LG VX8350 Review

Interface:

Verizon users will feel right at home since little has changed regarding the Main Menu, with items still categorized into Get it Now, Messaging, Contacts, Recent Calls, and Settings & Tools. Navigating between the menus is easy with the D-Pad; except for the few times we accidentally pressed the Clear button beneath it.


There are two included Themes on the VX8350: Classic and Titanium Silver. The default Classic Theme is the same that is used on the Motorola Razr2 V9m, where the new Titanium Silver theme has not been used on any other phone. After using them both for a while, we decided that we prefer the Classic theme. This was because it was the fastest (without menu lag), and that it was the most colorful. In fact, the older VX8300 came with 2 FlashUI, including Silver Spin and Pulse.


Phonebook:

The Phonebook has been updated to allow up to 1000 Contacts to be entered, each with their Name, Mobile 1 #, Home #, Work #, E-Mail 1, Group, Picture, Ringtone, Mobile 2 #, Fax #, and E-Mail 2. The only option that is missing which was present on the VX8300 is the ability to give each contact a specific Text Message Alert Tone; independent from the phone’s default alert tone. Out of the 1000 contacts, 98 may be assigned to Speed Dial Locations.


Messaging:

Text, Picture, and Video Messaging works the same on both the VX8350 and VX8300, but we feel that it is worth mentioning that the External Display is now capable of viewing incoming Text Messages. This is a feature that we wish more phones were capable of, such as the much higher priced V9m.

Camera:

The 1.3MP Camera on the VX8350 is a major disappointment. Even though you shouldn’t expect amazing picture from a phone with this low price tag, we found that the images were not even as good as the previous VX8300. Overall, pictures look blurry and lacked any type of focus or detail. Color representation was poor, with a “purplish” tint given to some images taken indoors. Because of these factors, we consider the camera to be completely unusable.










Multimedia:

Music Playback is another area where the VX8350 does not seem as good as the VX8300. Since the two Stereo Speakers are on the back of the phone, instead of the sides, the music is muffled. You must turn the phone over, placing the speakers on top, to alleviate this problem. As far as the Quality, we found that music played through the speakers had a “tin-can” sound to them, with poor mid-range and no bass response. Playing the same music using the VX8300 produced better mid-range and slightly better bass. Luckily, the VX8350 supports Bluetooth Stereo A2DP, so that you can use a headset to achieve a much higher level of sound quality.




Software:

As with all Verizon non-SmartPhones, the VX8350 uses Qualcomm’s BREW format for applications. The only pre-loaded application on the phone is Mobile IM, which allows access to AOL, MSN, and Yahoo Instant Messaging services. Additional programs may be downloaded for a fee, such as Games, E-Mail, and VZ Navigator. Applications run smoothly, without any lag or software quirks.