LG F7200 user reviews (AT&T)

Pros Very user friendly and easy to use (extra points in my rating). Extremely long battery life (more extra points in my rating). Excellent reception (extra points in my rating). Push-to talk capability.

Cons Not BlueTooth capable. Push-to-talk rapidly drains the battery, causing it to run down too fast (But not the fault of the phone or its manufacturer). Annoying banner that cannot be removed.

Summary When our employer switched from another cell phone company back to Cingular, they allowed us to choose which cell phone Cingular offers that we would like to use as part of our work so long as it was a cell phone that has the push-to-talk capability that Cingular has recently begun, and we paid for it. My wife and I, along with some of our friends and co-workers chose the LG F7200 cell phone that Cingular offers because it has the push-to talk capability, it is more reasonably priced than some of the other cell phones Cingular offers, and it is better looking.
My wife and I are four-year veterans when it comes to cell phones. We went through some very annoying times with all the cell phones we previously were given or we personally owned. Every one of these cell phones had some kind of flaw that drove us crazy. Some broke down or died on us too soon after we got them; some had absolutely and inexcusably lousy reception. Some had batteries that would not last a day, even in standby mode. And some were simply too fragile even for a grownup to use. So, my wife and I expected problems to arise with these two LG F7200 cell phones we had chosen, and we steeled ourselves in anticipation of these problems arising.
To our glad surprise, these two LG F7200 cell phone we chose have yet to show any major flaw or problem, and even better, the “pros” these two cell phones have totally overshadow, outweigh, and even negate any “cons” they have.
First, we have found that the LG F7200 cell phone, unlike some cell phones from other manufacturers, is very easy to use, and it is very user-friendly. This is a must for a guy and his wife who are always busy at work or at home with their four kids. We don’t have time to “tinker” with our cell phones until we find how to make it do something we want, and the LG F7200 cell phone is laid out in such a way where everything it has been made to do is easily found and seen.
Second, it’s about time that cell phones start being good-looking for a change. Although the very popular “clam shell” design that most flip phones come in is the so-called “rage,” these days, we have never considered a clam or its design to be good-looking. Even a guy likes good-looking things, and in this regard, the LG F7200 cell phones my wife and I have are indeed good-looking. They have a beautiful shiny silver finish that I would like to believe both guys and gals will like immediately.
Third, we live out in the country. The nearest city of any size at all is 20 miles away, so good reception is a must for any cell phone we use at home. Again, the LG F7200 cell phones my wife and I have come through. Every cell phone we previously used or owned barely got by when it came to reception at our house. Dropped calls were a very normal and frequent occurrence. So was the infamous immediate shunt of a call we made to someone else’s voice mail, rather than ringing their phone. On the other hand, the LG F7200 cell phones my wife and I now have get 4 to 5 bars of signal strength throughout our house, and calls go out from and come in to these cell phones with no problem at our house.
Fourth, all cell phone users desire and need cell phones with a long battery life. When my wife and I got our LG F7200 cell phones, I was amazed at how long the batteries on these two cell phones last before they need to be recharged. I have used my LG F7200 cell phone all day long at work, and when I got home, it still showed that the battery had as much as 75% of its charge left. LG says the battery of its F7200 cell phone lasts up to 3 hours insofar as “talk time” is concerned, and Cingular says this battery will last up to 6 hours insofar as “talk time” is concerned. But I have talked on my LG F7200 cell phone the entire duration of an 8 hour shift at work, yet when I went home, the battery charge indicator showed that the battery still had 50% and even as much as 75% of its charge left. So I have to say that the LG F7200 cell phone is capable of talk times of as much as 10-15 hours or even more. Can’t beat that.
We also like the way the LG F7200 has been manufactured as a slide phone. LG has made this phone in such a way that you can operate the whole phone with one hand, and the slide mechanism can be used as the “switch hook” in phone parlance. You can slide the phone shut in order to hang up after a call, instead of looking for that button with the red phone painted on it.
Several of our friends and fellow employees did not get a LG F7200 slide phone for themselves because they were of the impression that this cell phone is too fragile and flimsy because it is a slide phone. No one needs to worry about that. The slide mechanism in the LG F7200 cell phone is made out of metal. It is not plastic. Metal does not wear, stress, warp, or break like plastic does. If a person takes care of this phone, they should never experience a problem like this.
The LG F7200 slide phone is one of two cell phones that Cingular offers that has the push-to-talk capability that Cingular is now offering. The push-to-talk capability on the LG F7200 cell phone does what it is made to do, and from what we have seen and experienced, any problems with the push-to-talk is not a flaw or fault of this cell phone or its manufacturer, but, rather, a technical problem in the Cingular system that Cingular always takes care of as fast as they can.
Despite all of these “pros,” for some, there are some “cons about the LG F7200 cell phone that may dissuade some from acquiring it, although I must still maintain that this cell phone has too many good qualities for someone to reject it merely because of these “cons.”
The first “con” of the LG F7200 cell phone is, it is not BlueTooth capable; at least, until LG or someone else makes or comes up with an adapter for BlueTooth which will connect to the LG F7200 cell phone in some way much like the way the adapter that Nokia makes for many of its cell phones does. Despite this shortcoming that I, and I am sure most others see as something that is minor, this is apparently dissuading some people from getting this cell phone. However, LG’s website shows that there are hands-free sets that use wires which will connect to the LG F7200 cell phone, so unless someone has an absolute need for the wireless hands-free capability that BlueTooth does, they could acquire one of these hands-free sets that use wires instead; at least, until a BlueTooth adapter made for the LG F7200 cell phone comes along.
The second “con” of the LG F7200 cell phone is something that is not a flaw of this cell phone, or any fault on the part of its manufacturer. The push-to-talk capability that is part of this cell phone clearly consumes huge amounts of the electricity contained in its battery; much more than the electricity used in regular cell phone use that does not use the push-to-talk. It is my understanding from all those who use these push-to-talk cell phones, including those who use the push-to-talk capability offered by cell phone companies other than Cingular (such as Nextel), experience an extremely heavy battery drain while they are engaged in push-to-talk conversations. So, this “con” is attributable to the “push-to-talk” technology itself and its science; and not the LG F7200 cell phone or its manufacturer.
The third “con” of the LG F7200 cell phone is, the word “Cingular” appears on its main screen more or less right in the middle of this screen, thereby causing part of the screen’s “wallpaper” to be covered up or hidden. So far, no one has found out and shown us how to move or remove this word. We were also told that this word cannot be removed because it is a part of this cell phone’s manufacturing and programming. The LG F7200 cell phone appears to have been designed and manufactured specifically for Cingular and its push-to-talk service. If so, this is probably why this word has been permanently placed on this cell phone. Again, this is not the fault of this cell phone or its manufacturer.
The fourth and last “con” we have seen concerning the LG F7200 cell phone is, you cannot assign a specific ring tone to one individual in its phone book for such purposes as using that ring tone to alert you or give you identification as to who is calling you. Specific ring tones on the LG F7200 can only be assigned to individual groups of persons contained in the phone list; not individuals. For most people, I am sure that one ring tone being assigned to be the ring tone for all incoming calls is sufficient, but for those few who want more than this, this will be a definite “con,” although it should never be allowed to be enough to convince someone to not get a LG F7200 cell phone.
Nevertheless, all the “pros” concerning the LG F7200 cell phone are too super for someone to allow these four “cons” to convince them this is a lousy cell phone to have. If you want a cell phone that gets great reception, has phenomenally long battery life, is user friendly, is well-made, and is good-looking to boot, then the LG F7200 slide phone is a cell phone you should consider getting if you are on Cingular as a customer. All of these positives are worth far more than a few negatives that, in most cases, situations, and scenarios, can be easily overcome with little effort or expense.
So, despite a few “cons,” I give the LG F7200 cell phone a full 10 and two thumbs up, because all of its positive qualities are so super that they completely outscore and override whatever negative qualities it might have.