Customer Reviews

LG VX8000 EV-DO Phone (Verizon Wireless)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a tech consultant who travels a lot and needs to be contactable by clients wherever I travel in the US, and also I needed a means to keep in touch with news, weather, sports and world events when traveling. This phone turned out to be the perfect solution.

Using Verizon's high-speed EV-DO network which has coverage in most major cities in the US, this phone can download "CNN To Go" 2 to 3 minute video & audio clips in 10 to 15 seconds, very fast for a mobile phone.

Additionally, the video quality on the 262K color LCD screen is just like watching a small LCD TV and the built-in stereo speakers produces outstanding sound quality. Using the stereo earphones that come with the phone, you can listen to video clips at restaurants and other public areas without disturbing the people next to you. For using the phone while driving, I recommend buying the Shure QSHB3 headset with the NoiseBlocker earphone and noise-canceling QuietSpot boom microphone, this headset provides good call quality while driving over noisy road surfaces.

Speaking of call quality... for the past year I've been using AT&T Wireless/Cingular service with a trusty and durable Nokia 6800 GSM phone. My first call on the VX8000 this week was a multi-way business conference call with several parties, and I've made this call many times with my old phone and service. I was amazed at the clarity of everyone's voices and even nuances that I never heard before on previous conference calls, like pages shuffling and whispers in the background. Many kudos to LG and the Verizon Network for enabling this level of call quality.

Regarding picture quality, this phone includes a 1.3 megapixel high resolution digital camera with the best photo quality of any cell phone I've seen to date, the quality of daylight photos compare nicely to photos I've taken with a Nikon 3700 digital camera.

Regarding customer service, the reason I called Verizon was because I was with AT&T Wireless/Cingular and I called their customer service line (611 from phone) to ask a question about my plan. After aggravatingly trying to navigate their voice recognition menu on their automated "customer service" (what a misnomer) line which never did understand my voice requests (perhaps I was cursing too much after a while ;-), and then navigating several levels of menus, and then being placed on hold for 15 minutes without receiving any customer service person, I realized my contract was up and therefore didn't need to put up with the poor customer service...

After doing a lot of research (including Consumer Reports) on cell phones and service, I decided to call Verizon which has the reputation of having the best customer service in the cell phone industry and the best network coverage in the US. Their 800# menu was quickly navigable and professional and within 1 minute I was able to speak to a courteous and knowledgeable customer service representative. This helped convince me to choose Verizon as a service provider.

The only downside I can think of with Verizon is that they may not be as price-competitive as T-Mobile or Cingular on many plans, however Verizon's $59 / 900 minute plan is quite competitive with the other carriers and is the best value of any carrier (IMHO) when considering the call quality, network coverage and customer service you get with Verizon.

LG & Verizon, keep up the good work!

I switched to LG phones from being a long-time Nokia user because I wanted a flip phone and all of LG's phones seem to offer so many more options, and picked up the VX8000 because it's currently the best LG has to offer. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. While this phone does have some flaws, it has proven to be the best cell phone I've ever owned.

Reception - After two months I have never had a dropped call or poor reception, ever. I've never even had to extend the antenna. I didn't receive too many dropped calls with my Nokia, but with Suncom, there were several "dead" areas in my city where my phone just wouldn't work. I haven't found one yet with Verizon.

Features - This phone has just about every feature you could want. The contact list is extensive and holds 500 names. It provides one entry per name, and within that entry you can assign two mobile numbers, two emails, and a work and home number. You can also assign picture and ringer ID by caller. It would have been nice to have a space for notes such as being able to store an address for contacts but this isn't available. Pressing the SEND button brings up a list of recent calls, and shows all calls received, missed, and dialed, so no more clicking on "call log" then selecting "dialed calls" etc. The recent call list clearly shows the type of call. I find this very convenient.

Alarm - The phone has an alarm that is integrated with the calendar. The alarm is great because you can set a recurring alarm by day. You can set a weekly alarm that will go off Mon-Fri, and then set a separate alarm for the weekends, and never have to set it again. With my old phone, I had to set the alarm every night. The only problem is there is no snooze feature, which would have been nice. You can also set an alarm to go off every Third Tuesday of the month if you want.

Camera - I didn't really want a camera phone at first, but I find that I really enjoy mine. This phone comes with a 1.3 Mega pixel camera, which is the highest resolution currently available. This thing takes incredible pictures for a camera phone. You can increase the resolution all the way to 1280x960, which are huge pictures. Outdoor shots look great even at that resolution. Night shots don't look nearly as good. The phone comes with a built in flash, but it's just not powerful enough to take shots in dark areas such as a bar. Pictures come out grainy and out of focus. The camera does have numerous built in settings you can change for night mode and to adjust the gamma and brightness, so it's possible I just don't have it configured right. But if you're looking for a phone with a good camera, this is the way to go. An additional problem though is that it's very hard to take a good self-shot. Trying to photograph yourself while holding the phone shows a full-resolution picture on the front LCD, but it is hard to hold the camera far enough away to get a good shot. I haven't really found a good use for the video camera other than novelty since it only captures 15 seconds, but the quality also appears great.

Ease of use - One of the best qualities of this phone is how convenient everything is. There is a beautiful full color LCD on the front of the phone to show calls without having to open the flip. You can also turn on the flash from a side button, activate voice dialing and the camera from convenient buttons on the side. Vibrate mode and the speaker phone are very easy to turn on by holding down a button on the phone, and adjusting the phone to silent or vibrate mode takes less than a couple seconds. Most of the phone's features can be activated by simply 1-button shortcuts, and I rarely have to navigate through menus to reach any of the more important features.

Extras - The ring tones that come with the phone are fairly limited, but sound great. The speaker on this phone is also the best I've ever heard. There is no need for a car adapter kit, since you can simply turn on the speaker phone and put the phone in the seat beside you. No one can ever tell when I'm talking to them on speaker and you can turn up the volume so high it sounds like they're sitting next to you.

I definitely recommend the web access for $5 a month. It's hard to navigate sites that aren't designed for mobile phones, but the screen is so huge that Verizon's built in web access comes out great. They have all of the top stories and built in areas to access Yahoo and AOL mail. The phone comes with no built in games, which would have been nice, but you can download some from Verizon for around $6-$10. The quality rivals a Game boy, although the controls on most of the arcade games is difficult. The main feature of this phone is the EV-DO VCast network from Verizon, which lets you download sports and news clips for $15 a month. However unless you live in a very large city (like Atlanta or New York), this network most likely isn't available to you.

If you get this phone and you're into the tech side of it, you should definitely get a USB data cable for it. I can transfer all of my pictures, wallpaper, ring tones, and Mp3s (it has a great MP3 player) directly with it and free software you can find on the web. Just make sure your data cable is made for this model and can charge the phone while plugged in. Battery life is great already however.

My one main concern with this phone (and the reason it only gets 4 stars) is the size. I'm used to very small phones and had heard this thing was a brick. It's not as big as made out to be, but it is definitely a large phone. I've gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me, but if you can, I would hold out for the next model, the VX8100, which will be much smaller and contain Bluetooth support. I will most likely pay a few hundred to upgrade to that model when it comes out just for the size alone. The phone also scratches rather easily so you have to be careful with it.

I've been selling wireless phones for about five years and remember when LG first became competitive. I made it a point to let every customer interested in an LG phone that I would not be held responsible for anything they encounter. LG simply left a bad taste in my mouth.

Then they came out with thLG 6000 and then the 6100. I started to notice LG Phones became more popular and reliable. I then turned my skepticism of a solid phone to the Audiovox phones (and Kyocera phones).

I got hired at VerizonWireless and started playing with the LG8000. Why not, I asked, and purchased it to see what they hype was and if I could get the memories out my mind...

This phone has everything, but the Bluetooth I wanted. The VCast feature is unmatched by any other carrier. Never really one for all the bells and whistles, I find myself checking out the latest news and sports from my handset with video instead of reading text from the traditional mobile web sites. I missed having a speaker phone from my Sanyo days. LG8000's speaker is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. Pretty loud and clear.

The DSL connection makes IMing from the phone a breeze. No one realizes I'm IMing from a cell phone. I IM with MSN, AOL and Yahoo. The menu, something LG was been terrible at, is extremely user-friendly and too easy to learn.

The feature I like most about the phone is being able to answer the phone while wearing an earpiece without having to open the phone, press send, then close it. INstead, I press a button below the huge external display. I end my calls like that too. I read my text messages from the huge external display.

For those into camera phones, the 1.3Meg camera is crisp. And the macro feature allows me to take pictures of extremely small details, like the writing on a coin, without it being blurry.

I could go on and on, but you just have to go check it out yourself. The only phone I can think of that even competes at this level (and no, the Razr has nothing on this phone) is the LG8100 which isn't out yet. Only because it has Bluetooth.

If you're serious about having a solid phone that's easy to use, has big numbers to make it easy to dial compared to some of these phones with tiny buttons, a huge external display that is interactive and the streamline video that is crisp, this is the only phone available.

i am glad that i chose the vx8000 over the v3 razor. its huge 128 mb of memory for my photos and video holds everything. i never carry my pda with me however my cellphone is always in my pocket. and the best part is the 1280 by 960 resoultion built in CAMERA!!! i like to always have a camera with me because you never know whats going to come up, and with this camera i can get incredible shots and print it out on my computer with exceptional quality. the flash is a nice asset as well, although it isnt going to light anything up from a distance but your using a cell phone, not a class 3 flash mounted uptop of ur camera. i highly reccomend this product to anyone who is willing to spend the $300 to get it, in my opinion this is by far the best phone/camera out there

I knew when I looked at the sheer enormity of this phone on Feb 1st, the day it came out, that this phone was too big. I bought it though, because I had been reading about how great it was going to be for several months. I had the LG 6000 and loved it, it made me a convert from my many years as a devout Motorola disciple. I loved my vx6000, great phone, simple but great. Then I became intrigued by the camera in this phone and the EVDO capability. Well that lasted about a week. VCAST is great if you love watching things on a 2" screen. I personally found it to be a nice gimmick, but with little practical value. The web browser was nice and easy to use, but personally it doesn't really excite me. Now for the phone itself, the camera takes nice pictures, the phone gets good reception. The bad parts, is I believe the phone is feeding itself, because it seems to get bigger everyday. It is just a brick compared to my previous phones (Moto V60, LG VX6000). Take this into consideration when buying, I know that VZW's selection of phones leave something to be desired, but it may be worth waiting it out a little longer, than being anchored down by this phone.

P.S. The battery is getting worse daily. I was careful to properly charge and discharge the battery correctly when I first got the phone. It seems like I am running out of battery now almost daily.

I have had Verizon Wireless since 2000 as my cell phone provider. My first two phones were "promotional phones" which were cheap to buy, and really not good quality. My third and fourth phones were upgrades. My fifth phone, well, I took it back twice in a two week period and ended up upgrading to the LG VX8000.

The first thing I noticed with this phone is its ability to hold a call. The DC Metro system has cell phone coverage inside the subway. However, it would frequently drop calls, even with the best phones. However, the VX8000 seems to hand off calls better in the Metro, reducing my dropped calls inside the Metro by 75%. Outside the subway, this phone has only dropped a few calls. Each of these calls were in locations with weak coverage or serious terrain issues. Call breakup is rare too. A drawback to this phone is it lacks an analog backup, an issue in certain parts of the country where cell phone service is still evolving. It won't dial 911 even in those locations.

The voice quality of this phone is the best yet, with even the speaker phone function being clear. I still prefer to use my headset though.

Talk time is excellent, with over three hours of time between charges. Generally I bring mine to full charge every other day.

This phone also has a setting to vibrate and ring in tandem, the older LG models had settings for vibrate then ring, but not vibrate and ring at the same time, like some Nokia models. This is a significant improvement for people who keep their phones in their pockets in noisy enviroments.

I have yet to use the VCast service, so I can't judge it. To me it seems like a waste of money.

The camera sucks compared to my 5 MP Kodak digital camera, but for a camera phone, it is above average. I would recomend getting a data cable for the phone, and the freeware BitPim software, so pictures can be unloaded off the phone for free. The secondary advantage of having a data cable is to back up the phone book, so contacts are not lost if the phone is lost or broken. The data cable will also function as a modem, allowing a laptop user to dial up to the internet.

Yes this phone is a brick of a phone, but it's easy to dial, has great voice quality, a long talk time and above average ability to find a signal and hold a call. Yes, this is my best cell phone ever.

Great phone. Yes it's a bit large, but it has a great feel in your hand. The speakerphone is the best yet. People don't even know I'm on it. The camera takes superior pictures outside and acceptable inside with moderate light. Call quality is excellent. I had an old lg and could not get a signal in my house as well as other remote places. Now I have never not been able to make a call. Even when I have 1 or no bars (near wooded areas) I still get a call through. Videos are a bit weak, but easy to use.

The contacts and menus are extremely well organized and easy to use.

My only complaint about this wonderful phone is that the only Verizon supported way to get pix or flix off of your phone is to email or message them. However, you can buy unsupported software with a USB cable and upload/download to your PC for ~ $35. It certainly beats emailing yourself a picture at .25 cents a pop.

MY PARENTS GOT ME THIS PHONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY AND IT IS SWEET. THE CAMERA AND 15 SECONDS OF VIDEO ARE CLEAR WITH THE INDOOR OUTDOOR SETTINGS FOR IT. IT ALSO CAME WITH A MONTH OF THE WEB SERVICE FOR FREE WITCH HAS SPORTS,WEATHER,AND MORE LIKE MOVIE TRAILERS. YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD WALLPAPER AND RINGTONES WITHOUT COMPUTER CONECTION.

This is the 3rd and best phone phone I have owned an used extensively. I couldn't be happier with the sound and call quality, the features and the fast mobile internet. Start to finish I can check my email in 12 seconds and it supports my company's webmail. I had the VCAST for a month for free and it was very cool and impressed the many people I showed it to but the $15 a month is a bit much for it. Overall a great, sturdy phone (I have dropped it several times on concrete, no damage)

The LG VX8000 is awesome! I've had this phone for about 6 months now and I've had NO dropped calls. I've never had bad reception, and unlike most people, I love the fact that it's a little bit bigger and "sturdier" than a lot of cell phones out there. I had the LG4400 before this one, although I liked the 4400, the 8000 sounds better. The ringers are louder, and so are your callers! My husband has the 7000,the ONLY thing better on that one(7000) is the "pretty" light show you get when his phone rings. No, you can't turn those lights off. So, in short, I LOVE my LG VX8000.