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179 of 189 found the following review helpful:
 LG DARE, I dare you to give it a try! Aug 12, 2008
By Stuart Floyd
I have had the LG DARE/VX9700 touch screen phone for over a month now and it is a great phone and certainly the best touch screen Verizon has to offer and a great alternative to an iphone over on that other network AT&T. Remember you will need phone plan, internet plan, picture/text plan and they have many to choose from. Myself I went alacart and chose specific things I wanted and know I would use and it cost me less than several of the packages offered. NOTE: This is not a SMARTPHONE, it doesn't promote itself that way but some may expect that and it is not.
Side note for comparisons:
I have an Apple iPod Touch mp3 player which is basically a first generation iPhone without the phone. The Touch is a superb product and the screen is unsurpassed in it's size and clarity, identical to the iPhone and I even get free wi-fi on the iPod Touch, something you pay for with a data plan with the iPhone. If the iphone had more features and fair plan/price options it would be more desirable, maybe it's next iteration?! For example for the $59.99 plan I have with Verizon, the same plan/options with the iphone on AT&T would cost me $99.99. Again I have no affiliation to either and would prefer NOT to be a customer of either one but sadly we have little choice but to select a company and their pricey offerings.
Back to the LG Dare, it is a superb product the screen is exceptional and if it were as big as the iPhone/iPod Touch screen it would be even be more exceptional. However, LG went with a little smaller footprint but packed it with many goodies that you can't yet get in any other touch screen phone including the Apple iPhone 3G.
I am not a fan of any contract to any service provider, I just happen to have been on Verizon a long time, they do have in my experience the best call quality and coverage coast to coast but I still hate signing anything for 2yrs. Remember you have 30 days to test out the phone and if it's NOT what you expected or want, return it and get another or go out and try another provider.
I didn't return mine as I really like it allot and yes the biggest gripe would be to have a larger screen thus less need to scroll during internet use as the net takes up allot of real estate when dealing with a small screen. I am not on there to do long term surfing or intensive seraches. I get onto the net to check my hotmail email and to look at weather, movie times, news headlines for brief periods. Sometimes it can be slower then you'd like but that depends allot on the signal strength of the area you are in.
You can view horizontal or vertical as the screen will adjust to however you hold the phone. This also happens with typing text for text messages or using the internet. Hold the phone horizontal and you will get the onscreen qwerty keybord, hold it vertical and you get the phone like keyboard to enter text. There is a button on each of the screens to select either one you like best for your typing.
The call quality is exceptionally clear and loud, the screen adjusts to indoor and outdoor lighting which is great and better than many other phone screens and even digital camera screens. Of course you have bluetooth as well for connecting to headphones, your computer if it bluetooth equiped etc.
You have the ability to drag and drop icons/buttons on the main screen, arrange them to your liking. You have an abundance of menus that are quite easy to click/scroll through and easy to follow or test and see what your options are with many of the features.
It does have hand writing recognition, it is not easy for me with big fingers to draw things, or a map and with a stylus pen certainly better. You can craft something and email or text it someone, it's a nifty little feature and something unique for now and you will see more of it in the future and of course it will be improved with each iteration.
You have many sound settings and vibration settings for the phone, tactile feedback when typing/scrolling and a load of ringtones to choose from or go buy/download others.
Speaker phone is loud and you can even have it verbally read your text messages to you which can be amusing with the computerized voice.
This phone has the best camera of any cell phone sold in the U.S. It comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, with face detection, zoom and editing in the phone to name a couple things off the photo menu. The photos I have taken are exceptional for a cell phone and close to what I had in my first digital camera several years ago. They are more than exceptional for emailing and online posting. Remember when emailing them to users on a smaller phone that the photo text messages will be very pixelated because they are trying to view it on a much lower resolution screen and a 1-2 inch screen at best.
I recommend getting a micro SD card and you can get them pretty cheap on amazon, search and do a little research and you'll find a good cheap 4gb card and thus you will have ample room for photos and videos and not suddenly run out, but in saying that make sure to download stuff so as to keep the phone pretty empty allowing you to photo and video when out and about or when you forget your digital camera.
As for it being an mp3 player that is another great option and of course Verizon wants you to use their store but you can plug the phone in and download/rip music from your computer but not from itunes of course, all about file conversions and all that proprietary BS. In any case it works just like an iPhone for music minus the very good itunes store that can be accessed direct from an iPhone. For me I don't use this phone for music being I have the iPod Touch and it also saves me concern on draining the phone battery. I have gone several days without charging when using the phone, texting, taking photos and sending them as well as accessing the net. The charger has a plug for the electrical outlet and a usb plug to connect to your computer to charge as well.
It is a little smaller over all from the iPhone a tiny bit thicker but almost not noticable. Slowly I see more and more accessories for the Dare and many are here on Amazon and much cheaper than Verizon or other retailers. I recommend a cover, silicone, rubber ones are great and I have dropped my phone several times without any damage or marks as it almost bounces with the silicone cover I have. I also purchased a few of the screen protectors.
By having the screen protector I often use a stylus pen on the screen as I have very large fingers and one thing that happens with any touch screen when you have big fingers it is easy to select the wrong thing or more then one thing. The LG Dare will allow you to actually set the sensitivity in the options menu. It comes preset but you can actually run a test and change the sensitivity to make it more pressure sensitive to how you tap the screen.
I have touched on many things and many more things I have easily missed but go to Cnet, ZDnet, Amazon and check out Reviews, or just google LG Dare reviews. The best way would be to go take it for a test drive at a local Best Buy, at the Verizon stores and check on the 30 day trial as well via Verizon.
As with any electronics product, they could always be better and this is the first version of the LG Dare and hopefully they can improve the next version just like Apple did with it's iphone, however, Apple didn't go nearly far enough so maybe the 3rd generation iphone will be great and the 2nd generation of the Dare even further unique than it currently is on the market today.
73 of 75 found the following review helpful:
Verizon's best Jul 08, 2008
By Robert Jenckes
"RobbDogg"
Ok, I don't have time for a full detailed review but I'll try to cover the basics. This phone is awesome, I bought it the day it came out after looking at the Voyager and the Glyde and reading several reviews for months on all the different touchscreen phones. This thing looks far better than both and the features are much better as well.
The screen is 3 inches, slightly smaller than the Instinct and Iphone but its bigger than the Voyager and Glyde. Trust me, it's a good size. When you turn the phone from vertical to horizontal while looking at pictues or the internet the screen will automatically rotate with it, much like the iphone, which is cool! I didn't like the white un-organized main menu that you see in all the pictures of the phone but you can change it to an organized black one more like the iphone which looks a lot better if you think the white one doesn't look so great.
The camera is much better than anything I've seen on a phone and you can edit and draw on any of your saved pics and then save it. The camera button is in the exact spot where it would be on a digital camera and you can even hold the button half way down to focus just like any digital camera. The headphone port allows you to use any headphones without a stupid adapter that you're never going to carry around.
The onboard QWERTY keyboard works pretty good, I have no complaints but I do hit the wrong key every now and then (I've never had a QWERTY before this phone). The Voyager's actual keyboard may be more user friendly but this one works well and is very convenient.
My buddy got the Samsung Instinct, which is supposed to be the Sprint Iphone, two days before I got the Dare. We compared them for over an hour (while sitting in a bar) and he was definitely upset with some of the features mine had. Camera was much better, bluetooth syncing was better, keyboard options were better.
Lastly, if you were thinking about the Voyager or Glyde, I would definitely go with the Dare. I saw a guy with the Voyager the other day and I almost laughed at him. The Dare is smaller and thinner with a bigger screen and its better looking. You really can't go wrong with the DARE!
77 of 81 found the following review helpful:
Great phone! My first touch screen.... Jul 07, 2008
By Angela
"Angel"
I just got this phone a few days ago, and I love it!!! I can't get enough of it! It has taken me no time at all to get used to the touch screen and navigating through the menus is so easy, and I am hooked! I highly recommend this phone to everyone!
This phone has so many great features, and some of the many that I like are (in no particular order):
-A home button on every page except for the dial pad (but you can use the clear or end key there) so if you need to start over you can
-A back arrow on each page that allows you to go back one step on the path you took (How convenient is that?!)
-The non-touch screen physical buttons on the bottom of the phone are great and practical (unlike the iPhone) so you don't have to worry about searching for the send, clear/voice command or end keys (I find the send key to be convenient for placing three way calls as well.)
-Drag and drop ability for shortcuts to your home page
-Speakerphone button on side and on the touch screen if you choose
-Face proximity sensor so the LCD turns off when on a call so no button pushing with your face
-Handwriting recognition (a bit of a learning curve with pressure but still so cool!)
-Scroll/flick through menus, photos and contacs up or down AND side to side
-Qwerty keyboard touch screen when you turn it sideways
-Tactile vibrating feedback option for touching and scrolling
-3.2MP camera/camcorder (awesome!)
-Music player with sound effects that will play in the background while you do other things and also auto pauses if you receive or make a call
-Lots of fun animated and still wallpapers to choose from
-Different menu font styles to choose from
-You can use your finger, yes, but also a stylus (that doesn't come with the phone but should) or a retractable pen that is retracted, etc.
-USB cable comes with the phone and an adapter to turn it into a charger (no extra money shelled out for a USB cable there!)
-And it just looks freaking cool!
OK, OK. I have to let you know that there are a few things that some people might not like about it (but they don't bother me):
-The Dare doesn't have wi-fi, but the plus side of that is that no data plan is required to have this phone...unless you want to get the regular internet browsing stuff.
-You can't put iTunes directly on it. They have to be converted to wma files or mp3s first, or you can burn a CD from your iTunes and burn/rip those songs right back and load them from iTunes that way.
-It's just a hair thicker than the iPhone, like .04 of an inch.
There is so much more about this phone that is great, though, but just read about it here and on Verizon's and LG's sites. You can also watch a short video about it on CNET at [...] Play with one, get one and LOVE IT! It's more awesome than any phone I've ever had or seen that I can't give it anything less than 5 stars!
Go on! I DARE you to get one! ;)
121 of 133 found the following review helpful:
 GREAT phone.. not for me thou. READ Aug 27, 2008
By Jon
ok I am considered a tech-junkie by most family and friends so when i got this phone i was more than excited..
ill do a basic pros/cons and then talk a bit more.
pros:
-light
-loaded with features, such as vz navigator,games (downloadable), and a basically customizable desktop for icons
-an incredible camera with features u wont find anywhere (face detection and smart pic??!!)
-cool battery saver option of when i put the phone to my face to talk during a call, the display turns off. remove it from my face and it turns back on.
cons:
-when i compare the scroll and touch features to the ipod touch i have.. the LG DARE just doesnt hold a candle as far as accuracy goes. WITH THAT SAID, if you are new to touch screens, like my wife, you would find it enjoyable.
-the call quality to me was a bit lacking.. i would call from the same spot as my wife and just MUCH MUCH better call quality from her chocolate..
-i have bigger hands/bigger fingers. im 6'2 and 230lbs.. and when id try to type or dial or something, it was a bit "wonky" with its responsiveness (i felt like shrek with it)
-stereo bluetooth is not that good of quality. i tried three $100 headphone sets and they all sounded muffled. when i hooked up my wired Sennheiser headphones, all was fine..
-lastly - to me, there was an annoyingly elongated "load" time for the display to turn on, and then id have to push unlock and then answer.. while others would find that fine, i just need a faster time. (ipod touch is lightening fast)
now i referenced the ipod touch, but that is just the mp3 player.. not the phone. i do think this is a GOOD phone, but its just not for me. little quirks over 7 days of use just got to me..if you have no touch screen experience, or very little - this phone might be for you.
if your looking for a FAST paced phone - this might not be for u..
i hope i can help someone out there..
cheers
33 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Mostly good Oct 08, 2008
By Chris
April 2010: Verizon just released v6 of Navigator and now it is pretty good. They havce made great improvements to the UI and the map is as good as many dedicated units. I haven't used the new version enough to give it a thorough review but the negative comments I originally made about it are no longer valid. Well, except for it still being useless outside of network coverage.
First, a few words about the network. Verizon does have good coverage, but I get a lot of vmail when I am sitting at work with 3 bars on both signal meters. I also get text messages in blocks. I now advise people who get my vmail to just try again a couple of times. The message does eventually get through though. Text messages sometimes result in a "network error" message too, that's just laziness on their network folks part, they need to deal with making sure the message gets through rather than putting it back on to the users.
I do actually like this phone, as a software professional of many years experience that's actually quite unusual; I have high expectations. Most of the features on this phone work well and it's a reasonable size too. Given the choice of a bigger phone with a better keyboard or a smaller one that I don't mind carrying... well the choice was obvious to me. But in the months that I have had it there have been no software updates and they do need to fix some bugs.
The phone works well enough, not the same as a phone with a proper keyboard, or even a phone with a regular keypad. A few things you can do with the real buttons, but the rest has to be done via the touch controls.
Phone connectivity has been better than with AT&T, it has never dropped calls at the places where AT&T dropped them 100% of the time, as an example there was a railway bridge (just north of 84 on Mission Blvd in Fremont, CA) where AT&T drops 100% of calls. Verizon doesn't.
But on the general phone call quality front the Verizon network more often suffers from bad echo, I make phone exchanges and echo cancellation is a network issue, so that's not the phone. But outside of that the voice quality, both sent and received, though adequate is not spectacular. It's good enough, comprehensible, but not great.
Controls are a vast improvement from my Motorola phones, the best thing of all is that the side buttons are locked when everything else is locked, so I don't end up with zero ring volume unexpectedly and miss calls.
The display is OK, but not as good as my three year old Dell 51v PDA, not by a very long way. This makes the net browser of questionable use, but zooming in helps with readability, if not the quality. The data network is not fast, nowhere near as fast as AT&T. But then AT&T doesn't have the coverage, so a slow Verizon net is a lot better than no net at all in many of the places I visit. Round Silicon Valley it's rather disappointing though, seems like they should be able to achieve more in the tech capital of the US.
I used BitPim to transfer the comma separated variable (.csv) file I exported from my Nokia E51, which I liked better as a phone, but which lacked GPS and good camera, though it had much faster data and 802.11 too.
The camera is pretty good. It's about the quality of the $800 Olympus I bought about eight years ago, or the cheapest digital you can buy now. The lens isn't as fast and doesn't have great optical zoom, but the sensor is fast, so you can get some surprisingly good low light shots. The shutter delay is long though, and the exposure control with the 'flash' isn't good, so you end up with burned out blue-white images if you use it too close to your subject. Better than nothing though.
Should I review the navigation as if it were a dedicated GPS? First, the GPS features depend 100% on data coverage, when you don't have data coverage you don't have GPS. So don't rely on this as your only form of navigation. The big problem with traffic linked navigation systems is that the method of getting the traffic reports in is poor. The data tends to be old or missing. So you get reports about incidents that were in the distant past, or you get no warning before running in to a problem. The Bay Area has a lot of radar based traffic speed monitoring, but even that isn't enough to cause either this LG phone or my Garmin Nuvi 670 to make good traffic related decisions. The regular routes chosen are fine and the maps downloaded are adequate. But if you are heading out where there's no network coverage then there's no GPS guidance either. The phone does really use GPS, not some awful signal strength based triangulation. Re-routing on bad traffic isn't as good as Tomtom or Garmin, sometimes it even asks you if it should request a new route rather than just getting on with it. Right now I am wondering if I should continue to bother with the GPS or just keep it as a curiosity.
The interface to the phone book is different and much less good than the regular interfaces: navigation is a loaded application, so it doesn't do things the LG way. It should. The phone native software has a favorites list, a contacts list and a dial pad for selecting numbers. The favorites list can use pictures of the recipients. In the messaging the favorites are available as a short list under one tab. In the GPS software there's an option to send a sit-rep to tell people when you will get where you are going, it's under the options menu. But then you have to hit 'add' to add a contact to the recipient list and then either dial the number or find it in the address book. This version of the address book lacks the short cut letter bar, so you can't just go to the 'S' entries with one tap. You have to search for individual names. This is the last thing you want to be doing whilst driving.
The email interface is not good. It is slow and neither includes the graphics nor can follow links. So if your receive html based email you aren't going to know what the message is until you get to a real browser. Or, if you are lucky, you can browse to the page on the Verizon browser, which actually seems OK. The email client also crashes on trying to do a group reply and takes the phone down with it. They need to improve this and also add some user friendliness, like allowing the notification tone to be changed to separate it from other features on the phone.
Then there's the curious operational bugs/incompatibilities/irritations. When it receives an email or text message it just has to tell you right now, even if you are busy writing another text. Couldn't it just beep and flash an icon? Instead you either have to read the other message now, at which point your current message is stuffed into the drafts, or hit the read-later button. Now, if you were typing at the time the message turned up you might randomly get either one of those. When email comes in it beeeeeeps. Nothing you can do about that. And then you have to hit ignore, if you hit the hangup key you also close whatever else you were on. If you get email notification it holds the screen lit, even if the phone had locked the keys and gone blank before, so if you don't tell it not to bother you at night you are very likely to wake to a dead battery. Sometimes the navigation system starts itself for no apparent reason, like when the phone is sitting on the coffee table and we are watching a movie.
The phone comes with a poor set of ring tones, my Nokia E51 was much better and I think the sound quality was better too. In general I think Nokia are much better than LG.
The web browser can be slow, not the data connection, that varies with signal quality and all else; at times the touch screen and the web page are slow to respond, the tactile feedback shows that the 'mouse' events have been ignored for long periods. The widgets can be very hard to select too. Mostly it's OK, but on the low side of acceptable. You wouldn't want to try browsing normal web pages with anything less than this, but it can be used.
Anyway. so what do you expect when you have a phone that's smaller than an iPod but has a web interface and all else built in? maybe just a bit more than I got. A screen that can be read in direct sun and has better resolution would be a good start.
3 Months later:
The GPS, especially in the 'traffic based routing' mode is more of a novelty than anything else. If it is all you have then it's better than nothing, but a basic $100 GPS receiver is better than this. Recently I was making a side street diversion (home brewed, not the phone's idea), even when I was almost back on the main road, no more than 200 yards from empty road, it was still advising me to go back to where I got off I880 and sit in traffic for 30 minutes. The Garmin Nuvi 680 is much better than this. Verizon should disable this supposed 'feature' until their software people have done some serious rework.
The work-flow around text messaging is poor. New messages interrupt while you are entering a response, picture messages take over completely. When you are entering text other things should happen in background. These phones have fantastically powerful little processors, I can only suppose that the software guys know nothing about multi tasking and real time software (where I have 25 years experience). When you have read one text message and told it to you'll read two or three interruptions later it drops you out of messaging instead of back to the in box to deal with the new messages. Sloppy.
Reliability has been good, though with a few crashes and still no software update. An interesting strange behavior that has crept in, each time I enter a $ sign in a message it enters $130000 but puts the cursor before the 1. It crashes if I try to group reply to email. Sometimes it just crashes. Not very often though. So it's not a show stopper for me.
Would I buy this phone today? Still yes. The network coverage on Verizon overrides the better bandwidth of the iPhone. If AT&T had better coverage it might be a different answer. If coverage doesn't matter to you, like you don't leave metro areas, then Verizon doesn't have any trump cards.
Late December: still no software update. I've found a few more ways to crash the phone,[...] can do it any time. Hmm, no, that's not true. There is a software update, and there has been one for some time, I have v0.3 and v0.5 was out in September when I got the phone. Not great to find that out now.
March 09 update
The software update fixed most of the reliability issues, and if I ever got round to complaining about questionable Bluetooth performance... well that was fixed too. They have massaged the UI code and it has made the web abd keyboard interfaces easier to use, a subtle but important improvement, hard to quantify but very good.
The GPS guidance and especially the traffic avoidance are still not worth using, unless you are really lost. Verizon's navigation scheme is not a good solution. If you need that sort of thing then buy a cheap GPS.
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