LG Chocolate 3 (1 GB) Cell Phone

Last summer I upgraded my old Motorola "dinosaur" phone to LG's Chocolate 3, based on three things:


1. Price- Only $49.99 and I was eligible for a $50 rebate.
 
2. Camera- 2MP over the typical 1.5MP, small but noticeable difference.


3. Music Player- Internal memory holds almost 70 songs and it has a built in FM Transmitter.


So far what has impressed me the most is the Chocolate 3's durability. I have put this flip-style phone through the ringer. It has gone backpacking in rainstorms, through technical slot canyons in Escalante-Grand Stair Case National Monument, rock climbing, ice climbing, snowboarding and X-country skiing. Besides a few cosmetic scratches it has taken everything I have thrown at it and comes back for more.

I have yet to sample all of the bells and whistles that are available with the phone like the Web Browser or VZ Navigator, but having the option to check my email or being able to get directions on my phone would be convenient. The services just seem over priced. As does Verizons Rhapsody music service.

There has been a few minor compatibility issues with my macintosh, mostly file exchanges like my address book or some music and photo files. With a little ingenuity and a call to verizon tech. support, I have been able to upload any song to the phone and been able to download any photo to my mac....all via bluetooth, which I find to be very convenient.

I dont like the fact that in order to customize the ring tones you have to subscribe to Rhapsody (a waste of money if you ask me).

Also, the phone should come with all the hardware (earphones and charger) necessary to operate legally in a car. The charger that does come with the phone is nice, with one end specifically for the phone the other is for a USB 2.0 connection (that plugs into either the included wall-plug or a compatible PC/MAC).

I have only minor complaints with the FM Transceiver. Occasionally it will pick up interference and you'll have to reposition the phone to clear it up. It would also be nice if you could adjust the station without opening the phone and scrolling through menu's. 

The selling point for me was the phone is basically a MP3 player. It has a great sounding speaker and music player is easily accessed with the phone closed.


The camera is great for a phone and has added adjustable features of zoom, exposure, flash, night-mode and a couple different auto-focus settings (close-up, landscape, multi-focus). The pictures for the most part, look good on my computer (around 600x400) and are easily transfered via bluetooth.

The screen is a good size, just over 2", has nice colors (262k Color TFT LCD) and (even with a few scratches from my car keys) is easy to read. 

Being able to access limited functions of the phone while the phone is closed is convenient. Functions like scrolling music and viewing text/picture messages is easy with the iPod inspired scrolling wheel, which is easy locked or unlocked by a small button on the side of the phone.

Reception is good, calls are clear and I have very few dropped calls. But I attribute this Verizon more so than the phone.