LG Chocolate 3 Review

Software / Features:

The main menu is basically the same as all other Verizon non-smartphones, with categories for media center, messaging, contacts, recent calls, and settings & tools. There are four themes included (slick black, white, dark chocolate, orbis) and you can change the layout of each between tab, list, and grid view. All of the themes operate quickly and without any noticeable delay.

The Phonebook allows up to 1000 entries to be stored, each with their name, mobile 1, home, work, email 1, group, picture, ringtone, mobile 2, fax, and email 2. After a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed-dial locations.

The Chocolate 3 has a 2MP camera instead of a 1.3MP, but the picture quality is still sub-par. Images taken outside looked over-exposed and slightly out-of-focus, with inside images looking dark and grainy. Even though the camera is not the major selling feature of the device, it would still be nice if it produced better results (such as the enV2 or V9m).

Camera settings:

• Resolution: 1600x1200, 1280x960, 640x480, 320x240, Picture ID
• Self Timer: Off, 3 sec, 5 sec, 10 sec
• White Balance: Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Glow
• Shutter Sound: Shutter, Silent, Say Cheese, Ready 123
• Color Effects: Normal, Negative, Aqua, Sepia, B&W
• Night Mode: On, Off
• Save Options: Internal, External
• Photometry: Average, Spot, Spot Multiple
• Preview: Actual view, Full screen

Since this device carries the Chocolate branding, it should come as no surprise that music is one of its main selling points. Not only is it capable of using 8GB microSDHC memory cards, but it also has 1GB of internal memory for storing music files (mp3, wma, acc, acc+). You can sync the phone directly with Windows Media Player (and other capable programs), or copy/paste files directly to the SD card and internal memory. The player can be launched and viewed by either the internal or external display and will show files according to playlists, artists, genres, and albums. Unlike the Dare, which lists album songs alphabetically, the Chocolate 3 lists them according to their ID3 track number. This is the way most people like their music organized (in the same order as it is on the CD) and we are glad that the Chocolate 3 offers this. There is also the option of selecting three player types (album art, large album art, visualizer). When a song begins playback, it will show the track information on the screen along with a visual counter. On the bottom are icons for rewind, pause, and fast-forward, which can be accessed by the internal or external control pad. You can choose between 6 different sound effects, but we found that “flat” sounds best. While the song is playing, you can return back to the home screen, but the internal display will replace your standard wallpaper with an image of the album art, or the external display will show a colorful animated graphic. Since the player allows for multitasking, you can send/receive messages and use the browser without having to stop playback. Music quality through the stereo speakers (located in the bottom of the front flip) was quite good and better than we experienced with the previous Chocolate models, Samsung Juke, LG Dare and enV2. The only thing lacking was bass, but this is to be expected do to the small speaker size. Not only can you use a Bluetooth stereo headset, or wired 3.5mm earbuds, but it also allows you to transmit music via an FM signal so that it can be heard on any near-by FM radio. We first tested this out on our home radio, but we experienced a lot of distortion if we moved the phone more than a few inches away from the receiver. We then tested it with our car radio. The instructions say that it works best to transmit on a frequency with no channels on either side of it. Unfortunately, there are dozens of radio stations in the South Florida area to contend with. After about 10 minutes of trying different frequencies, we found that 102.1 worked best, but there was still some static that could be heard. Because of this, we found the FM Transmitter to be more of a novelty than a feature to be used daily, as it also does not work with calls, VZ Navigator, or other programs.


The Chocolate 3 is also the first Verizon phone to come with the new Dashboard software, powered by Adobe. When launched, it shows you a list of “channels” that you can scroll through (mobile web, search, VZW showcase, news, music, games, tones & extras, community, entertainment, weather, business, ESPN, and get channels). Choosing one of those selection, such as news, will show the top stories of the day and can link you to other news outlets via the mobile web. Selecting the channel for weather will show the current temperatures in three preselected cities, which can be customized by typing in a zip code or city and state. Going to the Get Channels menu allows you to add or remove channel listings. A total of 10 basic channels can be added and viewed at once, even though 15 are available. This means that 5 channels cannot be viewed, but at anytime you can replace a current channel with one of those 5. There is also a category for Premium channels, but the list is currently empty. Once premium channels become available, they are billable monthly, if you select one of them to be added. Overall the Dashboard is a nice addition, as it shows content and information categorized into different themed channels. One option we found missing was the ability to change the order of the channels on your list. Unfortunately, because of the addition of the Dashboard software, the Chocolate 3 can only be purchased and activated on one of Verizon’s Nationwide calling plans. This is due to the data that is used for “pushing” information to the channels. Current Verizon customers who have older plans, such as America’s Choice, and are looking to purchase this phone, must change to a Nationwide plan.


Other software features include Mobile Web 2.0, VCast Music and Ringtone downloads, VCast Video streaming, and VZ Navigator for GPS guided directions. You can also download a wide variety of games and other programs using the Media Center. Applications open fast and there is no noticeable delay when using them. Since the browser is a standard WAP, it cannot properly render or display most HTML sites. We also tried using it with the Mobile YouTube site, but it was unable to stream video.