LG Chocolate 3 VX-8560
Phone Scoop Review
Jul 23, 2008 by Eric M. Zeman
LG takes its Chocolate music phone in a whole new direction with the new Chocolate 3. See why it managed to stay on course and get lost at the same time. With video tour. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
Lots better than the Dare...
All I can say is that the Chocolate 3 is a lot better than my Dare was...it's the total package...I must say I like flip phones better and I'm not impressed with Touch screens...
Pros: Too many to list...
Cons: Nothing worth mentioning...
Wonderful Phone Great Texter
I really Love this Phone, I have owned a Nokia 6315, Lg 8350. The Chocolate 3 is leaps and bounds ahead of the Nokia and any of the Lg flips that are available through Verizon as to date. The Keypad is Large and allows this fat man to text with the greatest of ease. the camera is so so, but the Displays both inside and out are amazing. Readers Digest Version I LOVE This PHONE.
Pros
Large Keys
Great for Texting
Loud Ringer
Loud Earpiece
3.5mm Headset Jack
Media Player is Great
Cons
OS is a little slow
Camera Could be Better
Magnet for Fingerprints
The Chocolate 3 is a perfect phone for people who talk and text on the phone. If You want to surf the internet and check you email you really need to get a smart phone.
power cycling
i play and online mmmorpg game and i have had this phone power cycle a few times during game play. the game that i play isn't a verizon supported game but i don't belive that it is an issue with the games server as others in the game have voiced the same issue that also use this same phone. if one is planning on buying this phone for online rpgs that are multi-player i don't recommend it for this use as you may run into the same issue during game play. verizon has suggested that this may be caused by a proccesser overload ie to much data sent and rec. and it is causing the unit to overload and power down as some kind of a safety feature. if anyone is thinking of using this phone to play Shade chaos rules ... go look for a different phone as this phone will give you many issues. also this phone does not do a very good job at holding on to server connection.
It Has Some Problems
I wanted to really like this phone but had several problems with it. Loved the big crisp main display and hoped that I could enjoy the front display as well.
I went through THREE of these phones, all had the same problems. First, the bluetooth constantly disconnected for no reason. You'd be talking or not and you'd see the message "sounds transferred to phone." I also tried three different bluetooth devices. When it did work, the maximum bluetooth volume which is controlled by the phone was very low and difficult to hear.
The camera takes great pictures but if you take a picture from the front, with the flip closed, the picture is reversed! Mirrored! So if there is writing in your picture such as a sign or on a T-shirt, it will be backwards! They ALL do this and I haven't found ONE VZW employee that is aware of it.
PROS:
Great design
Sturdy
Great reception
Excellent music player
Standard 3.5mm headset jack
CONS:
Front camera takes mirrored pictures.
Bluetooth problems
Phone is slippery in your hands
Battery life average at best
I am now using a VX8360 and it's much better albeit a smaller display.
I wanted to love it...but I just can't!
I wanted to love this phone, but I just couldn't! I've had it replaced 6 times...and Vzw still won't let my use the multi-fru to trade for something better.
Pros:
1) It's blue!
2) It's loud, and the vibrate is great.
3) The screens are great...also a con.
Cons:
1) Battery life sucks. One day from this phone where my RAZR got at least two, and my enV three with use of the web browser.
2) The screens...major fingerprint magnets, plus they are east to scratch.
3) It's so slow...really, really slow.
4) Battery overheats while charging...Vzw replaced the battery, the phone, the charger, every thing...and it still does it.
5) Big delay in receiving messages, anywhere and at anytime. Vzw blames it on where I live.
6) How about this, every few weeks, the battery dead-cells...for no apparent reason.
7)It likes to reboot itself. All five of them.
8) Sometimes, the space bar doesn't work, and T9 has a hard time remembering words.
9) It doesn't hold very many messages, so I constantly have to delete them.
10) Constant failed sending of txt messages.
I could really go on and on, but this is just a horrid phone. Stay away!!!!!!!
The Best Flip Phone There Is
I've owned the LG 4400, 6000, 8100, and 8300, and I tried the LG 8350 and Moto RAZR V9m (returned them) before buying this phone. This phone is a significant improvement over all the others. The size and weight are perfect (the RAZR was too thin and too wide, the 8350 was too light). I love this phone because it's so practical.
Pros:
*Great call clarity
*Received texts on front (big plus)
*Great size, shape, and weight. Fits very well in pocket
*Can view calendar & respond to alarms on front (very handy)
*Front resolution is very good
*Surprisingly good ringers
*The menus are better than the standard Verizon menu
*The Bluetooth is noticeably better than on any other phone (including RAZR)
*Pretty good battery life (a few days with casual use, including bluetooth in car)
*Rubberized back grips surfaces well
*Camera is quicker than previous models(maybe 0.5 sec) and pretty good quality (for cell phone)
*Includes USB charger
Cons:
*It's a bit difficult to open with 1 hand. You get used to it after a while but it never really gets easy.
*Can't change texting default entry to Word, have to change from abc every time I text
*Can be a little slow to react sometimes. Sometimes takes a full sec after I flip it open to stop ringing and pick up
*Still can't buy a spare battery or desktop charger on eBay
I never cared about playing music on the phone but it has actually come in handy at random times. The FM transmitter has been quite handy when driving a rental car with no CDs.
Fingerprints aren't that bad, not nearly as bad as RAZR. This phone is solid, feels good in your hand, fits well in your pocket, and has great reception and clarity. There's not much more I could ask for. This is honestly the best flip phone I've ever used.
Like it, love it, gotta have it.
I'm a Verizon customer. I've had this phone for about a week and I love it. I'm not a huge music person but I enjoy a moderate amount of texting and basic features such as calendar, camera, calculator. ect. I pretty much just wanted a quality phone with quality construction and all basic features in a small pocket-sized phone and I got it all in the LG Chocolate 3. I went with it over the Decoy because the Chocolate 3 has a better key pad for texting.
Pros -
*Good solid contruction.
*High resolution (front screen & main).
*Awesome feel for the buttons and key pad (very nice)
*Rubber back that won't scratch and it won't slosh around in your pocket or viberate off a table.
*View text messages from the front.
*Great sound quality and loud speaker phone(something I really wanted).
*Beautiful and sleek!
Cons -
*Wheel on front moves too easy (you can just push down on it though instead of rolling it.)
*Average battery life (only 800mA.)
*Button lock is kind of annoying but I've gotten used to it.
Finally a GREAT Phone
Just got this phone from my local Best Buy Mobile store. And I simply love this phone. I have had it for 2 days now and it is amazing.
PROS:
~Large LCD screen
~Rhapsody Capable
~Iâm a heavy texter and I love the keypad
~Very loud phone, ring tones, alarm clock, speaker phone.
~Able to access the most important features in the phone without opening it
~Light weight
~Simple and very easy to navigate
CONS:
~The rubber thing that protects the 3.5mm jack is useless
~The lock feature on the front LCD screen is annoying, but if it wasnât there, everyone would be complaining about that......so itâs kinda a wash. But it IS ANNOYING
Recap:
All in all I love this phone, I had the LG 8700 before and I was hesitant to replace it. Although smart phones are useful and touch pad phones are really nice, I donât want nor do I need to re-learn or take too much time to learn difficult or confusing features in a new phone. And this phone did not make me do that. Yes there are new features but they arenât confusing or difficult to use at all. And the music feature is amazing; I donât even use my ipod Touch anymore sadly. Itâs worth the money to get and I recommend it to everyone.
Life is like a box of...
I have had this phone for about one month and use it in the Phoenix, AZ area.
I have to say that I was fairly disappointed with the selection of phones at Verizon recently. The high end phones were too high end, and the cheap ones...well. I like the Dare and a couple other phones, but I wanted a more "traditional" styled phone. I wanted to get a phone that was solid as a phone, but this time I also wanted to have an mp3 player with a lot of memory to replace my iPod Nano 8GB that is on the fritz. So off I went and bought this phone. I have to say that overall I am satisfied with my purchase. So let's get into it:
CONS:
I have nothing at this time that would constitute a CON. There are a few minor things that I've considered "whatevers."
PROS:
1) Battery life is great. I can get two solid days with lots of calls and texting, and then some.
2) Camera (for a phone) is crisp and clear.
3) Signal is perfect. No issues.
4) FM Transmitter is really cool. The strength is a little weak, but works just fine if you can find that "empty" channel.
5) 3.5mm jack!
6) Lock and "Music" buttons.
7) mp3 software very similar to iPod's
8) Loud speakers, strong vibe.
9) Even though it is using Verizon's UI, it is fast!
10) 8GB external memory, plus 1GB internal memory.
11) Size and feel are very good for me.
Whatevers:
1) The hinge does a little wobble then the phone is closed. And it's not just my phone.
2) The battery cover door can slide open way too easily.
3) Front of phone scratches fairly easy.
This phone is solid! Great features, easy to figure out, above average battery life and signal strength make it the phone for me.
Finally a MUSIC phone
I picked a great time to unintentionally ruin my Moto Krzr. I walked into my local Verizon store, and got a great deal on this phone with a company discount. This is the phone I've been wanting. So far, I've had about six days to play with it.
Things I Like:
- Regular size headphone jack (3.5mm). Don't have to fumble for adapters.
- FM Transmitter to listen over car stereo
- Front panel access to features using the wheel
- Call quality and reception is good so far, even when used out-of-town.
- Feels more substantial to hold than Krzr
- Improved menu interface from previous generation phones, although menu options are a proud attempt for Verizon to promote their costly services.
- USB cable included
- Phone launches driver install when you plug into USB port. There's no need to search the Internet.
- 2.0 mega-pixel camera
What I Don't Like:
- FM transmitter too weak. This isn't the fault of LG, but a mandate from the FCC.
- Functions like camera, or even call answering are sometimes slow to respond.
- You can change only one option at a time on the camera.
- Vibrate weak
- It's annoying to have to press 'Unlock' button to use front panel. I understand why it's there though.
- Poor selection of useful tones and wallpaper
- Software (Rhapsody) won't detect internal memory when Micro-SD card is inserted.
- No EQ for music player. You get only 6 EQ presets. I like the 'concert hall' preset though.
- I wish they had kept the LED light show around the wheel for incoming calls that was on the 2nd gen Chocolate.
I'm not sure how I feel about the Chocolate now being a flip phone rather than a slider. Could it be that LG just had too much trouble with the slider? Overall, I think it's the best phone I've had so far. After having two Motos in a row, it was time to switch back to LG. IMO LG is coming out with all the innovative phones, and Moto hasn't been innovative since the Razr.
