Reviews icon LG Chocolate 3 Review

LG Chocolate 3 Review

Published on: 24 July, 2008 by PhoneArena Team

Performance:

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The Call Quality that we experienced while using the Chocolate 3 was truly amazing and was better than what we encountered when using the Dare a few weeks ago. While placing a variety test calls, we heard no static or background noise through the earpiece speaker. (The ticking sound we heard on the Dare was not present.) Voices were crystal clear and sounded completely natural. Even when turning the earpiece volume up to high there was no distortion. People that we called, who were using a landline, also said that our voice sounded clear and natural, and did not suffer from the “tunnel” effect we got while using the Dare. However, when using the speakerphone, there is some distortion when turning the volume up past medium, and the phone must remain open during its use. Closing it will end the call and turn off the speakerphone. The reception was also excellent, about equal to the Dare and V9m. We had 2-3 bars in most areas around South Florida, and we were able to place and receive calls in fringe areas where the Samsung Juke and LG VX8350 continually dropped service. Because of its stellar performance, we believe that the Chocolate 3 has the overall best call quality out of any current Verizon phone on the market, vanquishing the long-standing the V9m.

The included 800mAh battery is rated by LG to provide 4 hours and 30 minutes of talk time, or just over 14 days of standby time on a full charge. Our testing showed 4 hours and 10 minutes of talk time on a full charge, but standby time was only 3 days and 18 hours on a full charge. We would like to know how LG could rate the battery at 14 days.


Conclusion:

Overall, the Chocolate 3 is a major improvement over its two predecessors. The clamshell design is more user friendly than the slider and is more professional looking (black model). The external display and scroll wheel are easy to use and can provide access to several menus without having to open the phone. Music playback is a key feature of the device, and it does it well with built in stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headset jack, and stereo Bluetooth support. Unfortunately, the FM transmitter can be challenging to use in areas where there are a lot of stations broadcasting. The new Dashboard software categorizes information into logical channels for easy access. Both the call quality and reception are the top-notch, with calls sounding better than we’ve heard using any current Verizon device. The only feature that we found needing improvement is the image quality from the camera, as it is not as good as other 2MP camera-phones. However, since the camera is not the main “selling point” of this device (as it is with the FlipShot) we can overlook the image quality with less scrutiny. We highly recommend the Chocolate 3 for anyone that is looking for a Verizon phone with a built in music player, excellent call quality, and additional features. This is the best clamshell phone to come from Verizon since the VX8300 and VX8000.

Pros

  • Excellent call quality
  • Signal reception
  • External display and navigation wheel
  • Music playback and storage
  • 3.5mm headset jack
  • Dashboard channels

Cons

  • 2MP camera isn’t as good as other phones
  • Cannot close the phone while using the speakerphone
  • WAP Browser cannot render most HTML sites or stream videos from YouTube

PAppeal

Christian Dior:
10 of 10
Very high

This is the most stylish Chocolate yet.

Average Joe:
10 of 10
Very high

Even though the average Joe may not be looking for a phone to playback music, they are looking for one with excellent call quality, reception, and additional features, while at a reasonable price. The Chocolate 3 fits the bill perfectly.

Corporate US:
1 of 10
Very low

Not a Smartphone.

High-Tech junkie
4 of 10
Low

Lacks an HTML browser or high-end camera, but it does have a good music player.

expand ratings

PA phone rating

  • Design 8.5
    • Keyboard 8
    • Build Quality 7.5
    • Look 9
  • Display 8.5
    • Additional Display 8
    • Quality 9
    • Resolution 9
    • Size 8
  • Camera 6
    • Resolution 6
    • Quality 5
    • Features, Comfort 8
  • Sound Quality 10
    • Incoming 10
    • Outgoing 10
    • Ringing 10
    • Signal Reception 9
  • Battery 5.25
    • Talk time 5.5
    • Stand-by time 5
  • Connectivity 6
    • Local 6.5
    • Internet 5
    • Data 7
  • Multimedia 8.75
    • Interface Comfort, Options 9
    • Quality 8
    • Supported formats 8
    • Connectors (3.5/A2DP) 10
  • Organizer 7
    • PIM 6
    • Phonebook 8
    • Messaging 7
Excellent
8.5
out of 10
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Check prices

Model Carrier Price Today Price after rebate
LG Chocolate 3 Black
 Free Free Buy
LG Chocolate 3 Blue
 Free Free Buy
 
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Comments icon User comments

User comments

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0
1.
For me, one of the key characteristics that made the phone a "Chocolate" to begin with was the fact that it was a slider. Without that aspect, calling this phone the next Chocolate is a huge disappointment/frustration for me. It just doesnt feel like a Chocolate. Sure it may be a nice phone technically and functionally but it should have stood alone as a different series and not the Chocolate family.

Specifically in terms of this phone I like the sleekness of the exterior, but the interior just makes me cringe. It looks like the interior of a cheap $50 phone or one of the phones that Verizon gives you for free when you buy a more expensive phone.

Bottom line for me, this is not an LG Chocolate.
0
2.
i agree with you actually
this should have been the next generation of the chocolate flip
give it the slide form factor, and ill consider it part of the original chocolate line that i fell in love with

seriously the phone looks amazing on the outside
but the inside does look pretty ugly
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Reply to jl3297 Hide 1 replies to this comment
0
3.
i would suggest using the 30day policy before you vent frustrations with the form of the phone. most people complained about the slider of the orig choco, which were somewhat resolved on the 8550, but still issue arose. making it a flip phone expands the audience since everyone can use a clamshell phone (some biz types might not want a slider, younger audience) plus the phone performs absolutely amazing.


better than an iphone.

just joking fanboys....calm down.....caaaalm down.
0
4.
we arent saying that its a bad phone
its just that we think it shouldn't be considered part of the 85xx series
but part of the 86xx series since that was the flip form chocolate phone
Reply to this comment
Reply to wetwet Hide 1 replies to this comment
0
5.
There never was a Chocolate flip. The VX8600, contrary to what is thought, was NOT a chocolate flip. It was not released or advertised as a "Chocolate" phone.

There are 2 things that made the chocolate the chocolate. 1. that it was a slider and 2. that it was a top of the line music player.
The chocolate 3 may not be a slider, but it is still a chocolate in being such a great music player and in being able to multi-task.

The Chocolate 3 is a great addition to the chocolate family. I never would have gotten a slider chocolate, but I love my chocolate 3.
Reply to this comment
0
6.
I like this phone, but the people at the verizon store don't know a damn thing about it. So anyway, a few questions to any owners: first, can you drag and drop music files or do you have to buy the $30 verizon music kit? does it take 3.5mm or 2.5mm headphone or require the music kit adaptor? and i'd be interested to know anyone else's experiences with the FM transmitter?
0
7.
I think all of your questions are anwered in the review if you take the time to read it.
Reply to this comment
0
10.
Thanks. I read the article, but in instances in which the facts in the article conflict with facts told to me by Verizon salespeople, I thought it would be prudent to solicit the opinions of individuals who already own the phone. But apparently you were under the impression that I was soliciting smart-ass comments... Anyhow, thank you to the individual who added comment #9 for the input about transmitter.
Reply to this comment This comment is posted in response to #7 ( Show )
Reply to Dan Hide 2 replies to this comment
0
8.
I just ordered a new Chocolate 3 and it should be arriving Monday. I'm so glad they finally made the first chocolate flip. I like slider phones but I wasn't crazy about the first chocolates. The first one seem to have all kinds of software bugs. And the second one although didn't have as many problems still wasn't something I could use. I didn't like the heat sensitive buttons it had on the front because when you were in a call and had the phone against your face the buttons constantly would vibrate and that can be extremely annoying. And because both of the previous two chocolates were sliders the keypad was very tight and small which could make it difficult to text even for me and I don't have huge fingers. Although the new chocolate may not be as flashy as the sliders it's replacing I think it's a step in the right direction. And I wanted to make a comment. I don't think the phone was called chocolate because it was a slider. I think it was called chocolate because everybody loves chocolate and it was more so a marketing ploy for LG to sell their new music series phone and now the name carries on no matter what the form factor is.
Reply to this comment
0
9.
I've had this phone for a week and a half now and just got finished driving 1000 miles in a Budget Rental Truck. I used the FM transmitter extensively. The long and short of it is that you _really_ do need to have 3 channels clear in a row (for example, 88.1, 88.3, and 88.5) and go with the middle one (88.3). In that scenario it works perfectly. However, when we'd get into a large metropolitan area those channels were impossibly hard to find.

Thankfully, I have Bluetooth in my real car (JVC KD-BT1), and the phone and audio functions work flawlessly there.
Reply to this comment
0
11.
I currently have an LG 8300 and the only thing that is making me not want to change is that I have a bunch of ringtones I purchased and don't really want to have to buy them again. IBut since my phone is 3 years old, it doesn't have the updated VCast software so am very limited on what I can get as opposed to what is available on new phones. None of the phones that are currently offered really thrill me but this new "chocolate" has me thinking....if anyone has any thoughts they would like to offer, I am all ears! Thanks.
0
12.
Too keep your ringtones call customer service. They will credit you for each of the ringtones so you can download them again as long as they are the same as before if you download a new one instead it will cost you. Download what you already had and there's no cost. They also credit you for the MB that you use to download previous ringtones.
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Reply to anonymous Hide 1 replies to this comment
0
13.
I have had the phone for a month now and love it. The one thing I do hate is that there's too many damn radio stations in my town. I have to switch the FM transmitter back and forth for different parts of town. Besides that the phone is great.
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  Total: 13 post(s)
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