LG VX6000

[pimpshiznid]

Price:

Retail: $300

W/ 2 Year Contract: $75 after mail in rebate

Info:

I got this LG VX6000 as a birthday gift a month ago, and ever since, it has been one of the best phones I have ever had. Everyone who has had Verizon Wireless as a carrier knows that the phones that are currently "the fad" are normally late to come to Verizon, as is the same for this phone, because I can say that most carriers had camera phones out by the time Verizon was able to release this phone. But, this isn't a bad phone for a first camera debut by Verizon. I don't take many picture with it, but of the pictures I have taken, it has been comparatively similar to the SE P800 that a friend owns.

One of the big downfalls that everyone assumes with this phone is the fact that is is only a dual-band CDMA phone, where as most of the current new flip phones are tri-mode CDMA phones. What this boils down to is the VX6000 is an all digital phone, meaning it can not recieve analog signal. In my opinion, it does just as good as my previous phone , which was a tri-band phone (VX4000b), and I have yet to drop off the network, regardless of my surroundings.

The ability to customize this phone is something new for Verizon. Starting with this camera phone, it is one of the only phones (not mentioning the other camera phones from Verizon in this field) that is MMS capable. This means that you are able to send the pictures that are taken with the phone to other phones, and other phones can send you their pictures. But, you can also send sounds back and forth. This allows you to open any email program, type in [email protected] (granted that you have Picture Messaging enabled on your account) and attach midi files that you find around the net for use as ringers, so you don't have to use Get It Now, and pay the astronomically expensive fees for ringers. The downside to this is it costs $0.25 a message, unless you buy the Picture Messaging Plan, which I have for $7.99, which includes 500 text messages and 80 pix messages.

Another problem I have encountered is the fact that you can only have 20 custom ringtones on the phone at any one time without the use of a data cable. There are ways to get more on the phone by way of data cable and BitPim, but that in itself is a long process. The same stands for the Graphics folder.

Another neat thing about the VX6000 is you can get voice ringtones. Voice ringtones are basically clips of songs, or messages. With a datacable, you could technically put a full song on the phone, but that may test the phones integrity, and the phone may fail. In order to be able to send a voice ringer to your phone, it first has to be in mp3 format and be under 30k. Then, you have to change the file extension from .mp3 to .mid. Then attach it like any other ringtone, and it should work. My fav. voice ringtone I have for my phone is Special Ed from Crank Yankers saying "YAY! I got mail!" But, it is just a neat feature.

There is currently no easy way to create animated wallpapers with the VX6000, which isn't a big deal. The only way to do it, is to buy the $600 developer software suite from LG directly, and then know how to interpret the raw data of the files you wish to convert. There are some people who are trying to do it without the software, but the only progress that has been made is the abilty to view the first frame of the animation, then it garbles the rest of the image.

The phone also has a problem with closing the flip while using a handsfree set. When the handsfree set is being use, the phone has to remain open or else the call will be dropped like a standard call would when the flip is closed. There is currently no software upgrade to fix this, but LG is working on one.

In conclusion, the VX6000 is great for the everyday consumer, the business person, well, basically anyone in general. The menu is very user-friendly, and so is the phone book input settings. The T9 dictionary isn't the greatest, but it isn't something I use very often. Battery life is exceptionally well also, I normally get 3 days out of a battery without a charge, and the charging cradle is a nice touch by LG, so you don't always have to plug the phone in; you just slide it into the cradle. All of these things, would allow me to recommend the VX6000 to anyone!

Pros:

- Customization

- Battery Life

- Camera

- Very loud ringer

Cons:

- Handsfree Problem

- Lack of ability for animated wallpapers

Over all, I give it out of 5 stars.

[Iain]

What sort of quality are the photos taken on it?

[pimpshiznid]

The picture quality is not the best, but it is decent compared to other camera phones. In my opinion, at least, until the multiple megapixel camera phone start coming out, if you have seen one picture taken with a camera phone, you've seen them all.

[Yvo]

Good luck with this phone. I was one of the first users before everyone had this phone (or so it seems around here).

My experiences...

1st phone... got it at Radio Shack for the price with a 2 year contract. After 3 days 4 bars became 0-1 bars. This problem was at any location incl. the VZW store. Went back to Radio Shack, however the only Radio Shack that had them in stock were 30 miles away because of their growing popularity... Road Trip... Got my phone replaced.

8 days later: 2nd phone... went back to Radio Shack and thankfully they had them in stock and because of their 30 day return policy on handsets I got a brand new one again.

5 days later: Guess what... problems again. Went back to Radio Shack again... got it replaced... again...

3 weeks later: 4th phone... went to Verizon this time. Same problem that the service went to 0-1 bars in all areas. They gave me a "remanufactured" model. Most likely a model that had the same 4 bars to 0-1 bars issue. The VZW guy told me that there was an entire batch of phones that had the problem with the antenna circuitry frying. Seemed like a good reason.

However problems arose again and I had to go back to the VZW store. My internet wouldn't connect properly and they told me that a new version of the software would fix this issue. They told me 20 minutes and so I went through the mall looking at CDs and got a blizzard at DQ. Came back a good 40 minutes later when the guy realized that he accidentally logged off of Windows during the flash so everything was erased. They handed me a 4th phone. I yelled at the guy and they wouldn't do anything about it, not even a sorry. I left very ****ed. Called the BBB and they made sure that VZW didn't give me a $150 cancellation fee, if I retracted my complaint.

So now I am a happy Sprint user. I got a Sanyo SCP-5500 (VM4500) with Ready Link for $190 at Fry's (employee discount). Great phone. Makes good pictures, 15 second videos and in the 4 months I have had this phone, 0 problems with the unit or service for that matter. Also made sure not to sign a 2 year contract, but a year instead. Sure one can blame Radio Shack but they told me they get all their phones directly from VZW. I don't know what to think while my mom still has VZW, she is starting to get ****ed at the "quality" of calls. The nice thing about VZW is that they have the most service but quantity isn't always as good as quality. Calls made on a Sprint phone and even T-Mobile phone sound much better and not like your using an old analog system.

[Daniel F. Administrators]

congrats this made the front page Neowin Member reviews

[sjiggag23]

congrats this made the front page Neowin Member reviews

i was about to say, why are we looking at a cell phone, did the poster have a question about it? and then i realized where it was. good review, i love that phone

[zizzybaloobah]

I have had the phone since the new year and love it. I just bought a data cable and am looking forward to customizing some of my ringtones and graphics.

I find the camera works best in brightly lit surroundings. Also, it seems that the medium resolution settings yields a better quality picture than high (maybe it just seems better because the dimensions are smaller?)

I MUST HAVE THAT SPECIAL ED MP3! I Love Crank Yankers!

[Rahul]

looks sweet

[Fonze]

how much is the data cable for it? My main concern is putting ring tones on a phone, i really want to get some customized ones on mine but i never had the option with my older phone.

[couture]

I also have this phone, another downside is in that picture it displays the time and the date on the actual phone you cannot do this. You can only press the button on the side to display either or. I've had it since november I love the phone but it has cracks on the inside and i have no idea how they got there. My friend who also has this phone has the same cracks in the same place and he's had his for a shorter amount of time. Verizon says they cannot replace the key face or faceplates. After doing more research I found out you can buy them off of different websites, like daydeal.com and some other ones. I got a carbon fiber face plate at my local mall from a booth. But I need to find a way I can replace the keypad and the inside other than that the phone is great. Also remember to press *228 option 2 every month to update your phone.

Edited July 3, 2004 by handsome

[couture]

how much is the data cable for it? My main concern is putting ring tones on a phone, i really want to get some customized ones on mine but i never had the option with my older phone.

you can get them at radio shack or the verizon store for about $60 for the cable and the software.

[L3thal Veteran]

Had this phone for half a year and it is quite nice. The only downside is the battery heat when you are on the phone over 10 minutes or so. The lack of animated wallpapers also is a downside, but overall, its the best phone Verizon currently has, though I can't wait for the VX8000 :yes:

[Guest bartekpl]

not worth it. u can't store more then 20 pictures on that sh!tty phone and it's just ugly. get a samsung or sony

[L3thal Veteran]

Ugly? It's one of the best looking phones out there. Everyone has their own tastes, but this has been the most successful phone Verizon has sold in years. I mean, almost everyone has it who has Verizon as its service.