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| LG VX8550 Chocolate Black Phone (Verizon Wireless) | 
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| Brand: LG
Category: Wireless
List Price: $499.99
Buy New: $39.99
You Save: $460.00 (92%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 7202
Color: Black
Media: Wireless Phone
Battery Type: Lithium Ion
Display Size: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
Model: VX8550
UPC: 652810813402
ASIN: B000TK21MQ
Release Date: July 12, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Promotion: Data not available Terms and Conditions
Promotion: Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on qualifying items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Terms and Conditions
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 19 | | NEXT » |
 Don't judge a phone by its glamour!! July 2, 2008
Sorry, Verizon, but I have to say the network is good, this phone is not. I was coerced into buying this phone by a very aggressive sales person at a Verizon Wireless store a few weeks before Christmas. Truth be told, I was leary about purchasing any LG model, but specifically the Chocolate, since I had heard all of the horror stories about the first generation.
However, using the 30-day return policy, coupled with the fact that every phone I liked (Samsung) was sold out, the salesperson convinced me to try my luck with the second generation Chocolate, assuring me that all of the bugs had been worked out. So, I purchased the Chocolate, banking on the fact that I could return it prior to the 30-day time limit.
Luck was not on my side. As it turns out, the Verizon case that I bought with my new phone was defective, and the screen was scratched the very first time I put it in the case. So, when I tried to return it to Verizon for the Samsung I wanted, I was told I couldn't because the phone had "physical damage"...(the scratch).
So, I've had the phone for six months now (admittedly against my will, so I am slightly biased), and these are the quirks I find most annoying. First and foremost, the touch sensitive buttons. The buttons are placed on the face of the phone, in a place where it is very natural to put your fingers. And, when your fingers aren't putting the phone on mute or speaker, your cheek is. The only time the phone works without activating the touch buttons, is if you dial from memory without sliding it open, which you can't do unless the number you are calling is pre-programmed. And good luck calling anywhere that requires you to enter information with your keypad, 'cause those touch buttons will drive you crazy!
Annoying issue #2: call quality. Everyone complains that my voice is muffled, and they have a hard time understanding me, that it sounds as though I am underwater.
Annoying issue #3: bluetooth device. My state (NJ) requires the use of a hands free device while driving, and the bluetooth headset developed for this phone is terrible. I can't hear people, and they can't hear me; it's like talking in a wind tunnel, with a tv tuned to static in the background.
Also, on the list of negatives would be the camera quality. I would prefer not to have a digital camera in my phone, as they rarely take even halfway decent pictures, but it's almost impossible to find a nicely equipped phone without a camera.
On the list of positives would be the MP3 capability, if you use your phone for music, which I don't. Dialing pad and text messaging features are standard.
As far as reliability goes, I just had to have my phone replaced because the first one lost its display and kept freezing up. I had to constantly remove the battery and replace it to get it to work again, and most times the screen remained blank. While having my new phone reprogrammed, I asked the girl in technical support if people are having problems with the Chocolate and she claimed that they have a lot of issues, and a lot of repeat issues (i.e. phones replaced 3 times or more in a 90-day period).
If you are on the fence about this phone, I encourage you to read all of the available reviews first. I think you will find that most of the higher ratings have less to do with the phone itself and more to do with the music and memory capabilities. In my opinion, a phone should be a phone first because all of the rest means very little in the long run. However, if you do purchase the phone, know that Verizon has developed a special policy in Technical Support for those who've accrued "frequent flyer miles"... if you have to service and/or replace your phone three times, they will allow you to choose a different phone.
In closing, all I can say is: one down, two more to go. Bon voyage, Chocolate... I'm not even interested in peeking at the third generation, which is due out soon. Hmmm...
 Amazing phone February 11, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
At first I purchased the original chocolate phone not realizing that I would hate it. I was hoping to return it and exchange it for an enV until I realized that I was something like 3 days over the return policy. So, I was stuck with it. After having three replacements Verizon finally sent me this phone which is 56787667 times better. I like that the send and end button are in a normal place and that instead of having touch buttons to navigate the menu, there is a wheel and physical buttons making navigation through the menus easier. Also there are times where I like the vibrations on the touch keypad and there are times when I do not like. So I enjoy taking the liberty of changing this feature according to my preferences. Before the chocolate I had the Motorola E815 which was probobly one of the best phones. But now I seem to like the chocolate so much better. I like the fact that it can slide instead of flip. I really like that part of it. I have a friend who has a slider too, hers is a helio phone. I like that you hold it vertically and slide it up to reveal the number keypad and then slide it horizontally to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. It would be great if this phone had that too because although I can text very fast on this chocolate's keypad, it would be so much better if it had a real keyboard.
For anyone who wants a cool high quality phone, I would really recommend this phone.
Much better than the old one! February 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have had my VX8550 for about a month now. Before this I had the old chocolate (VX8500). The old one gave me so many problems. They keys had worn out and you could no longer read some of them The touch send key was horrible and caused me to constantly send txt messages before I was done with them. I would regularly unlock the phone on accident in my pocket (press any button twice). The touch "wheel" was annoying and not very useful.
I recently got this phone just because my mom got it free but wanted to keep her old "V" for its keyboard. If I had picked a phone, it would not have been this one simply because of my bad experience with the old one. But I am glad I have it now. The new send/camera/end keys on the inside work so much better than the old ones. I haven't accidentally sent anything yet! The new camera software is way better and you can even crop/zoom/rotate and then save the new version of any picture on your phone. I also notice that the menus are faster and more responsive than on the old chocolate. The new wheel and ok button are way better also, they feel solid and you don't accidentally touch them or anything. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about the VX8550. I do recommend that you get a case of some sort for it however. My old one quickly got scratched and I try to take very good care of my phones. This new chocolate is a better phone but is just as vulnerable to scratches, so I'm just giving you a heads up.
 Needed Some Time to Get Used to It January 4, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I was attracted to the LG Chocolate for many of the same reasons that everyone else here was: it's sleek and sexy, thin enough to comfortably sit in my pocket, and pretty cheap for a fashionable phone. Upon acquiring it however, I found it had several serious glitches.
My previous phone was a Sony Ericsson w600i (AT&T), and the one before that was a Sony Ericsson T616. Both of these phones were incredibly sturdy, fashionable, reliable, intuitive, and overall just really good phones. All the menus were simple, as brief as possible, and plenty customizable. All the necessities like call quality, battery life, longevity, and ease of use were top notch. However, I had to switch to Verizon when my contract expired because AT&T does a really poor job of covering the area I now live in. It deeply saddened me that Verizon did not offer any Sony Ericsson phones.
In any case, onto the Chocolate. My first big complaint about the Chocolate is the touch keypad. This sounds like a good, hip idea in theory, but in practice it brings about dozens of curses and violent tendencies. When trying to adjust the volume, you hit it with your thumb. During calls, if you dial numbers on the keypad (such as in your voicemail), you unlock the touch pad and when the phone touches your face, you access menus and sometimes even mute the phone. Then the pad locks up, and you're forced to unlock the keys and unmute the phone, all while your contact on the other end goes, "Hello? Can you hear me?"
In addition to the poorly conceptualized keypad, the menus are long and clunky. On my old phones, you could select an item (like, Turn Alarm Off/On), and simply push the D-Pad left or right to turn it off. Instead, on the Chocolate, you must select the text box, hit "Set", change the setting to On or Off, hit "Save", wait for the cute animated checkbox to tell you whether or not it's now on/off, and then return the previous menu. Do this enough times while just trying to accomplish a simple task, and pretty soon you'll be fed up with needless confirmations.
Now, the stupid menus I can't get around. However, the touchpad thing is a bit better now. If I dial the sensitivity down to "low", which is still plenty sensitive to detect a deliberate button push, the accidental inputs aren't that much of a problem. In terms of accidental face inputs (which were INCREDIBLY frustrating), I found that if you select the numbers, hold the phone away from your face for about 2 seconds to wait for the touchpad to lock, then put the phone to your face, they don't really happen. Kind of a pain, yes, but it's just one of those things you have to learn to do, like ducking your head when you get in your car so you don't hit that annoying handle every time.
Thanks to the good build quality, great looks, excellent battery life, and good call quality, I gave this phone 3 stars. It lost points for the illconceived touchpad, annoying menus, and a slider mechanism which seems like it will fail sometime before 2 years are up.
Its pretty nice January 3, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Its hot. I don't have many complaints. I just got it yesterday, so I'm still getting use to the smaller key pad and the touch sensative- speaker and clear buttons. I had to take the vibration off, kind of annoying. Its my first "up to date" phone and it looks marvelous. I wish the pc adapter was included with the phone. I like the bigger screen and the features. I havent tried out the mp3 player yet but I'm sure it's fantastic! Thanks Verizon. Thanks LG. I am official.
:P
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