Camera
A 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder is on the lower end of cell phone camera
quality (for a reference point, 3.0-megapixel is on the other end of the
spectrum). Still, the VX8360's standard 1280 x 960 px resolution leads to
clear, focused pictures.
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Users can also opt for 640 x 480 px and 320 x 240 px resolution in order
to save room on the phone's memory, although the camera won't zoom while
using these lower resolutions. The camera will zoom up to two times with
the standard resolution setting.
Photographers can rotate or crop pictures, take a self-portrait with
the phone open or closed, set a self-timer for three, five or ten seconds,
and switch the shutter sound to a voice that says, "Say cheese!" or "Ready,
1, 2, 3."
The VX8360's camcorder has just one resolution setting -- 176 x 144 px.
Users can record a 30 second video to send to friends or save an hour of
video on the phone or a memory card. Video formats that can play on the
phone include WMV, MP4, 3Gp and 3G2.
Both the camera and camcorder offer a variety of color effects -- sepia,
aqua, negative and black and white -- and white balance effects that adjust
for lighting and weather conditions. Both also can enter a night mode after
dark. Videos and recordings can be sent to contacts, saved on the phone
or set as wallpaper on the phone.
The VX8360's camera isn't top-of-the-line, but the phone offers a lot
of fun features to adjust and edit images. Pictures and video look good
on the phone, but wouldn't translate the best into larger images. This camera
isn't the best fit for someone looking to get the most out of their videos
and pictures, but it will do nicely for amateur, everyday use.
Basic Features
While certain phones keep users connected to the work place with plenty
of contact, calendar and email features and others go heavy on the entertainment
side, the VX8360 takes a healthy dose from each side's medicine bottle.
A media center has VCAST applications to download music and videos, plus
the ability to put a whole PC's music library on the phone and handle entertainment
while emailing, text messaging or instant messaging.
 The
handset holds up to 1,000 contacts (seven of those are built-in) and stores
five numbers, two email addresses and a photo ID for each contact.
Users can talk up to 316 minutes -- more than five hours -- without a
single charge of the phone's battery or leave it on standby for up to 641
hours, which is better than average.
Like a growing number of cell phones, the VX8360 includes a built-in
navigation program. Using the Internet via Mobile Web 2.0, VZ Navigator
guides users to the nearest ATM, new hot spot, restaurant or gas station
with the best prices in town. It also offers movie times and directions
to any address or one of 14 million points of interest in the United States
using color maps and spoken turn-by-turn directions.
The VX8360 also includes a program called Chaperone that helps parents
locate their children by beaming real-time updates from the child's LBS-enabled
phone to the parent's cell or computer. An extra ChildZone option that sends
a text message when the child leaves or enters a specific location is also
available in an extended plan.
The VX8360 includes common features such as an alarm clock, stopwatch,
calculator, tip calculator, calendar, note pad and world clock.
It packs quite a few features for such a small phone. Internet-based
features keep users rocking and writing, and the basics every phone has
are all here. But smartphone patrons will miss certain features they've
come to expect, such as the ability to open and edit Word documents, play
free games or explore a plethora of unique applications.
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