LG Versa (Verizon Wireless)
Manufacturer: LG Electronics U.S.A. Part number: Versa
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- If you can live with the clunky Web browser, the LG Versa is a very good touch-screen phone with the added versatility of optional modules.
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CNET editors' review
LG Versa (Verizon Wireless) price range: $29.99
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 03/02/2009
- Released on: 02/25/2009
The good: The LG Versa is an attractive touch-screen handset with an animated user interface, plus it has options for additional modules. The Versa also has a full HTML browser with Flash Lite support, EV-DO, GPS, a 2.0-megapixel camera, and a music player. It comes with a QWERTY keyboard module, which doubles as a case.
The bad: The LG Versa suffers from a poor Web-browsing experience, and the screen can be sometimes unresponsive in certain applications. There is no Wi-Fi, and Visual Voice Mail has a monthly cost.
The bottom line: If you can live with the clunky Web browser, the LG Versa is a very good touch-screen phone with the added versatility of optional modules.
The LG Versa from Verizon Wireless is a touch-screen phone with a difference. Promising to be the most versatile phone we've ever seen (hence the "Versa" moniker), it comes with the option of adding external modules to increase its functionality. Out of the box, for example, the Versa comes with an attachable QWERTY keyboard, but if you prefer not to have the extra bulk, just detach it and you can still type with the virtual keyboard on the touch screen. LG plans to have additional modules in the future, such as external speakers and a game pad controller.
Even without the modules, the Versa is a very good touch-screen phone by itself. It has an animated interface, where you can customize up to three home screens. The Versa has a full HTML browser with support for Flash Lite, so you can watch your favorite YouTube clips on the go. Other features include a 2.0-megapixel camera, access to V Cast Video and V Cast Music, EV-DO, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, and more. Though the browsing experience was less than satisfactory and we're not pleased with the lack of Wi-Fi, we're quite impressed with the Versa and with the promise of future modules. The LG Versa is available now for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 rebate.
Design
By itself, the LG Versa looks almost exactly like the LG Dare. Measuring 4.17 inches long by 2.07 inches wide by 0.54 inch thick, the Versa is slim and sleek, plus the back battery cover has a nice soft touch surface. Like the Dare, it has a large 3-inch-wide touch-screen display on its front face, plus the Call, Clear/Voice command, and End/Power keys. We liked the screen size for the most part, but it does make surfing the full HTML browser less than enjoyable (more on that in the Features section). The Versa is around 3.81 ounces, which won't weigh you down.
The display supports 262,000 colors and 480x240 pixel resolution, which result in vibrant graphics with plenty of detail. You can adjust the backlight time, the menu fonts, the dial fonts, the display theme, the banner, the wallpaper, and even the image of the charging screen (Literally, this is the image that's on the screen while the phone is charging). Instead of just one home screen, you can have up to three (or up to four if you attach a module). You have one home screen for all your application shortcuts, one screen with media shortcuts and Web bookmarks, and another with contact shortcuts (also called Favorites). Do note, however, that you're only limited to these three home screens; you can't create your own home screen that's a mix of different kinds of shortcuts. And as previously mentioned, you get a dedicated screen when using the keyboard module. In order to switch home screens, just swipe at the display and the screen will rotate like a 3D cube. Each home screen has shortcuts to the message in-box, the phone dialer, the main menu, and the phonebook along the bottom row.
Customizing each home screen is pretty easy. There's a gear icon on the right of each home screen; tap that, and you'll be brought to a settings page for that particular home screen. For the Favorites home screen, you can choose a contact from your phonebook; for the Media home screen, you select from the Pictures, Videos, Music, or Bookmarks folder; and for Shortcuts, you pick from the entire list of applications. To remove shortcuts, just select the ones you don't want and then tap the Trash icon. You can have different wallpaper for each home screen as well. The keyboard module home screen is the only one you can't customize. It shows shortcuts to the browser, e-mail, a new text message, the calendar, mobile instant messaging, and the notepad.
The Versa's touch screen provides tactile feedback. There's a calibration wizard for adjusting the screen's sensitivity to your liking, and you can alter the vibrate type (short, double, or long), the vibrate level (low, medium, high, or off), and the accompanying sound effect. You can choose from four sound effects, plus a silent option.
The touch interface was pretty responsive on the whole, but we still had problems in certain applications. For example, in the browser we had to tap at the menu 8 or 10 times before it would pop up. This is perplexing, since the touch screen is much more responsive when navigating the interface and when dialing and texting.
Speaking of dialing, the phone dialer interface consists of the standard numeric keypad plus a speakerphone button, a voice command button, a Clear button, and links to the recent calls list and the contacts list. When you're done dialing, you can hit either the green Call button, the physical Talk button, or bring up a menu of additional options (like adding a 2-second pause, or to start a new text message). You can also hit the Save button for saving a new number to the phonebook.
The Versa has a built-in accelerometer that will rotate the display 90 degrees in either direction when the phone is held horizontally. This works with all applications and menu interfaces except for the home screens; for that, you'll need the keyboard module.
If you're a frequent texter with a need for a QWERTY keyboard, you're in luck. The Versa comes with a bonus QWERTY keyboard module right in the box. Just remove the battery cover and align the keyboard contact pins with those along the right side of the phone. We didn't like that you had to remove the battery cover in order to add the module.
Clad on all sides in faux leather, the keyboard attachment looks like it belongs in an executive's attache case. We're OK with the design, but it might not appeal to some people. The module acts like a case, and has cutouts for the camera on the back. On the front is an external monochrome 0.94-inch OLED display with date, time, signal and battery strength, plus caller ID information. There are also two call buttons underneath that. The Versa is about an inch thicker with the module attached and is about half an ounce heavier.
When the keyboard module is attached to the Versa, not only will you have access to the aforementioned keyboard module home screen, but the display's orientation switches to landscape mode automatically when you're holding the phone horizontally. The keyboard itself is a pleasure to use with a roomy design and tactile keys. There's a dedicated alias (@) key that doubles as a .com key, a dedicated speakerphone key, and arrow keys for navigation. There are number keys along the top of the keyboard, and a button for typing symbols. To remove the module, just slide the lock mechanism on the left side of the Versa.
If you decide not to use the keyboard module, the Versa has several other ways of entering text via the touch screen. You can use either the virtual T9 keypad, handwriting recognition, or the virtual QWERTY keyboard. In order to use the keyboard, just rotate your phone 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction and the QWERTY keyboard will appear. Tapping each key will magnify that key momentarily. There are dedicated alias (@), .com, comma, and period keys, plus arrow keys for navigation and a Shift key for capital letters. You can also switch to a numbers and symbols keyboard by hitting the abc/123 key. You can copy and paste text, but you won't get an autocorrect feature. At the end of the day, however, the physical keyboard is much easier to use than the virtual keyboards.
The handwriting recognition works like the graffiti method--just write as you normally would and it will convert your scribbling into text. Yet, it's not smart enough to identify numbers from letters, and uppercase letters from lowercase---we had to keep switching between the different modes instead. We recommend using the included stylus as writing with our finger resulted in a lot of mistakes.
The dedicated camera key, volume rocker, headset jack, and charger jack are on the left spine, while the microSD card slot is on the right. On top of the Versa is the screen lock key. We're a little disappointed the Versa has a 2.5mm headset jack instead of the standard 3.5mm headset jack. The camera lens and LED flash are on the back. The stylus is clad in faux leather, and you can attach it to the Versa like a cell phone charm.
Features
The Versa comes with a generous 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for five numbers and two e-mail addresses. You can categorize callers to groups and pair them with a photo and one of 22 polyphonic ringtones for caller ID. Other basics include text and multimedia messaging, a vibrate mode, a speakerphone, a calculator, a tip calculator, a calendar, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a world clock, and a notepad. There's also a drawing pad, which lets you sketch little drawings with a variety of pen colors and sizes. You can send the image via a multimedia message if you wish.
More advanced features include mobile e-mail, mobile instant messaging (AOL, Yahoo, and Windows Live), voice command and voice dialing, voice recording, USB mass storage mode, an RSS reader, and GPS functionality via Verizon's VZ Navigator. Mobile e-mail can only be accessed via the browser interface, and is limited to certain Web mail services like Windows Live, Yahoo, AOL Mail, AIM Mail, Verizon.net and a few others, but certainly not Exchange, so the Versa can't quite compete with a smart phone.
The Versa also comes with Visual Voicemail, which lets you pick and choose which voice mail message to listen to, plus you can delete, reply to, and forward each message. You can even reply with a voice message of your own if the other person is also a Verizon Wireless customer. You can view information like date and time of receipt, message duration, and more, in order to prioritize your response. Verizon lets you store up to 40 messages for 40 days. Unfortunately, Verizon charges a $2.99 monthly fee for this, which we think is too much since AT&T and Sprint charge nothing for their respective services.
You also get full Bluetooth support, with stereo Bluetooth, file transfer, and the ability to use the phone as a modem. Bear in mind that you will need the $59.99 a month Mobile Broadband Connect plan to tether the Versa to your laptop.
The Versa has a full HTML browser and is one of a few mobile browsers to support Flash Lite 3 and the H.264 video standard. We were able to watch videos right from the Versa's browser, but not all formats will work. It won't support longer higher-quality Flash videos like those on CNET TV, but for quick clips from YouTube, it works great. You're also able to have up to three browser windows, or tabs, open at a time. You can view Web pages in full-screen view or a normal view, with the controls visible. Other browser settings include the ability to access the browser history, send a URL via text or e-mail, search the text on a Web page, set the keypress and connection timer, and toggle Flash and JavaScript on and off.
Aside from the Flash experience, the browsing experience was disappointing. As we said earlier, the touch-screen's response is pretty terrible on the whole. For example, we had to tap at the menu icon several times before it would appear. This seems to be a browser-only problem, since we had no such issues with the QWERTY keyboard and the menu interface. Also, while the browser would load WAP pages just fine, it crashed on full HTML pages on more than one occasion, prompting us to hard reset the phone by taking out the battery. Because the Versa has a relatively small screen compared with the Apple iPhone, there was also a lot more scrolling involved when navigating large Web pages. In short, the Versa's browser left us less than satisfied. On the upside, we like that you can use the volume rocker plus the onscreen controls to zoom in and out of Web pages, and we could smoothly pan and scroll through them too.
As a phone on a 3G EV-DO network, the Versa supports Verizon's broadband services like V Cast Video, Verizon's streaming video service, and V Cast Music with Rhapsody, Verizon's music download service. The Versa's music player is a lot like the one on the Dare; it's not housed within the V Cast interface and is easy to use and navigate. There are shortcut icons to Play All (the full playlist), Shop (the V Cast Music store), and Sync (USB syncing), and the player automatically organizes the songs by genre, artist, and album. Settings include repeat and shuffle, plus you can create and edit your own playlists. You can play the song in the background while you're navigating other parts of the phone, plus music player controls appear on the home screen so you can control your songs and change tracks without opening the music player. The player interface itself is quite simple, with the typical play/pause and track controls plus album art if you buy the song from the Verizon V Cast store.
Each song in the V Cast Music store costs $1.99, and it includes a download to the PC as well. You can purchase a song directly from V Cast to your PC for only 99 cents, and if you have a Rhapsody music subscription, you can load your subscribed tracks to your phone. The Versa supports up to 16GB microSD cards, so you can have additional storage for your MP3s.
We'll admit that we expected more than a 2-megapixel camera with the Versa, since the Dare had a 3.2-megapixel camera. That said, photo quality was good for the most part; images look sharp and colors are vibrant. You can take photos in five resolutions (1,600x1,200, 1,280x960, 800x400, 640x480, and 320x240), five white balance presets, and five color effects. Other settings include autofocus, spot/average photometry, three shutter sounds (with a silent option), a self-timer, flash, and a panorama mode. There is also something called SmartPic technology, which helps to enhance images with face color compensation and light compensation in low-light situations. The latter is especially useful since the LED flash isn't that great. Another nice feature is face detection, to ensure your subject's face is in focus.
After taking a picture, you can edit it with the built-in image editor. You can zoom in, rotate, crop, change the contrast, sharpen, and blur your photos. There's a drawing tool so you can doodle over your images, plus you can add fun frames and stamps. The built-in camcorder can record up to three resolutions (176x144, 320x240, and 640x240 VGA)--the VGA format is only for storing on the device, since MMS can't support files that large yet. You can record videos up to 470KB for MMS. Settings are similar to that of the still camera.
Personalization options are plenty with the Versa. You can customize it with wallpaper, graphics, sounds, and more. You can download more options via the Web browser. The Versa does not come with any games.
Performance
We tested the LG Versa in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless's network. Call quality was good overall. Callers could hear us loudly and we could hear them, with very little static in the background. Our voices sounded rather harsh though, and not at all natural. Speakerphone quality was also not great, with a rather hollow and tinny sound. Callers could still hear us just fine though. The audio quality of the speakers is the same with the music player, with a rather weak bass. We would opt for a stereo headset for better sound quality. The LG Versa is compatible with M4 and T4 hearing aids.
We were impressed with the EV-DO Rev. A speeds. Web pages loaded in seconds, and it took about a minute to download a 1MB song. Streaming video quality was surprisingly good as well, especially the ones from YouTube. There was little buffering time, if any. The video itself was rather blurry and pixelated, but that's to be expected.
The LG Versa has a rated battery life of 4.83 hours of talk time and 17.9 days of standby time. Our tests revealed a talk time of 5 hours and 20 minutes. According to the FCC, the LG Versa has a digital SAR rating of 1.38 watts per kilogram.
User reviews
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Very Good Phone
by crazykid123 on February 27, 2009
Pros: -3 inch touch screen
-detachable keyboard
-3D interface with 3 customizable home screens
-accelerometer works on mostly all menus
-loud speakerCons: -qwerty keyboard doesn't look visually appealing
-2.5 headset
-touch screen sometimes doesn't respondSummary: The Versa is really a good phone once you actually play with it. The phone by itself is roughly the same size as the Dare but a little bit narrower. ...
Summary: The Versa is really a good phone once you actually play with it. The phone by itself is roughly the same size as the Dare but a little bit narrower. The touch screen is really nice but sometimes you have to click stuff twice for it to respond but that happened very little. The UI is quick and smooth and it has cool but useless animations. The web browser is one of the best mobile web browser I've seen. It renders pages nicely and scrolling is easy.
10 out of 10 users found this user opinion helpful.
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lives up to the name
by colbyd19 on March 2, 2009
Pros: easy to detach/attach
gaming is fun
txting is simple
call sound is great
speaker is loud for music
well responsive touch screen
acceleromator is very quickCons: still uses a lot of mobile websites instead of full html sites
camera isn't as strong as other phonesSummary: the lg versa is so far turning out to be a great purchase. after looking over this website for almost 2 months, i was in between buying the storm or ...
Summary: the lg versa is so far turning out to be a great purchase. after looking over this website for almost 2 months, i was in between buying the storm or the dare... but after hearing this phone was coming out i decided to wait til this came to the store to make my final decision. i'm so glad i did, this phone was an amazing find. a lot of people knock it for the look or what side the keyboard is on, but in all honesty its a pretty solid phone. holding the phone when the keyboard is on isn't as awkward as it is made out to be.. it takes a little getting used to but after having it a couple days i feel fine using it. gaming is amazing on this phone, especially need for speed undercover (demo comes on the phone when you buy it). its very similar to the iphone when it comes to driving the car, but other than that lg has done well to branch out from trying to duplicate the iphone.
the negatives are few and far between.. the camera isn't as strong as i would like it to be, but then again i only take pictures with my phone when im drunk so haha, i dont have to worry about it that much. also, i don't like the browser. some websites come up full, but as for like espn, facebook, etc... it still goes to the m.whatever sites. youtube works on here well though, for those who really want flash.
as for this review, i would definately recommend this phone. im no robot or whatever, but it really is a good phone. hope you find this helpful, i know i read a lot of these looking for this phone too.7 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pretty cool ...
by julienw88 on March 18, 2009
Pros: Phone is actually brown, not black like every other phone.
Not heavy, but sturdy in your hand.
Very responsive touch screen, slightly better than the Dare.
Texting is amazing.
Switching from vertical to horizontal view seemed quicker than Dare.Cons: Camera is just so-so.
Web browser is better than most, but still not that great.
Doesn't support the Mobile Banking app (for Regions Bank) yetSummary: I upgraded to the BlackBerry Curve 8330 originally, but hated it! So, I took it back and got the Versa. So far I love it. I had the LG Venus ...
Summary: I upgraded to the BlackBerry Curve 8330 originally, but hated it! So, I took it back and got the Versa. So far I love it. I had the LG Venus before, so I am somewhat used to the 'touch.' It is prone to lots of finger smudges, but what phone isn't. Sound quality is great! I haven't experienced any static-like sounds, like mentioned in the CNet review, so far.
I was up in the air between the LG Dare and the Versa. But after playing with both in the store, I picked the Versa. Here is why: On the main menu, you can turn the phone horizontally and the menu turns too. The Dare does not do this on the main menu screen. The texting menus looked identical on the Dare and Versa, but the actual size of the keypad and qwerty keyboard was a bit smaller on the Versa (the actual letters and numbers) - I'm a girl with small hands and liked this; a guy with large fingers may like the Dare better. The shortcut menu icon on the home screen is in a different location on the Versa than the Dare. While holding the Dare in one hand (right) it was easier to accidentially hit this icon, being it was right at thumb level. The Versa's is positioned better. The attachable qwerty keyboard was NOT a selling point for me, but after actually using it, it's growing on me. The responsiveness just seemed to be better on the Versa than the Dare. The only real downside to the Versa is the camera. It's a great camera, but the Dare's is better.
Overall, this phone is awesome and has some really 'fun' features. And anyone interested in this phone should NOT be turned off by the attachable keyboard. It does completely detach and does NOT have to be added. It does come with an added mini stylus, too. This helps sometimes while web browsing.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone, but could be better
by divatech31 on March 9, 2009
Pros: touch screen
great resolution; nice vivid color
camera features
keyboard extension
flash playerCons: html browser needs repeated touches and can be very slow
touch sensitivity could be betterSummary: Overall, I like the phone. It's a definite step up from the enV I used to have. I wanted an iphone but I'm not too crazy about the ...
Summary: Overall, I like the phone. It's a definite step up from the enV I used to have. I wanted an iphone but I'm not too crazy about the AT&T network, so I figured this would be a good alternative. As a phone, it's excellent, with clear, crisp sound quality. Visually, the display is stunning! The GPS navigation is also great. I'm a hotmail user, so the limited choice of email platforms was not a problem for me. The 2.0 megapixel camera is pretty decent quality, and the camera comes with options to modify the picture/video after capture, which is nice. The touchscreen sensitivity on this phone is not as good as that of an iphone. I have to hit icons more than once or I'll mistakingly select something when I'm just trying to scroll. This is why I love that the phone has a keyboard extension. Texting or html browsing without it is VERY laborious! I also like that you can program the phone to go directly to txt or notepad mode when you start typing. The keyboard does make the phone significantly heavier and wider, but I don't mind it so much...the attachment provides a protective cover to the touchscreen (which is great for women like me who throw their phones in their purses). I like that you can answer calls with the phone closed (when the keyboard attachment is on), but I don't like that you have to open the phone to make a call and then close the phone to talk (if you want to hold the phone to your ear). However, the phone doesn't hang up when you close the cover...so that's a positive. Also, the screen with the attachment on is just a plain ol' tiny, black and white, MS-DOS looking screen....very boring.
Like the CNET reviewers, I too have an issue with the browser taking a long time and then crashing. This is annoying.
Overall, I like where LG is trying to go with the phone. I would recommend waiting for version 2.0, when the html kinks have been worked out. Also, the promise of future modules is pretty neat. I'm looking forward to seeing what those are...hopefully, they won't cost an arm and a leg.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best phone I have ever owned...needs software update
by Turbojimmy1 on March 19, 2009
Pros: Best phone ever. Auto-focus camera awesome. Detachable keyboard is pure genius. Solid battery life. Texting is a joy with the keyboard. Looks different from other current phone models. It's like two phone in one.
Cons: Low resolution camera for such a new phone. Touch screen unresponsive a lot of the time. No auto-complete or spell check while texting. Web browser hard to use, locks up and hard to read. Software glitch that causes phone to lock up (see below).
Summary: I have been looking for the ultimate text message phone for years. I love to text. I have been with Cricket for 4 years then switched to the new Boost ...
Summary: I have been looking for the ultimate text message phone for years. I love to text. I have been with Cricket for 4 years then switched to the new Boost Unlimited plan last week...and what a nightmare. 5 days into my Boost service I switched to Verizon. I have had a Verizon work phone for 10 years and have never had any problem but used the Cricket as my personal and home phone mainly for the unlimited service and my fear of commitment to a contract service.
Well, after my miserable experience with Boost I decided to take the plunge and go ahead and sign a contract and get a phone with new technology. So I chose Verizon and the Versa.
I was immediately happy with the Versa. It is compact, has a vivid display and the detachable keyboard is incredible.
Like most of the reviews on here it took me a day or so to get used to texting with it, I was so used to the the t9 texting that the keyboard was strange to me. After about a day I was really into it. I don't think I could ever go back to a flip phone, which was my biggest fear when I bought it because I have never owned anything other than a flip phone.
After I got the phone all set up to my liking I can honestly say that I love it. It's not much for web use, but for calls and texting it is really good. The only things I would change is add predictive text and spell check to the text function. Also LG could eliminate a few steps in sending texts to make it even better.
Here are the few things that I don't like about the phone:
1) A lot of times you have to hit the touch screen multiple times to get it to respond, even though you get visual and touch feedback that the phone received your command.
2) I am on my second handset because of a glitch with my first one. After calling LG tech support they recommended that I return it under warranty. Verizon was kind enough to swap it out for me on the spot no questions asked, but the new handset has the same issue. For all those that own a Versa try this...set your phone lock screen saver to one of the "fun animations" either the world clock or the cube. After the phone locks and goes to one of these screen savers and you receive a text don't immediately check it, let the phone go back to lock mode. At this point the phone will not respond to any input...either through the touch screen or the function keys on the side. The only way to unlock the phone is to remove the battery and reboot the phone. This is obviously a firmware glitch that will hopefully be corrected in the next software release.
3) When using the phone in the stand alone mode (without the keyboard attached) the 3 main menus will not rotate with the phone. I have tried on two different handsets and still nothing. They always stay in the portrait position no matter how you hold the phone. All of the sub-menus rotate with the phone and when the keyboard module is attached these menus rotate with the phone. I hope that this function is something that can be updated with a software release as well.
All in all I totally love this phone. Honestly I always thought Motorola would eventually come out with my ultimate phone, but due to my recent lack of satisfaction with Motorola products and customer service I'm glad I decided to try something else. The Versa has a few glitches, but is a fantastic phone, especially if you like to text. Even with the issues it has I wouldn't trade it for any other phone on the market. I just hope that Lg addresses these small issues and corrects them and maybe offers a few upgrades in the Versa II. A camera with a resolution more in line with current offerings would be a good start, as well as spell check, predictive text, and a more responsive touch screen and web browser. Thanks.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Just what I was looking for......
by shellice on March 11, 2009
Pros: -touchscreen seems to be very responsive
-screen size is nice and has a good picture (good colors)
-fairly easy to learn how to use
-customizable screens (I really like the favorites screen)
-supports 16GB microSD card!Cons: -typical for the camara on the phone, it take a couple of seconds before the picture actually is taken
-I don't like the brown background color that is in settings & tools and the contact list.
-case for qwerty keyboard is not exactly the nicestSummary: I had been looking to replace my Samsung Alias for about three months when I heard that this phone had come out. I really enjoyed the qwerty keyboard as I ...
Summary: I had been looking to replace my Samsung Alias for about three months when I heard that this phone had come out. I really enjoyed the qwerty keyboard as I text quite a bit and am a typist so that was a requirement of any new phone I got. I had looked at the Dare, env2, Glyde, Voyager all of which I really didn't like and thought about upgrading to a Smartphone (Curve or Storm) but have no need for that functionality.
When I first saw the versa in the store I knew I was in love and went back later and got it (my mom also upgrade to the versa that day and she really likes hers as well). I have now had it for 10 days and am still in love.
The touchscreen is very responsive and quick. It took about 2 days for me to really get used to it but I have no problems at all now.
I have to admit that I do not use browsing functions (that's not in my plan) so I can not comment on how those work. I also have to admit that I haven't actually used the qwerty attachment yet as I quickly got used to the touchscreen. I know many would say that maybe I should have just gotten the dare and I did look at that one, however, when I was typing a text message on the dare, I only saw one line of text, with the versa in touchscreen mode, I get two. That makes a big difference to me. In addition, I think the touchscreen interface is much more responsive and fast than any other one I have seen.
One of the things I really like is the favorites menu. Just by clicking on a name I get an option to either send them a text or call them. This is very fast and convienent for me since I tend to have a short list of who I call/text most often. I think you can fit at least 10 people on the favorites list if not more.
In addition, customizing the differnt menus is so simple. It's almost like they walk you through it.
The major complaints that I have at this time are certainly things I can live with. I don't like the case for the qwerty attachment. Not really a big deal since I'm not really using it. I don't like a background color that for some reason I can't figure out how to change. It's purely cosmetic and a personal choice (won't stop me from using the phone). It has the 2.5mm jack instead of the 3.5mm jack. I can buy the converter and I have an iPod so not really necessary for me.
There is really only one thing that annoys me is that long delay between when you hit the button to take the picture and when the picture is actually taken. I can't hold that against the versa because this seems to be the case with every camara phone I have ever had. Maybe someday someone could fix that?
Call quality is very good (absolutely no complaints). I haven't used the speakerphone much but haven't had any problems yet.
Overall, I really enjoy the phone and would recommend it to someone who thinks the touchscreen thing is cool and would like the option to have a regular qwerty attached.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very good phone
by 1russellh on March 5, 2009
Pros: Versatile and customizable. Much lighter than the Voyager. User friendly.
Cons: Not for people with big hands if you don't use the keyboard. Sometimes doesn't respond to first tap in some functions. No case for the phone when in the keyboard.
Summary: I went and purchased this phone tonight and was very impressed by it's form and functionality. Real easy to use and was a lot lighter than my previous phone (...
Summary: I went and purchased this phone tonight and was very impressed by it's form and functionality. Real easy to use and was a lot lighter than my previous phone (Voyager). I was surprised because I thought it would be a brick of a phone. I'm impressed so far.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Finally a good phone from Verizon
by m4him on April 25, 2009
Pros: User interface, contact searching, strong signal, contact searching, camera has many features, music plays in the background, a good group of included programs, easy of use, touch-screen works well
Cons: Verizon's weak navigator, no software for syncing included, only 2mp camera, browser is a bit weak in features, very few add-on programs, push mail is extra 5 dollars per month, visual voice mail is extra per month.
Summary: If I could give this a 4.5 I would.
I love the features, the screen, the keyboard, closing the keyboard and it auto locks, the cube effect between screens, ...Summary: If I could give this a 4.5 I would.
I love the features, the screen, the keyboard, closing the keyboard and it auto locks, the cube effect between screens, good calendar, calculator, tip calculator, world clock, etc.
It multi-tasks so I can listen to music while doing almost everything. If I make a call or use the navigator the music stops. When I exit the app the music starts where it left off. I can text and do most other functions and the music plays in the background. When the music is playing it puts a ribbon across the top which blocks some of the icons under it but you can move the icons to get them out of the way. When you receive a text the music stops and while reading the text the music does not continue until the text screen is exited. Seems like that is something that should be fixed.
The voice commands do not seem to work very well except for using it to make calls. I could not get the right song to play and when I said goto navigator every time it goes to the calculator.
The internet browser works as expected for a phone. I would like to have seen a floating magnifier. You have to do 2 clicks and a slide to magnify the entire page and then rub the screen until the part of the page desired is shown. This works fine but seems like fewer clicks could be designed.
The navigator is the typical VZNavigator with its inherited cut-down features compared to a real gps. It depends on a Verizon network connections for maps but has a good gps for location tracking. I have 30 days free then I will activate the subscription for a month when traveling.
The user interface was very well thought out. There are a lot of features and shortcuts. I love the way you can locate a contact quickly. The favorites screen for adding contacts is very convenient. I wish the media screen allowed a play list to be added to it or an album.
The camera has a flash and they cut back a bit from the Dare as it is 2mp instead of 3mp. What is a phone camera for anyway? It is unlikely you will win the photography Pulitzer award with a phone camera but then again who knows. I use my camera to take photos of faces for my contacts and that is pretty much it. There are plenty of features with the camera including a panoramic mode that allows you to take 3 shots to form a panoramic view. It shows you the right edge of the previous shot so you can align the next shot. Now if the world would just hold still long enough to get the next shot. The focus to shot time is really long at about 2-3 seconds and the lens is way to slow for an action shot. You can turn the autofocus off, there is a timer, auto save on/off, face detection, spot or average focus, 3 shutter sounds or no shutter sound, white balance, change resolution. The video works well for a phone camera.
The speaker is loud but only a mono speaker. The bluetooth works perfectly. The rings are very loud and a lot to choose from. You can easily add your own ring tones with the USB Mass Storage mode on a Mac, Linux, or ... what was that other abstract operating system out there? WinDose or something like that.
You will not make a fashion statement with this phone as the case is mud ugly. The nice thing is that it protects the phone. Sure would have been nice if they had provided a place for the included stylus. I guess that stylus was an afterthought.
The contacts are always available. The contact program is a bit light as it does not have the ability to put the address in. That would be really handy and especially if it was linked to the navigator.
The keyboard is just awesome. It has plenty of room for big fingers and all the standard symbols are available right on the keyboard.
The reception seems to be very good. I noticed that I am getting 1 to 2 bars more than with the Glyde and about the same as the Krave.
There is no software included. It seems that there are issues with the drivers working with Verizon?s Rhapsody program. I hope the get this fixed soon. For now you can access your memory card by putting the phone is USB Mass Storage mode.
There is no such thing as a perfect phone but this one is worth the extra money. Have you noticed that the ones that are cheap are the ones that everyone is having problems with? You can get a Glyde online for 50 dollars. The new Glyde with the resistive screen may be worth the 50 dollars if you really only want to talk on the phone and do not care about the other features. Then the other features become a bonus. If you want a phone that you can talk on and actually use for music, browsing, quick texting, and limited navigation then the Versa seems to be a good choice.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Simple Outstanding!
by lxJGTxl on March 25, 2009
Pros: -Beautiful Responsive Touch Screen
-MP3 Is Simple and Very Easy To use
-Loud and Clear Speaker
-Call Quality Is To Die For
-Home Screens Are Customizable for Shortcuts/Favorites/Media
-Only 2.0 Camera but Captures Clear and Amazing PicturesCons: - Attachable keyboard Isn't Very Appealing. Prefer It Off.
- Internet Is Good. But Could Be Better.
- Video Captures are Mediocre
- Battery Life Needs Improvements.Summary: Bottom Line, this is an AMAZING phone. Has a gorgeous Touch Screen that is VERY responsive. MP3 player supports a variety of different formats and plays beautifully. 2.5mm headset ...
Summary: Bottom Line, this is an AMAZING phone. Has a gorgeous Touch Screen that is VERY responsive. MP3 player supports a variety of different formats and plays beautifully. 2.5mm headset jack was a bit disappointing, but spending only $5 on an adapter at frys electronics made it no biggy. Camera takes great pictures; unfortunatly, takes mediocre videos. call quality is outstanding as well. For those who complain about the Keyboard it comes with, REMEMBER ITS DETACHABLE. meaning you DON'T have to use it. it prefer mine off. In about 2 days of using the querty keyboard on the touchscreen, i could text a lot faster than with a regular querty keyboard. the pressure sensitive touchscreen in my opinion makes it better than texting on the iphones keyboard. And instead of using the keyboard for a case i got a clear hard plastic case for it. clean and looks amazing. Also the phone comes with a beautiful displayed homescreen with a customizable screen for shortcuts, favorites, and media. i find each page extremely useful. Overall, this is the phone to get from verizon wireless. better than the dare, voyager (by a little bit), and glyde in my opinion. but i wouldnt say its better than the omnia or the storm. and the omnia is alot cheaper. so this is my review. yes i have the phone. so im not a random reviewer. had it for 2 weeks. so i hope this helps.
haha i bet your like 8 years old. you actually think the dare is top of the line?!?!?! i have the versa. and i absolutely love it. i love it more than the dare. but im not gonna say its top of the line. its far from. top of the line would be the blackberry curve, blackberry storm, Iphone, etc. so being 8 years old, im guessing you wrote a review for this phone to make your lg dare look better? find something better to do like make friends, because its obvious you don't have any.
The End.
Updated on Mar 25, 2009
Updated on Mar 25, 2009^ that last update was ment for a reply to another review. typed in the wrong box
oh and incase ppl give me crap for saying the versa is better than the dare and voyager because i dont own it.. well my bro has the dare. and i use to mess with it all the time before i got my phone so i know exactly what its capable of. and i got my girlfriend the voyager last week. so i know exactly how each phone is. so yeah. just thought id throw that in there. k im done waistin my life on cnet.com. later2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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The LG Versa lives up to it's name
by uppercaseguy on March 2, 2009
Pros: -Attachable qwerty keyboard
-2.0 MP camera
-Very nice looking phone (minus the outside cover of the attachable keyboard)
-Nice, easy to use screen layouts
-Large, vibrant screenCons: -The faux leather on the outside of the qwerty keyboard is not the most attractive
-Screen is sometimes doesn't respond
-Don't get this phone if you don't want the keyboard
-I'm afraid I'm going to lose the battery coverSummary: I am very impressed by this phone. Everything so far has been working great on it and I love it! Text is easy on the qwerty keyboard. I love the ...
Summary: I am very impressed by this phone. Everything so far has been working great on it and I love it! Text is easy on the qwerty keyboard. I love the concept of letting it be attachable. Calls sound good. Pictures look great with all the settings and editing tools. I hope in the future they come out with a more visually appealing keyboard but I can live with the one it came with. It doesn't look THAT bad in person.
But all in all this is a great device and I am very happy with my purchase! Well done, LG.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: LG Electronics U.S.A.
- Part number: Versa
- Description: The LG VX9600 Versa is the epitome of versatility. With a detachable QWERTY keypad and customizable 3D user interface you can mold the Versa into the perfect phone for you and your way of life.
General
- Product Type Cellular phone With digital camera / digital player
- Service Provider Verizon Wireless
- Width 2.1 in
- Depth 0.6 in
- Height 4.2 in
- Weight 3.8 oz
Cellular
- Technology CDMA2000 1X
- Band CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
- Phone Design Candy bar
- Antenna Internal
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Voice Dialing Yes
- Call Timer Yes
- Conference Call Capability Yes
- Voice Recorder Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Additional Features TTY compatible, QWERTY keyboard layout
Messaging & Data Services
- Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
- Internet Browser Yes
- Included Services VCAST, VZ Navigator
- EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) Yes
- Messaging / Data Features Text messages, E-Mail, Instant messages, HTML Browser
Multimedia Features
- Downloadable Content Applications, Games, Ring tones
Digital Camera
- Camera highlights With a resolution of 2 megapixels, this camera phone will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.
- Sensor Resolution 2 megapixels
- Still Image Resolutions 320 x 240, 480 x 400, 480 x 640, 1280 x 960, 1600 x 1200
- Self Timer Delay 3 sec, 5 sec, 10 sec
Organizer
- Alarm Clock Yes
- Calendar Yes
- Reminder Yes
- Calculator Basic
- Additional Timer Functions Stopwatch
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 240 x 480 pixels
- Diagonal Size 3 in
- Color Support Color
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Display Languages English, Spanish
- Features LCD touch screen
Display (2nd)
- Type OLED display - Monochrome
- Display Resolution 56 x 120 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3, WMA
Memory
- Internal Shared Memory Yes
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Headset jack - Sub-mini-phone 2.5 mm
Miscellaneous
- Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
- Included Accessories Battery, Detachable QWERTY keypad, USB/wall charger, Stylus
Power
- Type Power adapter
Battery
- Technology - Lithium ion
- Capacity 1100 mAh
- Talk Time Up to 290 min
- Standby Time Up to 430 h
Accessories
- A-Data Speedy Series flash memory card - 2 GB - microSD (33795596)
- ATP SD Trio Professional PLUS card adapter - flash: microSD - Hi-Speed USB (32128464)17.00
- Centon 2GBRSD3-1 - flash memory card - 2 GB - microSD (33503634)8.99 - 11.84
- Centon flash memory card - 4 GB - microSD (33362243)11.48 - 16.64
Manufacturer info
- LG Electronics U.S.A.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse LG Electronics U.S.A. products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://us.lge.com/
- Address:
1000 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
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