Verizon LG Chocolate KG800 Review
LG Chocolate KG800 Review
The buzz for chocolate was just too great. LG had captivated the market with an innovative phone design and more than effective marketing campaign. A phone that embraces the look and has the elegance of a rich, dark chocolate bar was born. The LG Chocolate KG800 was the combination of all these elements and its made a splash.
The KG800 is the European version of the Verizon LG Chocolate VX8500.
The KG800 is a European version of the popular Korean handset nicknamed the "Chocolate" phone. LG launched the tri-band GSM European version in the summer of 2006, and like its Korean CDMA counterpart, the KG800 employs slider styling with keypad and touch-sensitive navigation controls that are hidden when the slider is closed. The LG KG800 also features a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash; an MP3 player; polyphonic ring tones; a WAP 2.0 browser; organizer functions; and a 176x220 pixel, 256k color TFT display. Connectivity includes GPRS Class 10, Bluetooth, and USB and messaging incorporates SMS, MMS, email, and EMS.
Introducing Chocolate, and this one does not melt in your hands. However, it would definitely melt quite a few hearts. LG’s stylish, sleek new black beauty is aptly named chocolate for a few reasons, none more then the fact that it actually resembles an exquisite bar of Swiss chocolate that oozes perfection. Coupled with red glowing touch sensitive buttons, a TFT screen capable of displaying up to 262,000 colours, a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash cramped up into a sleek 85 gram slider seems too good to be true. Does the Chocolate really live up to all its hype on paper, or is it just all beauty with no substance, follow us as we take on LG’s Chocolate.
We were quite impressed when we first got the phone. It was surprisingly light, and it looked gorgeous from every angle. With dimensions of 95 x 48 x 15,2 mm, the Chocolate is sleek. It fitted quite perfectly in a few hands that we showed it off to, and had quite a few heads turn even when it was just sitting on our test table in sleep mode. Unlike other phones, the Chocolate does not show any signs of activity on the phone till something actually happens.
We absolutely loved the screen. Bright crisp vivid colors that were visible even under bright sunlight. We’ve only seen this kind of clarity from Samsung, and were pleasantly surprised to see the Chocolate utilize it. The display is integrated into the face of the phone (think iPod Nano). Using the screen as a viewfinder to take and view photos were comparable to that of a compact digital camera.
There were no obvious signs of scratching even after some excessive use, something which were at one point worried about. Oily fingers however did leave a mark on the glossy screen, but they were not visible and were easily removed.
Navigation and Keypad
The navigation system used by the Chocolate is the popular 3 x 3 menu driven system, and is basically very easy to understand. However, you might need a few minutes to get yourself accustomed to the heat sensitive buttons. They are quite easy to use, and once you get used to them, you might not want to use conventional keypads anymore. We were a little skeptical on whether they keys will be responsive, or whether we might end up pressing the wrong buttons at the wrong time, but we never had any problems with the navigation buttons.
The conventional keypad however was a bit of a drawback. It was a bit hard to the touch (maybe we got too comfortable with the heat sensitive buttons!), as we found it a little hard to send out quick text messages. The backlight on the keypad was bright enough to use in pitch darkness.
The menu system however was slightly messy and complicated. It takes around 7 to 8 clicks to send out a text message. While we were quite happy to press the heat sensitive navigation pad as many times as we possibly could, it would become a bit of a chore to have to have to go through so many menu levels to send out a text message.
We were also quite disappointed that the Cancel/Hang Up key was not placed on the main navigation panel. It is placed on the right side of the phone, next to the dedicated MP3/Camera button. We think that it was so you don’t accidentally hang up in the middle of a call. Either way, it might just need some getting used to. We however took quite a bit of time to get used to it. Side keys are usually used sparingly, and while the volume and mp3/camera keys suit being at the side, the cancel key which is used quite a lot should have made it to the front panel.
LG Chocolate KG800 Design
Application
It comes with a cool game (ZOO ZOO), you can hold up to
Contacts
1000 names in you contacts book,
The phonebook can store up to 1000 phone numbers, and also keep a list of 120 calls (40 called, 40 received and 40 missed). Up to 150 text messages, and up to 100 multimedia messages can be stored on the phone at any one time.
Calendar
The phone comes equipped with most of the functions you expect to see in today’s high end phones. It has Bluetooth as well as an IrDA connectivity. We managed to get online via the Wap 2.0 browser on the phone via GPRS.
A barebone email client is also made available on the phone, but we never managed to get it to work with our mail server. The phone comes bundled with a USB cable, and software to sync your phone to your PC/Laptop.
Other notable functions on the phone include support for Java™ applications, pre-installed games, calendar, organize, alarm clock and a calculator.
Games
LG Chocolate KG800 Features
Multimedia
Mp3 Player
The phone definitely would not qualify as an MP3 player, as the sound while perfect for a telephone conversation was severely lacking as a speaker. Even the loudest settings still was considerably soft compared to some older MP3 enabled phones. However, we have to agree with LG on this one, as having a sleek phone like the Chocolate as a loudspeaker is just very very odd.
Camera
The built in camera was definitely something we came away impressed with. The 1.3 megapixel camera takes absolutely clear pictures. Adjusting the settings during the camera mode also was a breeze. Night mode pictures also seemed to turn out very clear for a phone camera.
The video camera function also worked quite brilliantly, with the limited on board memory with no expansion slot being the only drawback.
Bluetooth
Memory
128mb of memory which means you can hold only a couple of dozen songs. Unfortuanltly no expandable memory.
The Chocolate comes with 128MB of internal memory. It does not come with any memory expansion slots, something which we would have liked to have seen. However, 128MB is still sufficient to take close to 600 high quality pictures on the phone, and store close to 50 MP3’s in standard compressed format.
Messaging, Internet, and Tools
Voice Command
LG Chocolate KG800 Performance
Battery Life
The KG800 comes with the standard 3.7V Lithium-Ion battery. At 800mAh the manual says you will be able to get 6 hours of talk time and up to 200 hours of standby power. In reality this time was less than what was indicated in the manual. The times stated must be for ideal situations of minimum use. Playing games, talking on the phone, listening to the mp3 player, and all this while using the Bluetooth will put a massive drain on your phones battery. We were able to get a good 2-3 days of standby time, with minimum use of the phones features. I am sure this can fluctuate up and down depending on your usage. One way of increasing your phones battery life between charges is to turn off the Bluetooth as this can be a major drain on the battery.
The talk time maybe be a slight hindrance for people who speak constantly, but in regular use the phone could give you 2-3 days power before you have to recharge it again. Turning off the Bluetooth will increase your battery life, before you have to recharge again.
Sound Quality
Reception
Network
The KG800 is a GSM tri-band based phone as opposed to its sister phone the VX8500 which is a CDMA based unit. GSM 900/1800/1900 frequencies
LG Chocolate KG800 Conclusion
We loved the phone. LG’s Chocolate is definitely a stylish phone made for those who want a phone to look good. It has most of the bells and whistles you would expect from today’s mobile phones, nothing out of the ordinary to make it stand out, but just enough to get the job done. Make no mistake however, this phone’s main strength is its sleek curves and glossy finish. Just like chocolate, this phone will be hard to resist. LG's design team has put in a lot of hard work to make this phone look sleek and sexy, and its not a wonder that it sold close to 300,000 units in Korea in a little under 3 months.
LG Chocolate KG800 Design
LG Chocolate KG800 Features
LG Chocolate KG800 Performance
LG Chocolate KG800 Review Conclusion
