LG Dare Cell Phone Review - Tour & Design

The LG Dare won't win any design awards, but it's a solidly put together device and smaller than many all-in-one phones.

Front
From the front the LG Dare is dominated by the three inch touch screen. Above the display is the Verizon logo and the speaker for the phone. Below is the LG logo and three buttons: send, end and back.

Left
On the left side of the Dare you find several ports and buttons. Near the top is a lock/unlock key, below it is the Micro SD card slot with a tethered cover and below that is a dedicated speakerphone button. Nearer the bottom is the Micro USB port with another tethered cover.

Top
The top of the LG Dare holds the 3.5mm headphone jack. There is a cover for the jack but it is not tethered and is tiny so expect to lose it quickly. Opposite the headphone jack is an eyelet for lanyards.

Bottom
The only thing on the bottom of the Dare is the hold for the phone microphone.

Right
On the right side of the LG Dare you find the volume keys near the top and a dedicated camera key near the bottom.

Back
The back of the Dare holds the lens for the 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera with an LED flash sitting next to it. To the right of the lens is the loudspeaker.

Battery Out
Pushing up on the back of the Dare will remove the cover and reveal the 1100 mAh battery.

In the Box (2.0)
The LG Dare does not ship with many accessories. In addition to manuals and a software CD there is a USB cord that also plugs into the wall charger, so it serves dual duty. It wold have been nice to see a stereo headet and memory card with a high end device like this.

Handling (7.5)
The LG Dare is about the same width as the iPhone, but slightly shorter and thicker, some with smaller hands may find it a bit too wide. The back of the phone has a soft touch finish that should help you hold it better and the edges are beveled so it fits comfortably in your palm. The phone weighs in at 3.76 ounces, lighter than the Samsung Instinct or the iPhone, so it shouldn't weigh you down when your're holding it up to your head for long calls.

Portability (6.5)
At 4.1 x 2.2 x 0.5 inches the Dare is larger than your average phone. It will fit into many pants pockets but if you like really tight jeans it will get unconfortable in there. It should fit comfortably into a jacket pocket or all but the smallest bags. It's certainly not as portable as a Razr, but it' also not quite as bulky as some bigger smart phones like the Treos.

Aesthetics (3.5)
The LG Dare is styled in black with silver highlights. Obviously aesthetics are always very personal, but we were not impressed by the Dare's stylings, and neither were any of the people we showed it to. The best we heard was boring, and ugly came up more than once. Frankly we like the look of the Samsung Instinct better, and even the Palm Centro at least had cute going for it.

Durability (7.0)
The LG Dare felt well put together, with no obvious creaks or gaps in its construction. Some of the buttons did feel a bit plasticky, and of course you have to worry about that large display. We're most concerned about the unprotected lens for the 3.2 megapixel camera. Aside from these concerns we think the Dare will hold up well to daily use. We do recommend you go get a screen protecter, however, and be careful with that camera lens.

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