All Narfed Up photography and words by Bryan Villarin

I’ve upgraded from my LG VX8100 to a slim LG VX8600. It’s been discontinued, but it’s still in stock at Verizon Wireless being phased out. I preferred it compared to the LG VX8700 because the front display isn’t narrow and it’s black. Plus, the area below the keypad is flat, which wasn’t the case with the VX8700.

I received the phone on Friday, so I haven’t had that long to mess with it.

Cool

• It’s thin!
• You can e-mail 30-second MP3s to it and use them as ringtones.
• The delay when taking photos is very short compared to my LG VX8100. Plus, they come out really well - as long as the lighting is good, of course.
• You can read text messages on the front display - sweet!

Lame

• Smudges easily because of its slick surface. It’s ok - you can wipe it just as easily, too.
• You can’t set custom text message alerts for specific contacts. There was no reason for LG to remove this feature.
• The keypad is flat, not raised like other phones. It takes some getting used to.
• Speakerphone isn’t that loud. You’d need to be in a quiet environment to hear it.
• The ringer isn’t very loud, either.
• If you want to keep the external display lit, that’ll mean keeping the internal display lit, too, because they’re sharing the same bulb. You have to press a side button to make sure the phone is still on.
• No 2.5″ headset jack.

Conclusion

I’m overlooking the flaws. I don’t use speakerphone that much and I use a Bluetooth headset. I’ll suppose I’ll get over not being able to see the display without pressing a side button. I’m getting used to the keypad.

This HowardForums post of “LG VX8600 Threads of Interest” helps.

If you’re going to upgrade your phone (and you’re with Verizon Wireless), I think this phone is a safe bet. Be quick, though, they’re almost out!