LG today: can we call it a good cellphone brand?

[BadOmen]

Greetings

I've been checking for good cost/benefit among unlocked GSM phones and found the LG KE500 for a very reasonable price. (I won`t get into 3-year agreements with ridiculous lame canadian carriers anymore).

I never had an LG phone, though. What`s the deal? Are they good? Any info on that special model?

Thanks

 

[nboy22]

From my experience of working in AT&T's warranty center.. they are decent, but as with many things, you get what you pay for. I found myself constantly getting calls about low end phones, so pick something higher up and you will most likely be better off. Also, review sites are your friend, I.E. www.phonescoop.com

Also avoid the 2 or 3 year agreements and just buy on ebay or craigslist.

 

[BadOmen]

Hmm, the KE500 is listed at Tiger at about $120, so I can image it's low-end to the max.

I tried gsmarena, but there are too many specs and too messed up comments.

I'll check the reviews on that one.

Rats... for that price, I was getting pretty enthusiastic at the ke500.

Hey, but thanks for the heads up.:thumbsup:

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: BadOmen
Hmm, the KE500 is listed at Tiger at about $120, so I can image it's low-end to the max.

I tried gsmarena, but there are too many specs and too messed up comments.

I'll check the reviews on that one.

Rats... for that price, I was getting pretty enthusiastic at the ke500.

Hey, but thanks for the heads up.:thumbsup:

If you are in Washington D.C. metro area, or Seattle/Eastside/Microsoft Campus, please buy a Quadband phone, more specifically one w/ 850mhz.

Many claim to be "okay" just w/ 1900mhz, but from my experiences w/ both region I lived before. Lack of 850mhz means no reception inside the build most of times.

I am not just talking out of thin air, I current have 2 tri-band phone (now serves as back up) (900mhz/1800mhz/1900mhz) Samsung P310 and Nokia 6230i.

Anyway, I know there are so many cool phone (my Samsung P310 is one of the coolest, I would think) but w/out 850mhz in the U.S., it is really not very good idea.

 

[BadOmen]

I confess I was almost going for a tri-band. I though 850 was totally out already, and we would only hear about it again for 3G. That's a very valid point, if it has influence in the reception.

Well, I'm getting more and more distant from the original plan, the ke500. I'm totally on a budget, as I wasn't expecting to change my phone now, but my current Nokia is ready to die, so I'll need to find something nice, cheap... and quad-band.

That's gonna be hard.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: BadOmen
I confess I was almost going for a tri-band. I though 850 was totally out already, and we would only hear about it again for 3G. That's a very valid point, if it has influence in the reception.

Well, I'm getting more and more distant from the original plan, the ke500. I'm totally on a budget, as I wasn't expecting to change my phone now, but my current Nokia is ready to die, so I'll need to find something nice, cheap... and quad-band.

That's gonna be hard.

It is NOT necessary to buy a Quadband, but 850mhz. Tri-band ATT/T-mobile phone all come w/ 850mhz.

If this your "transition period" you can get a phone off craigslist.
OR
If you are w/ Cingular/ATT, you can get a $19.99 Motorola C168i GoPhone from Bestbuy.
(it is a simple phone that makes call and SMS, nothing fancy)
OR
If you are w/ T-mobile, you can get T-Mobile Nokia 2610 off Walmart also.

 

[BadOmen]

Nah, I'm struggling with the lack of smarts of the Canadian carriers.

But I'll check the models you mentioned, anyway. Craigslist sounds good.

So, about LG, no special recommendations? What about that Shine phone, is it anything?

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: BadOmen
Nah, I'm struggling with the lack of smarts of the Canadian carriers.

But I'll check the models you mentioned, anyway. Craigslist sounds good.

So, about LG, no special recommendations? What about that Shine phone, is it anything?

Sorry, never had a LG phone before.

 

[Riverhound777]

My last two phones have been LG and i've liked them a lot. I currently have the VX8700, and have loved it, especially the camera. My only issue has come up recently. When I take a picture and go to send it to someone, the phone will reboot when I go to type in text to go with the picture. This doesn't happen every time, but it has been happening enough to be annoying lately. Also sometimes the phone wont be able to read my SD card. my wallpaper will go blank and I can't access any of my pics. I have to reboot the phone several times to fix it. Using 2GB SD card.

 

[BadOmen]

I've been reading many reviews lambasting Sony Ericsson cameras too. It seems that cameras are really being a current issue.

Well, I just found out that I'm gonna need a quad-band phone. Rats....
Canada is 850-1900, but I also need to use the phone in South America sometimes, which is 900-1800. That's gonna increase the price.....

 

[Mermaidman]

We are still using a LG VX7000 and a LG VX8000. These are flip phones about 2-3 yrs old. They don't feel cheap and are built like tanks!! I have no complaints except for the lack of Bluetooth, but that's because they're older designs.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: BadOmen
It seems that cameras are really being a current issue.

If I am not mistaken, only few of cell phone camera has Auto Focus function.
Many have 8" to infinity, but too close or too far will become very unclear.

QuadBand phone w/ AF camera that I know of :
Sony K550i / W610i / K850i
Nokia N73 / 5610 / 6500 / N82 / N95
HTC Touch Cruise

 

[BadOmen]

Nice point. I researched Ebay a little bit and noticed that the N72, 5610 and 6500 are basically in the same price range. All around $300.

That's more than I have planned to spend, but at the same time, I wonder if it's worthwhile to save $100 and get a phone with not-so-appealing reviews and recommendations.

 

[TimeKeeper]

If really want "good" photo phone, K850i 5MP is great choice.
Otherwise, I like W610i is good all-around phone, which has walkman 2.0 and flash for photo. (should be well under $200)

 

[BadOmen]

The W610i has indeed a very good price everywhere.

There's just one little fishy something: if you go to Craigslist, it seems that everybody is trying to get rid of them. You can find lots of them for awesome prices. Added to the bad reputation Ericsson phones usually have, I don't know... in terms of price, it would be perfect.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: BadOmen
The W610i has indeed a very good price everywhere.

There's just one little fishy something: if you go to Craigslist, it seems that everybody is trying to get rid of them. You can find lots of them for awesome prices. Added to the bad reputation Ericsson phones usually have, I don't know... in terms of price, it would be perfect.

According to Asian market, it seems to be a very solid phone.
Only complain I read is its smaller 1.9" screen w/ 176x220 resolution and doesn't support Java.

I guess most people think newer phone should have 240X320 resolution like its W580i.
But again, W580i's photo quality is not good, and its sliding design doesn't feel as "solid" as Motorola Z3.