iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 238 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
54 out of 56 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Great phone, but..."
Pros: Great sound quality, good reception, mp3 player, ability to customize, battery life
Cons: High pitched noise from inner display, outer display could be better, music navigation needs improvement
Summary: This was my first attempt at a flip phone, and I must say that it is outstanding compared to those my friends have owned over the years. As an individual who was cautious about finally upgrading beyond my old 2-color Kyocera "brick," which has been 100% reliable and virtually indestructible for the past 4 years, I bit the bullet and upgraded to a VX8300 because the specs were just too cool. Yet, I have already returned one and will be returning a second - read on to find out why.
The look and feel of the phone is actually pretty sleek, although they should have opted for an internal antenna at this point in the game. The SAR rating is decent, though (probably due to the fact the antenna protrudes), so I'm not complaining with the knowledge that I'm not getting as much radiation pumped into my body as I would with a Motorola phone. The buttons are all very easy to work with and the phone feels and looks very well-built.
The sound quality during calls is superb, and I have gotten great reception, so among its plethora of features the VX8300 still works well as a phone (shocking!).
Navigating through the phone's menu system is easy; however, I wouldn't recommend one of the display themes that make the menus animated - it just takes too damn long to scroll through the system.
The outer display is a little pixely for its time and could be better, and the inner display makes an incessant high-pitched noise that absolutely drives me nuts. The noise was the main reason I returned my first phone, because I have really sensitive ears and I constantly heard the sound from the display whenever the phone was to my face.
I did a search online to see if anyone else had this problem, and I couldn't find anyone else with it - so I brought the phone to a service center thinking it was just my original phone (which was ordered online). They replaced it with one from the store, but the noise from this phone is even worse! Did I just get two shoddy phones or is America deaf? If you own this phone, place the display against your ear in a quiet room - you tell me. I naturally hold the phone so my ear as at the top of the display (it is more comfortable for some reason) and every time I make a call I feel like I'm taking a grammer school hearing test. Also, the speakerphone is messed up on my replacement phone and it makes a tinny vibrating sound during calls that my first one didn?t; therefore, I?ll be taking this one back as well.
I purchased a microSD card when I ordered the phone to load it up with mp3s and save some money on an iPod, and generally the mp3 feature on the phone works great. My only complaints with the music player are as follows:
1. I had to manually change the accepted format from .wma to .mp3 in the secret menu by hitting the OK button, typing 0 and then entering all 0s for the service code, scrolling down to Music Setting and enabling .mp3s.
2. There is no way to jump to certain songs, so if you have a few hundred mp3s loaded like me, you have to scroll through them all to find the one you want.
3. If you are playing music, there is no way to access the menus and perform other tasks on the phone without exiting the music player.
Other than that, the audio is clear pending you have a decent headset, and even coming from the side speakers the sound quality is impressive.
All-in-all, the VX8300 is a sturdy phone with easy navigation, awesome features, and is outstanding for use as a telephone. If it weren't for the mosquito in my ear, the messed up speaker phone in my replacement, and a little more functionality with the music player, I would easily rate this phone a 9.
- 10 replies to this review
-
This is my first cell phone, so I can't really compare. After reading your opinion, I did notice the noise, but it has never bothered me before. I don't mind it.
The music system is slow and messed up though. -
I like mine and the display is silent. Hope he got one that was too.
-
About 50 years ago I had very sensitive hearing and could hear all kinds of high pitched sounds. Unfortunately the designers of televisions, jet engines, etc. didn't think they had to worry about noise above about 20 kHz. So I now have a continual ringing in my ears (tinnitus). To avoid a similar fate you should protect your ears against loud high pitched noises. Ear plugs that you wear when flying should allow passage of air to equalize the air pressure.
-
I just bought this phone, and it does not have ANY MP3 functionality any longer. If you want to play audio files, you'll have to convert your MP3s to WMA files.
-
I sometimes forget to turn the speaker off as I use it often while driving if not on my bluetooth. Are you sure the problem isn't just forgetting to turn the speaker off? I know it sounds simple, but sometimes that's the best solution...
-
I hear absolutely nothing from my 8300 except a voice on the other end when I'm on a call. I tried very hard to hear if any noise at all was coming from the display, but nothing. Maybe go back and try one more phone. I love mine, best cell I ever owned hands down.
-
My LG VX8300 is completely quiet, after reading about the buzzing complaint, I checked (and my hearing is normal) no buzzing here.
I love this phone, does everything I want and more, easy to use and as such, I recommend it. -
Greatly appreciated the tip on turning on the MP3....did it to both my phone and my DH. Just should warn rookies not to indiscriminately play around with the other super-secret features, most are much more tech oriented.
We did note that when you are using an MP3 song, you have one more option, that of chosing an equalizer by hitting the option button... the choices are Flat, 3D Surround, Concert Hall, Rock, Jazz, Pop, and Classical.(btw, you can mix WMAs and MP3s on this model) 3D seems to really play through the external speakers a bit better than WMA sounds. (Can only seem to get to the options by looking at "My MP3s" though).
You CAN find the song you want by going to Manage Music. That gives you Music Library where you can either chose Genre, Artist, Album, song, Playlist, etc, OR use the up key and access the Search feature. When you find the song you wanted, you can play it from there. -
I have the same problem.. I thought it was just me. It seems that the voice is going right through the whole upper half of the phone.
-
i have this problem too. does everyone have this issue?
%20user%20review%20and%20rating%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/lg-vx8300-verizon-wireless/4864-6454_7-31812933-2.html){kind=small}