Introduction

Manufacturers have long focused on clamshells to meet the demands of the North American consumer. A favorite among the general public, unfortunately specific niches require a bit more specialization.

One of these categories is the text messager. In a market where minutes are more popular than kilobytes, for the few who mostly use their fingers to communicate, the QWERTY keypad is a must.

Launching the F9100 earlier this year, LG included a sliding QWERTY keyboard hidden beneath the front panel. To the delight of many, it had strong text messaging capabilities, also featuring robust chat client programs such as AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and even Cingular's own proprietary chat software. Unfortunately, messaging was its only strength, lacking a digital camera, MP3 audio capabilities, and connectivity features.

Now nine months later, despite the F9100's lukewarm acceptance, LG has designed another 9000-series QWERTY keypad device; this time named the VX9800. Improving on many of the F9100's shortcomings, the VX9800 promises to be not just a text messaging device, but a complete multimedia package, with an excellent imaging, audio, and connectivity features, making it more widely appealing than just to a small demographic.

Design

Reasonably-sized when closed, the LG VX9800 measures 116 x 50 x 25 mm, larger and thicker than most standard phones to fit the QWERTY keypad. Weighing 147 g, the VX9800 is a bit heavier as well.

While closed, the front panel features a bright 65K-color screen, capable of displaying vivid photos and videos conveniently. A fully-functional phone with a 5-way navigational keypad, users never have to open the VX9800 to access features and functionality. Additionally, its numeric keypad can be used for T9 predictive text messaging.

On the back, the lens to the 1.3-megapixel camera is positioned to capture lasting memories. Nearby a built-in flash can be triggered to ensure those recollections show up bright and clear even in low-light conditions.

Triggered by the Camera Key situated on the left side, additional quick keys provide convenient shortcuts through controlling ringtone and speaker volumes during standby and calling modes. Meanwhile, a miniSD expansion card slot and 2.5mm headphone jack are positioned on the right side. A charger port is located on the bottom.

Similar to the F9100, the VX9800's QWERTY keypad is hidden beneath to minimize size. However instead of a sliding mechanism, the VX9800 uses a more conventional horizontal clamshell design. Opening the VX9800 reveals its state-of-the-art 262K-color screen, able to display graphics at an enormous 320 x 256 px in size. Dual external speakers line both sides of the screen, providing rich and full sounds such as when watching videos the Verizon's VCAST service.

A familiar 5-way navigational keypad to the left of the QWERTY keypad is flanked by Send, End, and CLR keys. Two softkeys are located on the top provide convenient access to shortcuts. Conventionally laid out, the VX9800's spacious keyboard is wonderful to use; allowing more comfortable and quicker typing with a more tactile feel and touch. Paired with predictive text, users will be able to text message, email, and chat faster than ever before.

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