I went out and bought the shiny, sleek and sexy LG VX8700. I know, I was thinking about getting the enV – but in the end this seemed like a better choice. The enV just felt bulky and clumsy when I held it in my hand. On top of that, I don’t really text that much. Part of it is of course the fact that I can’t type on the damn phone keypad to save my life. But was it worth the extra money, and dealing with the size of that phone for added convenience?
On the other hand look at the 8700 – thin, sleek and with a hit of awesome:
This is kinda what Razr wanted to be but never was. My cousin got one some time ago, and so far she is happy with it. I also read several reviews of this phone, and they were mostly favorable. The the main complaints seem to be that the SD-card slot is hidden behind the battery (I don’t really care about that) and that it does not have any front side buttons to control music volume, and switch songs. Since I’m not really planning to use this phone for listening music, that didn’t really bother me either.
The software is a fairly standard, crappy verizon POS but it seems fairly responsive. It has a 2 megapixel camera, a loud speaker, and big and bright screen. The keyboard is very flat, so it’s not very easy to type by touch. But then again, the keys are big, and they light up very bright in the dark so it’s not such a big problem. The device is supposed to have a GPS unit, but apparently you need to purchase the GPS software via the GetItNow feature, and pay a monthly subscription fee. Meh… They can shove that fee up their ass. I don’t really need a GPS.
The best part here is that this phone is supported by BitPim. All I have to do to be able to transfer my pictures, address book and music is to buy the USB cable on ebay for around $10. Which is a bargain, considering that these fuckers charged me over $20 for a shitty plastic belt clip that goes with my phone. Total ripoff – I probably should have went for some 3rd party product, or hit up ebay for it…
So anyway, the phone looks and feels good. It’s very shiny and weighs almost nothing. I like it.
[tags]lg vx8700, lg, phone, cellphone, verizon, bitpim, belt clip[/tags]
Nice choice! I go t the VX8300 recently and just love it. I think your phone pretty much has similar features.
I used BitPim on mine via Bluetooth, so no cable was needed. I also had fun usin BitPim to hack the code on my phone to allow me to put in my own web proxy settings, thus bypassing Verizons’ and not having to pay the additional $10 for web. I even wrote a web page for my phone so I don’t have to type in URLs in the numeric keypad (painful).
Invest in the uSD card. You won’t regret it! I bought a 1gig card on EBay for $10! Plus, you will need to put your music files here if I am not mistaken. You can always check HowardForums for the details.
Neither my desktop nor laptop has a bluetooth though. Maybe I can buy one of those USB based bluethooth things. Still, it’s probably more expensive than the $10 cable. :)
And yeah – the SD card might be necessary if I want to use it for music and pictures. :)
Since you’re in the US, why didn’t you buy the iPhone? Was it the price, the lock-in with AT&T or something else?
Here in India I got a Motorola L9. It also has a 2Megapix camera, plus radio and an outside micro-SD slot that’s easy to access. It is also all black which is my favorite color for a mobile phone.
So far, I’m really happy with it as well.
By the way, Luke, do you know why the Indian flag is not appearing after my name anymore?
Yeah – AT&T lock in was reason #1. I’m with Verizon, and I’m relatively happy with their service and coverage. Most of my family and friends are on Verizon – free in network calling works out great. Oh, and my company reimburses your cell bill but only if you are on Verizon (exploiting free in network calling FTW) .
And I know that it’s been hacked, but I just don’t feel spending this much money on a phone that I need to hack to work with my network. The LG phone will cost me around $80 after the mail-in rebate. How much does the iPhone cost these days?
So yeah – vendor lock-in + high price = no iPhone for me.
Pingback: Terminally Incoherent » Blog Archive » What is in your pocket?
