LG VX8360 review – Same set of features as its predecessor
Sum and Substance:
Thumbs Up:
Lightweight and compact, has keys for external music playback, has support for lots of high end features like A-GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and EV-DO. Good call quality and the handset is affordable.
Thumbs Down:
The features are pretty much the same as its predecessor.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
LG VX8360 has internal display with 240 x 320 pixels display resolution. It supports 262,000 colors and is two inch big. The external display is 1.7 inches big, has resolution of 96×96 pixels and supports 65,000 colors. Supported music player formats are WMA, AAC+, AAC, MP3.
The 950 mAh battery has a rated talk time of 5.26 hours and the stand by time is 27 hours. The 1.3 megapixel camera has features like self-timer, effects and white balance. The phone book supports the following features – Caller groups, multiple numbers per contact, Picture ID, Ring ID and 1000 names capacity.
Razzle Dazzle:
The VX 8360 looks the same as VX 8350 sans the curves. The handset is 3.64 inches long, 0.78 inches thick, 1.91 inches wide and weighs about 3.35 ounces. The phone is still compact just like its predecessor and sports the same clamshell design. The outer shell is dark blue in color and has a silver trim along with chrome border on the inside. You get a feeling of racecar when you look at this phone.
Inside Dope:
Before this, we had the LG VX8350 in our labs for review and we really liked the way the manufacturer managed to pack in lots of features and still kept the price low for it. It is been two years since then, we have got VX8360 and we had high expectations from this phone too. But we were disappointed to see that this new phone doesn’t have any new features and it is pretty much the same as VX 8360. We won’t recommend an upgrade if you already own the predecessor. The price of this handset is $49.99 and comes with a two year contract from Verizon Wireless.
On the front of the LG VX8360, you have a tiny 1.7 inches color screen. It supports just 65,000 colors but that is acceptable for an external display. On this screen, you get caller ID, signal strength, battery, time and date. It also supports photo caller ID. When the camera is switched on, you can use this screen as a viewfinder. You also get track information and album art when you use the music player.
Just like its predecessor, the LG VX8360 keys for controlling the music playback. They are located underneath the external display. We always like this design since it allows us to control the music without opening the phone. As compared to the previous handset, the keys are flat. On the bright side, they are bigger and hence easier to press. There is a big speaker griller placed below these keys, its predecessor had speakers on the back.
When you open the LG VX8360, you will find a pleasant two inch (diagonal) screen. It supports 262,000 colors and has a resolution of 240×320 pixels. Images look good on the screen due to the vibrant color. You can adjust the clock format, menu layout, type and size of fonts, and backlight time. The default layout for the menu is Verizon’s tabs interface but you can change it to list or grid.
LG VX8360’s keypad has been improved as compared to its predecessor. The number keypad and navigation buttons are spaced well and give good tactile feedback when pressed. The keys are bubble shaped further improves on the ergonomics. Typing on the keypad and navigating through the thumb was easy for us. On the navigation array, you have five way toggle, two soft keys, speaker phone button, messaging key, and the standard Clear, Send, End/Power keys. The toggle can be used to program shortcuts to the most used functions on the phone.
On the left side of LG VX8360, there is the volume rocker, headset jack and voice command key. On the right, there is microSD card slot and camera button. The jack for power adapter is located at the bottom.
LG VX8360 has a 1.3 megapixel camera just like its predecessor. We would have liked if the resolution had been upgraded for this new phone but it is still acceptable considering this is an entry level phone. The photo quality is good considering this is a 1.3 megapixel camera. Images are saturated with color and look sharp. There are three options for resolutions 320×240, 640×480, and 1,280×960. Other settings includes shutter sounds (with silent option), white balance, self timer, color effects, night mode, brightness, spot meter/photometry modes and night mode. The photos can be saved to the phone’s internal memory or other external card. The camera doesn’t come with flash so you got to watch out for those photos in the dark. The camera can also record videos but there is only one option for resolution: 176×144 pixels. Quality of the clips was pixilated and blurry but if you are just using them to share it with friends, you won’t complain much.
Finally, we tested the phone for call quality and it was really impressive. The LG VX8360 has ‘Voice Clarity’ feature which adjusts the volume level automatically according to the noise in the ambience. Our friends said that it worked pretty well. We used this phone in different environments like inside of a car, crowded restaurant and office. They could hear our voice clearly. We too heard them quite clearly.
Nitty Gritty:
LG VX8360 has the same features as its predecessor and hence we won’t recommend an upgrade. But if you don’t have the earlier phone then we will recommend you this phone for its good audio quality and compact clamshell design.
