Entertainment

Entertainment isn't a big selling point with the Renown, at least not as is. The phone's Media Center has no built-in games, songs or videos, but those can all be downloaded for a price. VCAST videos and music programs from Verizon offer streaming video and a variety of songs to download.

VCAST Music with Rhapsody, a song downloading service, allows users to buy single or unlimited songs from a catalogue of millions of tunes and, with a USB cord connected from phone to computer, put any personal song library on the Renown. Streaming video clips of everything from CNN's hard news to TMZ's lighter fair are available through VCAST Video, but Renown users have complained the video doesn't come through with the highest quality.

One interesting entertainment feature is the Renown's external music keys, which allow users to play, pause, and switch songs while the phone is closed and playing music. Unfortunately, these unique keys are too easy to turn on right after the phone has closed and quickly become unavailable when the phone is closed (although that's a benefit when you want to stop the music or prevent starting it).

Entertainment isn't a big pull for the Renown. What's available on the phone isn't much and what's available for download costs extra. On the plus side, the absence of features some users may not want saves memory and space on the phone.

Internet

Dashboard with Mobile Web 2.0 powers the Internet connection on the Renown. Mobile Web's homepage offers quick access to various topics by offering headlines on news, sports, weather, business, entertainment and more, plus an icon that immediately connects to a personal email account.

Any time the phone's service indicator icon appears, the Renown is connected to the Internet and users can access email accounts, instant messaging and news.

These features are handy when available, but users are out of luck when they're outside the United States. Dashboard and Mobile Web 2.0 are currently unavailable outside the states, taking the phone down a notch during worldwide travel. Even when users are in the U.S., Internet service is only available within a Verizon Wireless Enhanced Services Area.

The Renown is also 3G capable downloading data at EV-DO Rev. 0 speeds of around 700 kbps. That's decently fast, but not as fast as newer EV-DO Rev. A from Verizon or HSDPA technology from AT&T.

For a phone that's touted for global service, the Renown fails to offer full service around the globe. Even in the states, navigating through Web channels can be tricky on a two-inch screen. Overall, the Renown boasts some decent Internet features, but using them could be a struggle on trips.

Storage

With 64 MB of storage space built-in, the Renown has acceptable but not outstanding storage. With photos and video to store and the ability to sync the Renown with your home computer's music library, investment in a microSD memory card is advisable for those who plan to store more than a couple items on the phone.

Anyone who has a lot of people to call and trouble keeping those people straight will find the Renown's ability to hold 1,000 contact names, multiple numbers for each contact, and assign ringtones and photo IDs to contacts handy.

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