- GSM tri-band and UMTS dual-band technologies for communication around the globe
- Built-in 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, flash, and video clip capture and playback
- Integrated MP3 audio player and with microSD / TransFlash removable memory for extra storage
- J2ME software for downloading games, wallpaper, screensavers, ringtones and applications
- One-touch embedded mobile instant messaging using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), ICQ, and Yahoo! Messenger
- Bluetooth wireless technology for hands-free connectivity
- UMTS technology for high-speed data transmission with WAP 2.0 compliant browser
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| 1. Posted by sencha |
Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:58 pm |
Long have Cingular subscribers looked on with envy as LG made great, multi-featured phones for other companies while we were stuck with realtively low-end models...but with the cu320, LG now has a foothold in the higher-end of Cingular's phone lineup and a new product to build a good reputation on.
Made for the UMTS network rollout, the cu320 can also access GSM and EDGE bands, so you CAN use this phone in a non-3G area and the 3G SIM (64K) works just fine in my non-3G area. At the time of this review, this phone is not yet available nationwide; it is only sold in select cities.
Let's start off with the criteria. To me (and this is a subjective review), a phone has 4 main areas that I consider important: phone quality, personal qualities, annoyances and overall appeal.
Phone Quality:
LG did NOT skimp on the display! Even though it's not QVGA-sized, the display is large, bright and vivid. It's easy to read small text on the screen and web pages display well on it. Compared to their lower-end phones, this display is worth the price of the phone! The phone itself is hefty and feels solid...some people might like slim phones, but I don't because I tend to drop them. The slide is solid and there's a little dip in the slide that locks the phone up. This seems solid, as well. The phone is like a little brick with this great display. Some people might gripe over the antenna, but I don't mind it. The top of the phone has brightly-lit buttons and the soft blue light looks good on them, but the keypad doesn't fare as well: it might be a little harder to see the blue in moderately low-light conditions because the transparent areas for numbers and letters on the buttons is so thin, but it's easy to adjust to it. The battery is a 3.7V LiIon that lasts for a good while, even with Net usage and calls. Remember that even though the stats say only a little more than 2 hours of talk time, that's UMTS...GSM talk time might be at least double that. There are lots of nice little touches on the phone, like the Transflash slot (I read that it can handle 1GB cards well), side buttons that control ring volume (HELLO SAMSUNG?) and then call volume during calls, and a multi-tasking button that lets you take or make calls while surfing the net on UMTS (this is not tested, yet...I'm in a non-3G area!) The little camera on it is pretty good and takes decent 1.3Mp shots, but you have to select "reverse" from a menu to be able to take shots with the camera facing away from you. This, coincedentally, happens to work out well because when it's facing outwards and not at you, the main body of the phone protects the camera lens when the slide closes. A SUPER bright LED flash compliments the camera. The only complaint there is that it has to be turned on manually through a menu from the camera mode...it's difficult to use as an on-demand, quick flashlight. The photos are obviously cell phone-quality...nothing to write home about. I haven't tested video, yet. I didn't and won't test screen scratch vulnerability; I put a good quality screen protector on the phone before I even charged it for the first time. You should always do the same! The speakerphone is nice and loud and plays the ringtones, instead of through the earpiece. The keylock is automatic, going on 5 seconds after the phone slides shut and turning off by pressing a two-button sequence. It also automatically turns off if the phone opens. Nice touch. This phone can also do Bluetooth handsfree and file transfers, so you can upload music and pics, plus download pics from the phone. I haven't been able to download contacts, so I don't know if that's possible, yet. The phone can update over the air via a menu selection (VERY NICE!)
Personal Qualities:
The phone wallpaper can be made from your pictures or you can select one of the pre-supplied photos, which are hi-res shots incorporating the Cingular logo. Ringtones can be personal, but I think there is a size limit on ringtones...I haven't checked, yet. You can set ringtones for each contact, but the message melodies can't be personalized. There are 10 message melodies to choose from and you can choose from 5 sounds that go off when you slide the phone open and closed. You can also select clock styles for the main screen and font size/color of the numbers that show up when you dial. There is an "options" menu from the main screen that you can personalize with over 10 slots available. This phone is pretty customizable and you can use your hi-res shots for the main screen-it can do them justice. You can set backlight and keypad light times individually and there are customizable, multiple alarms available. You CANNOT control backlight levels, though. Signal quality is fine and talk quality is, too.
Annoyances:
The first annoyance is the filing system. It has two filing areas: phone and Bluetooth and it's not as easy as pushing the control pad to get between the two. You have to move phone pics over to the Bluetooth folder to get them seen by your PC. The second annoyance is that the Bluetooth options seem limited. The Sony Ericsson z520a (my backup phone) has a full suite of options, including a mode that only allows one accessory at a time so you can use your handsfree and prevent Bluejacking. The cu320 has a Bluetooth on/off selection and can connect...that's pretty much it. It also has to be turned on from the Bluetooth menu; there are no profiles like the z520. ALL Bluetooth transactions must be verified on the phone, so if you transfer 15 files, expect to verify 15 times...that's irritating! A BIG annoyance for me is that my Bluetooth handsfree (HS-300) from Motorola that worked perfectly with my z520 loses the button functionality on the cu320! It will connect and you can take calls on it, but the phone automatically diverts the call (unlike the Sony, which allows for one-button switching) and the little on/off button on the earpiece does NOTHING. I have to take the phone out and manually hang up/dial. I also see no option for handsfree voice dialing like the z520. The z520 has MULTIPLE data slots for each contact, birthday, address and so on...the cu320 has only a few slots for numbers and email...no personal info can be stored on the phone for contacts. Another big problem is that the cu320 will show ALL contacts on the SIM AND the Phone, with no way to filter them out, so you get doubles of every contact...
Overall:
I LIKE this phone, in spite of its annoyances and I am willing to keep it because I love the display and features I get. The problems I have with the phone are easily fixable with an update or two and I hope LG gets on the ball so these little problems can be taken care of. Once they are, this phone will be perfect for me!
Score: 7/10 before updates
10/10 if they fix those problems!
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Technical Specifications |
| Network: |
GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 / UMTS 850 / 1900 |
| Form Factor: |
Slide |
| Dimensions: |
97 x 48 x 24 mm |
| Weight: |
122 g |
| Antenna: |
Stub |
| Navigation: |
5-Way Keypad |
| Battery Type: |
1000 mAh Li-Ion |
| Talk Time: |
2.50 |
| Standby Time: |
200 |
| Memory: |
64 MB |
| Expandable Memory: |
microSD / TransFlash |
| |
Imaging |
| Main Screen: |
262000 colors (TFT)
176 x 220 px |
| External Screen: |
 |
| Camera: |
1.3 MP / 1280 x 960 px / Flash / 4X Zoom / Multi-Shot / Video Recorder |
| |
Audio |
| MP3 Player: |
 |
| FM Radio: |
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| Speakerphone: |
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| Push-To-Talk: |
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| |
Multimedia |
| Wallpapers: |
176 x 220 px |
| Screen Savers: |
176 x 220 px |
| Ring Tones: |
72 chord / MP3 |
| Themes: |
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| Games: |
J2ME |
| Streaming Multimedia: |
Cingular Video |
| |
Messaging |
| SMS: |
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| EMS: |
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| MMS: |
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| Email: |
|
| Chat: |
AOL / ICQ / Yahoo! |
| Predictive Text: |
T9 |
| |
| |
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Applications |
| Phonebook Capacity: |
500 |
| Calendar: |
|
| To-Do List: |
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| WAP: |
2.0 |
| Voice Commands: |
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| Calculator: |
|
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Connectivity |
| Bluetooth: |
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| Infrared Port: |
|
| High-Speed Data: |
GPRS (Class 10) / UMTS |
| Wi-Fi: |
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| GPS: |
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| PC Sync: |
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More Information |
| Website: |
Product Website |
| Discussion: |
LG Forum |
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