Camera
Camera phones were first introduced in 2000 as novelty items that took
grainy photos of little value. Since then, increasing improvements in technology
have allowed users to leave the standalone digital camera at home.
Compared to the market, the VX8300's 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera is fairly
average. While much better than prior generation VGA cameras, the VX8300
is not state-of-the-art, trailing behind a few 2.0- and 3.2-megapixel devices
currently leading the pack.
Capturing photos up to 1280 x 960 px in resolution, the VX8300 provides
reasonable resolution for prints. Only about 60 photos can be stored at
the highest quality, but users can choose lower resolutions such as 640
x 480 px, 320 x 240 px, 176 x 144 px, and 160 x 120 px to store up to 1,500
photos on the internal memory.
Using the 5-Way Keypad, consumers can quickly adjust the Brightness (-9
to +9) and Digital Zoom (4x). Combining options to customize photos, the
VX8300 includes filter and color correction tools such as White Balance
(Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten, and Fluorescent), Color Effects (Normal,
Sepia, Black and White, Negative, Solari, and Vivid), Self-Timer (3, 5,
and 10 seconds), Night Mode, and Flash.
Users can also adjust the Shutter Sound as well as use the front display
with the flip closed for self-portraits or group shots.
Also able to capture video, the VX8300 encodes clips in 3G2 format (MPEG-4
or H.263 video and AMR or AAC audio streams). Rather grainy and low quality,
videos 176 x 144 px in size can be recorded up to 15 seconds in FLIX Message
Mode, or an hour in General Mode.
The VX8300 lacks the technology to records decent video clips, too blurry
and low in resolution for much use, and a common problem among all camera
phones. However for capturing still photos, the VX8300 is an excellent device.
With significantly improved image quality and reduced shutter lag over the
VX8100, the VX8300 offers a convenient camera to snap impromptu shots.
Basic Features
 The
LG VX8300 operates on CDMA 800 / 1900 frequencies, making it compatible
to just Verizon Wireless' digital networks nationwide. So customers who
live in rural areas where digital coverage may be lacking may want to consider
devices with analog frequencies.
As with many other phones, the VX8300 uses a Verizon-branded menu structure.
However, rather than the standard no-frills fundamental navigation structure,
the VX8300 is one of the first phones to features a Flash-based user interface.
Developed in partnership with Adobe, the VX8300 gives users the ability
to not only change the menu colors (Red, Purple, Dark Blue, Light Blue,
Green), but also adjust the entire home screen and menu layout with themes
(Silver Spin and Pulse). The Flash-UI is slow and may annoy customers, but
with prior phones commonly lacking usability features, the VX8300's new
interface gives the much needed customizability customers have been requesting.
Miscellaneous features include Standalone Mode (RF Off) for operation
in airplanes, TTY/TDD support and hearing aid compatible (M3-Rating) for
the hearing impaired, and English and Spanish language support.
LG rated the VX8300's 1100 mAh Li-Ion battery at an impressive 3.83 and
384 hours (16 days) of talk and standby times respectively, considerably
prolonging the battery life over the VX8100. However, these times are under
optimal conditions. Handset manufacturers and carriers often list talk and
standby time ratings with disclaimers about variable performance and often
refer to the times they publish as maximum times. Actual times will vary.
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