The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
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"Terrific phone; simple, well made. Trimode might be handy some day." on by aunty jane
Pros: Ease of use is wonderful; reception seems fine (but nothing compares to the old Moto E815 in reception)
Cons: Can't find a way to turn off analog if I want to.
Summary: I am coming from a Moto e815, which I have used for 2+ years (I still think this is best phone I ever had, and I go back to the bag phone era). But I wanted to try something smaller, less bulky - and with an internal antenna. So when my New Every Two came up, I picked this one up (free). I thought about the VX8350, but there are a few things I didn't like about that phone: 1)I don't care about music, photos, or VCast 2)I don't like the buttons on the front. So, I got the VX5400, and I've been really happy with it so far. I have it about 2 weeks and have absolutely no complaints. It's a snap to use - everything is voice activated (i.e., "send text to Joe Green") and the voice recognition system works exceptionally well. Better than the one in the E815. The keypad is large, has 'pushable' buttons, and is a big, big reason the phone is so easy to use. Best keypad out there, I think. Phone ringer is loud enough for me, and I'm 61 and don't hear as well as I would like to! Also important - phone rings and vibrates at the same time, and it vibrates HARD. You'll never miss a call with this phone. The bluetooth is excellent; it pairs perfectly with my Audi A6 (2007) every time, practically immediately. This phone is a wonderful surprise. Never lost one call, or had trouble receiving or placing one. Very, very pleased. An excellent, simple phone for people who don't care about all the bells and whistles. I give it a 9+.
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"If you are looking for an excellent phone without unnecessary bells and whistles, this is it" on by mikerephone
Pros: Excellent button design, excellent call quality, good battery life
Cons: The front display doesn't stay lit
Summary: So here's where I'm coming from. I'm a moderate cell user - a few times a day, but don't have the thing constantly glued to my ear. I text occasionally, but usually not more than a few times in a month. I want my phone to be a phone. I've got a camera and I've got an MP3 player, I don't need my phone for either of those tasks. I upgraded to this phone about 3 weeks ago from a 2 year old LG model that I was very happy with. I couldn't find any independent comments or review of this model at the time as Verizon had just released it, so I took it on a leap of faith as I wasn't impressed by any of the other phones that I could afford. So, with that out of the way...
I LOVE the ergonomic design of this phone. The buttons are by far the best of any cell phone I've had in years. They're nice and big and work well for my fat fingers. The phone fits nicely to my head while making a call and (so far) I haven't accidentally triggered any of the side buttons while on the phone (my real only pet peeve with my previous phone). The phone feels small and light when it's shut, but opened, it feels nice and substantial. The internal screen is a good size, has pretty good resolution and is nicely lit. I was able to quickly locate all major functions of the phone before I even cracked open the manual. It's a sharp looking phone with the dark silver gray plastic and the mirror-ish front display...but I'm happy with anything that doesn't look like a brick.
This is a really nice sounding phone. I live in the Denver area and so far, I've had nothing but strong signal and great sound. I'm impressed by the signal strength especially since it's an internal antenna. I'm not quite as impressed by the speaker phone quality. But it's adequate. The ringer is loud enough and the vibration motor will get your attention if it's in your pocket.
I played with the camera a little bit and it takes pictures of about the quality you would expect from a 640X480 VGA camera. If you need a phone with a great camera, this one isn't for you. But, as I said, this feature had absolutely no impact on my own decision.
I don't have any BlueTooth gear, so I can't offer any comments about the quality of that particular functionality
The one thing that bugs me is that the front screen doesn't stay lit. I've gotten used to using my cell as my timepiece and it's annoying to have to hit the side volume control to light the screen up for 30 seconds to check the time or to see if you missed any calls or messages. I would guess the engineers did this to save battery life (which is great BTW - I can go several days between recharges) but I don't like looking at a "dead" phone.
The only other thing that irks me is the lack of a decent built-in ringtone selection - but this is a Verizon thing and not unique to this phone. It really chaps my hide how Verizon does all but force you to pay outrageous fees to get something that's not a generic, awful sounding electronic beep for a ringtone, but I'll disembark from that soapbox for now.
As for the phone, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a phone without all the extraneous junk that marketing departments pack onto phones these days. -
"Just need a good phone? You got it." on by Idoggy
Pros: Big buttons. Intuitive menus. Good reception.
Cons: Camera is, well... not good. Speaker could be a little louder.
Summary: My clumsy thumb really likes the big buttons. Phone feels good in my hand - not too light or thin. When flipped open, it feels like a good length and the hinge seems sturdy enough. I've plowed through the menus and found everything I need. The call clarity is good. I get a picture maybe once a blue moon, and rarely text, but I tested them anyway, and that's all so-far-so-good.
It has a decent set of standard ring tones, but I downloaded one using the menus. That was pretty easy.
Picture quality is sub-par, but I don't really care about that. That's what my digital camera is for. Still, I would have thought they could do better even for a low res camera in this day and age.
I wish the speaker was just a bit louder as I have missed calls when in the mall or a loud restaurant and the phone is in my pocket.
Overall, its nearly perfect for what I need it for, but docked it a notch for the camera. -
"Nice simple phone, spectacular battery life" on by mstoelinga
Pros: Spectacular battery life; good clear sound and reception; short digital latency; small, thin and sleek; looks great, feels great
Cons: Side buttons get inadvertently pressed; picture quality poor; can't use recorded sounds as ringtones
Summary: I must admit, my biggest issue in looking for a phone was battery life, since I just came off a year or so of frustration with a Kyocera Oyster (Virgin Mobile) that lasted no more than 24 hours even without any call activity. I took a bit of a gamble on this VX5400 phone when signing my VW contract, and was extremely pleased at my first battery test: 9 days(!!) with moderate use. I admit I don't talk constantly, so this is probably more a testament to standby time than talk time. But I haven't yet had it go less than 8 days per charge after 4 recharges.
Other positives listed in "Pros" list mostly speak for themselves. I tested the digital latency against my wife's LG VX8550 by calling her phone and holding both up to my ear. When I talk into both, her receiver delay was noticeably longer than mine. I hate digital latency--it is the elephant in the living room of this so-called digital fantasyland we live in--makes cell phone conversations nearly intolerable for me--like a CB radio conversation. But I digress...
The main negatives are picture quality, though, like another user commented, that is not why I bought the phone--I take pics with my digital camera. Also occasional inadvertent turning on of the camera with the side button when I'm scrambling to unflip the phone to asnwer a call has been a minor annoyance.
I have some complaints about VW that mirror some of the other users comments, but that should not reflect poorly on the phone. Those issues include ringtone availability, and large surprise "megabyte data charges" on the bill, apparently just for browsing around on "Get It Now". There is a ringtone issue that IS specific to this model, though, and that is that, while I can record short sound files, I cannot select them as my ringtone. I know other VW phones that have this option. Seems like just a trivial software thing that could have been included. -
"Perfect Cell Phone for the Common Man" on by RavnFan
Pros: Practical, Reliable, User-Friendly, Light
Cons: None if you only need to make calls, send text messages, and take pics
Summary: Let me first provide the following disclaimer: I am probably one of those rare people who still want a cell phone primarily for its use as a PHONE. I didn't go looking for all the latest gadgetry or bells and whistles. What I found in LG's VX5400 fit me to a tee!
This phone is shockingly light, but still a good enough size to fit in a man's hand, as are the buttons. The outer shell is rather plain, but if you're like me and don't go for all that flashy "bling-bling" then this is the phone for you. The screens both inside and out are bright and crisp. The font sizes are large and easily readable. The camera works well, and text messaging is a breeze.
So far the battery life has been very good, and reception has been EXCELLENT. MP3 ringtones of your favorite songs sound pretty good even though there's only one speaker on the very front of the phone.
I am extremely satisfied with this cell phone, and you will be too if you're like me and want a basic, reliable cell phone with low profile good looks. Enjoy!
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