LG VX9400

User reviews and rating

Worst phone I've had... Ever.

20 Sep 2008 Chris Perosi

4 out of 10

I keep seeing good reviews about this phone. I must be getting the lemons. I'm on my 4th one in 10 months. The only reason I even replaced it the 4th time is because I wasn't ready for the upgrade on my plan, or I would have gone to another phone.

The camera was great on day one. By day 4 or 5 the scratchy-ready cheap plastic over the lens was scratched up and I found that my VX6100 that I still have somewhere, took better pictures.

The swivel screen is cool, but the technology they use to implement it isn't up to par. This has resulted in two "dead LCD" replacements, and my current replacement, an LCD that doesn't change orientation as it swivels. This results in a phone that thinks it's "always open". You can't lock the keys, it dials people and answers texts without warning, etc, etc. Also totally wrecks the already-poor battery life. If you actually USE your phone, you'll be on the hunt for an extended battery in about a week. It lasts me from breakfast til about 4 pm before I have to get it on a charger again. And that was BEFORE the "always open" problems. Now it lasts til noon.

Beware of the refurbished phones. The one I currently have (awaiting the replacement Monday) was originally returned to Verizon for a charger port issue. This phone was then sent to Asurion who refurbished it and sent it to me after my last replacement. (I had the dead LCD issue -- but it wasn't TOTALLY dead... If you tried really hard and looked really close in a dark room, it was still working.... Then I dropped it in a puddle and Verizon called it "Water Damage" -- which, of course, is impossible because the issue happened BEFORE the puddle drop).

Anyway, back to the refurbishment issue... The charger port was replaced on the phone that they sent me after the puddle drop... From day one it wasn't great, intermittently cut out, etc.... But I didn't want the hassle of replacing it AGAIN... So I kept my mouth shut and lived with it. Now, 3 months later, it doesn't take a charge at all. I called Asurion and I was informed that charger port issues are "physical damage" and I'd have to put in another claim. I did as instructed, not because I actually WANT another one of these garbage phones, but because the "clean" phone will make a good sale on eBay and I can get myself something that actually works and lasts.

In the meantime, while I wait for my insurance replacement... I pulled the phone apart to see if I could figure out the issue with the charger port, at least get it to charge for me one or two more times to get me through the weekend... What did I find? Well, instead of the nice, neat, clean, machine-soldered welds you'd normally find on a circuit board such as this, the charger port was soldered on by hand, in only TWO of the TWENTY PLACES where solder is required. The 20 joints would be impossible to hand-solder. They are too small. So Asurion is relying on a human putting solder on two joints that are meant to take stress relief from the connections -- not to be the only point of contact holding the port to the board. So OF COURSE it broke off! They've soldered only 10% of the connections! So like I said, be VERY VERY AFRAID of the refurbished versions of the phone...

It's not bad enough the new ones are garbage out of the box... The refurbished ones... fugghedaboudit... ;)

 

Pros

Cool "sideways" display that everyone comments on....

Cons

Easily scratched display AND camera.
Swivel-screen technology weak, short-lived, and error-prone.
Ridiculously low battery life.
Buttons rub off with mad texting -- making it hard to get phone replaced under warranty when other issues arise.
Overall the worst LG product I've ever used.

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Amazing Phone

2 Sep 2008 Anonymous

9.7 out of 10

I bought the 9400 at retail price last June. I'm a pretty notorious cell phone abuser as I tend to toss the phone around when I'm bored, which leads to a ton of dropped phones.

The reception on the phone is very good, the battery life isn't amazing, but I've been using the extended battery for over a year with no complaints on the battery life. Even after a year I get about 3 or 4 days of usage out of it and I'm a text junkie so it's not like it's jsut sitting there. The screen is excellent, and the camera is amazing for a 1.3. I've yet to see a camera phone on Verizon, with the possible exception of the Rizr take a clearer picture. Now some will take better pictures, since they have a higher resolution, but this one has that crystal clear look to it, that though the picture may not be huge, it looks like it would to the naked eye, no funny lighting effects or anything like that.

The TV and video clips look cool on the horizontal screen.

Only real knock on the phone was the speaker, but that was fixed by LG last year, and all the newer ones have a much better speaker.

If the phone was cheaper when it was newer this would have many more reviews.

And yes, if you just leave it on it's default settings and throw it in your pocket it will call people. That's why you either change the setting so that you have to press the button twice to unlock it. That solves about 90% of the times you'll call someone on accident.

You also can but the holster for it, that will cause you to probably never call anyone on accident.

I love the phone, but due to it's age, it really doesn't have an appeal as a new phone to upgrade to or start your plan on.

That said in a few months when it's like 50 bucks no rebate it will be a nice phone for the people who are late upgraders. Like people who got the samsung 930 after it was out for well over a year.

Pros

Camera is surprisingly good
Very good call quality

Cons

Old phone at this point

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Great cell.

2 Sep 2008 Dustin

7 out of 10

I had this phone for about a year now and have to say that is works great. I love the call quality and a lot of the options. My two major complaints are that the speakerphone has bad feedback and the calls on this can drop in an unexpected manor. I am getting the LG Dare soon but I have to say this phone is a great quality phone.

Pros

Sleek Design
Great music quality
Good call Quality
Better than expected video from a 1.3 Megapixel cam

Cons

Feedback is bad when the speakerphone option is on
Calls seem to randomly drop like 6 times a month.

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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.