With the sheer volume of pre-launch press swirling around it, expectations were naturally running high for the
VX9900 "enV," Verizon and LG's update to the deeply-adored
VX9800. Does it live up to the hype? MobileBurn put the enV through a gauntlet of tests, and yeah -- it looks like the split-personality candybar is going to make most of its owners very happy people. The QWERTY keyboard apparently isn't the best in the business, but it's still workable; battery life and sound quality are decent, while the 2 megapixel cam is a welcome addition. The UI proved to be a bit on the quirky side, but that's pretty much par for the LG dumbphone course. Newfound VX9900 owners, be sure to give us some real-world perspectives in comments on this one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shawn @ Feb 2nd 2008 5:33AM
to remove the failure to erase, simply turn the phone off normally and turn it back on. This happens once every two weeks or so with me and just fixes every time.
any other problems?
Tess @ Feb 11th 2008 2:32AM
I've had the enV for about 3 weeks now. I mostly love the phone but I've had to replace it because of a couple of problems. The first unit I had would not keep the sd card in place, and was in constant eject mode. I actually "fixed" it with some scotch tape. The second problem is that the speaker phone function stopped. This was a real problem because I use the phone a lot in this mode for my kids to speak to grandparents. The last thing that happened was the navigator was malfunctioning. It simply wouldn't load the application. Well, sadly, I'm headed down the same road with this new unit -- of course after I've set it up just the way I like it. My speaker phone function has stopped. Any ideas? I have turned it off and on. I've taken the battery out while the unit was on and replaced it. I've done the same with the unit off. No change. I've gone through the menus but I'm hoping I'm missing something and somebody out there can help me. Thanks!
John @ Dec 25th 2006 1:56PM
Got it it today!!!!! It is cool as hell!!!!!!!!
Bryan @ Dec 25th 2006 6:07PM
Ive had the phone for a few days now (early xmas present :P) and so far so good. UI is a lil quirky yes, and the lens cover is cheap as ever but other than that no complaints! If your a texting machine like myself this phone is for you.
Jamie Spears @ Dec 26th 2006 12:48AM
I've had this phone for a couple weeks now...I love it. I like the UI and if you dont you can always change it back to the regular with a different skin. If you are thinking about whether you want it or not...get it.
-JLS
Andy @ Dec 26th 2006 1:12AM
Have had the phone since November 27th. Upgraded from the 9800. I don't agree with the review from mobileburn.com on the playing mp3's. The new player is a little quirky, but plays mp3's fine. I don't subscribe to any song services. Once the chip was formatted (by inserting into the phone) It created 4 files to put videos and music into. All I had to do was copy some mp3's into the my music file and they played fine. The review talked about having to download music only and that was not true.
My only real complaint is the autofocus for the camera, but as I carry an 8 megapixel point and shoot I don't see this as much of a problem.
This new phone is a little faster in the ui, and they got rid of the red bars of death. (not that the red bars bothered me much anyway. I don't buy a phone for its fashion sense.)
The location based service on the phone works almost as good as a real gps unit. It also gives you the option to only have the phone located for a 4 hour stretch. (for the tin hat big brother is watching us people) then it goes back to 911 location only.
The new phone is thinner and wider which makes it a much better phone to carry than the 9800. Overall a fantastic phone to have for those text message minded people.
Sidebar if you want this phone for the music, buy the lg external speakers (around 100 bucks) they are rechargeable, and those suckers are extremely loud for their size. So loud that I have to keep the phone volume down to 1 bar for most use. Folded the speakers are actually smaller than the 9900.
ZODIAC @ Dec 26th 2006 6:04AM
I think the word "quirky" is being tossed around way to much here. Settle down now, please.
This review has been at MB for weeks. WAKE UP!
I am EnV @ Dec 27th 2006 6:52PM
I have had this phone since the day it was released! I love it I love it I love it! MicroSD makes this phone so easy to add music and pics a monkey could do it. The 2.0 Megapixel camera is the best I've seen on any phone yet. Only complaint I have is the standard speakers are not very loud. (Ringtone and MP3 use). By far the best phone on the Verizon market!
garvis @ Dec 27th 2006 4:17PM
i dont know what UI is but so far the phone is great. sounds good takes great pics and the keyboard to me works wonderfully. gargus52@yahoo.com if u can explain what the UI is lol and what i should worry about
Tino @ Dec 27th 2006 9:05PM
I have had the 9900 for a number of weeks now and I love it!! Text message is great, it would be better if stinking Verizon would have an unlimited text messaging & Mobile 2.0 plan!!! I do agree with the dude on the autofocus of the camera, its a pain sometimes. Speakers on the baby is LOUD!!!! External screen is small but okay maybe the next upgrade of this phone can have a bigger external screen.
Eric @ Dec 28th 2006 3:43PM
Actually I think the UI is better than most of Verizons other phones. Try the Q and you will see why... the software for that is so clunky, using this a lot easier. Windows Mobile on the Q is the Devil. I also like the fact it is shaped like a regular phone, and you don't have to have the whole Qwerty pressed against your face.
Pbgcandy @ Dec 30th 2006 12:27AM
I have a had the enV for 2 weeks. I hae not had any issues with it. I love texting on it, the camera works great. The speakers could be a little better, but other than that its a great phone. Everyone looks at it funny until I open it and then they all want to touch it. Battery holds a great charge... I have charged it 3 times since I've owned it. I haven't had any problems with the UI. I wish there was a fitted case that stayed on the phone and opened on the phone.
If you are looking at getting it ...get it.
jimmy @ Dec 31st 2006 3:31PM
Taking this phone back in exchange for a Treo. Cool phone but WILL NOT work with a MAC!!! Too bad... see ya LG
Jennifer @ Apr 19th 2007 11:13PM
My husband and I just bought this phone. I mostly love this phone but we have had trouble with reception on it. Somehow it seems, when talking in an area with other people, that the phone picks up every single voice within the callers immediate area. So what you get is a garbled mix of voices, none of which are clear (not even the voice of the person you are speaking to). I've tried different options on the phone trying to cut out the background noise and nothing has worked. I wonder if this has anything to do with the microphone being on the inside of the unit. There is actually no microphone on the front of the phone, so you speak into nothing. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them because I REALLY want to love this phone. Other than that weirdness we love our phones..and the reception is great when the caller is in a room by themselves.
bryab @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:06AM
how do u put music onto tha micro sd chip?
kevbo @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:04PM
I have this phone and play MP3s off the SD card all the time. Why do you think you cannot?
Samantha @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:09AM
Its not a comment more a question... I saw the comment that was made by Jennifer about there not being a microphone on the front of the phone. I was wondering if the phone was capable of being used closed versus open faced. I am approaching my two year mark with verizon and I am interested in this phone but not if I have to use it open faced all the time... I just want to know because I dont want to spend too much money on the phone if I can only use it in one position... thanks..
Samantha @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:08AM
I also wanted to know whether or not you can use the speakerphone when the phone is both open or closed.. thanks
ryan @ Jan 15th 2007 3:48AM
how bout bluetooth.. can u send ringtones through bluetooth? or can u put in ur own ringtones through usb from the computer?
Jennifer @ Jan 4th 2007 8:26AM
You can do most things with the phone closed. You CANNOT use speaker phone with the phone closed...that is pretty much the only thing. You can text with it closed but only as if it was a normal cellphone (using T-9 word or ABC mode for example) the keyboard for normal typing is on the inside of course. You can surf some menu options with the phone closed and some with the phone open. But parts of the two menus are different so you'll find some different options with the phone closed vs. phone open.
I love the phone but if I people can't understand me when I call them on it then I am going to bring it back because first and foremost it is supposed to be a phone!!!
Samantha @ Jan 8th 2007 9:34PM
thank you for your post... so am i understanding this right that you can use the phone to call people while it is closed but that no one can hear you because it doesnt have a microphone?? if so that means you really cant use it while it is closed... correct?? i just want to make sure i know all the information before i invest a nice sum of money for this phone thanks...
rob @ Jan 31st 2007 9:06PM
I've had the enV for a while now, and wanted to answer a few questions others have asked and give my comments.
First, the enV is a sleek phone with a nice refresh to the VZW UI (User Interface). The red bars are not totally gone from the interface, some of the software on the phone still reference them, and, during those times you will see the red bar at the bottom of the phone. This may simply be a bug in the firmware due to the phone being so "new" and a lot of the software is brew and was probably copied from another phone (like the 9800). Physically, I've heard some people complain about the way the phone folds out, that it goes "behind" the keyboard. I was sorta feeling the same way at first, but I think it's a much better design simply because you have access to the camera and volume keys. This means the screen actually isn't "bulging" towards you like the 9800.
My cons on the device: Apparently the limit for text messages is 100 (combined between Sent, Received, Drafts, etc) then you start getting warnings to erase. For such a "power text" phone, this is not much. Also, when using the word text prediction, The way it handles some words is poor. For instance if you try to type "friend" and you typed 37 and pressed the "Next" button to choose Fr and you went to press 4, it will start the prediction all over from the start, instead of adapting to what you have already chosen like iTAP. This makes it impossible for you to make words that are not in its database. I hate the Vcast music player, you can not "hide" it and go do other tasks on the phone (Like TXT message). I am sure the phone's processor is capable of being able to perform both at one time. Physically I think the phone shouldn't have a bulging camera, or should have had something else bulge on the opposite side of the phone so it sits evenly on flat surfaces, like a coffee table.
To answer some questions. When the phone is closed you can talk on it. Yes, the microphone is inside the flip but it has a high enough gain to pick your voice up.
You can send music to the phone however they go under the "My Sounds" folder and therefore can not be chosen as ringtones.
Overall a great phone, everyone I've talked to can't tell I'm on a different phone till I tell them I am on the enV. So far it gets great reception. I haven't been in an area where it didn't pick up worse than any other phone I've used.
What do I think can be improved on the 9900 for the next model? On the inside keyboard, a center key needs to be put between the soft keys that would act as "Soft keys". It is awkward having the OK key on the right of the phone, away from the soft keys. Louder speakers for the ringer (You can tell it just isn't like a Motorola speaker).
OK I think that's all I can come up with for the moment.
Kyle @ Feb 7th 2007 2:55AM
I'm not sure if I'm just a moron, but this is something that's really bugging me. I love the phone it's amazing. Why are there two seperate service/reception bars. Thers an EV and a TX, and then sometimes it say X1 with 1 big bar. Once again I'm not sure if this is just my ignorance, but it's something that's really buggying me. Plz help me out guys.
Jon8RFC @ Feb 24th 2007 12:19AM
There are two reception bars because those are the two most recent "protocols" Verizon supports on most of their phones. It switches to just one big bar to signify that the other protocol has zero reception. It might look like a small "TX" to you, but it's actually 1X; there isn't a "TX" protocol.
1x < EV-DO
1X signal is more prevalent since it's an older protocol, so you're much more likely to lose EV-DO reception entirely than lose 1X service entirely. If, for some reason, the 1X network is being hammered in your area, then you might actually lose reception and then you'd see one large bar and "EV", like you sometimes see one large bar and "1X".
It's more of a geek-feature than anything--I love it!
danielle @ Mar 9th 2007 10:42PM
how do i put music onto my sd card? Do i have to buy the usb cable to sync it or is there a cheaper way to do this? please let me know how you guys put your music onto your phones. thanks!
email=listenupjerks@aim.com
RevolutionUltraBlue @ Apr 1st 2007 12:21PM
Actually guys, listen up: so i just got this phone yesterday, and if you have a file in your "my sounds" file, TEXT it to yourself, and u can set it to a ringtone when u recieve the text!
Somone mentioned different skins for the UI... HOW?
elgee02 @ Apr 1st 2007 2:03PM
^ Thrice fan, nice ^
danielle, The easiest way and also usually the cheapest way to get music onto your micro sd card is via a card reader, either built into your computer if you have one, or through a seperate card reader device that plugs into your standard USB port (they aren't usually expensive).
Just remember VZW phones only play songs in .mp3 and .wma format, which nearly any ripped song on your computer should be in anyways.
bubba @ Apr 4th 2007 9:48AM
OK. I consider myself a geek. When I tried to add MP3 files to the MicroSD after I formatted it in the phone, the player couldn't see the files at all. This was using my media reader in my PC. I checked the memory card via the phone, and they were there, full size. I then hook up the USB cable I got from Amazon (cheap!), and run Bitpim, and the files are there with zero size. So I whack them from the camera, and move them over via the USB and Bitpim (slowwwwwwwwwww), and they are again on the camera, the same size, but the player now sees them. What the *^#%@&%!~?????
Thanks in advance, if any of you have any idea.
jorge @ Apr 15th 2007 11:24PM
i just got this fone 2 days worked fine for 2 days but today in my basement it wont let me make outgoing calls or receive any either idk wat the problem is ??? does anyone have this problem too but this fine is completly got 0 reception??
jorge @ Apr 15th 2007 11:26PM
i just got this fone 2 days worked fine for 2 days but today
inmybasement it wont let me make outgoing calls or receive any
eitheridk wat the problem is ??? does anyone have this problem too
but thisfine is completly got 0 reception??
Octavio Vela @ Jul 19th 2007 6:28PM
My wife has had this phone for several months. It has now been replaced four times, mostly because the calender function fails to show events on some days and not on others. Are a lot of users experiencing similar poor quality software on this phones?
david @ Jan 2nd 2008 1:10PM
I like the phone. My only complaint is my 'erase' function does not work. I can not erase contacts or text messages. I know it is not the button that doesn't work because they work for other functions. I am able to erase photos that I have taken so I can't figure out why I can not erase text messages and contacts. If anyone knows how to do it let me know. I can not erase them individually and the 'erase all' menu choice does not work either.