CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 04/04/2005
As with LG's popular VX6000, the external OEL display flashes 1980s-video-game-style multicolor dots across the bottom of the screen when you first close the lid. Time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID (where available) appear in blue on a black background. As for the 65,000-color internal display, you can adjust the backlighting time to your choice of 7, 15, or 30 seconds, and always on or off, as well as the brightness level. Even at its brightest setting, however, the internal screen is rather dull. The colors on another fairly basic LG phone, the VI5225, pop much more vividly.
On the plus side, the navigation controls are roomy, and the two soft keys are sufficiently large. The five-way navigation toggle in standby mode provides one-touch access to the Web, the calendar, your messages, and the Axcess shopping site. It would have been better if one of the keys had been left open for a user-defined shortcut, but we appreciate that you can use the OK button to activate the speakerphone before placing a call. The menus, available in two styles, are easy to navigate. You can view them graphically or as a list, and a dedicated Back button provides an easy way to back out of submenus. The dial-pad keys are roomy as well, but dialing by feel is difficult, as they are set flush with the surface of the phone. The left spine includes volume controls and a voice-command button, through which you can make calls (either through the contact list or by dictating the digits), check voicemail, note the time, or access the scheduler to check on upcoming events.
Don't expect a boatload of features from the LG LX5550. There's no Bluetooth, no infrared port, and no camera. What you do get is a phone book that holds 499 contacts, each of which can store as many as five phone numbers and three e-mail addresses. You can assign any of the 36 polyphonic ring tones to your contacts or to different phone numbers for the same contact. You can assign a picture or a graphic to your contacts, although the images won't show up on the external display. The phone stores as many as 99 speed-dial numbers. You also get a vibrate mode, text messaging, an alarm clock, a tip calculator, a world clock, and a notepad. Continue readingMost helpful user reviews
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