LG VX-8600 / AX-8600
Average Ratings
8600
i LOVE THIS PHONE .THE ONLY THINGS THAT STINK IS THE SPEAKER PHONE. wHICH I DON'T USE SO I DON'T CARE AND THATS IT. THE REST IS AWESOME. THATS MY OPINION.
fine upgrade from razr
Good:
displays are large and clear inside and out, text messages and missed calls can be viewed there without opening the flip, ringtones via bitpim, menus allow some customization from verizon interface, camera images, bluetooth audio quality, size, design
Bad:
reception is mediocre at best (worse than my razr), speakerphone is too quiet, bluetooth is v1.1, keypad buttons have no textured separations, flip doesn't snap decisively with a strong spring motion, only available in black (for now?), no missed call alert, fingerprints, microphone on left side (susceptible to wind noise from nostrils if you hold your phone in the right hand), bluetooth takes ~10 seconds to connect, txt message auto-delete kicks in at just over 50 each in inbox and outbox?, can't make calls on ev-do signal alone?
Average:
battery life, call quality / volume, voice dialing
Ok if you don't text
I was very excited to find that LG finally had a new phone with Verizon. However, I was disappointed with the ability of the phone.
PROS: THe phone is attractive, which is what drew me to it in the first place. It does fingerprint easily but I think the looks make up for that.
The call quality was good. I got better reception than I do with my LG 7000, which I love.
CONS: The backlight bothers me. Not being able to set it is a real dsiadvantage to me. Some ppl may not care about this feature but for me it's important. It's annoying to have a call coming in and not know who it is because the backlight on the front only stays on for 5 seconds. And it cannot be adjusted. Like I mentioned, to some it may be unimportant but to me it is.
Texting. I got used to texting on the flat keypad. However, texting with the case on is very difficult. When I would send graphics or texts with more than 30 characters, it would send as a box with an X inside of it. I tried it from the 8600 in the store to my 8600 and the same thing happened. I went to the store 5 times about it and was told that it was a network problem and that it was happening with other phones. Of the ppl I know, it was happening only to me, with that phone.
For those two reasons, I took it back. My instincts are usually pretty good for what I want, and those two items were important enough for me to return it and go back to my 7000. I'll wait until Verizon comes out with something more dependable.
Liking it
Pros
Good feel
Good voice quality
Easily hacked for EV-DO tethering
Very clear screen
Good MP3 quality
Cons
not QVGA screen
cant play MP3s while using the phone for anything else
Haven't had the best battery life (but Ive been playing with it and always have bluetooth on)
My requirements were MicroSD slot, EvDO/HSDPA, tethering ability, A2DP bluetooth, speaker independant voice controls, and external music controls.
Looked at the Synch, the M610, this, and the M1. Synch didn't have voice commands. M610 has no external controls. Would have liked a QVGA screen, but nothing else in this form factor had the same feature set.
Great Phone!
I must say that I really love this phone! I just came to Verizon from Cellular One, which is a GSM company. This is the first time I have ever had a CDMA phone. I must also say that CDMA is MUCH better than GSM. GSM usually disrupts electronics, including radios around it, which gets really annoying and many motorola phones have a buzzing noise in the earpiece which is incredibly annyoing. I had the Motorola RAZR, which sucked!
I also used to the Motorola V325i through Verizon (which was great by the way!) but I decided that I wanted to get a VCast phone. So, I went with this LG because I knew LG's where known for good reception. I also liked it because of it's thinness, like the RAZR. I must say that I mad a wise decision! I don't think I've ever dropped one call, maybe once, but that was because I had been in an area that Verizon didn't cover very well, so it went into Extended Network onto Alltel.
PROS:
1) Reception - Dropped hardly any calls. Very clear reception and very load.
2) Size - I love the size of the phone, it's not very bulky, but it doesn't feel cheap.
3) Keypad - The flat keypad is nice because it won't leave little prints on the inside surface screen of the phone.
4) Battery Life - The battery life on this phone is OK. I'm used to GSM phones which last for like a few days even while talking and texting all the time.
5) Nice UI - I know all Verizon phones have the same User Interface, but this phone is nice in the fact that it lets you choose from three differenct interfaces. I prefer the VZW interface.
6) Fast Internet - From the internet that I have used (only CDMA2000 1X) it has been pretty fast compared to GSM's GPRS and EDGE. I can't wait till VCast (CDMA2000 1XEVDO) comes to my area so I can see how fast it is then!
CONS:
1) Fingerprints - The fingerprints on this phone are kind of annoying. It's not too bad, but you just have to keep rubbing the phone with your shirt or some soft cloth all the time to keep it clean.
Solid Phone
I was looking for a "no frills" Bluetooth phone, but based on the reviews read here I purchased the VX8600.
I have not upgraded for several years because I was very satisfied with the reception and battery life of my previous phone (CDM8900). I'm in sales and on the road all day, so those features are very important. The VX8600 has met or exceeded my expectations in those areas.
My observations:
Everyone I talked to has indicated that I sound as clear as a land line. Audio quality is very good on my end. The speaker phone is adequate for my use in the car...about the same as the CDM I owned. Signal strength has been good and the phone has not dropped in known weak areas.
For us "older" users, there is the ability to have the number that you are calling put in a large font that is easy to read while driving. A very nice feature. The front screen unfortunately is in a very small font and I have difficulty reading incoming calls.
The charging door and Micro-SD door seems flimsy, but so far they have held up. I did have trouble inserting the micro-SD card deep enough to lock in with my fat fingers. Speaking of fat fingers, the keypad has not presented any problems as some reviews have stated.
I loaded up some MP3 on the microSD card (I bought a 512K), but I probably won't use that feature too much - however it's nice to have when I travel and don't want to lug around an MP3 player. It sounds pretty decent played through the ear buds provided in the Music Kit purchased at VRZN.
A camera feature isn't that important to me, but I was dissappointed in the clarity of the pictures. The camera's ability to take photos in low light was impressive as well as the zoom feature.
Although there are a few very minor (at least to me) "negatives", this phone meets my expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
LG VX 8600- Super great phone!
I love this phone! I've never had a slim model, but have owned a few LG's in the past (which were terrible several years ago). this one has definetly changed my luke-warm attitude toward LG and I give 2 enthusiastic thumbs up to the durabilty of such a slim phone.
Sound quality is awesome, including reception and loudness. Feels really sturdy. Nice design. I'm glad I opted for this one instead of the LG VX 8300, which I gave my husband. Don't get me wrong, that's a great quality phone too, but it's so bulky and doesn't have as nice of a display as the 8600.
I keep mine in a durable leather case and have dropped it a couple of times with zero problems. The hinges feel well constructed too, unlike the RAZR series which feel like they could snap any minute. Plus the key pad is firm yet responsive. The RAZR's key pad always feels like it's peeling up of the unit and feels and sounds thin like plastic wrap. There's only a few cons in my opinion, so that's why I couldn't give it a perfect 5.0, just a 4.0. Don't use MP3, so can't rate it. Here's my breakdown on the PROS and CONS:
PROS:
-Great looks and feel (I don't worry about fingerprints because I protect my outside with a clear plastic film anyway)
-Very durable, including hinges
-Nice wide screen
-Great UI options and it's nice to see VW offered us some different wallpapers including colors of the battery bars on the front display. No more red! Thank you VW!
-Great sound quality and reception
CONS:
-I HATE the low speakerphone volume and the fact that the person's voice on the other end comes out the back of the phone (really the front face) when flipped open, very hard to hear
-I don't like the fact that the side buttons to adjust volume etc. are on the upper part of the flip. Should be on bottom you hold in hand, much easier that way
-Having trouble with my bluetooth again (Jabra 350 & LG 730)on this phone with staying connected and sounds transferring back to phone.
First LGthat was kept longer than a week
I had my Lg vx8600 since it was released. I paid 30.00 for it but its worth paying full retail...I have experienced above average reception , Much stronger compared to my old Razr V3c....The 262,000 color screen is both impressive and huge, FINALLY i phone with changeable themes so i do not have to look at the Dreaded Verizon user interface with the Red Bars!.....External screen is even has 65,000 colors....The keypad how ever is a major disappointment, as its completely flat and there s no key separation..Makes it very difficult to text at time, always finding myself having to look at the keypad when dialing or even miss dialing when looking...Battery life has been pretty decent given its thinness....Build quality isn't bad but doesn't compare to the Rzr or Krzr..The glossy finish is a smudge and fingerprint magnet however i have dropped my phone a few time and surprisingly it hasnt scratched at all....Speakerphone is pretty much useless..Id recommend this phone if your looking for a for thin, good RF,stlyish, midrange phone
Pros-
RF
Large screen
loud ear volume
Thin
262k screen
changeable themes
Memory slot
Bluetooth File transfer finally enable(pics only)and contacts
cons-
Lousy speakerphone
Glossy finish
Keypad
Allsome fone!
I've only had it for about a few weeks and broke the screen, but getting it replaced.
My only gripes are:
-The LCD screen is fragile, like a laptop, I'm more used to a thicker glass. I had a keychain attached to it and I accidently had it inbetween it while closing it, and rolled over it while sleeping. That's my bad, just don't sleep with it ^_^ and be careful when closing it if you have keychain.
-The speaker phone is a little quiet.
-For some reason you can only fit a certain amount of contacts in the groups you make, whats up with that?
Haven't had it long enough to try everything but this is what i see so far.
Excellent Phone
I am coming from the LG-vx8300 and the Moto Razr.
I had the 8300 for about a year, and absolutely loved the durability and user interface that phone provided.
When the Razr came along, I was taken by it's looks and tried the phone out. The UI on that phone was terrible, and I went back to the 8300 after a week.
I was very pleased when this Razr competitor came out because it was slim and sexy (if not sexier). I was hoping that LG would have the same easy to use and logical UI that it had used on it's other phones. This phone has an even better UI than previous LG models.
If you want the looks of a Razr with a MUCH better UI, you'll love this phone.
The only thing that worries me about this phone is how long the high gloss case will hold up. I bought a vinyl protector kit that installed easily and does a great job of minimizing the fingerprints.
Pros:
Big, colorful screen
Keypad backlight
Backlight time control
Micro SD slot
Good quality speaker for ringtones
Slim Design
Upgraded and great to use User Interface
Cons:
Fingerprint attracting
Will this phone hold up if it's dropped?
