LG Chocolate isn't for this chocoholic and phoneaholic.

When we changed phone services I bought a Blackberry Curve 8330 and my husband got a free LG Chocolate VX8500. For a variety of reasons I have had, unfortunately, to use his cell phone. Why do I say unfortunately?

Cons

The navigation controls are a nightmare. We’ve had the phone for several months now and are still not used to the controls. The controls are very sensitive but it is easy to go back to the previous screen. The sensitivity can be changed and we did but to say I really dislike this feature is an understatement. This is a huge negative for me. I hate the phone actually for many reasons but this is a biggie. If I can't use it because of the wheel then I can't use it!!

This is a basic phone i.e. no mail which I have gotten addicted to so there is no QWERTY – typewriter keys. (For a fee you can add text and  e-mail though I shudder at the thought of sending e-mails on this phone. This is Verizon's optional Mobile Web 2.0.)

The LG Chocolate has a talk time of less than 3 hours although the literature says 3.5.

Pros

 It comes in a variety of colors but we got the black one.

 For a fee you can get VZ Navigator (GPS). For a fee you can get a lot of add ons!

The reason we picked the Chocolate was because it was the only phone that we could get for free that can be tethered. That means that for a fee it can act as a modem when we are on the road.

 It’s light – just a little over 3 ounces and small - 3.8 inches by 1.9 inches by .7 inches and attractive.

 It has Bluetooth, good camera quality, lots of music and video services. The sound is very good.

 If you buy it outright it is less expensive than others – certainly my Blackberry which I love.

 The display is really nice and clear and measures two inches diagonally (320x240 pixels). You’ll get 11 lines of text.

I like the touch screen; I don’t love it; however.

It has a speakerphone which (a con) can hardly be heard.


Other information

The phone book holds 500 contacts which though I shouldn't really compare it to my Blackberry is a low number.

It offers voice command and dialing, a calculator, notepad, and alarm.

The phone includes 512 MB of internal memory.

The Chocolate's camera is decent though truly for me I have my small digital with me at all times. If you don't the 1.3-megapixel digital camera will do.

It has a built-in music player with stereo speakers and an equalizer.

This is a slide phone. It slides down. I can make calls with the slider open or closed. I like it in the open position because the phone is just so small. Still I would rather not have a slider.

I've been asked about dropped calls and at first I thought that would be a provider review; however, I do remember being at a National Park and at the same spot my husband could get service and I couldn't. We had different phones. So having said that I'll add yet another negative. The LG Chocolate does drop calls. Having said that we live in an area where reception isn't great and I haven't noticed dropped calls when I've been using it on driving trips. Having said that too my husband just called and we were disconnected; however, it is windy where I live and it could have been my cell!

My Final Thoughts

For free the LG Chocolate is just fine but I wouldn't spend a dime on it. I'd save my money for a phone that doesn't have the same navigation system and gives me more without having to pay for the add-ons. In spite of what seems like a long list of pros I can't recommend the LG Chocolate.