The Good: The Voyager also known as the VX10000, is one of LG’s first touch screen phones to target the US and includes a more iPhone-like interface based on that of the Prada phone; users can place calls, play AAC/MP3/WMA music, and take 2-megapixel photos almost exclusively from the screen. It offers a generous features set that includes EV-DO support, V Cast Mobile TV Bluetooth, a top-notch Web browser, and an integrated GPS application. And if that’s not enough, its call quality was excellent.
The Bad: The LG Voyager VX10000’s camera lacks such extra options as a flash and Wi-Fi, and its photo quality was below par. The touch screen can be clunky at times, and the streaming video quality and EV-DO connection speed were sporadic.
The Bottom Line: Though we had some minor complaints here and there, the Voyager’s sleek design, generous feature set and excellent performance make it the best LG messaging and multimedia phone by far. What we like most about this phone is the improvements LG has made to the Verizon Wireless interface. Verizon Wireless believes, that users like to learn an interface and then find it useful on the next phone they buy. We don’t buy it. Phones are improving too fast, with too many new features every season, and users want a phone that makes sense. Maybe it made sense to bury the touted HTML browser under the “Get It Now: News and Info” submenu in the past, but now, that’s the last place we’d look.
The Good: This quad-band world phone was built with the media enthusiast in mind. Apart from the usual array of features, the phone carries support for many of the most popular instant messaging clients, access to pre-paid satellite radio as well as networks such as MySpace and Cartoon Network. Web surfing and downloads are fast via the phone’s 3G connectivity, and dedicated Push-to-Talk and conference calling allow conversations with up to 30 people simultaneously.
The Bad: Despite the phone’s impressive feature set, the VGA camera is disappointing, with pictures and videos appearing grainy and blurred. There is also no dedicated audio player and no expansion memory card slot. Sound also sounds distorted at higher volumes, particularly so when using the in-built speakerphone.
The Bottom Line: While by no means a cheap phone, its slim profile, 3G connectivity and multimedia content access give the LG CU400 credible appeal. However the low quality camera and lack of expandability are disappointing. All in all a worthy predecessor to the LG CU500.
The Good: This sleek and sexy dual-band flip phone has a fine polished finish and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The internal 2.2” display is crystal clear, showing web pages and photographs in true, vibrant color. There are a range of personalization options, most notably themes which change the menu interface. A touch-sensitive panel on the front allows operation of the music player and the internal keypad feels firm and secure.
The Bad: Being only a dual-band phone makes it unusable in parts of Europe and Asia, not ideal for the frequent traveller. The shiny finish, while attractive, is prone to unsightly fingerprints. The front panel is difficult to operate, and due to the lag time before buttons are de-activated, it is too easy to accidentally skip forward a track or stop playback altogether.
The Bottom Line: This is a generally satisfactory phone for the average consumer within the domestic market, its strongest asset being by far the internal color display. However, buyers looking for a travel phone or one with the latest technology may wish to look elsewhere.
The Good: The LG CG225 is a midrange handset which offers clear call quality, a simple VGA camera, and world roaming in a compact, unassuming design. The Black color scheme differentiates this model from other models of the LG family.
The Bad: The LG CG225’s volume level for regular and speakerphone calls is somewhat low, the inner display has a low resolution, and there’s no self-portrait mirror.
The Bottom Line: The LG CG225 is neither terrible nor remarkable, but better midrange handsets are in Cingular’s lineup.
