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(More customer reviews)I have had the LG DARE/VX9700 touch screen phone for over a month now and it is a great phone and certainly the best touch screen Verizon has to offer and a great alternative to an iphone over on that other network AT&T. Remember you will need phone plan, internet plan, picture/text plan and they have many to choose from. Myself I went alacart and chose specific things I wanted and know I would use and it cost me less than several of the packages offered. NOTE: This is not a SMARTPHONE, it doesn't promote itself that way but some may expect that and it is not.
Side note for comparisons:
I have an Apple iPod Touch mp3 player which is basically a first generation iPhone without the phone. The Touch is a superb product and the screen is unsurpassed in it's size and clarity, identical to the iPhone and I even get free wi-fi on the iPod Touch, something you pay for with a data plan with the iPhone. If the iphone had more features and fair plan/price options it would be more desirable, maybe it's next iteration?! For example for the $59.99 plan I have with Verizon, the same plan/options with the iphone on AT&T would cost me $99.99. Again I have no affiliation to either and would prefer NOT to be a customer of either one but sadly we have little choice but to select a company and their pricey offerings.
Back to the LG Dare, it is a superb product the screen is exceptional and if it were as big as the iPhone/iPod Touch screen it would be even be more exceptional. However, LG went with a little smaller footprint but packed it with many goodies that you can't yet get in any other touch screen phone including the Apple iPhone 3G.
I am not a fan of any contract to any service provider, I just happen to have been on Verizon a long time, they do have in my experience the best call quality and coverage coast to coast but I still hate signing anything for 2yrs. Remember you have 30 days to test out the phone and if it's NOT what you expected or want, return it and get another or go out and try another provider.
I didn't return mine as I really like it allot and yes the biggest gripe would be to have a larger screen thus less need to scroll during internet use as the net takes up allot of real estate when dealing with a small screen. I am not on there to do long term surfing or intensive seraches. I get onto the net to check my hotmail email and to look at weather, movie times, news headlines for brief periods. Sometimes it can be slower then you'd like but that depends allot on the signal strength of the area you are in.
You can view horizontal or vertical as the screen will adjust to however you hold the phone. This also happens with typing text for text messages or using the internet. Hold the phone horizontal and you will get the onscreen qwerty keybord, hold it vertical and you get the phone like keyboard to enter text. There is a button on each of the screens to select either one you like best for your typing.
The call quality is exceptionally clear and loud, the screen adjusts to indoor and outdoor lighting which is great and better than many other phone screens and even digital camera screens. Of course you have bluetooth as well for connecting to headphones, your computer if it bluetooth equiped etc.
You have the ability to drag and drop icons/buttons on the main screen, arrange them to your liking. You have an abundance of menus that are quite easy to click/scroll through and easy to follow or test and see what your options are with many of the features.
It does have hand writing recognition, it is not easy for me with big fingers to draw things, or a map and with a stylus pen certainly better. You can craft something and email or text it someone, it's a nifty little feature and something unique for now and you will see more of it in the future and of course it will be improved with each iteration.
You have many sound settings and vibration settings for the phone, tactile feedback when typing/scrolling and a load of ringtones to choose from or go buy/download others.
Speaker phone is loud and you can even have it verbally read your text messages to you which can be amusing with the computerized voice.
This phone has the best camera of any cell phone sold in the U.S. It comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, with face detection, zoom and editing in the phone to name a couple things off the photo menu. The photos I have taken are exceptional for a cell phone and close to what I had in my first digital camera several years ago. They are more than exceptional for emailing and online posting. Remember when emailing them to users on a smaller phone that the photo text messages will be very pixelated because they are trying to view it on a much lower resolution screen and a 1-2 inch screen at best.
I recommend getting a micro SD card and you can get them pretty cheap on amazon, search and do a little research and you'll find a good cheap 4gb card and thus you will have ample room for photos and videos and not suddenly run out, but in saying that make sure to download stuff so as to keep the phone pretty empty allowing you to photo and video when out and about or when you forget your digital camera.
As for it being an mp3 player that is another great option and of course Verizon wants you to use their store but you can plug the phone in and download/rip music from your computer but not from itunes of course, all about file conversions and all that proprietary BS. In any case it works just like an iPhone for music minus the very good itunes store that can be accessed direct from an iPhone. For me I don't use this phone for music being I have the iPod Touch and it also saves me concern on draining the phone battery. I have gone several days without charging when using the phone, texting, taking photos and sending them as well as accessing the net. The charger has a plug for the electrical outlet and a usb plug to connect to your computer to charge as well.
It is a little smaller over all from the iPhone a tiny bit thicker but almost not noticable. Slowly I see more and more accessories for the Dare and many are here on Amazon and much cheaper than Verizon or other retailers. I recommend a cover, silicone, rubber ones are great and I have dropped my phone several times without any damage or marks as it almost bounces with the silicone cover I have. I also purchased a few of the screen protectors.
By having the screen protector I often use a stylus pen on the screen as I have very large fingers and one thing that happens with any touch screen when you have big fingers it is easy to select the wrong thing or more then one thing. The LG Dare will allow you to actually set the sensitivity in the options menu. It comes preset but you can actually run a test and change the sensitivity to make it more pressure sensitive to how you tap the screen.
I have touched on many things and many more things I have easily missed but go to Cnet, ZDnet, Amazon and check out Reviews, or just google LG Dare reviews. The best way would be to go take it for a test drive at a local Best Buy, at the Verizon stores and check on the 30 day trial as well via Verizon.
As with any electronics product, they could always be better and this is the first version of the LG Dare and hopefully they can improve the next version just like Apple did with it's iphone, however, Apple didn't go nearly far enough so maybe the 3rd generation iphone will be great and the 2nd generation of the Dare even further unique than it currently is on the market today.
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LG Dare VX9700 Phone, Silver (Verizon Wireless)The LG Dare for Verizon dares to be different with its bold looks and advanced capabilities--boasting a spacious three-inch touchscreen with handwriting recognition, a 3.2-megapixel camera with face detection and flash, and unique in-phone photo editing capabilities. It's compatible with the V Cast Music and V CAST Music with Rhapsody services, which enables you to purchase songs through your phone and download them via Verizon's fast EV-DO data network. Other features include stereo Bluetooth streaming, MicroSD memory expansion up to 8 GB, access to your mobile email, and up to 4.7 hours of talk time.
Verizon Service Options With support for the EV-DO high-speed data standard, you'll enjoy fast access to the Internet and Verizon's multimedia services (additional charges applicable), with average download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps and peak rates up to 2 Mbps. (Learn more about where EV-DO coverage is offered.) The V Cast Music service enables you to download songs instantly to your phone, or purchase music through your PC and transfer the files to your phone. If purchased from your phone, you'll receive two copies of the song: a Windows Media Audio Pro Plus format at 64Kbps stereo is sent to your phone, and a Windows Media Audio 9 format at 160Kbps stereo is sent to your account in the V CAST Music online store for downloading to your PC. V Cast Music offers nearly 2 million songs, with more being added all the time.
In addition to the V Cast Music service, this phone is also compatible with Verizon's V CAST Music with Rhapsody, which enables you to access this exclusive digital music service for RealNetworks and for MTV Networks. V CAST Music with Rhapsody delivers unlimited monthly access to music on up to three Rhapsody-compatible mobile phones and players and online on multiple PCs and Web browsers. In addition, customers who purchase music over-the-air are able to download the master copy of the songs or albums to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where music can be played.
The V Cast Video service enables you to stream or download video clips to your phone from a variety of news, entertainment, sports, and weather channels, including CNN, ABC News, E!, CBS Sports, The Weather Channel, and VH1.
Verizon's Mobile eMail gives you access to your Windows Live Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and AOL accounts so you can read, write, and reply. Access your address book, receive e-mail alerts and more, right on your Verizon Wireless phone.
With this GPS-enabled phone, you'll be able to access Verizon's VZ Navigator service (additional charges applicable) for voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions, heads-up alerts, local search of nearly 14 million points of interest in the US (such as landmarks, restaurants and ATMs), and detailed color maps.
Phone Features Measuring just 0.5 inches thin and weighing 3.76 ounces, the LG Dare feels lightly comfortable in your pocket. It features a large 3-inch touchscreen that recognizes your handwriting and provides tactile feedback when pressing onscreen buttons or typing on the onscreen QWERTY keyboard. The display has a 240 x 400-pixel resolution and support for 262K colors, and its home screen has several shortcut icons including your messaging inbox, phonebook, favorites menu. The phone provides just three buttons on the bottom of its face for send, end and clearing calls, and it has a stainless steel border along its sides and black soft touch surface on the back.
The phone has an internal 148 MB memory, which can be expanded via optional MicroSD memory cards up to 8 GB in size. It can store up to 1000 contact entries, with fields for five numbers per contact. It connects to your PC via USB, and it offers USB mass storage capabilities.
The 3.2-megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens offers several resolution options, ranging from 2048 x 1536 pixels to QVGA 320 x 240 pixels--perfect for sending via MMS messaging. It offers advanced features including face detection, SmartPic Technology (which helps to compensate face color), four ISO settings, six preset scense, panorama and split shot capabilities, white balance settings, multi-shot, and multiple color effects. It also features a flash, self-timer, and multiple shutter sounds (including off). Once you've snapped your photo, you can edit it right in the Dare--zoom, rotate, crop, add frames, or add writing over the image. You can also capture video up to 640 x 480 pixels for storing onto a memory card, or QCIF 176 x 144-pixel resolution for sending via MMS. You can record videos up to 120 frames per second (fps) and then play them back on the Dare at a slow motion rate of 15 fps.
This phone provides the latest version of Bluetooth connectivity--version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), which makes pairing with the included headset as well as other Bluetooth devices a snap. And with EDR, you'll get a faster connection than with the previous version 1.2, which makes transferring files and using the phone as a modem for your laptop hum along nicely. And with the embedded A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of Bluetooth stereo headphones or other compatible devices.
In addition to compatibility with formats offered by Verizon's V CAST Music and CAST Music with Rhapsody services, it's also compatible with unprotected MP3, WMA, and AAC/AAC+ formats. The digital audio player features a preset sound effect equalizer, ability to create and manage playlists on the phone, and backbround music mode that allows you to multitask (write email, check your calendar, surf the Web) while continuing to play music.
Other features include:
Organizer tools: Calculator, EZTip calculator, calendar, alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock, notebook, notepad and drawing pad with handwriting recognition
Speaker-independent voice commands
One-touch speakerphone
Mobile email: Yahoo! Mail, Windows Live Mail, AOL, AIM, Verizon.net
Messaging: SMS, MMS
Voice Recording: 1 minute or 1 hour (standby
Favorites: add up to nine contacts with Picture ID
Speed Dial: up to 996 entries
HTML Web browsing with touch navigation and favorites
Music ringer support (clips from hit songs)
Hearing Aid Compatibility = M3/T3
TTY compatible
Bluetooth version 2.1 with the following profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BIP (for sending images to another device), BPP (basic printing profile for text, email), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), HID (support for mice or joysticks), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures), PBA (transfer contacts)
Vital Statistics The LG Dare weighs 3.76 ounces and measures 4.1 x 2.2 x 0.5 inches. Its 1100 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 280 minutes (4.7 hours) of talk time, and up to 360 hours of standby time. It runs on the 800/1900 CDMA frequencies as well as the 1xEV-DO r0 data network.
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