Review: LG Octane
The Octane has a wide range of messaging tools, including SMS/MMS, IM, social networking, and email.
The Octane, thankfully, adds threaded messaging. Users have to alter the settings to use it, however, which defaults to listing messages by the time they arrived. Pick "Contact View" and the Octane will sort SMS convos into threads. Pictures and videos are displayed in-line with the other messages. This applies to both the outer and inner screens (nice!).
The Octane is the latest mesaging phone to use iSkoot's Social Beat software. This catch-all application offers users one place to catch up on their MySpace, Twitter and Facebook accounts. The software behaves exactly as it does on other phones. Users can scan feeds and contribute their own updates. Advanced messaging options, such as replying to Twitter DMs, aren't included. Social Beat can't be accessed from the outer display.
With the phone open, you can send any sort of message, be it a SMS, MMS, email, or IM. On the home screen, the left soft key brings you to the messaging menu. This SMS/MMS application is the same that we've seen before from Verizon.
Emails can be set up two different ways. You can use Verizon's email service for a monthly fee, or access your POP3 accounts via the Web browser. The included email application, which costs $5 extra per month unless you have subscribed to the appropriate data plan, is easy enough to use for setting up and accessing POP3 accounts. It also supports Microsoft Exchange accounts. Using the browser to access POP3 emails is flat-out miserable. Avoid it if you can.
The IM application is exactly the same as on other Verizon phones. This tired software sorely needs an update. It supports AIM, Yahoo and Windows chatting, but not Google Talk.
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LG Octane
