Amazon.com Product Description
LG's newest mobile treat, the VX-8500 Chocolate offers minimalist-inspired style in a silky-smooth slider design. Deluxe features include support for V Cast Music, glowing touch-sensitive navigation keys, a powerful integrated music/video player, a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, and a microSD memory slot for extra storage. If you value extreme style mixed with powerful substance, this is the phone for you.
The Chocolate's sliding keypad keeps it hidden until you need it. See the phone in 3-D (requires Flash).
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Design
The phone features an attractive open-faced design with an internal antenna and a vibrant 240 x 320 pixel, 262,000-color TFT/TFD display. A touch sensor click wheel--similar to the navigation device featured on the ever-popular iPod--and sliding design set the phone apart stylistically. Opening the slider reveals a numeric keypad, as well as the 1.3-megapixel camera and LED flash, which are housed on the rear of the phone. The volume and voice slide keys are on the left of the phone, while the music, camera and "end" keys are on the right side. A memory card slot is provided for MicroSD/TransFlash memory cards of up to 2 GB capacity. The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.
Calling Features
The Chocolate boasts powerful calling functions, such as speaker independent voice dialing, which makes it easy to call contacts by simply saying their names. No prior voice training is required and you can even speak individual digits to the phone for quick dialing of numbers you know by heart. And because the Chocolate is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.
The Chocolate's internal memory can hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures as well as ringtones to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones, and a number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon's Get It Now service. Lastly, the Chocolate's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
Diminutive size and incredible music functionality make this phone the complete mobile companion. Learn more about V Cast Music (requires Flash).
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Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The phone's support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the Chocolate's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There's also a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon's optional Mobile Web 2.0 package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Chocolate is fully compatible with Verizon's V Cast service. With V Cast, you can download and stream high-quality video. Need news and weather? Get the latest Accuweather forecast delivered right to your handset, or stream CNN news headlines. ESPN sports updates, entertainment news from E!, and even Sesame Street content for the kids, are all available. V Cast also serves as a portal for enhanced 3D games, making it possible to have more fun with a new breed of realistic games.
Verizon's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Chocolate all the more desirable. With V Cast music, your phone is a music player, letting you jam out wherever you are. It's also a music store, and you can download songs instantly to your phone. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that's right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the Chocolate including a voice memo recorder that can record calls, a calculator, a calendar, and an alarm clock. You can even set the alarm to wake you to your favorite music. Also included with the Chocolate is Verizon's VG Navigator software, which allows you to get real-time, turn-by-turn audible directions as you're driving.
Imaging and Entertainment
The Chocolate's 1.3-megapixel digital camera features a flash, as well as digital zoom, self-timer, night-mode functions, and brightness and white balance controls. The camera also offers up to one-hour of video capture. A built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer, offering MP3 and WMA playback, lets you keep your music playing in the background. You can also take advantage of the Chocolate's Bluetooth wireless headset capability, allowing you to hook up a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones.
EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage
Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.
Vital Statistics
The LG VX-8500 Chocolate weighs just 3.53 ounces and measures 3.80 x 1.88 x .69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 384 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Note: The LG Chocolate supports the Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, Advanced Audio Distribution, and Object Push for vCard. It does not support all Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles
Customer Reviews:
HORRIBLE - DON'T BUY!!!.......2007-12-30
This product is AWFUL!!! I liked it for the first couple months, and then the touch pad just stops working!!! At first it just malfunctioned in the cold, now it just simply doesn't work at all half the time. It calls people randomly, screws up when I'm text messaging, and sometimes I can't even make my call because the only SEND button is on the sensor pad (which DOES NOT WORK!!!) Don't buy it, get a phone with BUTTONS!
Nightmare.......2007-12-26
This was the worst phone I have ever had. Perhaps this phone was too tech savvy for me. I just did not like it.
One of the features I could not get used to was the touch screen. I felt like even when I wasn't touching my phone it would do SOMETHING. The worst was when I would have it in my pocket or purse and it would dial the first person on my contact list. This phone does have a lock on it but sometimes mine would not activate. Touch screen sensitivity is also adjustable but way too sensitive still. Because of this, I am NEVER getting a touchscreen phone again.
You can also lock your cellphone where it allows a passcode in order to access the phone. The only time it asked for my code was when I turned it off or on, not for dialing or texting or anything like that like my other phone did.
I tried to make my phone more interesting by having VCast features and extra accessories (usb cord &LG disk) but that was a waste for this phone. For some reason not all of my VCast features worked (which might just be a problem with verizon and not the device itself). My cellphone was not recognized as a music device nor did the cellphone recognize my computer to sync music. I've read that a few people had a problem with that and just resorted to using a microSD card.
Texting and emailing was NOT fun. I especially relied on texting and emailing when my boyfriend would be out of the country but the keys on the cellphone were so tight together it was NEVER comfortable. Maybe my fingers are too fat for this phone, but don't even think about games! I also tried using my college address for email notifications but the only successful address it would recognize was my hotmail, but even those notifications were not prompt. Another thing about texting and emailing was whenever I was in the middle of a message it would automatically send. The keys are not that far apart and the touch screen is sensitive so it happened often. Then canceling the message would take forever so many times my messages wouldn't be completed.
The cellphone camera sucked. Very grainy and whenever I would send pics to my email the quality was not good at all. Since the phone is touch screen it's annoying to take pictures with. Surprisingly the video quality is a little better with sound. There is no flash and there is a tiny reflector I guess if you want to take pictures of yourself, but it's useless.
The ringback tones are a joke and I canceled that immediately. I never could figure out how to have individual regular ringtones for people who called me. I would edit their contact info to whatever ringtone and it would remain as the default.
I've had a few friends who feel the same way about this phone. I had one friend manage to mess up the battery port and it completely broke inside and he could no longer charge his phone.
I am throwing this away and have already bought the enV for $350 because I cannot deal with this anymore.
I think the only good thing about this phone was it's alarm. It woke me up ALWAYS. That's about it.
Good at first, but then a cherry dud!.......2007-11-10
I had a Cherry Chocolate and I loved it at first. The navigation wheel did take a little bit to get used to. The problem started about 6 to 8 weeks after I bought the phone. Suddenly the voicemail alert would go off but the phone had never rung and there was no record of the missed call in missed calls. Despite several 'updates' at the VZW stores, nothing fixed the problem. About 5 months after I bought the phone it died. VZW would only replace the cherry with a cherry and the store was out. After calling customer service and threatening to cancel service, they gave me the mint chocolate...but with the cherry battery. And, you guessed it, I have had to update the mint numerous times because it does the same thing. A manager at the last VZW store told me that the reason LG redesigned the chocolates is due to the fact that the original version had 'problems'. A mint phone with a cherry battery is a testament to the poor cust svc from VZW. Save the heartache, either get a different phone or go to t mobile (their phones are more stylish anyway).
Nice to look at... but a pain in the butt sometimes.......2007-08-29
I got the chocolate about 6 months ago. It's a really cute, stylish phone, however, the touchpad is a pain in the butt and I can't use the MP3 player capability because a) I have a mac and it's not compatible and b) I don't want to pay $[...] per song through my phone. The touchpad is super sensistive, even when you reduce it to the minimum sensitivity setting. I constantly call people by accident and when I am on the phone, my cheek will brush up against the touchpad causing it to beep and go to different menu settings.
I like the phone much more now that I am used to the touchpad and such.
After Seeing This I Don't Know.......2007-07-15
Well,after reading this I don't know,I am having problems already trying to recieve the phone from Verizon.I got an e-mail from Amazon saying that they shipped out but earlier today I recieved another message saying that I have to send Verizon my SSN and Driver's Licensce so right now you could say I'm pretty confused
Amazon.com Product Description
LG's newest mobile treat, the VX-8500 Chocolate offers minimalist-inspired style and a silky-smooth slider design. Deluxe features include support for V Cast Music, glowing touch-sensitive navigation keys, a powerful integrated music/video player, a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, and a microSD memory slot for extra storage. If you value extreme style mixed with powerful substance, this is the phone for you.
The Chocolate's sliding keypad keeps it hidden until you need it. See the phone in 3-D.
|
Design
The phone features a seriously attractive open-faced design with an internal antenna and a vibrant 240 x 320 pixel, 262,000-color TFT/TFD display. A touch sensor click wheel, similar to iPod, and sliding design set the phone apart stylistically. Opening the slider reveals a numeric keypad, as well as the 1.3-megapixel camera and LED flash, which are housed on the rear of the phone. The volume and voice slide keys are on the left of the phone, while the music, camera and "end" keys are on the right side. A memory card slot is provided for MicroSD/TransFlash memory cards of up to 2 GB capacity. The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.
Calling Features
The Chocolate boasts powerful calling functions, such as speaker independent voice dialing, which makes it easy to call contacts by simply saying their names. No prior voice training is required and you can even speak individual digits to the phone for quick dialing of numbers you know by heart. And because the Chocolate is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.
The Chocolate's internal memory can hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures as well as ringtones to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones, and a number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon's Get It Now service. Lastly, the Chocolate's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
Diminutive size and incredible music functionality make this phone the complete mobile companion.
|
Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The phone's support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the Chocolate's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There's also a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon's optional Mobile Web 2.0 package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit-- a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Chocolate is fully compatible with Verizon's V Cast service. With V Cast, you can download and stream high-quality video. Need news and weather? Get the latest Accuweather forecast delivered right to your handset, or stream CNN news headlines. ESPN sports updates, entertainment news from E!, and even Sesame Street content for the kids, are all available. V Cast also serves as a portal for enhanced 3D games, making it possible to have more fun with a new breed of realistic games.
Verizon's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Chocolate all the more desirable. With V Cast music, your phone is a music player, letting you jam out wherever you are. It's also a music store, and you can download songs instantly to your phone. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that's right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the Chocolate including a voice memo recorder that can record calls, a calculator, a calendar, and an alarm clock. You can even set the alarm to wake you to your favorite music. Also included with the Chocolate is Verizon's VG Navigator software, which allows you to get real-time, turn-by-turn audible directions as you're driving.
Imaging and Entertainment
The Chocolate's is a 1.3-megapixel digital camera features a flash, as well as digital zoom, self-timer, night-mode functions, and brightness and white balance controls. The camera also offers up to one-hour of video capture. A built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer, offering MP3 and WMA playback, lets you keep your music playing in the background. You can also take advantage of the Chocolate's Bluetooth wireless headset capability, allowing you to hook up a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones.
EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage
Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.
Vital Statistics
The LG VX-8500 Chocolate weighs just 3.53 ounces and measures 3.80 x 1.88 x .69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 384 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Note: The LG Chocolate supports the Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, Advanced Audio Distribution, and Object Push for vCard. It does not support all Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles
Customer Reviews:
I am so over this phone!.......2007-12-10
I really wanted to like my phone. It's red, it's fun, it plays music and I get a lot of compliments on it. However, I have the same problems as most of the other reviewers. When I want to call someone the dial button doesn't work. When I don't want to call someone and I simply slide the screen up it automatically dials the last person I talked to. As I scroll through songs or contacts in my address book the scroll button locks and it just continues scrolling until you close it again. And then all of a sudden it stops and dials some random person. I've recently gotten back in touch with people I haven't talked to in a year+ because my phone decided to randomly call them. For two mornings in a row at 6:51am my phone has dialed the last person I talked to from the night before...my friends are beginning to hate my phone as much as I. The trouble started months ago but I'm just now deciding to act on it and I think the warranty is over so I may be stuck. If you start having problems, return it ASAP while you can!!
Not Worth It!!!.......2007-12-06
My husband recieved this phone this past year. He was SO excited to get it. First off, to actually be able to store music on this thing you have to purchase the music pack which is almost $60.00. We vacillated whether we should get the pack or not because it is a fair amount of money and decided to wait a few weeks to think on it. Unfortunately, the decision was made for us. The touch screen buttons became increasingly difficult to use. Before long we were practically punching the stupid thing with our fingers just to get the phone to dial. THE TOUCH SCREEN WILL WEAR OUT WITHIN 4 MONTHS!!! Touch screens for a phone is not practical. If you want to purchase a new phone within a few months then go for it. Otherwise, purchase a phone you can actually dial with.
However, the verizon service is fabulous. I would just suggest getting a different phone, one without a touch screen.
BUYER BEWARE!!!.......2007-12-06
I got an original chocolate, and I'm not sure if they've fixed many of the bugs, but after owning it for just a small bit over a year (and it was out of warranty), it became demon possessed. Basically the face plate decided that whenever I wanted to call out, it wouldn't recognize that I was hitting the call button, but whenever it wanted to call out, the second I opened my phone, it would randomly start calling people. Even if I managed to call someone, it would often stop the current call, and call someone from my recent calls list. Another problem I had is that the scroll button would get stuck, and no matter what I tried, I couldn't get it to stop scrolling. So my advice, DON'T BUY THE PHONE unless you only want one for a year before you upgrade...
Don't buy it........2007-11-30
This phone was awesome at first. I bought it for $300. I had no problems for a while.
Then after about 9 or 10 months the touch screen decided when it wanted to work, and when I slide it open it would call people. So you can't call people when you want ot, but when you want to open it to do other things it calls the first person on you most recent calls list. Not cool.
I love the music feature on this phone, it is a great idea but I think they should have tried to get the kinks out of it before they sold it for $300 only for it to not even work after less than a year.
Dumb Blonde.......2007-11-20
Well, it's pretty, but that's about it.
I loved this phone in the store. The sound of the mp3s were good, and I thought I would like the touch sensitive controls because I love them on my iPod. However, when I'm talking on the phone, my ear starts pressing buttons, even so far as to muting my conversation!
Also, I didn't realize I'd have to buy an adapter to upload music, and still not be able to set it as a ringtone! What a waste of $40!
My main other complaint is the texting capability. I use punctuation in my text messages, but because the touch controls time-out while I'm texting, I almost have to close the phone in order to add an exclamation point or to send the message.
The camera is nice - about the same as the camera in my last phone.
Short and sweet - save your money.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty Good; It Has It's Pros and Cons.......2007-12-18
I'd have to say this phone is pretty good overall; it has it's pros and cons, however.
The pros: The sound, camera/picture quality and the Chocolate's video are amazing... not to mention it has a bit of musical capability and looks like a little pink i-pod.
The cons: The keys have to be pressed somewhat firmly to get them to work properly, which is a hassle if you're a multi-tasking type of person and, if pressed too hard, the key could break and refuse to preform properly.
Also, the design is incredibly not break-proof. Let's see... the sliding keypad design could easily break even from a simple drop; seeing as it isn't very well attached.
I have to say, it has about as much cell-phone capability as an i-pod...maybe even less.
If you want a long-lasting cellular phone, DON'T buy this one!
faulty product.......2007-12-17
I got this phone less than a year ago and it has already broken twice. Verizon has given me a free new phone twice because the product malfunctioned. They told me the last time that they have had a lot of problems with this product and they recommend a different phone when I am eligible. I have a few friends who have had problems with theirs also. Apparently the reason LG came out with the new chocolate is because this one was so bad.
Great little phone.......2007-09-05
My wife loves it. Sure some of the navigation is a little quirky but it is worth getting used to because it blows the pink RAZR out of the water. GReat MP3 player, and great phone. We were shocked at how long you can play music without killing the battery.
Pretty but difficult to use.......2007-08-28
I like the slide design, however, it makes the phone very top-heavy. This makes it difficult to text message with one hand. I also don't like the buttons. There is very little ridge detail between the numbers, so it is difficult to be sure you are pressing the correct number.
pretty and fun phone.......2007-07-27
So I do love this phone but there are some disadvantages to it. The keypad is a little bit hard to get used to but, once you do, it's smooth sailing. You don't have to actually push in the keys on the front of the phone (before you slide it open) and only have to touch them to activate them. However, the phone does have a setting where you decide how hard they need to be pushed to work, so you can adjust it to your preferences easily. Also, if you drop your phone a lot, do not buy this one. Since the screen is so big and takes up pretty much the entire front of the phone, it is easily damaged. Overall though this is a great phone and has excellent features, including great sound and music setups.
Amazon.com Product Description
LG's newest mobile treat, the VX-8500 Chocolate offers minimalist-inspired style and a silky-smooth slider design. Deluxe features include support for V Cast Music, glowing touch-sensitive navigation keys, a powerful integrated music/video player, a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, and a microSD memory slot for extra storage. If you value extreme style mixed with powerful substance, this is the phone for you. And now, the VX-8500 is available in white chocolate.
The Chocolate's sliding keypad keeps it hidden until you need it (black version shown). See the phone in 3-D.
|
Design
The phone features a seriously attractive open-faced design with an internal antenna and a vibrant 240 x 320 pixel, 262,000-color TFT/TFD display. A touch sensor click wheel, similar to iPod, and sliding design set the phone apart stylistically. Opening the slider reveals a numeric keypad, as well as the 1.3-megapixel camera and LED flash, which are housed on the rear of the phone. The volume and voice slide keys are on the left of the phone, while the music, camera and "end" keys are on the right side. A memory card slot is provided for MicroSD/TransFlash memory cards of up to 2 GB capacity (additional cards sold separately). The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.
Calling Features
The Chocolate boasts powerful calling functions, such as speaker independent voice dialing, which makes it easy to call contacts by simply saying their names. No prior voice training is required and you can even speak individual digits to the phone for quick dialing of numbers you know by heart. And because the Chocolate is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.
The Chocolate's internal memory can hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures as well as ringtones to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones, and a number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon's Get It Now service. Lastly, the Chocolate's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
Diminutive size and incredible music functionality make this phone the complete mobile companion.
|
Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The phone's support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the Chocolate's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There's also a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon's optional Mobile Web 2.0 package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Chocolate is fully compatible with Verizon's V Cast service. With V Cast, you can download and stream high-quality video. Need news and weather? Get the latest Accuweather forecast delivered right to your handset, or stream CNN news headlines. ESPN sports updates, entertainment news from E!, and even Sesame Street content for the kids, are all available. V Cast also serves as a portal for enhanced 3D games, making it possible to have more fun with a new breed of realistic games.
Verizon's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Chocolate all the more desirable. With V Cast music, your phone is a music player, letting you jam out wherever you are. It's also a music store, and you can download songs instantly to your phone. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that's right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the Chocolate including a voice memo recorder that can record calls, a calculator, a calendar, and an alarm clock. You can even set the alarm to wake you to your favorite music. Also included with the Chocolate is Verizon's VG Navigator software, which allows you to get real-time, turn-by-turn audible directions as you're driving.
Imaging and Entertainment
The Chocolate's is a 1.3-megapixel digital camera features a flash, as well as digital zoom, self-timer, night-mode functions, and brightness and white balance controls. The camera also offers up to one-hour of video capture. A built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer, offering MP3 and WMA playback, lets you keep your music playing in the background. You can also take advantage of the Chocolate's Bluetooth wireless headset capability, allowing you to hook up a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones.
EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage
Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.
Vital Statistics
The LG VX-8500 Chocolate weighs just 3.53 ounces and measures 3.80 x 1.88 x .69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 384 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Note: The LG Chocolate supports the Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, Advanced Audio Distribution, and Object Push for vCard. It does not support all Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles
Customer Reviews:
To Much of a headache!.......2007-08-06
I will get right to the point...
My phone constantly calls people in my contact list daily (without my knowledge). The keypad freezes for hours at a time and I cannot use the phone at all! The screen goes crazy and just automatically scrolls out of control. I have had this phone for 8 months and had to replace it twice already! It really wears on your patience. You can adjust the touch sensitivity, but it doesn't help. I have had it! Most of the time I can't even use the damn thing! UGH!!!
Hershey, eat your heart out!.......2007-07-13
Ive owned this phone since Memorial Day. I tryed the display model first before buying and thought the touch sensitive buttons were very annoying. But i adjusted the sensitivity of the buttons in the Settings & Tools menu, in the Touch Keypad option, then hitting Sensor Level, and picking from: Low ...Medium...High...and Super. I have it on HIGH, and now it doesnt bother me, and ive learned how to use the buttons.
The battery life on this phone runs out after about 3 hours or so of use, tops, when your talking or using the camera function, for either taking Pix or Flix (videos) In my experience, it doesnt last as long as id like. You might want to upgrade the battery, so it lasts longer.
And never charge the phone will talking on it. I heard that the best way to charge the phone is to when it has either one or no bars, shut the down, then charge it. And be carefull not to overcharge it, becouse that messes up the battery...so theres an option where you can have the phone make a sound when it has completed charging. Which you can find hitting OK for the menu , then under Settings & Tools...then Sound Settings...then hitting Service Alerts...finally hitting the Charge Complete option, either picking On or Off.
The camera this phone has is nice. It takes pretty high resolution looking photos, for a phone. Its pretty cool cuz you can choose between various resolutions: 1280x960...640x480...320x240...176x144...160x120.
Which is pretty awesome.
And taking videos is conveniant. You can adjust the time limit for the video, when youre in video mode and going into options and going into the time limit option and picking from either 15 seconds, or Available Memory, which time is only based on your phones own memory or a memory card, which you can choose between which you want your videos saved to by default. I thought that was cool.
The spin-wheel looking thing on the front of the phone, is actually just a directional pad for taping UP, DOWN, LEFT or Right...and OK, in the center. (The latest LG Chocolate the chocolate 2.0, actually has a metal type of spin wheel that actually spins for easier scrolling)
I didnt know if a slider-phone would feel comfortable while talking, but it feels normal. And it slides up and down easily, and feels like its sturdy and built well. And the ear speaker looks small, but is pretty clear and can be set to be pretty loud. It also has a SPEAKER PHONE, which is usefull. The micophone for talking into is sorta hidden and is tiny, but people can allways hear me loud and clear.
A word i think used a lot to describe the design of this phone is "MINIMALIST"...and i think less is definatly more becouse it looks awesome. It has that whole APPLE inspired look going on, which was no coincidense, im sure. It has this futuristic/retro look to it, and i think is pretty hot in WHITE. (the other colors like Strawberry pink and mint green, are sweet as well)
I mainly bought this phone for fashion and for its music player capability. Which i finally figured out how to upload songs to it, where it actually works. ( Make sure your downloaded music IS NOT copy protected. If you use a media player like WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER, i believe version 9 and up, offer and option within the TOOLS option and under either the Copy Music or Burn Music tab...there youll see a copy/song protection box....MAKE SURE THATS LEFT UN-CHECKED, or your phone wont allow you to play the song files, even if youre using your own music library.)
Speaking of the portable music player capability, the LG chocolate is my first mp3 player...ive never had one, and allways wanted an iPod, but i never could afford one, and my computer is too old and nothing ever meets system requirements. But with this phone i bought a CARD READER (A Sandisk brand Mobile card reader/writer called the "MOBILE MATE SD+ " which is compatiable with many different memory card types, including MICRO SD ,which is the memory card LG choclates use.)
The music player side of this phone gets the job done, and you can catagorize by PLAY LIST, ARTIST , GENRE, SONG, etc. Some of the options for the music player includes SHUFFLE, Repeat , etc.
The phone even has a button on the right side thats dedicated to accessing the MUSIC player,alone. (not to mention its own dedicated Camera button and END button for exits out of something or holding it down to shutdown the phone, or start it back up)
The ear phones adapter it comes with only fits 2.5 jack head sets. but you can buy a pair of ear buds by LG that has another adapter, and also a 3.5 adapter, which has a button on it for answer incoming calls. This 3.5 jack is essential cuz youll want perhaps better headsets or ear buds (the package is sold sepretly for around 20 bucks, and is worth buying since you need earphones anyway...since the LG does not come with earphones.
Until you get your earphones, the phone has a speaker which you can listen to your song files or whatever, with. The earphone adapter is a bit bulkly, but its not gigantic, just kinda ugly-ish, but it doesnt stand out that badly.
I really appreciate the Portable Music Player side of this phone, its a neccessity for me since ive collected the entire discography of QUEEN, MetallicA and AFI, among many other albums. So this makes the LG Chocolate the biggest selling point for me, besides the fact that it looks hott. Hotter than the iPhone ,in my opinion, but thats just on the looks, period.
The only weakness this phone has is the stock battery life (which is just ok) and the Touch sensitive buttons, that are about 80 to 90% dead-on accurate. becouse sometimes you usually find yourself pushing a button twice, or more. BUT it didnt take me long to get used to the touch screen buttons.
This is the best fashion phone ive seen, and it works pretty good too.
I recommend this phone for people who want to make a fashion statement,
and who also want a decent music player, and do other multi media.
I really like this phone, and it looks awesome. I love the white color.
Battery sucks.......2007-05-08
After a few months, my battery life dropped to 5-6 hours, a tech at Verizon told me I could purchase a "heavy duty" battery for a mere $50 or so. No thanks: would you buy a car if the dealer asked if you wanted to upgrade to a heavy duty battery?
Also, the touchpad on my chocolate goes brain dead intermittently, hope the replacement is better. In summary, I DO NOT recommend the chocolate.
Hot Chocolate.......2007-01-24
I don't think people should buy advance devices or phones if you aren't planning on utilizing the features on the phone. It's like buying an Audi A8 but you walk everywhere???? I Dont get it??
Money-sucking device (but cute).......2006-12-22
I almost returned this because it "had" no voice memo support. It does have Voice Memo, an undocumented feature that Verizon Support couldn't find either. Lucky for them I found a knowledgeable person in the store.
The most annoying thing about this phone is the giant sucking sound of consume, consume, consume. Almost everything is a pay-extra feature. $30 for a music kit (and then spend hours online trying to make it work). A couple hundred more to buy a micro-SD card to hold more than 12 songs. Or buy each song from "Get It Now" and pay $2 each. It's easy to accidentally click on the "connect to web" and start racking up charges. Seems like everywhere you click in the menus, they are trying to suck more money out of you. Even your own items - like the small selection of generic ring tones, the photos you take, anything mailed to you - are stored under the "Get It Now" menu item. The constant exhortation to buy more (now!) is enough of a drumbeat in our culture without having my phone do it too.
It does seem to have features you can use while on the phone, which is cool. Unfortunately it's easy to accidentally activate them with the gentle-touch buttons if you accidentally touch the phone to your face while listening. It was almost impossible to navigate a voice-prompt system (Verizon Support) because of that.
You can get past the extra $$ and the headache of their Music Kit by buying your own Micro-SD (1 gig $40 at Fry's) and feeding in your own songs.
Originally rated one star when I was returning it, I'd give it 3 stars now. It works and has the features I need, but they are buried in clunky menus and spottily documented.
Amazon.com Product Description
LG's newest mobile treat, the VX-8500 Chocolate offers minimalist-inspired style in a silky-smooth slider design. Deluxe features include support for V Cast Music, glowing touch-sensitive navigation keys, a powerful integrated music/video player, a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder, stereo Bluetooth capabilities, and a microSD memory slot for extra storage. If you value extreme style mixed with powerful substance, this is the phone for you.
The Chocolate's sliding keypad keeps it hidden until you need it. See the phone in 3-D (requires Flash).
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Design
The phone features an attractive open-faced design with an internal antenna and a vibrant 240 x 320 pixel, 262,000-color TFT/TFD display. A touch sensor click wheel--similar to the navigation device featured on the ever-popular iPod--and sliding design set the phone apart stylistically. Opening the slider reveals a numeric keypad, as well as the 1.3-megapixel camera and LED flash, which are housed on the rear of the phone. The volume and voice slide keys are on the left of the phone, while the music, camera and "end" keys are on the right side. A memory card slot is provided for MicroSD/TransFlash memory cards of up to 2 GB capacity. The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.
Calling Features
The Chocolate boasts powerful calling functions, such as speaker independent voice dialing, which makes it easy to call contacts by simply saying their names. No prior voice training is required and you can even speak individual digits to the phone for quick dialing of numbers you know by heart. And because the Chocolate is Bluetooth enabled, wireless headsets can be configured with the phone for total handsfree operation.
The Chocolate's internal memory can hold up to 500 contacts for quick access to email addresses and phone numbers. The phone lets you easily assign pictures as well as ringtones to your most common callers. In addition to vibrating alerts, the phone supports polyphonic ringtones, and a number of ringtones come preloaded on the phone and more ringtones can be downloaded from Verizon's Get It Now service. Lastly, the Chocolate's GPS location technology pinpoints your exact location when you dial 911.
Diminutive size and incredible music functionality make this phone the complete mobile companion. Learn more about V Cast Music (requires Flash).
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Messaging, Internet, and Tools
The phone's support for multimedia messaging means that text, photos, video and audio can be sent with ease (Verizon messaging charges apply). When used in combination with the Chocolate's built-in camera, MMS opens up a whole new world of messaging fun. There's also a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing. Verizon's optional Mobile Web 2.0 package allows you to read and send e-mails, exchange instant messages and view your favorite web content on your phone. You can check your e-mail, trade stocks online, compare prices while shopping, access flight information, get movie listings and find directions to the theater. T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for people to enter words and text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.
With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Chocolate is fully compatible with Verizon's V Cast service. With V Cast, you can download and stream high-quality video. Need news and weather? Get the latest Accuweather forecast delivered right to your handset, or stream CNN news headlines. ESPN sports updates, entertainment news from E!, and even Sesame Street content for the kids, are all available. V Cast also serves as a portal for enhanced 3D games, making it possible to have more fun with a new breed of realistic games.
Verizon's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Chocolate all the more desirable. With V Cast music, your phone is a music player, letting you jam out wherever you are. It's also a music store, and you can download songs instantly to your phone. Save your songs to a memory card with a capacity that's right for you. You can even pause to take a call without missing a beat.
A number of handy software tools are bundled with the Chocolate including a voice memo recorder that can record calls, a calculator, a calendar, and an alarm clock. You can even set the alarm to wake you to your favorite music. Also included with the Chocolate is Verizon's VG Navigator software, which allows you to get real-time, turn-by-turn audible directions as you're driving.
Imaging and Entertainment
The Chocolate's 1.3-megapixel digital camera features a flash, as well as digital zoom, self-timer, night-mode functions, and brightness and white balance controls. The camera also offers up to one-hour of video capture. A built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer, offering MP3 and WMA playback, lets you keep your music playing in the background. You can also take advantage of the Chocolate's Bluetooth wireless headset capability, allowing you to hook up a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones.
EV-DO Wireless Broadband Coverage
Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.
Vital Statistics
The LG VX-8500 Chocolate weighs just 3.53 ounces and measures 3.80 x 1.88 x .69 inches. Its lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3.5 hours of digital talk time, and up to 384 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies. The phone comes with a one-year limited warranty.
Note: The LG Chocolate supports the Headset, Handsfree, Serial Port, Dial Up Networking, Advanced Audio Distribution, and Object Push for vCard. It does not support all Bluetooth object transfer (OBEX) profiles
Customer Reviews:
Love my Mint Chocolate!.......2007-07-29
I've had this phone for a few months now and I couldn't be happier! I've previously had Kyocera and Audiovox phones and this LG is the best phone I've ever had BY FAR. I really don't understand why people have trouble with the buttons or programming in contacts; for me it's been far easier and more intuitive with this phone than any other. In fact, I use it for jotting down numbers that I would normally have jotted on a post-it, it's much easier to plug in, find, and retrieve later.
I've never had an issue with it dialing itself in my purse or pocket; it locks itself very quickly if it doesn't receive input immediately after hitting a side button. Texting and Pix messages are very easy as well. This phone is so easy and pleasant to use that my bill has been totally out of control! That's a user issue folks - sometimes I wish I didn't love it so much.
One thing I love is how you can switch to hands-free and slide the phone closed mid-call, and it doesn't hang up on your call in progress. Maybe that's a feature of all sliding phones, but my old Kyocera used to not only hang up on my call but turn itself completely off! The Kyocera was a piece of junk.
The only phone issue I've had with it is very minor; I tend to hold the phone too close to my face when listening to my voicemail and I accidentally activate the heat-sensitive touchpad. Not a big deal, it doesn't mess up my ability to listen to the voicemail at all. Just a minor annoyance.
The mp3-player capabilities of this phone are far above and beyond my expectations! It holds a zillion tunes and playback quality is great. It even creates playlists easily and shuffles my tunes if I want it to. It's lighter and smaller than my 60GB iPod, so it's my music player of choice for long walks and runs. Plus it pauses to receive calls REALLY easily then picks back up at the same spot in the song after the call. I use the mp3 feature of this phone a lot more than I thought I would! One drawback is the software that Verizon sells with the music kit; it doesn't work with Windows Vista!! So I had to burn some iTunes CD's on my laptop, then borrow a friend's computer for using the Verizon music software. Extremely inconvenient, but I feel that's a software problem, not a phone problem. Once the music is in the phone, it works perfectly.
Other Verizon features such as V-Cast and games don't get used too often, as they are expensive and I live way out in the country where I don't get an excellent signal. But, I have used them occasionally on this phone and everything works great. I love the ringback feature, and the ringtone selection is fantastic. The sound is great on the phone too!
As a camera it's not great - no flash. Fun for occasionally sending pix messages, but that's it. I'd be bummed out if it had NO camera, but it won't be replacing my pocket digital anytime soon.
Overall, the phone is extremely easy to use and packed with features that I LOVE and use all the time. I couldn't be happier with it!
horrible.......2007-06-23
My friend had this phone and I had the hardest time entering my number in. I put my name in and went down to where you put the number in and started putting it in. Somehow it got back on my name and started entering things. Also the number didn't even enter right when that was fixed
Looks nice,but you have to be patient with it.......2007-06-18
Considering LG's Strawberry Chocolate is my first cellphone ever,I think I'm pretty adept at using the keypad and soft touch keys,but yes,I have had the phone accidentally make calls if you hit a wrong button by mistake. Sore point number two is the adapter that comes with the phone: it pops out easily if you have a snap-on case/faceplate over your phone. Thirdly,the phone should have come with headphones-why have an adapter if your standard 3.5 mm jack headphones can't fit? Another way for Verizon to take your money. I forked over $30 for the music accessories kit just so I could have headphones,and hopefully in the future,when I bought a computer,sync music to my phone. Well,I bought a laptop and to my chagrin Verizon's music essentials software won't work with Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows Media Player 11. With all the money they fleece off the customer,you would have thought they would have upgraded their software/firmware by now. Fortunately there's more than one way to skin a cat,and I just loaded music onto an SD card,but that's not the end of my problems. Songs freeze up on me and I have to pop the SD card out and back in again for music to play. It has to load all 212 songs I have before I can go back to the one that froze. What a pain! To say nothing of the battery life. This phone is no replacement for an I-Pod or mp3 player. I thought I'd be saving money,but I have spent more time and money than I could have ever imagined on this phone. Cute but demanding,just like a little princess.
Awful phone.......2007-06-17
I have a perfect track record with cell phones, never losing or breaking one, so I bought this phone with the two year agreement at a Verizon wireless store in November without purchasing the extra insurance. It had a software error within two months, even though I kept it pristine. The warranty covered the phone, so it was replaced for free. Within another four months the phone was unusable again. I was told that it had water damage and that it was no longer covered by the warranty. I have never dropped a phone in water. Ever. The salesman told me "These phones are delicate. The humidity from the shower can cause water damage." That's ridiculous. Don't buy this phone. It's a complete waste of money.
Shiny..........2007-06-01
I've had my chocolate for a month now, and overall I would say that I'm a pretty satisfied customer. This is my second LG slider style phone. The first one I had was the LG PM325, and I liked it a lot until I broke it (which was entirely my fault, not a flaw of the phone). I'm going to do a handy pro/con list.
Pros:
-Pretty design, very shiny and sleek.
-Huge vibrant screen.
-Durable. I've dropped it once already and it didn't skip a beat, or send the battery pack flying in another direction like one phone I had.
-The only time I've been low on service was when I was out in the middle of the woods and no one else had service either.
-Sound quality is great, I can always hear people loud and clear, except for when their service is crappy.
-Decent battery life, lasts all day even when used for music.
-Speaking of music, I got a pair of Bluetooth headphones to go with the phone and the music sounds great. Pretty decent range as well.
-The touch buttons, although sometimes annoying (like when you are making a call and you hit one with your face) are responsive and fun to use, and they don't get pushed accidentally by things in your purse or pocket.
-MicroSD card allows flexibility of expansion that you don't get from something like an iPod. They aren't that expensive, so you could get a couple and have one with music for the gym, and one for travel music or something.
Cons:
-Seems to be vulnerable to scratches. I'd keep it in a case if I were you.
-If you are a Mac user, getting your own music on the SD card is going to be a bit of a hassle. To sync things directly you have to have WindowsMediaPlayer10, which they don't make for Macs, or you can use a card reader and drop music directly into a folder. Only problem with that is it seems really picky about which files it recognizes the song info (title, artist, album) for.
-If you are a PC user, getting your own music on the SD card is going to be a bit of a hassle. Chances are you already have WindowsMediaPlayer10, but now you are going to have to pay 30$ to get the Music package from Verizon, which includes the USB cable and drivers on CD (Or you can by the cable on ebay and find a download for the drivers). Then you sit through the clunky syncing process that doesn't always work how it should.
(Once you figure out a process, though, the music is worth it.)
-I personally don't care for the little flap that you have to open to stick in the charger.
-The camera seems to squish images vertically a little.
-The menu system takes some getting used to, it's definitely geared toward convincing you to buy downloads and such but once you learn where the things you actually want are it's easy navigation.
All in all, I'd say the phone has it's quirks but none of them were a deal breaker for me.
Average customer rating:
- Great value
- Satisfied
- Works great
- Great buy!
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Brand New LG Verizon Chocolate VX8500 / VX8600 / KG90 / KG800 / KG808 / MG800C / ENV VX9900 / LX150 / OEM Original Rapid Vehicle Cigarette Lighter Car Charger with IC Chip (SGCC0002911)
Manufacturer: LGIC
ProductGroup: Wireless
Binding: Wireless Phone Accessory
Handheld & PDA Accessories
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Accessories & Supplies
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Categories
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Electronics
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Cases & Screen Protectors
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Chargers, Adapters & Batteries
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GPS
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Keyboards & Styluses
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Kits
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Memory Cards
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Multimedia
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Sync Cables & Cradles
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Wireless
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AccessoryOne - LG Travel Charger for the LG VX8500, VX9900, Chocolate series, VX8600, LX150, AX275, VX8700, VX9400
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LG LX150 / VX8600 / VX9900 / VX8500 USB Data Cable
Product Features:
- Brand New Original LG Car Charger, Model: (SGCC0002911)
- Vehicle Lighter Adaptor. (12~24v DC)
- Intelligent IC chip inside recognizes a full battery and automatically switch to a saver
- Plug never heats or overcharges the battery. Short circuit protection.
- Can Charge Ni-Mh, Ni-cd and Li-Ion Battery.
ASIN: B000JFLDWK
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Product Description
Brand New LG Verizon Chocolate VX8500 / VX8600 / KG90 / KG800 / KG808 / MG800C / ENV VX9900 / LX150 OEM Original Rapid Vehicle Cigarette Lighter Car Charger with IC Chip (SGCC0002911)
Customer Reviews:
Great value.......2007-11-23
With so many generics with questionable writeups, I was leery about buying anything online but afraid to pay the outrageous Verizon store prices. This one claimed to be made by LG, and while it does not have the LED that indicates when charging or when complete, it does do the job with no issues. The plug itself is a 90 degree one, so it removes a lot of the potential stress on the wire while laying it in the dash.
Overall Pros:
Easy to use, well constructed, great price
Cons:
Could use an indicator light
All in all I'm happy with this adapter and would recommend it to others.
Satisfied.......2007-07-16
Seems like a good charger except the cord is very short. Better for those who don't have a long reach to their power outlet. Overall satisfied.
Works great.......2007-05-31
I've had this product for a little over a month and so far it works great. Haven't had to use it much yet, as the phone is a brand new LG enV (VX9900) and still holds a great charge. When I have used it, it charged the phone quickly, didn't overcharge, and the phone held the charge for quite some time. It's a handy size, too--it fits right in my splitter without taking up more than its fair share of space. The price tag is great; I got this charger for less than half the price that retail stores were charging. Definitely would recommend this
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LG VX8500 Chocolate Phone (Verizon Wireless)
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