LG enV Touch VX11000 Review

Just like most other phones today, the LG enV Touch VX11000 can send and receive text, picture, and video messages.  Since one of the main features is the QWERTY keyboard, most users will opt for this method of typing messages.  There is still T9 predictive for use with the external touchscreen, but the touch-keys are rather small.  When you receive a message you can view it on either screen and can reply to it directly just by typing on the QWERTY keyboard, without have to select “reply”.

Other messaging options include Mobile Email, which allows you to send and receive email through your POP or IMAP account, as well as Mobile IM, to connect to people on your AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo buddy lists.


Connectivity and Data:

The LG enV Touch VX11000 is a dual band all-digital device that operates on the 800MHz and 1900MHz CDMA Verizon Wireless network.  Non-voice data, such as Web and E-mail, are transmitted using Verizon’s 3G EVDO Rev A network.

Bluetooth version 2.1 with EDR is now supported and allows for up to 20 device parings.  Supported profiles include: headset, hands free, dial up networking, A2DP advanced audio distribution (stereo), AVRC, phonebook, object push, file transfer, basic printing, human interface, and basic imaging.  We were able to use the auto pair feature to easily connect to our Jabra 250v and Motorola HT820 headsets.  When using the 250v for calls, we were able to get up to 30 feet of static free performance, and with the HT820 we were able to get up to 35 feet of stereo music without static.

As with most non-smartphones for Verizon, the LG enV Touch VX11000 does not have Wi-Fi and relies on Verizon’s EVDO Rev A network for connecting to the Internet.  When launching the HTML Browser, you are taken the familiar VZW Home Page, which has quick launch icons for News, Email, Entertainment, Sports, Weather, Connect, Verizon Services, More, and Favorites.  Located at the bottom left corner of the browser is an icon for page width-fit, and in the right corner is an icon that brings up browser functions.  Clicking on it shows icons for page back and forward, home, favorites, RSS, search, history and settings, and an address bar at the top with 3 tabs.  To enter in a web address, you simply press the address bar and use the on-screen or internal keyboard.  It also shows a list of web sites you recently went to that you can select from.  Complex web site, such as PhoneArena.com, only took 30 seconds to completely load, where the Voyager would take up to 60 seconds.  You can use your finger to pan around web pages with the external display, or use the d-pad when viewing on the internal display.  Pressing on a page once will show the zoom control at the bottom, or you can simply double-tap the page to zoom in and out, and even use the volume rocker for zooming.  One option is to have the browser in full-screen mode, which eliminates the status bar at the top that shows signal strength and battery level.  You can also turn on the automatic thumbnail, which makes browsing large sites easier, as it shows a mini-map overview of the entire page.  Just like with the Versa, the LG enV Touch VX11000 has limited Flash support.  This allows you to watch embedded YouTube videos in web pages, and also view videos directly on the YouTube site.  Full screen mode is supported and loads the video in a separate program where you can zoom in and out, play/pause, and use a sliding progress bar across the top.  This is a major improvement over the Voyager, as it has problems playing YouTube videos.  Even though the browser has limited Flash support, not everything will work, such as web-based games, which will show an “unsupported flash media” message when trying to load.  Despite this limitation, the browser on the enV Touch is still the best we’ve seen on a non-smartphone from Verizon.  The only way to step-up is to go with a smartphone, such as the HTC Touch Diamond with Opera browser.



Computer Sync:

Included in the retail package is a wall charger with detachable microUSB cable.  Before connecting the LG enV Touch VX11000 to your computer, you can go into the phone’s Settings & Tools menu and select an option for USB Auto Detection.  When selecting “Ask on Plug”, each time your PC is connected to the enV Touch, the screen will ask if you want to sync music or data.  If you select “Music”, the phone shows up on your PC as an external music device, where you can sync mp3 files from you favorite music program directly to the microSD card installed on the phone.  If you choose “Data” then go to Tools and select “USB Mass Storage”, the microSD card is shown as a Removable Storage device on your PC, where you can copy pictures, videos, and music files.  This is by far the easiest method for transferring files, as it eliminates the need to remove the memory card and place it into a SD card reader.