LG Chocolate VX8550 Cell Phone Review - Making/Receiving Calls
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Mark Brezinski Published on July 27, 2007 Comment on this |
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Dialing Speed (6.76)
To test dialing speed we start with the phone turned on, in the closed position, then time how long it takes to dial one of five different numbers, ending when the send key is pressed. The times of these five trails are then averaged. The mean time for the Chocolate was 2.96 seconds. This is an incredibly fast time. Other slide phones have comparable times, but the Chocolate is one of the fastest. For example, the LG Shine scored at 3.8 seconds, the Sprint Upstage took 3.38 seconds, and the Helio Ocean received a 3.1 second lap time. The reason for this probably comes down to one of two things. First of all, the spring driving the slide motion could simply be stronger on the Chocolate than on the other models. Secondly, the keypad is very small and the send key is directly above the number pad. The tiny key size could lead to misdialing, but also means your thumb has to travel less of a distance for each press.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 2.96 | 6.76 |
| Sanyo M1 | 4.28 | 4.67 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 4.90 | 4.08 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 3.61 | 5.54 |
| Nokia N75 | 3.34 | 5.99 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 3.80 | 5.26 |
Talk and End Buttons (8.0)
The new Chocolate's talk and end buttons are located directly above the keypad, separated by the camera shortcut. Like the rest of the keys, they are quite stout, but wide. Smaller keys could normally cause accuracy issues. The keys are placed in the top left and right corners of the pad, however, so the raised border surrounding the pad will give unmistakable tactile recognition. Also, their outer edges have slight raises in them, adding ease to navigation by feel. The keys also have good play, so you'll be able to feel when you hit them.
Moving from the directional pad to the send/end keys is a somewhat awkward transition. The only common situation where this shift would be necessary is turning off the phone, however, so it really isn't detrimental.
Call Management (6.5)
Scoring for this section is split into two parts. The first part scores the call history options. Here, the Chocolate receives a perfect score. The call history remembers an excess of thirty sessions, and can be viewed in its entirety, or by missed/received/called. Viewing individual calls yields the time and date the call was made, as well as the time the call lasted. Included in the call history menu is a submenu for various data timers. In regards to call timers, the Chocolate retains the length of all received, dialed, and roaming calls, as well as a total. It also displays the length of the last call made. As for data, it keeps track of transmitted/received data as well as a running tally of the two. An added bonus for those counting monthly minutes is an option to reset the timers. Even after a reset, however, the Chocolate maintains lifetime values for calls and data transfers. Overall, the new LG Chocolate is quite a thorough bookkeeper.
Startup to Call (4.47)
To test startup to call we start with the phone closed and turned off, then measure how long it takes to turn on the phone, dial one of five different numbers, and hit the send key. The times of each of these five trails are then averaged. The LG Chocolate took an average of 22.37 seconds to complete the startup to call test. This time consisted mainly of boot-up. It should be noted that poor service areas could add substantial time to startup. The first Chocolate completed the test 1.57 seconds faster. Even with the downgrade, it's faster than the Sanyo M1(24.36 seconds) and the Sprint Upstage (28.9 seconds). It is also faster than most flip phones, which tend to average in the 30 second range.
| Cell Phone | Time (sec) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 22.37 | 4.47 |
| Sanyo M1 | 24.36 | 4.11 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 35.70 | 2.80 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 20.80 | 4.81 |
| Nokia N75 | 40.56 | 2.47 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 31 | 3.23 |
Ring Volume (8.54)
To test ring volume we held the LG Chocolate four inches away from a sound pressure meter, set the phone's volume to maximum, and played the phone's loudest ringtone. We then measured the maximum decibels produced. The Chocolate topped at 85.4 decibels, which is about average. Interestingly enough, the old Chocolate was three decibels louder. For comparison, the Nokia N73 and the Sanyo M1 also both measured about 85 decibels, while the Razr V3m scored 88 decibels.
| Cell Phone | Volume (decibels) | Score |
| LG Chocolate VX8550 | 85.4 | 8.54 |
| Sanyo M1 | 85.2 | 8.52 |
| Motorola Razr V3m | 88.0 | 8.80 |
| LG Chocolate VX8500 | 88.7 | 8.87 |
| Nokia N75 | 85.3 | 8.53 |
| LG Shine KE970 | 85.3 | 8.53 |
Ringtone Customizability (0.0)
Although the new Chocolate is still being marketed as a music handset, you still can't use your music files as ringtones. You must buy your ringtones separately.
Non-Audio Alerts (6.0)
The Chocolate's vibration is somewhat weak. Most of the time you'll catch it if it's in your pocket, but you'll most likely miss it otherwise. In addition to vibration, the screen on the Chocolate lights up and flashes. The display also shows the phone number of the incoming call. The animation will most certainly catch your eye. Overall, though, the non-audio alerts were none too impressive.
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