LG VX8000 review (Verizon Wireless)

The V Cast service is $15 per month for unlimited access to V Cast videos. Content includes On Demand video and music and 3D games from such channels as MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, News Corporation, and 20th Century Fox. Both the network and the service are now available in 30 markets nationwide, but burgs such as Cleveland, Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Charlotte have been left out for now. There's no word from Verizon on when these not-so-backwoods cities will be added. The phone can be personalized with a variety of wallpaper, themes, and sounds. More can be downloaded from Verizon's Get It Now service, along with ring tones and games (the handset comes with no titles).

We tested the dual-band (1.9GHz, 800MHz, CDMA) LG VX8000 in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless. Call quality was good, and we had no problem getting a signal. At the time of this writing, Verizon Wireless has yet to roll out EVDO support in our area. Data speeds on the EV-DO network are promised between 300Kbps to 500Kbps, which is on a par with the UMTS network rolled out by AT&T Wireless and well above 1xRTT. Because data service was not yet available in our area, we were unable to test the feature, but check back soon for a full report on the service. Being a multimedia headset, the LG's included stereo headphones were pretty good. Callers remarked that call quality was clear using the headphones and the speakerphone, and while they could tell that we were on a mobile, the calls were nonetheless clear.

Battery life was about average. We fell a half hour short of the rated talk time of 4.5 hours, but we met the promised standby time of 7.7 days. According to the FCC, the LG VX8000 has a digital SAR rating of 0.86 watts per kilogram.