Camera

While the built-in 1.3-megapixel camera produces fair quality photos, the difficulty in accessing the function proves very frustrating. First, the lack of an exterior camera button on the U740 makes it awkward to take self-portraits. Also, a special camera/video button often doesn't work and when it does, requires the user to hold it down for a few seconds before the options become apparent and the phone's frustrating menu patterns inhibits its offerings.

When accessible, the camera's flash is more than decent and photos can be saved in five different Resolutions (1280 x 960 px, 640 x 480 px, 320 x 240 px, 160 x 120 px) and three different Quality Settings (Fine, Normal, Economy). Many options allow for customizable photos, including 4x Zoom, Color Effects (Normal, Black and White, Sepia, Antique and Negative), Self-Timer (2, 5 or 10 seconds) and Multi-Shots.

Three "ready" sounds ("Say Cheese!," "Look Here" and a Countdown) are offered alongside four different Shutter Sounds, including a Silent option. Metering can also be selected an Average, Center or Spot. White Balance (5 variations), Light Metering and Flash allow for a finer picture, although neither can be controlled with a very find hand. Photos can be converted to black and white sketch drawings and sent with text messages.

For users who fidget with the difficult menu items, an Automatic Save option is available. Verizon makes it easy for users to share still camera images by sending them through their online portal PIX Place, which requires pre-registration through the company's Web site. PIX Place then helps create automated picture albums users can share with friends and family members.

Accessing the video recorder is equally as difficult, but once accessed, there are a decent array of options. Videos can be recorded in two modes: Messages and Normal. Multimedia messages are limited to 15 seconds and normal recording is also available. The U740 has 60 MB of memory and runs on 7.66 MB of RAM. Users can also buy a microSD memory card to add on. Like the still image side, the recording mode allows for Auto Flash, Self-Timers (2, 5 or 10 seconds) as well as three Quality Settings. The quality is a little blurry and without a flash or lighting option on the video options, dimly lit environments return disappointingly.

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