LG has found an answer to the problem drivers face as they insist on talking on the phone while driving…most of us do it. They have gone a little James Bond on us and come out with the Decoy, a phone that has a detachable Bluetooth headset on the back. This is the first phone to do this and we can plan on the competition to come out with better versions but for now, the LG Decoy VX8610 will be the only one. Does having a detachable headset make it worthy?
THE HARDWARE
Style:
The phone is, as seen, a slider. The shape resembles that of the first Chocolate phone. The edges aren’t very smooth but squared and the thing looks a bit bulky and not at all sleek. However, with a removable Bluetooth device on the back, it really can’t be. What it lacks in sleekness it makes up with clever innovation for those who have a hard time keeping their phone accessories and phone together. This phone will also be a delight to those who live in counties that have laws against driving while talking on a cell-phone.
The phone has a glossy and shiny finish that reflects and collects finger prints but when cleaned, looks bright and gleams. The joystick on the phone has the exact sensitivity needed for smooth navigation. The keyboard is wide enough for swollen fingers and bumpy, making it easy to type.
The phone’s major selling point is its hands-free capabilities and the dedicated buttons, one for voice dialing and the other for speakerphone, make it a worthy competitor among other phones of its class.
VZ Navigator, e-mail, and the calculator are now top level buttons. The interface has been rearranged and certain applications are easier to get. The web browser isn’t a top level item in the menu but this phone isn’t really all about the internet either. The internet is like a side salad for this phone. The people at LG took the older menu layout and decided to make popular features for accessible rather than having us folks dig for gold trying to get at a menu item.
Size & Weight:
The Decoy isn’t really all that bulky. The exact dimensions are 4.01″ in height, 1.97″ in width, and 0.67″ in depth. The weight is 4.05 oz. Since this is the first edition of a phone with detachable Bluetooth set, I imagine the Decoy 2 will be sleeker looking. I don’t see the competition working on a competing design since they’re all busy working on a phone to compete with the Google 3G.
Display:
The display is 2.2-inch, 320-by-240 pixels and is very crisp. The font size and backlight time can be changed but the contrast and brightness remains fixed. You can also rearrange the grid menu interface to your fancy. The glossy finish, as said before, is pretty looking but attracts those annoying finger smudges. Couple that with some scratches accumulated over time and you got one cheap looking James Bond phone. This phone requires some TLC to keep it pretty.
Battery:
The battery is unimpressive but practical for normal usage – 800 mAh. Standard bastards! This will, as they claim, give you up to 230 minutes of talk time and almost 14 days of standby time. With the Bluetooth inactive the phone actually got about 5 hours of regular talk time. Of course, the VZ Navigator and any data application takes up the most battery life. A headset that was fully charged got 2 hours of continuous talk time.
Memory
Support up to 8GB of memory using the microSDHC memory card. This allows plenty of songs, pictures, and videos to be stored.
Keyboard:
It’s not a QWERTY and the buttons are close together. It’s not recommended for swollen fingers.
Camera:
The camera has a 1600×1200, 1280×960, 640×480, or 320×240 resolutions and is 2.0 megapixels. The video capacity is 320 x 240 resolutions. You can have a video length of up to 1 hour if your card is in. The videos taken are low quality when viewed on a PC so it’s best to leave them on the phone or to just send them to other phones. However, the quality is okay when posted on YouTube.
Pictures taken are pretty good when taken outside. Indoors, however, aren’t so good due to the lack of natural lighting and the lack of a flash. Night mode attempts to overcome this, which slows the shutter, but pictures end up blurry.
SOFTWARE
Internet:
You will be browsing the Internet with the limitations of the same WAP 2.0 browser, which is standard for Verizon if it isn’t a smartphone. You’ll get information on weather, sports, news, entertainment, and so forth. It does have an address bar to enter WAP or HTTP sites and expect 30 or more seconds for HTML but about 5 seconds for WAP. WAP is the better choice since HTTP will often yield an error message. For HTML, any smartphone will do but not this phone. The Voyager or Dare would be better for HTML. However, basic internet is just dandy.
Media:
The LG Decoy uses V Cast as a way to connect with your music. The V Cast store is sort of a rip off compared to other means of downloading music. However, the LG Decoy makes it easy for you to transfer your music from your PC. The videos aren’t all that great and if your eyes are good enough, you can actually see tiny pixels. Music is played on the headset automatically, an option that can be changed. The music player in the Decoy needs to be updated.
The nice feature, however, is the use of the headset as well as the ability to connect a 2.5mm jack headphones. You aren’t forced to buy Verizon’s headphones.
Messaging:
You don’t buy the LG Decoy for the messaging as is apparent with the lack of QWERTY. The text messaging, picture messaging, video messaging, Mobile IM, and Mobile E-mail are as up to the industry’s standard. The numeric keypad has buttons close together so if you have big fingers, forget about it. It does have T9 predictive entry which I found, for me, to be as good as a QWERTY.
You are looking at $5 per month for Mobile E-mail for your Yahoo, Windows, AOL, AIM, or Verizon.net e-mail accounts. You can configure it to an IMAP or POP server.
The HTML formats and attachments won’t work though. It isn’t a smartphone, sadly.
The phone does okay with SMS and MMS messaging.
Calling:
The whole purpose of the detachable Bluetooth set is to make this phone mostly about hands-free calling. The quality of the call isn’t as good on the Bluetooth headset as it is on the phone itself. Bluetooth has still a ways to go with sound quality. However, the quality is as good as any other Bluetooth set. The problem with the headset is that it’s a one size fits all, having only one fixed earpiece. The Bluetooth headset also lacks an ear-loop so you should make sure it fits your ear before you buy, otherwise the Bluetooth headset will just be for decoration.
To talk on the headset there is a dedication button on the LG Decoy. The speaker voice dialing also has an independent button. Using the voice dialing can be a bit seedy on the Bluetooth headset though.
Navigation:
LG Decoy VX8610 utilizes the VZ Navigator 4.1.1 to guide the user along murky paths of unknown streets. GPS location was found quickly and is enhanced with traffic updates. Like the earlier versions of VZ Navigator, you are able to scroll ahead to view upcoming turns to get a better visual of where you’ll be going.
Connection:
Operating on the 800 and 1900MHz CDMA Verizon Wireless network, it is a dual band and all digital phones. Any data without voice like Web and E-mail are sent through the 3G EVDO network. It uses the slower EVDO Rev 0 rather than Rev A, which is faster.
THE GIST
What’s good about it?
It slides open
The display
Joystick d-pad
The phone itself has excellent call quality – not the headset
Supports up to 8GB with a microSDHC memory card
2MP camera
What’s not so good?
The Bluetooth makes me blue but will do if you absolutely need to
The display has a surrounding surface that’s too reflective
Not a fan of the WAP browser
Not a QWERTY – personal preference
No microUSB data cable
Lacks camera flash
Over all, the LG Decoy is an average device offering the amenities of Verizon phones. However, the purpose of its existence, the Bluetooth headset, is actually the worst feature. Sure, it will give you average quality of calls but compared to higher end hands-free sets, the Decoy falls below the standard. The only cool part is that it’s connected to the phone. However, this makes it bulky. We will be looking for a better version of this phone in the second generation. For the price though, it will do if you live in a state that bans talking on phones while driving without a hands-free device.\
Other Reviews
“InfoSync World” on the LG Decoy
“The Gadgeteer” on the LG Decoy
Secured by
Recent Comments