LG enV2 (VX-9100)
Phone Scoop Review
May 2, 2008 by Eric M. Zeman
Successor to the popular enV, the enV2 pares down on the size and makes improvements on the hardware. The only thing preventing it from being a superb phone is the software. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
This is a great texter/media phone
I got this phone last Friday so this is a 1 week review. I have nothing bad to say about this cell. The outside is a no frills cell with no signs of what lay inside. Once you flip this bad boy open it's a media monster. Camera - awesome. Screen- a dream. VCast is the best. Plus you get the ESPN MVP app for free. It is so great if you are a sports fan. Texting is the best. New txts I can just start typing the name and the contacts line up below. I never hit the Add button. Videos look great. I have my own music on a micro SD.
Today I looked up available Southwest flights on their mobile site and then sent my wife a pic of myself checking in 30 minutes later. She liked mine so much that 3 days ago she got one in maroon and loves it too. You cannot go wrong with this phone.
Best Phone EVER!
I have had just about every phone that has come out for a couple carriers (namely Sprint and Verizon) Some examples: vx8100, 8300, Sanyo 8400, Moto Q, Rumor, Blackberry Pearl 8130, EnV, and Venus, to name a few. This phone takes everything that I loved about all those phones and puts it into one gorgeous device! It also added to them the things that I thought was missing. I don't see the small screen as being that big of a deal, because i remember the days of regular flip phones where the external screen was tiny and how excited we were when we could just READ texts on the front of the phone (ie-vx8100), so if you think about it like a normal flip phone, the small external screen actually does a lot!
Pros:
awesome internal screen with gorgeous colors
huge buttons on outside makes texting while driving really easy
loud ringers
perfect reception (for me in CA bay area)
No lag whatsoever
size/weight are perfect!
camera is very good
all the customizable shortcuts inside the phone
awesome battery life (charged when i first got it on Wed afternoon, and haven't charged since-it's friday morning-and still have 3 bars left...with pretty heavy texting, some internet, some pix mails, and some phone calls-WOW!!!)
Cons:
No flash for camera? (i put a question mark cuz i had this on the pearl, and i never used it...)
The only other one-and its kind of a stretch-is that i keep hitting the 3 button instead of end because of how spread out the keys are...but that doesn't really bother me...
In conclusion, if you want a phone that does everything, and does it well, with absolutely no lag and a gorgeous package, this is it!
Awesome
Pros
Slim
Heavier than most other phones
Nice camera
Keyboard
It isn't a slider or a flip, you can use it as a regular phone from the front even though the front screen is tiny it is still functional
Looks nice and simple
Much easier to put music on than my previous verizon phones, now you just have to format ur sd card, stick the songs in the music file and your good
The phone is pretty damn loud. even on low volume i think its loud. on high the ringtones become ear piercing.
I like a couple standard ringtones, actually only 3 of them but that's more than i can say for my other verizon phones
Cons
Front screen shudve been made larger and the keys shudve been made smaller
I liked having 1 botton to open up the camera.
The UI takes some time to get used to, very unlike verizon, usually they stick restrictive but insanely easy UIs. im actually considering reading the manual
Phone isn't popular enough to get a fitted case, you would need to get a universal pouch with similar dimensions. Or you could settle for a snap on case which i guarantee will break within 3 months an will double the size of the phone and interfere with you being able to close it completely
I wish they'd stop making the usb ports smaller, now i cant use my old chargers
For some reason i think the speakers sound better when the phone is closed
I thought i was going crazy wen i saw that the keyboard was unevenly lighted.like if u look on the keyboard 5 7 T Y U A S are darker than the other keys. And some keys have really light parts and dark parts like one corner of P the top 2 corners of N. The top half of E is brighter than the bottom.
To top it all off, LG uses this bottom for the voyager too so i wouldn't b surprised to find this defect in design on that keyboard
Should've had a 3.5mm jack standard, i ordered and adapter
None of these cons are really such a big thing for me since i just need a functional phone and this works perfectly, im just picky
its still needs some improvements
the LG enV2 has some problems first the programing was messed up then the buttons stopped working
If you are over 40
And have trouble seeing the fonts, then this is the phone for you! They must have finally realized that the font in the text messages was so miniscule on the EnV so they made great improvements with the EnV2 for over-40-eyesight. The normal font is wonderful and the large font is HUGE.
I have read complaints about the lock on the front keypad. It's not good, but for me, if I want my phone to be secure, I set the security under Phone Lock for "Lock on Power Up". Then I just turn the phone off and back on again and it's secure. This is quicker for me than going through the menu to lock the phone. I removed speed dial numbers to save some problems with pocket dialing.
There is too much info sitting on cell phones these days and they need an easier, more accessible one button,lock down. Wish I could shortcut that using the Music key on front, which I don't use at all.
Pros
- Great QWERTY keyboard with separate keys for numbers
- Wonderful speakers
- Plenty of Display theme choices
- Holds 250 text messages!
- Amazingly long battery life
- Large fonts for text messages
- Small enough to fit in a pocket
Cons
- Pathetic key lock, too easy to pocket dial
- Keypad Letters on Qwerty keyboard are a bit dull - they could be bolder and brighter
- No side to side directional keys on front
only up and down
- No front shortcut keys
- No flash on camera
Solid Performer
I must say that the list of flaws I hear about are not present in my phone. I have owned more phones than I should have over the course of 2 years. I think that I have settled with the enV(2).
You need to approach the phone function by function in order to grasp what it improves on the enV design. First, think of the front as an entry-level phone. It has everything you need in the closed form: solid dialing and texting, access to music, and bluetooth functions. In closed form, the phone has a voice readout of text.
Texting is a breeze. It's apparent that LG combined the enV keyboard functionality with the Rumor/Scoop accessability. One odd quirk is that while in closed form you start off with a capital letter, the internal text mode omits this. Very odd quirk... but quick fire texting isn't necessarily hampered by this. The closed form will not access picture/video messages, but it will kindly tell you to open the phone.
For basic call functions, the enV(2) is great, but it has another odd quirk. Rings and sounds play internally. It is true that it's difficult to hear in loud environments. The phone half adjusts to this with a powerful vibrate.
Battery life is the star for this phone. While it sports nearly the same battery as the Rumor/Scoop, you'll be hard pressed to deplete it. I've put the battery through the gauntlet of heavy text, camera use and mobile web for a solid week and only needed to recharge the battery twice.
Data transfer and processing is another high point. While it lacks a full HTML browser, it is still one of the fastest phones in Verizon's lineup. If it had a full HTML browser it would beat out the Voyager, as it shares none of the lag in accessing onboard functions as was in my experience with Voyager. This phone is similarly selling just as well, if not better than Voyager at the moment.
Exceeded expectations
I have been very impressed with this phone. Originally I wanted the LG Voyager or the Samsung Glide, but I do not use the internet on my phone so all those options weren't useful for me- and not to mention the price. I was not a fan of the first enV, I felt it was too chunky and the front keys were awkward.
The phone that I had before this one was the LG 8600, that phone got terrible reception. I had no service in my home and I had to go outside to talk, and in Ohio winters, that is not very fun. Upon bringing the enV2 home, I realized I had 2 bars throughout my whole home, a huge improvement.
I am quite picky about my phones, but this one has everything I was looking for-
Large buttons on the front, easy for dialing.
Loud ear piece and good quality sound. (much better than 8600)
Beautiful QWERTY keyboard, not too small like the Alias. Very easy to type with.
Very customizable shortcut keys, and appealing display skins.
Incredible battery life. Longest on any phone I have had.
Feels expensive. Many flip phones I have felt have cheep hinges, this one is a very sturdy build.
Large, bright internal screen with two large speakers.
Loud and clear speaker phone.
2.0 mp camera, clear and good quality.
This feature I love- If you get a txt message while driving, you can hit the space key, and it will read the message! I just thought that was awesome.
The font size can be set to huge sizes or really small sizes, depending on your taste. I have everything set to normal except texts-I have them set at huge.
It's easy to hold, and a great size.
The only thing bothersome to me about this phone is taking a photo using the external display, the size makes it a little awkward.
I haven't had a problem with keys coming unlocked yet, and I even keep the phone in my pocket at all times.
In the End this phone is great for txting, games, IM and VZ Navigator. If you are wanting full web browsing capabilities, you may find enV2 lacking, but after all it is a VCast Messaging Phone.
Awesome phone. a winner
This phone is perfect.
It is the prefect size. very thin yet just big enough to have a great keyboard. the keyboard on both the outside and inside is just perfect.
I just love this phone.
What more could you want?!
Awesome phone. basically what everyone else has said. battery life=awesome. internal screen= awesome. reception= awesome. there's not much more to say...the only cons are the small external screen and no flash for camera...neither one of these is an issue for me. so...perfect! LOVE THIS PHONE! and for the price, you can't go wrong! If you're thinking about this phone, and you text moderately to alot, and just want a good all around phone, this is it! and for the price, i think this is best phone out for any carrier!
EnV2: First texting phone
I just upgraded from a VX8300. Must admit, I am very impressed. The quality of the phone is excellent, volume from the earpiece is much higher than on my previous phone (all be it, with a little distortion) and the antenna is is capturing more signal than the 8300. Seeing as this is the first phone I've done text messaging on (yes, I am a late bloomer), the QUERTY keyboard is very nice. Not as big as the Voyager, but well spaced. For the price, this is an EXCELLENT phone.
