CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
REVIEWS
» Cell phones
» Cameras
» Camcorders
» Archive » Resource Center
» Compare » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Review Center / Cell phones /
Review: LG VX7000By Larry Garfield, Wednesday 22 December 2004
GALLERY
LG VX7000
Enlarge
 
 
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.

Review summary of the LG VX7000:
         Gallery »
LG VX7000 Price: $200.
Pros:
Cons:
%
POOR
Mediocre
Good
Very good
Excellent
Full LG VX7000 Review:
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
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.


Price and availability

The LG VX7000 will start selling for $200 () in November 1999.

Best Phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Nokia N95 8GB NAM 85% $450Unlocked
Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 85% $100Verizon Wireless
Apple iPhone 3G 81% $200AT&T
Nokia N95 80% $350Unlocked
Nokia N85 80% $350Unlocked
RIM BlackBerry Storm 9530 80% $200Verizon Wireless
T-Mobile G1 79% $180T-Mobile
HTC Touch Pro (Sprint) 77% $400Sprint
HTC Fuze 77% $300AT&T
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 76% $800Unlocked
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
 
NEW IN-DEPTH REVIEWS
Cell Phones & Smartphones
 
Digital Cameras
 
Camcorders
HOTTEST
Smartphones
 
Cell Phones
 
Touch Phones
TOP STORIES
Samsung Jet
 
Samsung Omnia 2
 
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
 
Sony Ericsson Yari
 
Sony Ericsson Satio
HTC Hero runs Google Android with new HTC Sense interface
 
HTC Firestone with Snapdragon Technology on Its Way
 
iPhone 3GS review
NEW CELL PHONE RELEASES
LG Viewty Smart
HTC Snap (Sprint)
RIM BlackBerry Pearl Flip
Apple iPhone 3GS
Nokia 5630 XpressMusic
HTC Touch Pro 2
Samsung Omnia HD
HTC Snap
Sony Ericsson T707
LG enV Touch
LG enV3
Nokia N86
UPCOMING CELL PHONES
Sony Ericsson W995
Sony Ericsson C903
RIM BlackBerry Tour
Nokia E55
HTC Hero
T-Mobile myTouch 3G
Samsung i7500
T-Mobile Dash 3G
Samsung Pixon12 M8910
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
Concept phones
» Feature Search & Compare
» Side-By-Side Comparison
» Upcoming Releases
» Carriers
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, More...
» Brands
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Palm, More...
» User Types
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
NOW IN PHONES
BlackBerry Pearl Flip review
 
Samsung Jet
 
Casio Exilim C721 review
 
Sprint HTC Snap review
 
BlackBerry Tour takes Verizon Wireless global
Samsung Omnia 2
Nokia N86
Nokia E72
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
HDTVs
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMCORDERS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2009 © infoSync World