Screen

The Krave's transparent cover is its most distinctive feature. Embedded with an imperceptible touch-sensitive mesh layer, the cover not only protects the 2.8-inch LCD screen below, but it also serves as a touch screen menu with tactile feedback.

It displays images at 240 x 400 px when open and 240 x 320 px when closed - smaller than the iPhone and most other multimedia phones with touch screens. Using Thin Film Transistor LCD technology (TFT), the Krave's 65K-color screen displays vibrant graphics, photos and text with no refresh delays and gorgeous clarity. Screen lighting and backlight time can be changed to suit users' preferences.

With the flip cover down, the screen menu displays icons for music, Verizon VCAST TV, pictures and VZ Navigation. Flipped up, the touch screen shows a new set of shortcut icons for messages, the dialpad, contacts and the Krave's main menu of 12 links to the Verizon web browser, phone settings, Bluetooth connections, call history, visual voicemail and more.

Touch the screen anywhere to go to the main menu. Consumers can navigate through the Krave's various pages. A convenient "back" arrow key that appears at the top of the screen.

Both of the Krave's touch screen menus feature tactile feedback and scrolling menus that move by sliding a finger up and down the screen. When viewing any of the Krave's menus, users can see the phone's signal strength, roaming indicator, Internet or device connections and battery life displayed in the top banner.

Audio

On the Krave, call and data networks are Evolution-Data Optimized (1xEv-DO) and enhanced by dual-band CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) frequencies at 800 MHz and 1900 MHz. The result: high-speed voice and mobile data streaming that yields excellent call quality and fewer dropped calls.

Overall, call quality for the Krave - in regular mode and speakerphone - was first-rate and static free. In addition to vibrate only, alarm only and an all-sounds-off mode, there are five levels of volume to choose from. When switched to its highest level, call volume can be intimidating and loud, but for some, this won't necessarily be a bad thing.

As a music player, the Krave handles MP3 and AAC audio files and connects to online music stores from Verizon VCAST Music and Rhapsody. The player is easy to use with customizable playlists, shuffle, repeat modes and an album cover flow display where users can move from one song to the next by tapping on the screen.

Although the Krave is equipped with a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, headphones are sold separately. Songs sound best with when using headphones, as audio quality is a little low on the bass side, but otherwise good. While answering calls or using other applications, the music will pause automatically then restart once you return to the player screen. As the song plays, Krave's high-resolution screen displays track information, album art and player controls.

Additional audio features on the Krave include speakerphone, visual voice mail and voice recording for up to an hour, depending on the phone's available memory.

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