LG VX-8500 Chocolate
Phone Scoop Review
Aug 11, 2006 by Eric Lin
An In-Depth review of LG's sleek new VX-8500 Chocolate slider music phone for Verizon Wireless. NEW: Video tour read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
I Am In Love
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I am in love with this phone! I almost didn't get it, because of some things I'd read in the reviews, but I went to the Verizon store and asked questions, and decided to go for it. I'm so glad I did! I had read that you couldn't set downloaded ringtones as contact IDs, and you can, and that you can't hear downloaded ringtones. Anyone who can't hear mine is stone deaf, maybe they forgot to turn the volume up. It *is* quieter when previewing it, but the downloaded tones are loud.
I have the Strawberry Chocolat. I'm delighted that it doesn't seem to be a fingerprint magnet. I've found it very easy to learn and use, great sound, and great pictures. My reception (Verizon carrier in the metro St. Louis area) is great.
Pros:
Beautiful, different looking
Good sound
Good pictures on the large screen
Good reception
Easy to Use
Solid, comfortable feel
Small, but not too small
Voice dialing works great
Cons:
The speakerphone is hear-able but not loud. That was true.
All in all, it's a great phone, and I am so glad I got it!!
This Phone is made for Gods
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okay, so i'd had an LGVX3200 and decided that it was time to upgrade, so in turn i chose a White Chocolate, and my god, this phone is amazing. great reception, great speakerphone, mp3 is awesome, and touch pad is a godsend.
pros:
mp3 player is coooool
touch pad is hella easy to use
vibrate isn't loud [that's a goood thing for texting in class =X ]
camera is reallly sharp
loads really fast
games are out of this world
cons:
i can't really find any..
and for those who have a chocolate and are cringing at closing the slide but not ending a call, you can change that setting...
A+++++
hmmm....choocolate!
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overall this phone has been great. i've had it for the past 2 months and it has not given me any problems. the only thing i was unhappy about was the camera, its not that great.
Ummmm....No
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I Had The Chocolate For About 3 Months And Had To Send It Back 4 Times For Defects. I Finally Gripped Enough And Upgraded To The 9900. No Problems Out Of It.
Problems With The 8500:
Played My MP3's At Random With Nothing Touching It
Randomly Ended Calls
Was Either Too Sensative Or Not Sensative Enough
If Your Gonna Pay This Much For The Phone, I Recommend To My Customers To Buy the 8600 or 9900
Depends...
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I really thought I would like this phone, and I tried to like it!
I got the new Cherry Chocolate last week...although this phone is very pretty and neat...there are some definite issues.
I called the store to get one put on hold, went to the store completely excited...got it activated (I went from a VX8100 VCast) BUT I started having second thoughts about an hour after having the phone.
Touch pad is very sensitive, that took me a while to get used to. I knew I could master that in a week or so, but there were other issues as well that had me on the fence.
While driving, it's impossible to see the buttons (unless you have speed dials) and you can dial from the outside and use the voice commands but that is just completely annoying.
Also, having it near your ear it's very easy to shut while in mid-conversation. Being a woman, and having a purse the most annoying part I experienced, and was a deal-breaker for me was that it opened (and dialed) in my purse. For a guy, that's not bad, they use a holster or put it in their pocket. Totally different for a girl though, and it's too pretty for a case. Out of my own vanity I returned this phone a day later and went back to my VX8100 that lights up when it rings. :o)
PROS
-Very Stylish
-Unique
-Good signal strength (that only matters depending on your service are)
CONS
-Does NOT ring loud enough
-Weak Vibrate
-Battery life is definitely weaker than other phones I've had..even after charging for 24 hours.
-Touch pad is very sensitive and you really need time to get used to it.
-Opens in purses
-Concerns of stuff/dust getting stuck in-between the slider.
-Battery port. Flap on side of phone, have to open it to plug charger in. Good and bad. Good idea, no dust...etc...but that little door is going to break off eventually!
In conclusion, if you can deal with the cons, this is a pretty, tech-y, unique phone. If not...do not go through the time at the Verizon store! I can guarantee, you will return it!
It's alright!
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I've had this phone since the day it came out (about 5-6 mos), I've changed the phone twice b/c of technical problems--the touch sensitive buttons were acting up...like calling people from my call list, not working at all or start doing stuff w/o me even touching them. I DO however like the MP3 player as supposed to other reviews...it's loud enough and I've never had a problem downloading/syncing my music to the phone.
Pros*
-Looks/feels great (not cheap)
-Menus are pretty nice (you have choices)
-MP3 player works great (although it DOES drain the battery a bit)
-Loud ringers
-Awesome battery life for the size of battery
-You can use it w/o opening the phone
Cons*
-Touch sensitive buttons can be very annoying at times
-Side buttons are uncomfortable and not all that usefull (uncomfortable to use w/one hand)
-Not that many ringers and wallpaper options
-After a while from opening and closing the phone becomes a bit loose and wobbly
Overall the phone's good but I AM considering the 8600.
Good luck!
I Love the MINT Chocolate!!!!!!!!!!!
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I have had the mint chocolate for about a month now and I absolutely love it. I had the Moto E815 and that was and is a truly great phone. My husband now carries it. I upgraded because I wanted and MP3 but did not want the extra bulk in my purse, so this little all in one is great. I highly recommend getting the music kit and memory card to fully utilize the features of this little jewel. I like the green color because it is different and you don't have to go out and buy a stupid cover to make your boring phone look good. This one already looks great! You also do not have to search and search through your purse when your phone is ringing because the green is the first thing you see!
The screen is large, and has excellent quality. The camera is good quality also. I have printed 4x6's from it and they were very good. Sound quality is excellent, and it does have speaker phone.
Pros:
Screen size
Signal strength
Features
Good Quality Camera
Looks
Cons:
It takes a little while to get used to the touch sensitive keys, but once you do you will love it!
Battery update
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I bought this phone from a local Verizon dealer on 4 Dec 06. I got the music essentials kit and a 1GB memory card which was left installed. The card has over 100 songs and about 25 pictures. The battery lasted me about 18 hours for the first 20 days. I would charge the phone every night after work and unplug it around 9PM. At 6AM the phone was dead. On 24 Dec 06 it was exchanged for a new phone that had the same results. On 26 Dec 06 I was told that the phones battery only lasts 12 hours and I was getting good charge out of it. I claimed BS because LGs site says 4hrs 15 min of talk time and 16 days of standby time. They sold me an extended battery for 50% off and instead of less than 12 hours I got about 18 hours of standby time. I decided to do some testing and I removed the memory card from the phone. The phone was charged on 27 Dec 06 and still has over half the life left. Apparently when you leave a memory card installed there is enough drain on the battery.
Pro; Good phone, outstanding sound
Con; Battery life when memory card is installed, my fat fingers always mis-dial
Overall satisfied with the phone now that the battery issue is solved. Hopefully LG will issue a software update.
THE CHOCOLATE IS BITTER
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So far I am on my third Chocolate. The phone is cool. Takes a little getting used to, but the Battery sucks. I have replaced the phone and or battery 3 times already. I charge it up, and by noon I have two bars left. I barely used the damn thing. It's absolutely ridiculous. I am not even using them music player or the web, and the battery has been draining in stand by mode. I told the Verizon guy that if this one did not work then I want a different handset. I am sick and tired of wasting my time waiting in line at the Verizon store for 2 hours to get someome to help me out. ITS KILLING ME
Why is this phone called the Chocolate anyway? What is the deal? I suggest anyone thinking about getting one of these to seriously consider a different model. It looks cool and all, but it really sucks poop!
WICKED AWESOME
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For you guys who said that the chocolate doesn't have speaker phone, If you look at the screen when you are making a phone call, you will see that there is an indication that the phone has a speaker, press the button and you will be set to use speakerphone on that specific phone, you must do this every call to use this feature......Some others are that the phones sleek design is the coolest on the market, you want find anything else like, this is a one of a kind phone exclusively from verizon!!!!
PRO'S:Sleek design
Very clear camera(Better than RazrV3)
Very small in size
Very Strong, durable phone
Very thin for easy put away
CON'S:Open face so can scratch easy
Keys are a little "TOUCHY" when you first get it but u get used to it after using the phone for a couple of days
