distinctive-looking clamshell. 25 x 48 x 93 mm in size and weighing 109 grams, it is not light but feels very slender despite its size. The front cover is coated in a blue pseudo-rubber that offsets the silver plastic casing well. A large 96 x 96 pixel, 12-bit color STN display dominates the front cover, and although not the clearest external display we've seen it is still quite functional for photo caller ID. Right above the screen is a large and bright camera light.
 | The VX7000 is a good phone with a paltry feature set
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The main display is a 176 x 220 pixel 262,000 color TFT screen that is comfortably large and very bright and clear. The keypad is quite attractive, including the function and soft keys wrapped around the oval-shaped directional pad. Those function buttons include the Send/End and Left/Right soft keys, as well as a Clear button and a Camera/Video toggle. Number keys are in a traditional layout, thankfully.
The left side of the phone includes a metal volume rocker, uncovered headphone jack, and a voice-dial/voice recorder button, a short press of which triggers the voice dial function while a long press starts a new voice note. On the right side of the phone is another camera button. The 1.5 cm fixed antenna is essentially alone on the top of the phone as the rotating camera lens is set in the hinge point between the top and bottom halves of the phone. The lens has two problems: it has no covered position, and when the phone is open it has a nasty habit of springing back up from full-forward rotation just enough that the top of the phone is blocking part of the screen. Unfortunately many phones suffer from the former problem, but the latter is a much larger issue.
Ergonomics
As mentioned, the VX7000 has a good feel in the hand. The keypad is well-designed and blind-dial friendly, and the blue backlight is not as much of a problem as it could be due to the large numbers. Still, a white backlight would have been better. Buttons are well-placed, and the directional pad doubles as triggering key functions on the phone when on the main screen.
Features
Running on Verizon Wireless's dual-band 800 / 1900 MHz CDMA network, the VX7000 is somewhat below par compared to other phones in its class as features go. Data transfer is via 1xRTT. The phone supports polyphonic ringtones, with or without a vibrate mode, and users can also record their own voice as a ringtone. Wallpapers and themes are customizable, and additional BREW programs can be downloaded into the phone's 5 MB memory for a fee. SMS, EMS, and MMS are all supported, and a downloadable BREW client provides access to AOL, MSN, and Yahoo instant messengers. A simple PIM suite with 500-entry address book is included as well as the OpenWave WAP browser.
Absent from the VX7000 is either Bluetooth or IR connectivity. While disappointing, it's not uncommon for phones in this price range. More of a disappointment is that the VX7000 supports only speaker-dependant voice dialing rather than speaker-independent dialing. Also missing is a speakerphone mode. Text input is via either multi-tap or T9, and switching between the two is a snap.
The 0.3 megapixel camera works with the phone open or closed thanks to the extra camera button on the right side. In addition to VGA-quality photos with up to 4x digital zoom it can take brief 15-second video clips with audio.
Performance
Audio on the VX7000 was crystal clear, and signal quality was good. Camera quality was good, but not stellar, both with and without the camera light, although video was surprisingly smooth for such a low resolution.
The menu system on the VX7000 is one of the best we've seen, using a tabbed setup that makes browsing easy. Different coloring on each tab also aids navigation, although clearer marking that the Clear button doubles as a Back button would be appreciated.
The removable 1100 mAh Lithium Ion battery is rated for 200 minutes talk time or 180 hours standby, which is quite low given the battery's theoretical capacity. Our own estimates are in-line with that low rating.
Availability
The LG VX7000 is as of this writing available through Verizon Wireless for $99.99 USD with two-year service agreement or $149.99 USD with 1-year service agreement. Price without service is $199.99 USD.
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