LG Chocolate VX8550 Cell Phone Review
By Alfredo Padilla
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
August 25, 2007
The LG Chocolate VX8550 is a music-oriented handset that provides a good set of features in a small, well-designed package. Available exclusively from Verizon Wireless for $79.99 with a two-year contract, the Chocolate VX8550 keeps the same small slider design as the original Chocolate, with a new rotating directional pad that can quickly scroll up and down lists. This replaces the touch sensitive controls of the old Chocolate, and it's a big improvement.
Making calls on the LG Chocolate is a simple affair—just slide the screen up to reveal the keypad and begin dialing. You can also dial from the contacts or call history. It only took 2.96 seconds for us to dial a number with the Chocolate, which is pretty fast. Call management and organizational features are fairly standard, with calendar and text notes applications. However, don’t expect the Chocolate’s organizational features to match a smart phone or PDA.
The Chocolate did well in our sound quality tests, with voices in both directions sounding clear and easy to understand. There was a slightly tinny quality to the sent sound (your voice as heard at the other end of the line). Some high frequencies were slightly exaggerated, which could make voices sound slightly more high-pitched than they really are. But most users should have no trouble with the Chocolate's audio performance.
Like the original Chocolate, the VX8550 model sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, which captures low-resolution images; fine details were lost in our test shots. While colors are mostly accurate, the quality of the images the Chocolate’s camera captures are pretty low. This won't replace even the cheapest stand-alone digital camera.
The Chocolate is marketed as a music handset and has a dedicated button for quick access to its music player. It is compatible with MP3, WMA, and AAC files, but it won't work with music purchased from Apple's iTunes store. You can, however, buy tunes from Verizon's music store and download them straight to the phone. The Chocolate also supports MicroSD memory cards that can hold up to 4 GB of data. Wireless stereo Bluetooth headsets are also supported and are very useful for listening to music while working out. However, it seems odd that there are no headphones included with the Chocolate; you'll need to buy a special $13 adapter if you want to use your standard headphones.
Sending text messages is pretty speedy. We were able to type 38.49 words per minute on the Chocolate's keypad, which is faster than most phones without proper keyboards. There is no built-in e-mail client, but you can access e-mail online via the browser. The Chocolate's built in Web browser is very basic; it might work for occasional browsing, but most normal websites come out looking mangled and unreadable.
The Chocolate VX8550 did well in our battery life tests, lasting 4 hours and 43 minutes in our talk time test. This should be sufficient for daily use, but if you spend lots of time away from power sources, you might want to consider the T-Mobile Wing (with an incredible 14 hours and 15 minutes of talk time). The Chocolate did well in our music playback test, lasting 13 hours and 55 minutes.
The new LG Chocolate is a significant upgrade over the previous version, with much improved controls and better battery performance. For those looking for a music-oriented phone, the Chocolate is a good choice, especially given its reasonable price. Buyers should be aware, however, that if they want to use the Chocolate's music capabilities they will need to invest in a memory card and headphones.
|
|
