LG Chocolate VX8600 Review
Published on: 14 December, 2006 by PhoneArena Team
Performance:
Even though the phone has an internal antenna, we were quite pleased with the reception that the phone got. When using the phone in fringe areas, it had problems picking up a signal and would occasionally drop a call.
The earpiece sound is clear, as long as the volume is not turned up past medium. Call quality is good and sounded like we were using a landline phone. The VX8600, Chocolate, and VX8300 all excel in this area, but it still does not sound as good as the A990.
The quality of the speakerphone on the VX8600 is as bad as the one on the Chocolate and is almost unusable. First you must dial the number and then press the Voice Command button (located next to the camera button) to activate the speakerphone. The flip must remain open, because closing it will end the call. Volume can be adjusted between 8 levels, but level 1-3 are the only usable settings. Raising the volume any louder produces so much distortion in the speaker that it is next to impossible to understand what the person is saying. Once the call is ended, the speakerphone turns must be reactivated to be used again. Because of the poor quality of the speakerphone, we don't see anyone using it on a daily basis. LG should of used a better quality speaker in this phone. The speakerphone on the A990, VX8300, and KRZR are much better.
The battery provided us with 2hr 45min of Talk time, or 4 days of Standby time. This is far less than the claim that LG makes of 3hr 40min talk time and 16 days of Standby time. We have never seen any phone get 16 days of standby time and feel that this is an extreme exaggeration on LGs part. Charging time took 3 hours.
Conclusion:
The VX8600 is a combination of all the good the Chocolate had to bring, yet is in a slim flip phone that is the size of the RAZR. The body construction and looks of the phone are very stylish, the music player works well, camera is adequate, and call quality is good. However, the speaker that is located on the front flip is the major caveat of this phone. As a speakerphone it can sound distorted, and for music playback it sounds thin and tin can like. We believe that since the VX8600 is so thin, that LG had to use a lower quality speaker that could fit in the space provided. We were also disappointed that the VX8600 does not use the same higher quality QVGA display that is on the Chocolate. The FlashUI Menus are a welcome change from the standardized VerizonUI that we've all become accustom with, and the stereo Bluetooth is an added bonus. Since the VX8600 and Chocolate are practically the same phones, it basically comes down to if you prefer a flip phone or a slider phone.
Pros
- Slim design that is the same size as the RAZR
- Good Voice and Call Quality
- Internal Antenna
- Large External Display
- MP3/WMA Music Player
- MicroSD
- Bluetooth Stereo A2DP support
Cons
- Internal Display is not QVGA like on the Chocolate
- Speaker on flip is low quality, causes distortion in Speakerphone and thin music playback
- Camera quality is not as good as other phones
- Keypad is flat and smooth with no tactile feel
PA rating 
- Good
- out of 10
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