The VX8000 looks similar to former LG clamshells, with its boxy rectangular shape reminiscent of the VX7000. At 96 x 50 x 23 mm, it's fairly large due to the screen size needed to view videos comfortably. The external frame features an outer 128 x 160 px resolution screen, displaying up to 262K colors.A camera lens and flash are situated above providing high resolution photos at 1280 x 960 px in size. While a rotating Camera Key around the lens offers quick camera function control between Portrait and Macro Modes. Left, Right, and Select keys are located below the screen, providing convenient access to shortcuts such as Rewind, Fast Forward, and Play / Stop when listening to the built-in MP3 player. And dual speakers ports located underneath allow for stereo sound.
Turned around, the back includes a capped external antenna port on the upper left, for those times when the extendable antenna may not be enough.
Flipped opened, the LG VX8000 features an impressive 176 x 220 px internal monitor, also able to display 262K colors. The 5-way keypad provides navigation through the menu, flanked by Send, End / Power, Clear, Camera, and Left and Right soft keys. Standard numeric keys provide trouble-free messaging, utilizing T9 predictive text.
Side Keys used to adjust the ringer volume in standby and earpiece volume during a call are located on the left side. Additionally, a dedicated Voice Dial Key and 2.5 mm headset jack are positioned there. Meanwhile, for those impromptu moments, a side key along the right quickly enables Camera Mode at the press of a button. Outlets for attaching the charger and accessories are located on the bottom.
Out of the box, the LG VX8000 comes with a standard 1100 mAh Li-Polymer battery, AC adapter, stereo headset, Quick Start CD, and user manual. Camera
The LG VX8000's 1.3-megapixel CCD camera captures excellent images at up to 1280 x 960 px in resolution; large enough to make decent prints. Other resolutions include 640 x 480 px, 320 x 240 px, 176 x 144 px, and 160 x 120 px. Compared to megapixel cameras from Motorola, Samsung, and Kyocera, the VX8000's outperforms them all considerably, with accurate color representation, good exposure even in low light, and sharpness in bright environments. The internal screen doubles as the VX8000's viewfinder, with the lower portion displaying useful information such as zoom, resolution, and available memory. The directional keypad controls the Brightness Level (Up / Down), and 4x Digital Zoom (Left / Right). And should users want to be included in the shot, closing the VX8000 activates the external monitor viewfinder.
By turning the Camera switch around the lens, Macro Mode can be activated; allowing users to take photos at extremely close range. To take regularshots, the switch is turned to Portrait Mode.Additionally, an abundant array of camera filters and controls are incorporated including Brightness (EV -9 to +9), White Balance (Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Glow, All Pull-In), File Quality (Economy, Normal, Fine), Color Effects (Normal, Black and White, Negative, Sepia, Horror, Solari), Photometry (Average, Spot), ISO Settings (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600), Night Mode, Self-Timer, and Flash.
Encoded in 3GPP2 codec (MPEG-4 and H.263 Video, AAC, AMR, and QCELP Audio) format, video clips up to 176 x 220 px in resolution can be recorded. Limited to 15 seconds in length and 15 frames-per-second, the VX8000 takes advantage of MPEG-4 for delivery of video and audio. Video adjustment settings include Brightness, White Balance, and ISO Settings. Computer playback for clips require QuickTime 6.5.
Basic Features
Released for Verizon Wireless, the LG VX8000 is built on a dual-band CDMA 800 / 1900 network. LG rated the VX8000's 1100 mAh Li-Polymer battery at 3.33 hours and 110 hours of talk and standby times respectively. However, those are under optimal conditions.
When handset manufacturers and mobile phone carriers list talk-time and standby-time ratings, they usually include disclaimers about variable performance and often refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Some quote expected battery life ranges, and in this case you're probably safe to assume you'll experience at least the minimum rated range. Actual talk and standby times are lower.
Screen
Built with dual TFT (Thin Film Transistor) 262K color screens, both internal and external displays use state-of-the-art LCD technology, providing crisp and brilliant images needed for video streaming. The 128 x 160 px front display is wonderfully versatile, conveniently showing date, time, battery level, signal strength, custom wallpaper, and caller ID; even doubling as a camera and video viewfinder, picture browser, text message reader, or MP3 player controller. A large 176 x 220 px internal monitor is just as bright and responsive for main functions, navigating through menus, and viewing videos.
TFT active display matrices can achieve more vibrant colors and faster refresh rates over other LCD technologies due to circuit transistors being placed directly on the glass at the pixel location; refresh rates needed for using the VX8000's screen as a television during streaming video.Entertainment
Common preinstalled software is included on the LG VX8000, including Alarm Clock, Calculator, Calendar, EZ Tip Calc, Notepad, and World Clock. And should users want to install additional applications or games, the VX8000 supports BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless).
The dynamic BREW platform allows users to transfer and install files on the VX8000 through a PC or through the web. Conveniently, Verizon Wireless also uses its network to bring consumers games, productivity tools, wallpapers, ring tones, and more with Get It Now. For a minimal fee, users can transfer multimedia at the touch of a button.
A new category in Verizon's Get It Now service includes 3D Gaming. Costing more than standard games, about $10 for a 3-month subscription, the 3D games are considerably more entertaining providing 3D rendering and effects reminiscent of the 90s consoles.Made by a small UK company named SuperScape, there are currently a few games in a wide range of genres including AMF Bowling, Asphalt Urban GT, Evel Knievel 3D, Evil Slayer, Kingdom Hearts, Spider-Man 2 3D: NY Rooftops, SWAT: The Movie, and Swerve Basketball.Internet
Using Verizon Wireless' broadband EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) service, the LG VX8000 can achieve speeds of 300 to 500 kbps, allowing for high-speed Internet browsing and video streaming. Users surf with the installed Openwave UP 6.2.3 web browser; rendering pages built upon WAP 2.0 - WML, xHTML Mobile (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) and xHTML Basic markup languages.Additionally, through Verizon's VCAST service, customers can stream and playback video clips using Windows Media, currently the highest-quality digital media format available for streaming applications. For a $15 month access fee, customers can receive unlimited access to more than 300 daily video clips, including news and entertainment from the News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox studio and Viacom Inc.'s VH1 and Comedy Central cable channels.
Using technology from PacketVideo and thePlatform, video-on-demand is available through Get It Now. Preloaded with PacketVideo's media player, the VX8000's content catalog with integrated Windows Media playback allows users to fast forward and rewind streams, or download for local playback. Media publishing technology through thePlatform allows customers to subscribe and select preferences for their favorite content; receiving text alerts when new content becomes available, viewing new clips within their favorite channels, and checking summary reports on videos purchased.
While similar technologies have been available in Asia for years, VCAST marks the North American wireless industry's initial push into mobile television, delivering live and prerecorded TV programs from such networks as ABC News, CNBC, MSNBC, and the Weather Channel.
Storage
An abundant 128 MB of internal memory available on the VX8000; needed for users storing photos, MP3 music, and video from VCAST. The memory is dynamically shared among stored files including multimedia and third party applications. Unfortunately the VX8000 does not feature an expandable memory card slot, so users will have to clean out memory should more free space be needed.
Connectivity
Needless to say, the connectivity features on the VX8000 are severely lacking. A common problem among Verizon phones, the carrier encourages customers to use the fee-based Get It Now services rather than allowing opportunities to transfer free through either infrared or Bluetooth. Good for business, bad for customers.
LG VX8000 Features
* 1.3-megapixel CCD camera with flash, 4x digital zoom, Macro Mode for extreme close-ups, photometry adjustments, and ISO settings
* Capture 15-second videos or still pictures (save up to 100 videos and 200 photos)
* VCAST service to stream up to 3-minute video clips (15 frames / second) with hi-speed EV-DO connection
* Two-way Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Short Messaging Service (SMS), Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), and Mobile instant messaging (IM)
* Personal organizer with Calendar, Scheduler, Voice Memo (1 minute each for up to 30 total), and Notepad
* Tools including Alarm Clock, Shortcut Key, World Clock, Calculator, and Ez Tip Calc
* Dual speakers for stereo sound and speakerphone functionality
