I’ve had my new LG Chocolate for just about two weeks now. My opinion? I love it!
The phone has a sturdy, sleek design that feels good in the palm of my hand. The menu is easy to use (which was a surprise after hearing some bad things about the Verizon Flash UI) and the sound quality is noticeably better than my previous phone (a Nokia 6236i). I haven’t had a chance to try out any of the multi-media capabilities yet, so I can’t offer any opinions on those. I did, however, receive my USB cable today and, aided by open-source software BitPim, I was able to transfer some new pictures and ringtones to the phone. Next up, I’ll try video and music. (I am so excited by this wonderful, free little piece of software. Really, if you are looking for a way to synchronize your phone and your computer, try BitPim first. Great stuff so far.)
My one and only complaint in this two weeks is the battery life. I don’t recall what the advertised battery life is, but my real world usage is somewhere around two days. Pitiful. I use my phone for maybe (maybe) 30 minutes a day, Monday through Friday and seldom on the weekend. And I still only get a day or two worth of battery power on a single charge. The owners manual is no help, offering such advice as proximity to the cell tower affecting the battery. Right. My previous phone could go upwards of a week between charges. This is just a crumby battery (LG I’m looking in your direction). And, oddly, it’s not just my phone, a coworker who has the same model tells me that he only gets a couple of days out of it too. Susie’s phone is showing similar signs.
If the phone companies want us to use our mobile phones as an always-on source of entertainment (music, TV, GPS, Web, etc.) they’re going to have to work a lot harder to provide the kind of robust battery life that kind of usage requires.
