LG Dare Review
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Home Screen | Shortcuts Menu |
The Dare’s User Interface is optimized for use with the touch-screen and works in similar fashion to the Voyager, but has undergone a significant face-lift. Menus and text are shown larger than average, so that you can easily press on your desired selection. After a few seconds of inactivity, the screen will automatically lock to prevent any buttons from being accidentally pressed. You can unlock it by pressing the “lock” icon on the bottom of the display, or the lock button on the left side of the phone. When you touch the screen, the phone will give a haptic vibration feedback and will play an audible tone.
Once the screen is unlocked, there are 5 icons located across the bottom: message inbox, dial pad, main menu, contacts list, and favorites. Located on the right side of the screen is a small arrow that brings up the Shortcuts menu. It shows 11 preselected icons, but the user can replace each one with over 50 choices. The icons can also be moved around the shortcuts menu and dragged directly to the home screen for one-click access. If you no longer want an icon on the home screen, you can then drag it back to the shortcuts arrow.
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Main Menu | |
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The main Menu will bring up a screen with icons for contacts, settings & tools, my music, VCast videos, messaging, VZ Navigator, browser, media center, and recent calls. When using the default White Theme, you can move the main menu icons around and place them wherever you want, with a reset button showing on the bottom. However, if you change to the Black Theme, the icons are shown in a 3x3 grid and cannot be moved around. Unfortunately, no other themes are included. The only other customizations that can be made are the fonts, wallpaper, clock format, and charging screen. When you press on one of the main menu icons, it will then open it up and show the available selections. You can then slide you finger from one side of the screen to the other to go to the next menu. If the list is too long for all of it to fit, you can press on the bottom of the screen and flick it up to the top, which will scroll through the list fast, or press and move it slowly.
Phonebook:
Up to 1000 Contacts can be stored, each with their name, mobile 1, home, work, e-mail 1, group, picture, ringtone, mobile 2, fax, and e-mail 2. After a contact is saved, you can assign them to one of 999 speed dial locations. Retrieving a stored contact is done by pressing the phonebook icon located at the bottom of the home screen. This brings all of them up in a list that you can scroll through, or you can press on the letters across the top of the screen to jump directly to contacts beginning with that letter. You can also press the Go To icon on the bottom, and begin to type in the person’s name, with it automatically showing the matching results in the background. When you receive an incoming call, and that person is stored in your list, the screen will show their name and number, as well their Picture ID (if there is one), and will play their specific ringtone (if set). Unfortunately, the Picture ID size has not changed since the Voyager, and is still only about ½” in size. This is completely unacceptable, as it defeats the purpose of having a 3” display.
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Contacts | Favorites |
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Dial Pad |
Pressing the Phone icon on the bottom of the home screen will bring up the numeric dial pad. We found that dialing numbers on the Dare is easier and more precise than we experienced with the Voyager and Glyde. When calling a normal area code number, the screen will show icons for accessing the dial pad, speakerphone, contacts, note, message, and Bluetooth, but when calling your voice mail or toll free number, it will keep the dial pad active on the screen, so that you can enter in numbers for automated systems.
Organizer:
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Calendar |
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Alarms | Voice Commands |
The speaker-independent Voice Commands can be launched by pressing the clear/mic button located on the bottom of the handset. Once activated, there are 8 choices that you can speak to the phone: call name or number, send message to, go to menu, check item, contacts name, play, my Verizon, and help. The most useful of these is the “call” command, where you can speak the digits to dial or the name of a person in your contacts list. The only training that is required are for the digits, not the names or commands. Most other devices that have Voice Commands will work best only while in a quiet environment, but with the Dare, it was able to accurately execute our request while in a car going highway speeds and in a noisy mall. It can also be used in conjunction with a Bluetooth headset, so you can call numbers while you are away from the phone.
There is a total of 268MB of internal memory on the Dare, out of which 121MB is designated for storing music synced from a PC or downloaded from VCast, with the remaining 147MB for everything else (pictures, videos, ringtones, messages, applications). Since most people have more that 121MB of music files, the Dare also supports up to 8GB microSDHC memory cards, which can also be used for storing pictures and videos. With 16GB microSDHC memory cards due out this year, it is uncertain if this device will be able to support them, but it could be possible with a firmware upgrade if there are no hardware limitations.
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154 Comments
1. ChocolateGirl (unregistered) posted on 20 Oct 2010, 01:55 0 0
No mention of the touchscreen's subpar performance? It is unresponsive at times, which especially makes messaging cumbersome. When using it I will touch the screen and it will vibrate and make a sound, but the action won't be taken. It only happens 10% of the time, but it is enough to frustrate you. My sister has the Venus and her touchpad does the same thing, which leads me to believe there is an underlying issue with LG's touch technology. Its annoying when navigating the menus, but it is utterly infuriating when trying to type messages and keypresses are missed despite feedback being given! Even if everything else was perfect (which it is not...very good, but not perfect), with the touchscreen issues alone I could not give this phone more than an 8/10. This phone is going back, I may have to give the Instinct a try or break down for the iPhone 3G.
3. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 12:47 0 0
Hold your touch for another 0.5 second, it will help.
8. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 14:39 0 0
0.5s doesnt sound like much, but i doubt my fingers are on the keyboard for even 0.25s when typing. a minimum threefold decrease in efficiency to make the screen work as it should is unacceptable. try the instinct, itll accurately keep up with even the fastest typers
10. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 15:57 0 0
im curious to see how this touch screen responds in person. very few people have complained about its responsiveness but im sure ill become one of them based on how picky i am. i think it just takes some getting used to before you should return the device. i know people that hated the iphone when they first got it and now they cant put it down (i mention that b/c i think the iphone has a great touch screen response). the learning curve should kick in soon and you'll be typing fast again. if not...just return it, buy a real qwerty phone, and wait until technology catches up so that touch screens are more bearable.
16. atakid (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 18:18 0 0
have you ever considered the fact that you may have a deffective handset? if it something like what you descrided were to occur, sites like these would tell you about them.
26. (unregistered) posted on 04 Jul 2008, 09:00 0 0
I also calibrated mine with a stylus and have had none of the touchscreen problems described by Chocolategirl... i've texted my face off, set up mobile e-mail and surfed the net alot and have had touch problems less than 1% of the time, and those extremly rare issues only happened for the first day or so as i was getting used to my first touch screen phone...glad she managed to get that I-Phone plug in though, wouldn't be a good thread around here without it also, when the reviewer mentioned his dissapointment that Mobile e-mail didn't offer Corporate capabilities he apparrently didn't browse the phone applications for "remote Sync" which allows you to recieve corp e-mail on the Dare
51. ata_isbankrupt (unregistered) posted on 08 Jul 2008, 14:41 0 0
atakid, you have deffective spelling. by what you've descrided, i think you meant "defective" and "described". and yes i spelled them wrong the first time on purpose and for clarification.
63. jd (unregistered) posted on 10 Jul 2008, 19:14 0 0
I'm interested in getting the Dare. I've heard that it's a good thing to calibrate it with a stylus for better touchscreen accuracy...but do you HAVE to use it with a stylus or can you still use your finger or thumb and get accurate results? Thanks!
67. (unregistered) posted on 11 Jul 2008, 22:38 0 0
it's nice, responsive but the signal is not as good
68. (unregistered) posted on 11 Jul 2008, 22:39 0 0
calibrateif u want to work right for your finger
96. (unregistered) posted on 19 Jul 2008, 04:29 0 0
yea you can still use your finger cause i do and i love my new dare and i dont kno why so many people are haveing problems with it but it is a GREAT phone to have
133. (unregistered) posted on 17 Aug 2008, 16:24 0 0
Yeah, if it vibrated like it registered the touch but nothing showed up, that means you missed the button. Trust me, I've tested the hell out of that theory. If you hit the button on the side of the key, chances are as your finger pulls up, the last past that gets registered is an area outside of the button. Therefore, it acknowledges that you touched the screen, but since at the last moment you finger was no longer in the button, it do do what you though it would. This can vary a lot depending on your calibration. So try recalibrating and test it again.
151. vaan144 posted on 20 Sep 2009, 18:27 0 0
you can press for any amount of time, just hard enough and in the right spot. sometimes my callibration is off so touching the screen misses the icon and i just get haptic feedback.
2. Mr LaZy (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 12:44 0 0
Does this phone have the ability to turn off Vibrate on touch like the Voyager? I wouldn't see a problem with the touchvibe and no response if I turned it off. You'd never notice anything except the fact that you have to touch it again.
6. XxTNTxX posted on 03 Jul 2008, 13:31 0 0
yes you can turn off the haptic feedback on the Dare
152. vaan144 posted on 20 Sep 2009, 18:31 0 0
yes it is you can turn off the feedback or turn it to a different level of vibration or even type of vibration. so yes, you definetly can turn it off...
4. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 12:55 0 0
this faired better then i thought, but people will always complain about the touch technology in phones, there getting better but they wont be perfect for some time, not to mention this isnt a smartphone so it isnt going to have that awesome touch tech seen on smartphones...bet in like a year or 2 the touch screens will be near perfect
5. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 13:28 0 0
the iphone is perfect, and the instinct is damn close. the dare doesnt compare to them
13. (unregistered) posted on 03 Jul 2008, 17:12 0 0
having a heat sensitive touch screen does not depend on the phone beinng a smartphone or not. Most smartphones have almost dont even have heat sensitive touch. If LG probably can put it in but I think they are too sprung on the haptic feedack thing. The original chcolate was heat sensitive, and it wasn't a smartphone. I know that they are two different types of technology but I don't think that heat sensitive touch screen and heat sensitive keypad are too far off from each other.
