Introduction & Design
The LG VX8100 is a stellar dual-band CDMA mobile phone with a plethora of features crammed into its sleek frame. Visually, it is a vast improvement over its rather blocky predecessor, the VX8000, and features like its 1.3 Megapixel camera, expandable memory slot, Bluetooth compatibility, and stereo sound put it in the top tier of full-service
cellular phones.
The new streamlined design of the VX8100 is very appealing, with graceful, stylized curves and a subtle, abbreviated antenna. The unobtrusive silver and slate blue exterior evokes a professional, yet personable style, which is an apt description of the phone overall. It's a great multi-use phone, with the functionality for high-powered business transactions and the media capabilities for discerning technophiles.
By today's standards of pancake-thin, micro-sized phones, this clamshell phone is a hefty unit, but its size (3.58" h x 1.92" w x 1.03" d) and weight (4.16 oz) are put to good use in this feature-packed phone. Personally, I like having a phone with a little substance; it's easier to use the features when the phone fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.
The VX8100 has a large external screen with stunningly vibrant colors that is diminished only by the clarity of the internal screen, which fills the top half of the phone when you flip it open. The bottom half of the phone includes a navigation panel with four useful shortcuts (Web 2.0, Get Flix and Pix, Calender, and Get It Now) and the OK key. Two additional keys flank the navigation pane, and underneath that are all the standard buttons, as well as a camera and video shortcut key. The front of the phone features buttons that allow you to access the MP3 player with ease, the left side of the phone features volume control buttons and the Voice Command/Voice Memo key, and the right side of the phone features a camera and video key (for self-portraits) and a miniSD expandable memory slot.
I consider the quality of the buttons on a phone to be a deal-breaking feature, since buttons that are flush with the surface of the phone can be difficult to use if your fingernails extend beyond your fingertips. The VX8100 has raised, silver buttons with blue backlighting that distinctly depress when you use them. (You know you've done something when you push one of these buttons.) Plus, the width of the phone allows it to fit in the average-sized hand and still give you access to the entire keypad with your thumb. My only complaint is that the "OK" button in the center of the navigation panel is difficult to use without hitting the keys that surround it, which means I often end up in an entirely different menu when I meant to confirm a command. The best work-around I've found is to use the tip of my nail instead of the pad of my finger; not the greatest solution, and one that might not be viable for someone with larger hands than mine.
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