LG VX-8100
Phone Scoop Review
Nov 17, 2005 by Jesse Lewin
In-depth review of LG's mainstream EV-DO phone for 2005. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
The Best Phone Hands Down
This phone is the best ever.
Pros:
Amazing color quality
Can view text messages on the front screen
The light on the front can be turned of for at work and turned off when at work
The mini SD card slot for extra storage
Has An MP3 player
Awesome speaker phone
Cons:
Small selection of ring tones
Indoor picture quality is poor
Doesn't come with any accessories
Keys on front kind a useless
Other than that it's a good phone no trouble. LG's are amazing phones haven't had any trouble with them and have had one before. Wouldn't buy a different phone. Compared with many other phones this was the perfect one.
Poor call quality and volume - excellent camera
I just bought this phone a few hours ago, and I have already decided to take it back. Here are my pros and cons about this phone:
Pros:
- Bright Displays
- Excellent camera
- Bluetooth enables
- Strong vibrating alert
- Multiple numbers per contact
- Solid feel
Cons:
- Poor call quality (fuzzy)
- Very Poor call volume (even at max volume)
- Poor speakerphone
- A bit large and heavy
Carrier/Region:
- Verizon Wireless
- Chicago
The main reason I am taking this phone back is because the call quality and volume. Voices on the other end fluctuate in volume and are almost inaudible, and people have trouble hearing me at a normal speaking volume. What good is a phone that you cannot make decent calls on? I prefer not to yell into my phone. The only reason to get this phone is the camera...but then why wouldn't you just get a real digital camera? For your money, I suggest passing on this phone and going for a phone with stronger basic features.
Good Features, but Lacks Something Simple
Im sure you've read all the other reviews on this phone, and i agree with most of them. This phone has alot of great features: the speakers are wonderful, easy to use, etc etc etc...However, there were 2 major things that i hated on this phone, which actually caused me to return it. It sounds small, but it was a big deal to me...is having your downloaded 'sounds' becoming personal ringtones...this LG you cant do that. All the other phones do it, even previous LG's, but the 8100 does not...they just sit there in the sound folder and you cant do anything to them, :(
the only other thing i thought was off was the front buttons on the phone, the multimedia buttons are for text messages, pix, etc while the phone is closed...it has nothing to do with mp3's (which the phone doesnt recognize) your sound files, etc. So that was dissapointing.
This caused me to return the phone, but besides that it was great...
Hope this helps you people...
Incredible Phone
I can't write everything that makes this phone great. It has everything. Will play MP3 and WMA files. If you are playing WMA files and you get a call, it will pause the song and restart it after you end the call. The best phone out there.
Please Help Me
The phone works perfectly fine, I love it! Just one thing, does anyone know how to put "mysounds" as a ringtone or to get free ringtones. Because I don't want to be paying $3.00 for one ringtone that will get old in about a month. If anyone does have any information about that please email me at carlos2b01@yahoo.com...
Thank you very much
Great potential...but E815 had it beat
Had 8100 for 3 days, traded for Moto E815...happy. Here's why:
8100 Pros:
-Menu set up
-Customizing (different wallpapers on front/rear LCD, videos as wallpapers)
-Sound volume (loud as heck)
-Vibration (incredibly strong)
-Quick V-Cast
-Very good voice recognition
-Loud speaker phone (doesn't mean clear)
-More vibrant front LCD
-Camera amazing outside day/good lighting.
-Videos okay I guess
-Solid build/design. Felt like it could stand the test of time. Hinge portion felt especially tight.
8100 Cons:
- over the place" service/signal. I'm in a good area and I mostly got to 2 bars, rarely 3, and 4 was wishful thinking.
-Earpiece clarity made me gag. Voices muffled,scratchy,sound vol. jumped up and down with frequent regularity. Also not loud enough.
-Sound received by other party was also of most of the same characteristics.
-Numerous dropped calls.
-Phone froze 3 times in 3 days
-Battery life made me wonder why they put a battery in the phone at all. Charged 4 times in 3 days w/o using it that much.
-A little bulgy/heavy.
-Loud but sometimes distorted rings
-Speakerphone loud and fairly clear on your end but other party found garbled, backround noise-ridden, difficult to understand even with phone close to mouth. Pretty much unusable
-Absolutely horrid pics indoors. Slightest loss of light/pict taken from wrong angle w/ light produce nothing but grain. Night mode? Forget it. My girlfriend's LG6100 took far better pics inside and at night with lower res. better than 8100 could ever dream.
-Flash terrible.
Moto E815 Pros:
-Pretty much take the opposite of all the 8100's cons listed above.
-Speakerphone impressed the heck out of me
-Camera rocks indoor/out/night.
-Most important reception/signal/call clarity surpasses 8100
-Could go on...
E815 Cons:
-Front LCD not as crisp
-No vids as wallpaper
-Not sure of durability/build but ok
-Earpiece clarity could use some treble
-Vibration
In the end E815 does what a phone is suppose to do.
I miss my old Samsung
I had to return the LG because I had a hard time hearing anyone. The reception was ok, but I had better luck with my Samsung 670. It's a good thing that I kept it.
The camera pictures were very blurry, my Samsung took the best pictures I have seen
The speakerphone wasn't very loud and distorted. The Samsung doesn't have one, but with that quality who needs one.
That's about it. I was mostly dissappointed with the speaker and reception. Haven't tried any other new phones. I will go back to my little Samsung.
Poor Basic Functionality
I used this phone for a week and returned it. The feature set is nice, but like many other people are reporting--the earpiece volume randomly fluctuates. The volume goes from painfully loud to muffled at random.
I made a LOT of calls in several different service areas and can confirm that this is a PHONE issue that does not happen with the other phones I have tried in the same areas.
I tried the bluetooth headset and stopped using that after about an hour. There were noticeable clicks & pops that only disappeared when I held the handset within one inch of the bluetooth earpiece.
Here's my quick overview:
Overall features: nice menus and easy to use
Earpiece Volume: deal-killer--very random
Reception: mediocre
Battery Life: mediocre--plan on charging every night
Bluetooth: staticy and useless
I returned this phone to the store as soon as I returned from a business trip.
The previous week I'd been testing the e815 which I returned because it kept locking up and I had to pull the battery out to reset it. (e815 had much better reception, volume, batery life. bluetooth wasn't much better and moto's phonebook software sucks)
Both of these phones, by the way, have the earpiece hole placed at the very top of the phone. This seems to be a recent trend to maximize screen real estate space--but it's a poor ergonomic design.
I'm back with my StarTac for now. I'd really like bluetooth, but after trying two phones and several headsets that were all not very clear I don't think I'm going to get it.
Do Not Buy
This phone is great if you don't plan on using it to talk on. I bought this phone on Friday and by Sunday had returned it three times and now I have finally switched to the Moto E815. I am happy so far with this phone. The VX8100 had great features and I love LG so I really wanted to like it, I just couldn't. The features were great, I got the updated phone so I had the MP3 player and whatever other upgrades were included w/ version 4, however it was unusable. The volume fluctuated non-stop to the point I didn't even want to use it. When I was indoors it seemed to work its best but if I was in my car forget about it. Even with the windows up and the radio off I was unable to hear. I called Verizon and they said that they were aware of the problem and LG is working on yet another update. This does not help me at all though. Supposedly the phone tries to block out background noise, but in the meantime it screws up the volume on the phone. I also changed the call settings hoping it would make a difference. I did not. The camera is nice, but the delay sucks. Overall I give this phone a 0, simply because its main function as a phone sucks. If you want a good phone try something else.
I just wanna phone...
MP3 and Video?
First of all, too much real estate - the phone is huge and ugly. I understand that some people just want more gadgets... but the MP3, if it can be listened to with headphones, maybe (if you spend more money to get the card, but you probably already own an iPod anyway)..... but video? Really?
The phone itself is attractive.... IF you're comparing it to others from the year 2000... and IF you have a pocket that big.
The camera and screen quality are great, but ruined by Verizon's new user interface. I liked it when they let LG be LG, and Samsung be Samsung, etc. Or at least when things weren't RED all the time. Who picked RED? Ever look at the banner/time/date and squint to see the black text outlined in white? Next time give me a choice on that, cause I don't like cartoons.
And I'd be un-ladylike if I didn't warn against the disco lights flashing when the phone rings. You can't stop it, you can't change it, and you can't get your reputation back if your boss or crush-of-the-moment catches a glimpse of it.
I'm eligable for a new phone right now... gimme Bluetooth and maybe a camera just for fun. But nothing else. And it'd help if you make it LG. C'mon Santa...
