LG Chocolate VX8550 Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Mark Brezinski Published on July 27, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (7.7)
For this test, we time how long it takes to type out a sample paragraph. Using two hands and the predictive text system, it took an average of 24.94 seconds to type out the text. This approximates to 38.49 words per minute. This is a pretty good score for a normal phone. The keypad does take some getting used to, however, and those with big thumbs will feel very cramped on the tiny keypad. Also, if you're not fluent in keypad linguistics, you'll have to crane your thumbs away and squint to see what letters are where. For comparison, the Razr V3m and Sanyo M1, whose keypads are much larger, received 29.4 and 36.4 words per minute respectively. Phones with full keyboards typically receive words per minute scores in the low 40s.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 38.49 | 7.7 |
| Sanyo M1 | 36.4 | 7.28 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 29.4 | 5.88 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 25 | 5.00 |
| Nokia N75 | 42.48 | 8.50 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 23.4 | 4.68 |
T9 and Auto Complete (5.0)
The LG Chocolate does have predictive text entry, which allows you to type out words by hitting keys once per letter. It didn't support word completion, however, so you have to type out the entire word.
One Hand Usability (5.96)
This test times how long it takes to enter our sample paragraph in using only one hand. Again, we turned on predictive text. The Chocolate took 32.22 seconds to enter the text, which translates to 29.8 words per minute. This is a very fast time, but the hardware got in the way of an even faster one. The keypad is small and located near the bottom of the phone, so we found ourselves repeatedly shifting our grip to hit keys. This nearly caused the phone to topple out of our hands on several occasions, so if you're going for speed, use both hands for safety.
| Cell Phone | Words Per Minute | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 29.8 | 5.96 |
| Sanyo M1 | 32.2 | 6.44 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 26.1 | 5.22 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 23.7 | 4.74 |
| Nokia N75 | 38.1 | 7.62 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 22.4 | 4.48 |
Keypad Backlighting (5.0)
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (4.5)
Touch Screen (0.0)
The LG Chocolate doesn't have a touch screen.
Jog Dial (5.0)
The Chocolate has a scroll wheel, which functions much like a jog dial. Its sensitivity can be turned up, so using the wheel can be the most efficient mode of navigating menus besides using keypad shortcuts. As you scroll, each new item highlighted will cause lights along the exterior to move. The only times you won't want to use the jog dial is if you feel comfortable using the keypad shortcuts, or navigating the photo/video album. In the albums, the scroll wheel moves the cursor from left to right, then down.
Soft Buttons (4.0)
The Chocolate's soft keys are touch buttons. Unlike the old Chocolate, however, these keys provide synthetic tactile feedback: they vibrate when pressed. This is much appreciated, as there aren't any physical features on the keys that give unique tactile feedback. They are placed fairly far apart, though, which will help cut down on mistakes. The keys are also much more responsive this time around. We did have a few issues with them not responding, but unless you're playing a really demanding game you probably won't have trouble.
Volume Control (5.0)
The volume rocker is located on the left side of the phone, comfortable to reach regardless of which hand you're holding the phone with. The top and bottom keys are raised, separated by a lower area near the middle of the rocker. Their play is similar to the keys on the keypad. The rocker is what we'd expect from a phone.
Power and Standby (5.0)
The Chocolate's power button is the same as the end key, it just required a longer press. As mentioned in the Placing/Receiving calls section, it has good play and excellent tactile feedback. The phone will go into Standby mode after a short time when closed. You can't control this time interval, however, which we found to be disappointing.
Other Buttons (8.0)
The Chocolate has six keys that are not described above. On the left is the voice command button. Pressing it brings up the eponymous menu, while a longer press opens up voice recording. The right side sports the lock/unlock slider. We don't like this placing, however, as accidental unlocking seems likely. The other key on the right is the music key, which brings up the playlist manager with a short tap, or begins playing a song in the media player when held. The front of the phone sports two touch buttons, "SPK" and "CLR". The former is a speakerphone button. Holding it down enables speakerphone mode, which causes all sounds to come out the speakerphone speaker on the back of the phone. The CLR button can be used to delete, or move back one menu. The last extra key is the camera button. Pressing it opens the camera interface, while holding it opens up the video capture screen.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The LG Chocolate has a 320 x 240 resolution screen. This is the standard on middle- to high-end phones. The Razr V3m's display sports the lower-end 176 x 220 display.
| Cell Phone | Resolution | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 320 x 240 | 8 |
| Sanyo M1 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 176 x 220 | 4.0 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| Nokia N75 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 320 x 240 | 8.0 |
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (10.0)
The LG Chocolate’s screen contains 200 pixels per inch, the same as the old model. This allows for a lot of detail and deep colors. For comparison, the Razr V3m only contained 125 pixels per inch and the Nokia N75's pixel density is 166.7.
| Cell Phone | Pixels Per Inch | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 200 | 10 |
| Sanyo M1 | 205 | 10.25 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 125 | 6.25 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 200 | 10.00 |
| Nokia N75 | 166.7 | 8.34 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 178 | 8.90 |
Screen Physical Size (5.0)
The LG Chocolate's screen measures two inches along the diagonal. Most cell phone screens are a tenth of an inch longer. which run 2.1 inches in size (for example the Motorola Razr V3m), but not significantly so. It is, of course, not a patch on the large screens found on phones like the Treo 700p or Cingular 8525.
| Cell Phone | Size Diagonal (inches) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Sanyo M1 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 2.1 | 5.25 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Nokia N75 | 2.4 | 6.00 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 2.2 | 5.50 |
Screen Brightness (3.15)
To test screen brightness, we place a light gague two inches away from the screen while it displays a blank white Web page. The Chocolate measured 55 lux on the gauge. This score is about average for most handsets. There weren't any options for toggling the brightness of the screen, however, other than switching the backlight off altogether.
| Cell Phone | Brightness (lux) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 55 | 3.15 |
| Sanyo M1 | 50 | 4 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 46 | 2.3 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 49 | 2.45 |
| Nokia N75 | 69 | 6.9 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 47 | 3.35 |
Screen Bright Light Performance (7.0)
For this test, we shine a 3000 lux light (equivalent to a sunny day) onto the screen to see how greatly it reduces legibility. Though the screen did showcase some glare, the Chocolate was still very legible. The backgrounds are all dark, and the white text is unmistakable on it. The icons stand out as well. You shouldn't have a problem using this phone on the brightest of days.
Color Depth (8.0)
The LG Chocolate can display 262,000 colors. This is significantly better than the Razr V3m's 65,000 and just edges out the Sanyo M1's 260,000. The Chocolate can display rich color as well as true black and white.
| Cell Phone | Colors (thousands) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 262,000 | 8.0 |
| Sanyo M1 | 262,000 | 8.0 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 65,000 | 6.0 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 262,000 | 8.0 |
| Nokia N75 | 16,777,216 | 10.0 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 262,000 | 8.0 |
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (2.0)
The Chocolate contains a proprietary port for both power and data. It therefore requires a proprietary USB cable to connect to your PC, which runs about $30. We believe that a phone that's marketed as a music handset should come packaged with a USB, or at least be given a universal mini USB port.
Headphone & Jack Compatibility (2.0)
The Chocolate has both a 2.5mm jack and a proprietary jack. The Chocolate wasn't shipped with a headset for either, however. Again, a music handset should be shipped with headphones, or at the very least have the standard 3.5mm jack, which is capable of better quality. Including a substandard jack is just a thinly veiled attempt to make the proprietary headphones seem like a luxury item.
Internal Storage (1.0) The Chocolate partitions its memory into two parts: phone and music. The phone memory consists of 78.2MB of memory while the music portion stores 63.5MB. This makes the total memory available 141.7MB. Overall, this is good for a normal phone. The Sanyo M1 has a full gig of space, however.
Expansion Slot & Format (6.0)
The Chocolate has a MicroSD/Transflash card slot. The card itself is hard to push in to place, and you might need a pencil or other instrument ot get it in far enough. Once locked in place, pushing it in will cause it to spring out. Again, the challenge is fitting a finger in that far. We were very pleased to see that the Chocolate supports SDHC for high capacity MicroSD cards.
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