LG Chocolate VX8550 Phone, Dark Blue
Posted by admin | Posted in Gadget | Posted on 30-03-2010
5
- Lightweight multimedia powerhouse in blue with new Trace Motion Light navigation wheel
- Supports both WMA and MP3 music formats for more versitility in music listening; Bluetooth stereo headset support
- Expandable memory slot compatible with optional 4 GB microSD memory card for storage of up to 2000 songs
- 1.3 megapixel camera with digital zoom; video capture up to 1 hour
- Includes: Standard Li-Ion Battery, AC Travel Charger and User’s Guide
Product Description
Now slimmer and lighter than ever, the Chocolate by LG comes in three new sumptuous colors to satisfy the most sophisticated palette. Of course, you’ll still be addicted to the silky-smooth design and high-end media capabilities. But you’ll also enjoy indulging in a few new treats like the touch keypad with vibration feedback and an improved navigation wheel with trace motion light. The Chocolate. Now sweeter than ever.Amazon.com Product Description
Slimme… More >>
I very recently signed a new contract with Verizon, and received my LG Chocolate VX 8550 phone in the mail earlier today. After reading the online reviews for this phone, I’ve been very excited and even saved up the $150 to get it with a 2 yr. contract. I take great care and am very gentle with all my electronics (to make them last as long as possible), and was really upset when my phone jammed this evening. I only made 2 phone calls with this phone, and after my last call, I closed the phone like usual. A few minutes later, when trying to answer an incoming call, I was unable to slide open the phone. Up until that point, it had remained untouched, didn’t fall on any surface, have anything spilled or dropped on it, or any other trauma happen to it. I’ve tried to see if something somehow got stuck in-between the phone layers, and have tried really hard to slide it open again without breaking it, all to no avail. I suspect that one (or both) of the hinges on the slide has jammed.
I find it very irritating that something that costs $500 can be this fragile.
As for the rest of the phone, I found the keypad to be a bit annoying to use (not ergonomic) and I didn’t like that only PCs are compatible with this phone (for things like music downloads — I’m a devout Mac and Linux user). The glossy finish on the phone ensures constant smudging all over, which I find annoying. However, the aesethics of this phone are amazing. Very sharp and bright screen, nice quality photo camera, and fairly easy to navigate. Sound quality was good, as was ease of getting around the menus. I’ve yet to test the mp3 and downloading speeds. It apparently also has a voice recorder, but I’ve yet to find it (not easy to find).
From the many positive reviews I’ve read for this phone, it’s possible that mine was just a manufacturing glitch. But since it’s a brand new model, I am now skeptical to exchange for another Chocolate VX 8550 until more, longer-term, reviews are available.
Rating: 1 / 5
I’d just like to echo the points made above:
1) The scroll wheel is difficult to use and inefficient.
2) When you make/receive a call and your cheek hits the phone, the touch buttons activate, which can sometimes prohibit using the keypad until you figure out a way to get out of the menu.
3) The face of the phone scratches easily even when you are very, very careful.
4) The voice activated calling is a disaster and almost never calls the right person.
The phone is on its way back to Verizon today for something different.
Rating: 1 / 5
I wish I read these reviews before buying this phone.
Yes, it’s pretty but the it’s a pain in the a** to use!
As others have pointed out, the scroll wheel is way too sensitive even on “low” setting. If you make a call and have to dial an extension or if you have to make menu selections i.e. “press 1″ “press 0 to call the operator”, the touch screen turns and you get some random menu selection. It’s thinking you’re trying to do something else by pressing numbers after you call a number.
You CAN turn the touch off after making a call by using the Lock feature. BUT, this feature turns back on when you dial extensions or enter numbers after placing calls. It’s annoying having to hit lock every single time I want to do something.
Oh! and FORGET about taking fun pictures of yourself with friends!
When you try to take your own picture by flipping the phone around the touch pad turns on. So you have to make sure you ONLY touch the center of the phone. If your finger touches any other part, the super sensitive touch feature goes into a menu. You can’t even use the “Lock” feature to turn off touch for camera. Annoying.
Oh, and the texting! What’s the deal with no symbols? If i want to add an exclamation point or dollar sign I have to go into some symbol menu to add it to my text. Huh?
I returned this phone after a few days of use. When I returned my phone there was another customer returning his chocolate too!
This chocolate will leave a bitter taste in your mouth!
Wow, that was cheesy. Ok, I’m done.
Rating: 1 / 5
If you are buying this phone to use simply as a phone, it is probably acceptable. If you are planning on using the phone to listen to anything other than randomly arranged mp3, think again.
I loved the looks of this phone and purchsed it so I could listen to mp3 audio books in the car. The phone will pause the music (or book) and let you answer the phone, then resume the music. This park works fine. There are some other issues with the mp3 player and frankly it appears to be marketed for teenagers and geared toward making you purchase music using Vcast. Here are the pros and cons as I see them:
Pros:
1. Sharp looking product that comes in great colors
2. Sliding lock/unlock button located on the side
2. Nice display
3. Easy to use bluetooth headphone setup
3. Easy to make ‘voice command’ calls
Cons:
1. The phone looks dead all the time. There are no visual indicators for missed call or voicemail unless you hit a button to power up the screen. There is not even a flashing LED to show that the phone is turned on.
2.The wheel selector and ‘soft keys’ are a poor design. Everytime I pick up the phone it flashes through menus because I accedently touched a button. And I inadvertenly move to a different menu each time I try and push the tiny ok button located in the middle of the wheel.
3. The mp3 player is geared towards teenagers purchasing music through Vcast. Why can’t I drag and drop my mp3 files? I had to purchase the $30 cable (after purchasing a $30 micro sd card) so I could ‘sync’ my audio books using WIndows media player. I can’t delete a few audio book cds and add a new book or podcast, it appears that I have to resync each time. When I tried the usual drag and drop method, the player did not recognize the mp3s. Unless you are a teenager and your parents are paying your cell bill (including vcast charges), DO NOT buy this for the mp3 player.
4. The mp3 player will not work with a standard bluetooth headset. You must have a stero bluetooth headset. Why? The mp3 player works with a mono headset/microphone plugged into the 3.5mm headset jack or a stereo/microphone plugged into the flat charge/USB slot. Why can’t I listen to music, podcasts, or audio books in mono using the bluetooth? Bad design but shows the teenage marketing angle. I bought the phone to listen to audio books on a bluetooth headset and be able to take phone calls without fumbling with my mp3 player and phone while driving. Again, bad design and I’m really cheesed off about this one. Give me options LG!!
5. You can’t create a playlist from albums. This isn’t really a problem for you music people, but if you listen to audio books you need to keep the tracks in seperate album folders because each disc has a Track 1, Track 2, etc. I have to funble with the phone to go to another album because there doesn’t seem to be any easy way to do it.
5. The manual is lously. Again, it is geared towards teenagers purchasing VCast music and has very little information.
The phone looks nice, but I am really dissapointed that it has so many flaws and is a poor mp3 player, and appears to be made (by teenagers?) for teenagers.
Rating: 2 / 5
IS it 100% perfect No…
But LG listened to the peoples complaints about the 1st chocolate and fixed a lot of the issues. I love the scroll wheel. and all the new features. It is better than most phones and EVEN THE I-PHONE! All the I-Phone has is the stupid touch screen cuz this phone has lots of features the IPHONE doesn’t.
One issue for me was the CLR button gets in the way sometimes other than that I didn’t have problems moving songs onto the phone and YOU CAN DRAG & DROP!!
Rating: 4 / 5