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LG has introduced a lot of flashy high-end phones in the past year, like the speedy LG Voyager from Verizon and the super stylish LG Shine CU720 from AT&T. But that doesn't mean LG has forgotten those of us who just want a simple phone without all the bells and whistles. The LG VX5400 is just that, but it does have a few extra features that elevates it above pure basic phone status--a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and voice-command support, just to name a few. Not to mention, it has a great keypad and excellent call quality as well. It's not the fanciest phone on the block, but for a basic camera phone, it's not too shabby. The LG VX5400 is quite affordable at $29.99 after a two-year service agreement.
Design
Though we usually criticize basic phones for not having much of a design aesthetic, the LG VX5400 actually doesn't look too bad. Measuring 3.54 inches by 1.87 inches by 0.89 inch, it has a slim and compact shape with gentle curves along its side, plus it weighs a light 3.21 ounces, which contributes to a pretty comfortable feel in the hand. And though it's not nearly as shiny as the LG Shine, it still has a reflective mirror-finish front face that can be used as a self-portrait mirror. This is especially handy since the camera lens is located right on the front of the phone as well.
There doesn't seem to be an external display at first, but once a button is pressed, a 1.04-inch external screen is revealed underneath the mirrored face. It supports 65,000 colors and shows the basic date, time, battery life, and signal strength information. Since it's a color screen, it also supports photo caller ID. You can adjust the backlight timer and wallpaper of the external screen but that's about it. Rounding out the phone's exterior is a volume rocker on the left spine, and a camera key plus a voice-command key on the right.
Flip the VX5400 open and you get a pretty nice internal display for such a basic phone. The 1.77-inch screen supports 262,000 colors, and it shows. Graphics appeared sharp and images were saturated with color. Our only complaint is that the VX5400 has that annoying classic Verizon menu interface as a default, though you can change it to the more tolerable list-style modern display theme if you wish. You can adjust the backlight time, the wallpaper, the clock formats, the display themes, as well as the dial fonts.
The navigation controls consist of two soft keys, a circular toggle that doubles as shortcuts to four user-defined functions, a central OK key, a Clear key, a speakerphone key, plus the expected Talk and End keys. The overall keypad is well-spaced and easy to use, with a slightly beveled raised texture that make it easy to dial by feel.
