LG VX5200 (Verizon Wireless)

by Verizon

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• ASIN: B000BH9V0M
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,669 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)

Product Description

Amazon.com

With an advanced driving mode for total handsfree operation, plus dual color displays and a VGA camera, the LG VX5200 makes a great companion for anyone with a busy, on-the-go lifestyle. It's compatible with Verizon Wireless service.

Design
The phone features a traditional clamshell design with a large and vibrant 128 x 160 color display with 65,000 colors. A supplementary 96 x 64 display on the outside of the front panel displays call information, signal strength, and more. Most of the phone's features and on-screen menus are controlled by a five-way center button on the handset's control pad. Meanwhile, the top right side of the unit houses an antenna while the USB-capable data and charging port is housed on the unit's bottom edge. There's a standard jack to accept universal hands-free headsets. The camera unit, which also features a flash, is housed on the front cover of the phone. LG has included 16 MB of internal memory for photo and data storage.

Calling Features
The VX5200's built-in address book can store up to 500 contacts for quick and easy management of phone numbers and email addresses. The phone comes with built-in polyphonic ringtones plus a vibrating alert. Speaker-independent voice recognition allows you to make calls and access other essential features, all without ever touching the device. Simply place the phone in driving mode and voice commands for contacts, digit dialing, redial, voice mail, driving, schedule and time are all made available so you can control all of the phone's basic functions with the sound of your voice. Meanwhile, a built-in speakerphone makes it easy to talk without having the phone to your ear. Plus, picture ID functionality lets you assign photos or other images to callers.

The VX5200's GPS location technology pinpoints your location when you dial 911. Perhaps most importantly for users in rural areas, the VX5200 is a tri-mode phone, meaning it can operate on Verizon's digital networks, as well as analog networks that serve many outlying areas.

Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The VX5200 covers the messaging basics with support for sending and receiving text, pictures and sound via the Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). Instant messaging is also supported. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile text messaging users.

Getting on the Internet anywhere is easy with the VX5200, as well. Verizon's optional Mobile Web package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater.

The VX5200 ships with a calendar and a voice memo application. An alarm clock, calculator and alarm clock are also included, as is the very handy restaurant tip calculator. Never dine without it!

Imaging and Entertainment
The fun really starts with the VX5200's built-in VGA (640x480) camera and flash, which features a self-timer, multi-shot functions, white balance adjustment, and brightness controls. Snap a photo and immediately send it to a friend via MMS. It couldn't be easier! The phone also features customizable theme colors, screen backgrounds, fonts and caller ID graphics and pictures so you can make your phone reflect your personality. Games and other applications are available via Verizon's Get It Now mobile download service.

Vital Statistics
The LG VX5200 weighs 4.16 ounces and measures 3.46 x 1.85 x .94 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 200 minutes of digital talk time, and up to 165 hours of digital standby time. It runs on It runs on the AMPS 850/CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
LG VX5200 handset, AC battery charger, lithium-ion battery, user manual, welcome CD-ROM, quick reference guide.

Product Description

Get more with this digital camera phone by utilizing its flash and internal and external color displays. Talk and let the phone's advanced voice command and robust speakerphone let you get the most from your phone. Voice Commands: Call Someone, Voicemail, Digit Dial, Service Alerts, Missed Calls, Contacts, Announce, Time & Date, Phone Status

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice phone for starters. February 2, 2006

By Abhijith T. D'souza

This is my first ever cell phone and after one month of usage I really do not have any major complaints unlike some of the other reviewers.

So let's see what's good about this phone:

1.Nice and sleek design. For the price, its not cheap at all.
2.External screen lets you see the date, time, battery power,connection strength and caller ID when the phone rings
3.User friendly menus
4.Touchpad is decent, without hurting your fingers when you dial numbers.
4.Camera. Dont expect the quality to be great as it is for emergencies only and not for serious photography !
5.TXT messaging, ability to change wallpapers, email

So as you see it has everything you would want in a nice and simple phone. It is not fancy but it works just as well. Now let me try to give my take on some of the complaints by other reviewers here:

1. The chiming sound it makes during turn on and turn off is really annoying. But guess what you can turn it off! Yes just go to settings and tools->sounds->power on/off, and hola its off! So this one is settled.
2. The other complaint was that the voice quality is sometimes average. It is true that sometimes the voice from the other side sounds feeble and sometimes its blaring. But its not that bad that you cannot comprehend what the other person is saying. I make a lot of international calls and I am quite satisfied with the voice reception.
3. I have had no problems with signal/reception quality so far.
4. About the phone going dead within few weeks of buying, just tell me which electronic items are fail proof. I have seen laptops, digital cameras, flash drives etc all go dead. Sometimes you are lucky to get a fail proof item and sometimes you are not. There is nothing one can do about those things. All you can do is pray !

So in short if you are looking for a nice , compact, inexpensive camera cell phone , I would recommend this phone.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Right handed ONLY December 7, 2005

By D. Christensen

Overall, this phone functions OK. The reception is good, and voice quality (both ways) is good. However, this phone is only useful if you set all volume controls to maximum. Even then, the volume levels are just "adequate". It's more full-featured than any handset I've ever owned. Having THREE fully programmable alarm clocks is especially useful. I also like having multiple phone number fields for each ONE contact, though I don't understand why there are two "mobile" phone fields and only one "home" phone field. (the opposite would be more useful) Talk time is about two hours and "standby" is 3-4 days, in actual use. Both LCD displays are good quality, but it really needs a brightness control, as black shows up as light gray (brightness is too high and can't be adjusted). It does have a contrast control, but white level is fine, so the contrast control is kind of useless. The LCD displays themselves seem to be really high quality, so it is disappointing that they are improperly adjusted. (the image quality COULD be outstanding, if properly adjusted) I don't like that a whole section of the menu is devoted to "Get It Now", though Verizon probably insisted on those useless money wasters. (can't fault LG for that) Other than that, the menu system is pretty easy / less cluttered than some handsets I've used.

The camera functions OK. The quality of pictures is terrible, but about the same as any other camera phone. If you want pictures, use a digital camera! I mainly like the camera portion of the phone for emergency use. For example, it is a good idea to carry a disposable camera in the car for car accidents. But if you have a camera phone, that's just as good. (emergency use) And if you are ONLY going to send photos to other camera phones, the photos will look good. Forget about using them outside the camera though, as they are low resolution and low quality (just like all camera phones) One nice thing about this camera is that it has a built-in flash (if you enable it), but it would only be good for really short distances, like 6 feet or less.

One major gripe I have about this handset is that there is no external indication that the phone is actually ON. There is an LED by the antenna, but this only lights up during phone conversations. (WHY???) If the little LED was on all the time or blinking, it would not affect battery life at all (that you'd notice, anyway). You can set the backlight of the front LCD display to "ALWAYS on". That would give you an external indication that the phone was on. But if you did that, you'd have to charge the phone about twice a day. (!)

My wife bought these phones (two of them) and we'll probably keep them. If I'd have known what I know now though, I'd have probably picked something different. The handset has buttons RIGHT where you hold it on BOTH sides of the phone, making it very difficult to hold. And if you are left-handed (I'm both), you simply can not hold this phone, as the buttons (which are ACTIVE during phone calls) are right under your thumb. What a stupid design. If there's going to be buttons on the side, it should be on the side of the flip-up part, NOT the part that you hold!!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay, basic phone May 8, 2006

By B. Style

A basic phone -- fine for calls and text messaging -- got it directly from Verizon Wireless as part of a two-year two-phone sign-up plan. The plan was for two vx5200s, but upgraded one to a vx6100 for a modest fee. Would have upgraded both phones to vx6100 but the deal at the time only allowed one upgrade. No problems with the phone -- feels a little flimsy compared to the vx6100 -- volume not as good either. Verizon coverage in our area is good. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if a particular phone and a particular carrier will work well in a given area is to find someone with that particular combination in that area -- so it isn't suprising that some reviewers have more problems than others in a particular area and/or with a particular phone. Can't emphasize it enough -- definitely ask friends/coworkers about their experiences with particular phones and carriers in your area before buying -- for example I had one friend who only got good reception around work and home with T-mobile. Good luck -- finding the right phone and the right carrier can be challenging.