BUYING GUIDES..since 1995
|
GALT HOME:
Internet Guides - Finance - Audio/Video - Travel - Household/DIY - Health - Cars - Fashion - Sports - Entertainment - Cell Phones |
| MENU: Technology and Internet Guides | Travel | Health | Household | Sports ...independent online guides since 1995 |
News, Review, and Pictures of the new LG Chocolate Cell Phone with MP3 playerThe Apple iPod has set the standard for efficiency and style in an MP3 portable music player. Until Apple figures out how to build a cell phone around the iPod, a number of competitors are trying to grab onto that market. The Motorola ROKR phone never received great reviews for their hybrid product. The new LG Chocolate phone is the latest entry into this game, set for release in Q3 2006 exclusively by Verizon Wireless. It has a sleek design, small rounded form factor, with a keypad hidden behind the slideup front panel, and it has been a big bit in Korea (where it was launched) and elsewhere in the world, with more than 1 million in use. What are the features and specs of the LG Chocolate? More pictures and info below..
LG Chocolate FeaturesWhen closed, the LG Chocolate looks a lot like an iPod MP3 player, with what looks like a scroll wheel and a 240x320 pixel color LCD screen. However, the scroll wheel is not really a scroll wheel like is found on the iPod. This is a standard 5 way directional controller with four navigation keys on the cardinal points of the compass and a button in the center. Like other slide-mode cell phone, the front panel slides up slightly to reveal the keypad underneath -- used for both dialing and text messaging. The back of the phone has the lens for the built in digital camera (1.3MP with 2x digital zoom), which is exposed when the face place is in the up position. There is a microSD memory slot on the side of the phone for storing data and information (pictures, ring tones, music, etc.) and built in bluetooth communications allow for hands-free wireless headset operation. Keep in mind that the phone does not come with any memory chip, so that will be an extra cost you incur if you decide to puchase additional storage. The Chocolate is a digital dual band phone (1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA) and comes with a 500 entry address book, 98 speed dial settings, calendar, alarm clock, notepad ,calculator, and tip calculator.Designed as a music player as much as a phone, reviewers have been disappointed to find it does not read and display normal MP3 ID tags properly for artist, track name, etc. and instead only shows the filename of the song (ie, Breathe-Faith_Hill.mp3). Instead, the phone seems optimized to download and organize and play music directly from Verizon's online network, which is great if you are planning on buying all your music from there and not using many of your existing hundreds or thousands of MP3 tracks you already have on your computer or iPod. Verizon will offer music tracks in WMA format for $1.99 per tune, twice the cost of a song from iTunes. On the plus side, the LG Chocolate does come with built in speakers, allowing you to get decent sound from this mini-boombox, something iPods and almost all other music players lack. There is unfortunately no speakerphone function for the cellphone, though.
LG Chocolate Specs
Where to Buy the LG Chocolate Cell PhoneThe Chocolate will be available through Verizon and it resellers in early August or September. Like most new phones, it will cost from $149 to $199 when purchased with a new one or two year phone contract. We suggest you use one first before buying (at the store, try a friends) and make sure you are happy with the music side of this little gadget before committing to making it your sole cell phone for the next 2 years.
Do you have a quality site or product that belongs in this guide? We are always happy to evaluate or review new products and websites. Feel free to contact us at the email address below and let us know about you. If you have a demo product you'd like us to look at, please contact us before sending anything. Thank you.
Send email to: galtemail (@) yahoo.com
|
