These stylish clamshell's love to sing. With 3G network capabilities and dedicated music controls, Verizon Wireless' Chocolate flip-phone and Cingular's SYNC duke it out for their place in the spotlight.
Review summary of the LG VX8600:
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Full LG VX8600 Review:
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Round 1: Design
In terms of design, these phones are a close match. Both flip phones are slim, but not as ridiculously flat as the Samsung SPH-M610. The LG phone, with its glossy black case, tended to pick up fingerprints more readily, but we liked its classy look, with its chrome bumper and red accents, more than the staid black-on-grey of the SYNC. We felt the keypad on the SYNC, which is slightly more raised than the flat VX8600 keys, was easier to use and looked better, but we didn't like the touch-sensitive music controls on either phone; we definitely prefer tactile controls. What ultimately sold us on the VX8600, though, was its superior external screen, which produced vibrant, crisp color, and worked well as a viewfinder for the camera.
Winner: LG VX8600
Round 2: Audio
Both of these phones disappointed us in terms of audio accessories. First of all, we're annoyed that both Cingular and Verizon Wireless are (again) skimping on the necessary music accessories. Each phone requires a microSD card and USB cable for sideloading your music, but you'll have to purchase them separately. Also, loading music onto both of these phones took much longer than you'd expect from a dedicated music player, probably thanks to a lack of USB 2.0 support. Both phones do a fine job with Bluetooth stereo headsets, though we were disappointed that you can only use the headsets for their respective music players and not for other apps, like streaming video. Ultimately, the battle here is between over-the-air downloads, which the LG VX8600 supports via V Cast, or subscription services like Napster and Yahoo Music, which the SYNC supports. The V Cast experience is disappointing on the VX8600; menus are hard to navigate and the music player itself is unimpressive. We were surprised at how much we liked Napster, even though the supposedly all-you-can-eat subscription model still requires you to pay individually for some of the best selections. If you'd rather own your music forever, go with the LG phone. If you're already a Napster or Yahoo music subscriber, the SYNC is for you. We'll call it a draw.
Winner: Tie
Round 3: Multimedia
Beyond Cingular Music, the SGH-A707 also supports Cingular Video, just as the VX8600 can browse Verizon's V Cast network for videos. On the A707, videos were quite small, though picture quality was good. On the VX8600, however, videos filled the screen in portrait and landscape views. We felt the selection on the two networks was about equal; both featured short clips over full-length episodes or movies. Both phones did a fair job with complicated Web pages; while the SYNC lost a few images on The New York Times homepage, its display font was more legible than the font on the VX8600. The VX8600 includes GPS navigation, paired with VZ Navigator, and though we think VZ Navigator could be greatly improved, it works fine in a pinch. With this advantage, the LG VX8600 takes the category.
Winner: LG VX8600
Round 4: Calling
Call quality on the LG VX8600 suffered from static, and overall did not sound as good as calls on the SYNC. Reception on the SYNC was also better, as signal on the VX8600 occasionally dipped as low as two bars in our Manhattan office, while the SYNC signal remained strong. Both phones had a speakerphone that was pleasantly loud. Both phones also allowed while-you-type searching of their contact lists, though we found the address book on the SYNC to be more robust, with plenty of fields. Interestingly, the SYNC allows you to use MP3 files as ring tones, so long as they are not songs purchased through your Napster subscription, while the VX8600 will only let you use songs that you have purchased through the V Cast store. The SYNC lacks voice-dialing capabilities, while the VX8600 lacks conference calling. Because of these strange omissions, neither phone is a runaway favorite, but with better reception and sound quality, we'd prefer the SYNC.
Winner: Samsung SGH-A707 SYNC
Round 5: Messaging
Both phones handle instant messaging from AIM, MSN and Yahoo, but only the SYNC comes preloaded with a preset e-mail client for those three services. For SMS, you can expect about 80 characters on outgoing messages, and a full 160 characters on incoming messages on both phones. Though the VX8600 integrates the address book with the messaging better, it still does not provide smartphone-like while-you-type searching in the "To:" field. The keypad on the SGH-A707 was more comfortable for typing, and the messaging font looked much better on the SYNC's screen, which is why we're declaring it the winner for this category.
Winner: Samsung SGH-A707 SYNC
And the winner is . . .
These phone are very evenly matched, both in terms of their successes and their flaws. Both phones have some fun audio and multimedia capabilities that take advantage of their respective 3G networks, and they each boast stylish, modern looks. However, neither phone comes with the accessories you really need to take advantage of its audio capabilities. Perhaps the final decision for you will be more about which music service you prefer -- a subscription plan or over-the-air downloads. We were flexible with our music choice, so the decision was really more about call quality and messaging abilities. For this reason, the Cingular SYNC wins by a nose.
Champion: Samsung SGH-A707 SYNC
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LG VX8600
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Score: 58% When: November 2006 Worth: $130 Carrier: Verizon Wireless
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Boasting a sleek black finish and bearing a striking resemblance to the popular LG VX8500 Chocolate, does this music-focused 3G clamshell taste sweet or leave a bitter aftertaste?
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