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Review: LG Vu Plus

Form Basics Extras Wrap-Up Video Tour Comments 6

The LG Vu Plus is more trouble than it's worth. The touchscreen caused lots of problems during my test. It was quite unfriendly to my touch. The interface does nothing to help this issue. The widgets on the homescreen were nearly useless, and the deeper menus were arranged counterintuitively. There was nothing I liked about the user experience on this phone, from the lock screen through the home screens and deeper into the menus.

AT&T's Mobile TV is certainly a shining moment, but the video quality was not good enough that I'd ditch a portable media player or better, pre-recorded video options. The channel lineup is okay, especially if you're a sports fan or you like catching up on Letterman and other late night hosts, but it still doesn't make for a compelling feature; not enough to make me want to buy this phone.

Almost everything else was a bust. Web browsing was awful. Music was fine, but the controls were difficult to use. The camera was inconsistent. Messaging options were too simple by far, especially considering the main advance this phone has over the original LG Vu is the hardware keyboard.

I'd stay away from this one. For the same price ($150 at launch), you could have a BlackBerry Curve or Palm Pre Plus. For much less, you could have any other quick messaging phone in AT&T's lineup. Of course, if you need mobile TV, the Vu Plus is the only option with a keyboard, but I don't think the broadcast video service is worth the sacrifice.

Next page: Video Tour

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LG Vu Plus

3" display 240 x 400 pixels
950 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Hardware Text Keyboard

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