LG Chocolate 3 Cell Phone Review - Intro
The Chocolate has historically been a sleek and stylish slider phone, but imagine our surprise when the latest iteration of the Chocolate showed up at our offices as a flip phone. Yes, you read that right - a flip phone. With more onboard memory than before and a good integrated music player, the Chocolate 3 lives up to its music-oriented reputation and can still double as your digital music player, but its camera is just good enough for quick pics and video, and its battery life could let you down.
The Chocolate 3 is a capable phone overall and Verizon offers a decent selection of music and videos in its VCAST store to entertain you, but we don't like being directed to their store for everything, including ringtones, and being forced to pay to use their software just to make use of the phone's GPS capability. But the Chocolate 3 could be a good choice for music lovers on the go, particularly at the online price point of $99.99. The Chocolate 3 reviewed here is dark blue and it's also offered in black and light blue.
| Section |
The Good |
The Bad |
| Tour & Design |
Compact with easy to use controls and good dedicated buttons |
With the form factor change, it's no longer unique and looks like every other flip phone out there
|
| Audio Quality |
Very good side tone |
Sent and received audio not the greatest |
| Imaging |
Better resolution than its predecessor and good for quick pics. |
Poor color accuracy. |
| Making/Receiving Calls |
Easy to make and receive calls and very loud ring volume
|
You can only get new ringtones by buying them from Verizon.
|
| Messaging |
Easy texting and MMS
|
No native email or IM applications |
| Organizer |
Basic functionality to keep track of appointments and notes |
No tasks application or easy syncing with your computer |
| Multimedia |
Pretty good music application, more video playback compatibility than its predecessor |
Heavy emphasis on VCAST music store and tiny screen isn't the best for viewing videos |
| Software |
Fairly easy to use and stable |
Very limited extensability and customization, poor web experience through the browser
|
| Battery Life |
Good music playback and web browsing times |
Less than average talk time |
| Connectivity |
Great Bluetooth flexibility and can use Verizon's high-speed data network |
No wifi, though we really don't expect a non-smartphone to have it anyway |
| Hardware |
All buttons have good tactile feedback and the dual screens are nice. |
Amount of travel in the buttons and keys can slow you down and outside scrolling dial a little flimsy.
|
| Other Features |
GPS |
You must pay to use Verizon's GPS software. |
| Value & Comparisons |
Definitely offers more than its predecessor |
Other phones are more capable for not much more money
|
