LG enV VX-9900
Phone Scoop Review
Mar 6, 2007 by Eric Zeman
Our in-depth review of Verizon's sophomore messaging phone. It's as good at photos as it is at email. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
enV is #1 on my list
Best cell phone all around...
PROS
Spectacular Camera (2.0 Megapixel).
Easy to Use Qwerty Keypad. Good Button Style
Very Bright and Clear Display on Main Screen.
Loudest cell phone speakers I have heard.
I am Using a 1G micro card storing 300 songs.
Signal Strengh is always Great.
Have only dropped 3 calls in 2 months.
Video is excellent.
Speakerphone is very loud.
Very Clear Transmissions and Easy Hearing.
Nice Amount of Internal Memory.
Mp3 Ringtones sound crisp and clear.
Nice array of features.
Can easily set Videos as Backgrounds.
Very Durable this Far (4 months).
Unmatched Selection of Games.
VZ Navigator is better than most GPS systems.
Emailing, IM and TXT are all a Breeze.
Mp3 player is awesome.
Stereo Bluetooth connections are great.
Basic VCast and VCast Music are nice.
Phone can be used as a tethered modem.
enV is Broadband Capable.
CONS
It is a Fingerprint Magnet.
Battery Life averages around 2 1/2 Days.
Speakerphone only works with phone open.
Front Screen is small.
Not VCast MobileTV capable.
Front Display has limited menus.
Just a couple of features shy of the perfect phone. But, however, this phone takes the cake compared to some of the phones I have used in the past. Very handy phone for someone who enjoys the "extra features" beyond making and receiving calls.
No need to settle...LG/en-v is the ONE.
Like many of you on Phonescoop.com, I am a maniac when it comes to researching and buying the best mobile phone for the $$. When it comes to non-smart phone choices on the market right now I believe the en-V is the best. Originally, I took a 15 day trial with the Samsung SCH-u74o.
I reluctantly traded it in (plus another $50) for LG's en-V. Samsung makes terrific phones, but the U740 can not compare to en-V.
PROs
* Crystal clear bright screen
* Best texting keyboard period
* Fully functional without opening phone and number-lock makes it impossible to dial someone unintentionally.
* Reception and speaker phone both are a 10.
* Keypad! Even if you don't text 100 times a day, consider that you WILL use the "notepad" feature for business and personal needs.
CONs
* would be wonderful if you could download notes stored in "notepad" to your laptop or printer.
One of the Best Phones
Don't believe anyone who bad mouths this phone. Yes it is a little bulky, but it is a great phone. Decent battery life and 1 hour video recording. There are so many Pros that I can't name them all. After playing with this phone before buying it, it sold itself to me so much that I paid full price for it and am not sorry that I did.
Awesome Phone
I have had this phone for about 4 weeks now and I love it. It is such an improvement from the LG vx9800 which I used as well. It really is such a smart phone. It does pretty much everything...
Pros:
Great screen quality
Nice interior key pad
Great battery life
Not standard UI
Awesome Camera
Loud ringers
Great video recorder
Speakerphone option when phone is open
Cons:
Verizon service is horrible where I live!!!!
The phone itself does not have a lot of memory. I have hardly nothing on it and it says memory full, so now I have to buy a memory card. 16 pictures is all it can hold without a card.
Overall this is an awesome phone. I am very happy with it. I just wish another carrier who works in my area had this phone. It looks great, feels great, and is great. Its EnVious. I love it!!!! Don't hesitate on this phone. Go out and get it.
FREAKIN GREAT
Excellent phone:
pros:
camera
games
music
speakers
gps is REALLY good
cons:
email button
scratches easy on the inside
clear button on front is near down
no light up when closed
light stays on while charging
yes, the phone's auto focus can be tweaked...
Friends will be Env-ious of this phone
I ordered this phone from Verizon the day it came out and I've had a good time to get to know it so here's what I think.
Pros:
QWERTY keyboard makes texting easy.
2 MP camera works good. Like the auto-focus.
Thinner than 9800.
AMAZING battery life.
More on board memory then VX8100.
Lovely UI (User Interface)
Create my own ring tones again (Not available on the VX8100)
Cons:
Lack of personalized message alerts.
Not able to send 2 MP pictures in messaging.
Email button can't be changed (I don't plan on using VZW's $20 service)
Keyguard lock can be easily bypassed while phone is in my pocket (happened and thank god a real number wasn't called)
Outside screen is smaller.
I've been waiting for this phone for quite some time. I've never been a big candy bar style phone fan but slowly they were growing on me cause of the keyboard and I text like crazy. The VX9800 was growing on me but I knew the newer version was coming so I was patiently waiting til this phone was released. Patience is its own reward.
The battery life on this thing is amazing. I've made phone calls and send plenty of text messages and the phone battery didn't go down a bar til at least 12 hours after being off the charger.
Texting is easy. It does take some getting used to coming from a phone where T9 was the only option. If you want you can text using T9 from the front screen.
Speaking of the front screen I do wish it was bigger. When friends call and pics show up on the screen those pics are so tiny compared to what used to show up on the outside of my VX8100.
After a little getting used to I've come to like this phone very much and so have given it a 4.5. If they fix the message alerts it would get a perfect 5.
If you're on the fence about buying this phone hop over and buy it. My friends that I've shown it to want it and one has said when her family switches to Verizon this will be the phone she is getting.
Loving it... but consider before you buy!
Hey, all!
I got the 9900 the second day it was available. Having lived with it for almost two weeks, I have many thoughts to share.
In essence, this is an excellent phone with the added convenience of a nice MP3 player, QWERTY keypad, and handy (but limited) e-mail and Internet access. For that convenience, however, you do have to take the fact that it is a sizeable phone, esp. when you have it in a holster or belt pouch.
Pros:
- Great speakers
- Great battery life if you don't use bluetooth (see below)
- Nice, tactile external keypad (as opposed to the trend these days towards touch pad styles)
- Good solid phone feel (lacking in many flips)
- Excellent reception
- Outstanding call quality
- Nice QWERTY keypad for those times of need
- Inexpensive for e-mail/internet use through the V-pak when compared to full data plans for smartphones
Cons:
- It is pretty large, especially in the holster
- Bluetooth eats up the battery very quickly (see below)
- Some quirks with the design of the QWERTY pad (like the space bar)
- Square cursor control is a little close to other buttons, sometimes resulting in accidental mis-hits
- QWERTY keypad can be tiresome for extended typing sessions
- Mobile web has limited usefulness other than news and text-based e-mails
When I was shopping, I was torn between going for this or a full smartphone. For me, this was an outstanding and cost-effective solution for the reasons I outlined above. If you need a small phone, the 8300 and 8600 give you almost everything here but the QWERTY keypad. If you're a heavy e-mail/internet user, you can get a comparably-sized smartphone for more $$ that you will be happier with.
One note on the battery: With pretty regular phone, browsing, and e-mail use I have gotten 3 days without a recharge. If I fire up the bluetooth when I am in the care, I get less than half of that. I have yet to buy the MicroSD card, so I cannot comment on regular music use.
Hope this helps!
Pros out weigh the cons
I had the lg vx9800, and I can say this is sorta a upgrade. Here are the pros and cons
cons
Stupid email button: why get rid of the fn button, it was soo useful, and i'm not going to pay to just check my email.
Media player: The mp3 player on the v is so much better. This stupid vcast music crap has a delay. When adding music either through sync or through the memory card reader, it doesn't store all the files correctly. Sometimes it has the artist and the title and the album and sometimes it doesn't. I can't figure it out. Oh well,at least it works.
Holster:
The other holster allowed you to open the phone and use the qwerty keyboard. The new holster for the env keeps the phone shut.
Pros
UI: the ui is so much better. I got so tired of the vzw red bars.
Camera:
2.0 megapixel camera and lens cover. This is the best cell camera I've ever had. I haven't printed a photo yet. But very promising.
Keypad:
The keypad is a bit wider, so its actually easier to type than the other v.
Mobile web:
I've noticed this version is alot faster then the V. I dont have vcast, but I have mobile web, and for some odd reason its much faster.
Outer menus:
The V didn't have lots to do from the outer menu but on the enV you can do almost everything on the outside as you can on the inside.
Bluetooth:
Syncing was so much easier. Less than a minute I had my headset synced. And to turn it on and off is even easier.
Ringtones:
Still works with bitpim. You just have to select vx8500, and there you go. Free tones again.
Shortcut keys:
I like how I can customize the directional buttons. It helps since they got rid of the Fn button
Size:
This is soo much lighter.
Overall, I really do like this version. Its lighter, the camera is better, the ui is better. Just gotta find a way to get rid of the vcast music. I wish they didn't take the option out like they had it on the V but oh well, until then I'll have to deal with it.
Goodbye Motto !!!
I've always been a Motorola junkie, but now I am definitely hooked on LG...Now let's get down to business. Pros: Screen awesome , Speakers crisp and clear, Pictures Lovely.
Cons: No speaker phone unless the phone is open, screens are clear, but I wish they both were a bit larger. No option for ring tones for restricted phone numbers.
Sleek Phone
If you wanted the V and never got it like I did, definately get this phone.
Main Pros:
-Full QWERTY keyboard, what's not to love? The 9900's keyboard is spaced out making it much easier to use than all the other QWERTY phones. The buttons have a great feel to them and are very easy to push(even for my fat boy fingers)
-2.0 mega pixel camera, nice. There are so many camera and video options, that you might just pee a little when you see them. Up to 1 hr of video if they're not going to be used as a message or wallpaper.
-Ringer Volume, yes this is a huge plus for me. Since the speakers are in the middle of the phone, they're not getting mushed against anything to impair the sound. Easy to hear when it's in your pocket.
-Mp3 player, the 9900 takes a Micro SD card. The speakers are not as loud as a sidekick3 or the MDA, but how loud do you really need to blast music on your mobile phone. Since pretty much everybody has an Mp3 player, I don't consider this a big deal, but others might take into consideration.
Other pros:
-If you don't feel like using the QWERTY sometimes, you can still use the front number pad for old times sake.
-So many menu options to many to go into detail on, but one that is incredibly useful is the fact that you can customize all of the short cut keys which is great. I have mine set so I can get to the alarms, calculator, calendar and ring tones in 1 touch.
-Good battery life, but they were way off when they said 19 day stand by. I could see it getting maybe 6 if it sat in your pocket doing nothing.
Cons:
-No speaker phone when phone is closed(thus the 4.5)
-On the sides of the main screen there are these 2 plastic bars that scratch very easily, don't put your nails near them.
-Clear button on front screen very close to the down key.
-Keep a cloth with you for smudges.
-Bluetooth assaults battery life, but that's standard.
Great phone for texters and people who don't hate puppies. You don't hate puppies, do you?
