LG VX8100 (Verizon Wireless)

True blue: We like the VX8100's design.

There are several minor but significant ergonomic differences between the VX8100 and the VX8000. As noted, at 3.58 by 1.92 by 1.03 inches--compared with its predecessor's 3.76 by 1.97 by 0.93 inches--the VX8100 is shorter, which makes it a bit more comfortable in jeans or khaki pockets. Yet at 4.16 ounces, the VX8100 is mysteriously 0.28 ounce heavier. On the outside, the speakers on the VX8100 have moved from the top of the clamshell to the caps on either side of the clamshell hinge. As a result, sound direction and volume don't change when the phone is open. On the left spine are a volume rocker and a voice-command control that also conveniently turns on the flash when you're in camera mode. Meanwhile, a dedicated camera key and a Mini SD slot are on the right spine. The VX8100's stumpy antenna doesn't telescope like the VX8000's, but the camera lens and flash are on the same place: at the top of the phone's hinge.

The postage stamp-size external screen supports a bright 65,000 colors and shows the date, the time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID (where available). As with the VX8000, you can use the external screen as a camera viewfinder, but this time, you can do so with or without the clamshell up--a nice touch. You can change the wallpaper and the backlighting on the external display, but the maximum is just 30 seconds. On the upside, pressing any of the external controls on the handset turns on the screen, so you don't have to open the flip to check the time. Unlike its predecessor, however, the LG VX8100 doesn't have the ability to act as a mini menu for the camera features. The aforementioned multimedia controls let you use the MP3 player with the phone closed, and they also act as a Back key when in camera mode.

Use the eye-catching multimedia buttons to control the player.

Inside the mobile, the most visible difference is the quarter inch you'll lose in screen size: 2.25 inches diagonally on the VX8000 vs. 2 inches on the VX8100. But the VX8100's 262,144-color LCD displays more color saturation and deeper blacks; the red menu frame is actually red, not a deep orange, as on the VX8000. You can change the font size, the clock style, and the backlight time, but you can't alter the brightness setting. Overall, it's ideal for viewing photos and video clips and for navigating through the user-friendly menus, which are in the same style as the VX8000's.

Keypad buttons, backlit blue and flush, are somewhat crowded with small fonts, but the Clear and camera-activation keys on the VX8100 are both more conveniently and centrally located on the VX8100's superior navigation array. The five-way toggle resembles something you'd find on a Samsung phone, and you can set the down direction to act as a shortcut to user-defined functions. In a wise move, LG designed the Clear control to also turn on the speakerphone before you make a call.

Features of LG VX8100 (Verizon Wireless)

Smile: The VX8100 has a conveniently located camera lens.

LG has improved the 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera functionality in the VX8100. You get a variety of editing functions, including an 8X zoom; five resolutions (1,280x960, 800x600, 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120); a self-timer; a night mode; two shutter sounds, plus a silent option; and adjustments for brightness, white balance, and color effects. There's also a light, but when you're taking pictures with the flap open, you can't use the aforementioned key on the left spine to activate it. Instead, you must drill down into the menus to turn it on and off. Rather than automatically saving each shot, the VX8100 lets you either erase or save your snap, which is convenient because, like with many camera phones, you have to hold the VX8100 stock-still after you click Capture until the image appears on the screen--or else you risk a blurry mess. Images are acceptable, although they're obviously no substitute for those of a real digital camera when capturing important moments.

We like the VX8100's photo quality.

Despite the initial promises when the VX8100 was first shipped, it didn't come with an MP3 player. Of course, we were sufficiently miffed at the time, but that changed with the launch of Verizon's V Cast Music store. Now, the VX8100 is one of the Verizon handsets that supports the service, and an upgrade is available through the carrier. With access to Verizon's V Cast service, you can download and play a variety of streaming video and audio, but keep in mind that you will have to pay for it. Inside the VX8100, there is 4MB of built-in memory, enough to store up to 100 (15-second) 176x144-pixel video clips shot in the 3g2 format, viewable using QuickTime, or up to 100 still photos. We would have liked to see more integrated memory, and although the Mini SD card definitely helps, we are disappointed that the phone didn't ship with a memory card. Happily, you can transfer most kinds of files between the card and the phone, including pictures and video clips. Ring tones are an exception, since only the tones you buy from Verizon can be saved to the phone.

The LG VX8100 includes a variety of wallpaper, themes, and alert sounds, and you can use 16-character personalization banners. The VX8100 ships with a measly five monophonic and six 72-chord polyphonic ring tones. You can download and play polyphonic and MP3 ring tones available from Verizon's Get It Now download store, along with the usual assortment of screensavers, wallpaper, games, and so forth. There are no games included, not even demo versions of titles that are available through Get It Now.

Performance of LG VX8100 (Verizon Wireless)

We discerned little difference in earpiece quality between the two phones; most delivered loud and crisp conversations. The VX8100's side-mounted stereo speakers, however, were far louder than the speakers on the VX8000. On the other hand, the widely separate, side-firing VX8100 speakers produced a bit of an echo that was exacerbated when we cupped the handset in our palm or down on a desktop in an attempt at redirecting the sound. We tried pairing the phone to the Logitech Mobile Bluetooth headset and had no problems doing so. Ringer volume also was much louder on the VX8100, thanks to the side-mounted speakers.

LG dropped the ball a bit on battery life, however, stepping down to a 1,000mAh lithium from the 1,100mAh on the VX8000. As a result, the LG VX8100's talk time is rated at a still-robust 3.75 hours, but that's 40 minutes less than on the VX8000. Standby time is similarly shrunken by almost a day, 6.8 days instead of 7.6 days. In actual usage, we eked out 3.5 hours of talk time and 5.75 days of standby time. According to the FCC, the VX8100 has a digital SAR rating of 1.16 watts per kilogram.