Hands-on preview of the LG Dare
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Most everything we liked about the Voyager has been improved upon and packed into a small, sleek, and sexy phone that will definitely turn heads. The first thing we noticed is how remarkably thin it is, measuring only 4.1"H x 2.2"W x 0.5"D and with a reasonable weight of 3.76 oz. Compare that to the Voyager's 0.71"D and 4.70 oz. Between the Voyager and Glyde, the Dare is by far the best looking and more compact device.
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The front is dominated by the largest display we've seen on a non-smartphone by Verizon, measuring 3" diagonal and with a resolution of 240x400 pixels. It is pressure-sensitive like the Voyager, instead of being capacitive-sensitive like the Glyde and iPhone. Despite this, we found the response to be quite accurate, putting both the Glyde and Voyager to shame. Across the top is a light sensor that will automatically adjust the display's brightness based on the surround light level, and a proximity sensor to turn the display off when it is next to your face. Both of these are said to help improve battery life.
The user interface is the most advanced we've seen on a standard Verizon phone. Icons on the main menu can be moved around and placed in any order. The shortcuts menu is also customizable, allowing icons to be dragged-and-dropped to the home screen for true 1-click access. Like the Voyager, the theme choices are limited to only 2 options (white and black), with the only other menu customization being the the font type.
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Text messaging is a different experience when you only have a touchscreen to use. When holding the phone in portrait mode, you can use multi-tap, T9 predictive, and handwriting recognition. Turning the phone horizontally (sideways) brings up a QWERTY keyboard on the screen. After trying the different methods that are avaliable, we found that T9 and QWERTY to be the fastest and most reliable means of entering a text message.
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Your MP3s are no longer limited to the out-dated VCast music player. The updated player is capable of viewing album art and has a built-in equalizer with 12 settings. You can also multi-task by minimizing the player to the background, allowing you to send text messages and even browse the web while the music is playing. Sound quality is good, but since the speaker is located on the back, it will become muffled when the phone is laid down. You can counter this by using a pair of earbuds with the 3.5mm headset jack, or a wireless stereo Bluetooth headset.
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Next to the rear speaker is a 3.2MP Autofocus camera and flash, featuring a Schneider Kreuznach lens. The camera interface has many options to choose from, including advanced setting like ISO, smart picture, and face detection. We took a few test pictures outside, and were quite pleased with the results. The image quality crushes the Samsung FlipShot, which is the only other 3.2MP cam-phone currently being sold by Verizon.
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So far, the Dare is turning out to be one feature-rich phone with a lot going for it, and we can tell it's going to be a big seller.
UPDATE:
Click here for our Full Review of the LG Dare.
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165 Comments
161. (unregistered) posted on 01 Sep 2008, 18:48 0 0
i got this phone 10 mins. ago and i am 11 years old
34. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 10:16 0 0
ugh i ordered it online yesterday i hope it comes in today.... will it?
37. uhhh yeaaaaa. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 10:22 0 0
I NEED TO KNOW THE EXACT SAME THING WILL MY PHONE COME IN TODAY? please respond.
39. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 10:59 0 0
VZW works with Fedex.... fedex does not work on weekends.... the phonestake 1-2 busniess days... so u should recieve it on monday or tuesday.... since u guys ordered it on friday, it depends wether u did before 5pm.. ...... after 5pm u will get it on tuesday.. before 5pm you'll get on monday...
45. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 11:18 0 0
yeah tell us if u did recieve it.. since its saturday
50. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 12:57 0 0
fedex does deliver on Saturdays in some areas
55. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 13:21 0 0
fedex does deliver on saturday...extra charge though
79. (unregistered) posted on 28 Jun 2008, 19:29 0 0
I did get my phone today, I ordered it yesterday online, and it was delivered by fedex by 11 am and no extra charge free shipping, no 8 gig memory card, called verizon, and they are sending that out free of charge
93. (unregistered) posted on 29 Jun 2008, 02:09 0 0
ordered mine thursday morning and i still dont have it...wow im being impatient lol
97. (unregistered) posted on 29 Jun 2008, 08:10 0 0
If you ordered it online you should've received an email with the option of tracking where it's @ and it tell you when you'll possibly be receiving it. I ordered mine friday and it said it will come on the 30th so it's really not that bad.
112. normandy (unregistered) posted on 29 Jun 2008, 21:41 0 0
this phone is already available in the stores. you can check with the manager. as far as i know they would let u buy this before the launch date (stores) which is the 4th of july if u buy it with accessories. take care of them and theyll take care of you too. scratch their back and theyll scratch yours too.. u know what im sayin
113. (unregistered) posted on 29 Jun 2008, 21:44 0 0
by the way fedex works sat. if u pay for sat delivery
117. jtb1999 (unregistered) posted on 30 Jun 2008, 04:19 0 0
If you're going to post at least get your facts correct. Fed-Ex has always worked on Saturdays. It's simply an extra charge for Saturday delivery. Verizon is capable of adding Saturday delivery to any order for an additional fee, most the time they will waive it if you have already paid for overnight and bought a new phone.
130. (unregistered) posted on 01 Jul 2008, 15:18 0 0
vzw offers saturday delivery as part of its normal service now. its not even an extra charge. finally got some hands on.. what a great piece of hardware.
157. (unregistered) posted on 20 Aug 2008, 12:25 0 0
does the dare come automatically with a memory card or do u have to ask 4 it
3. (unregistered) posted on 27 Jun 2008, 23:36 0 0
thanks anonymous for your very helpful comments well ignoring the rude comments above me... i really like this phone i wanted the voyager and then i found the glyde i wanted the glyde and then i found the dare and now i'm keeping with the dare :] ahaha it has everything i want plus the glyde cant even mutltitask i'm using the second generation chocolate and i wont go back to musicless texting ahaha
