Need a cheap cell phone for voice calls? The LG Envoy is a decent, inexpensive choice for U.S. Cellular customers, with its tough-feeling plastic and familiar flip design. That said, you're giving up an awful lot to hit that $9.99 price; essentially, this is a phone from 2005, not 2011. A few extra bucks up front will get you a much better handset.
Design, Call Quality, and Apps
The Envoy measures 3.8 by 1.9 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and weighs a rather light 3.4 ounces, given its largish size when flipped open. The 1-inch external display sports 96-by-64-pixel resolution, but it's only grayscale; at least it's moderately informative about phone and call status. Inside, the 2.2-inch, 176-by-220-pixel LCD is a typical low-end part, and fine in this application. The oversized keypad is a gem. Between the large keys, big five-way control pad, and well-separated function keys, using this phone one-handed is a cinch.
The Envoy is a dual-band 1xRTT (850/1900 MHz) device with no Wi-Fi. Voice quality was about as good as you could hope; callers sounded crisp, clear, and bright in the earpiece, with just the slightest touch of static. Transmissions were also clear through the microphone, and reception was solid. Calls sounded good through an Aliph Jawbone Era ($129, 4 stars) Bluetooth headset. Voice dialing worked fine over Bluetooth without training, but I couldn't get it to recognize the word "Yes" to confirm it heard the right phone number. Pressing OK worked, but that's not ideal. The speakerphone had about average gain, but distorted at nearly all of the available volume settings. Battery life was good at 6 hours and 32 minutes of talk time.
Specifications
- Service Provider
- US Cellular
- Screen Size
- 2.2 inches
- Screen Details
- 176-by-220-pixel, 262K color, TFT LCD
- Camera
- No
- Network
- CDMA
- Bands
- 850, 1900
- High-Speed Data
- 1xRTT
Multimedia, Camera, and Conclusions
The main menu consists of 12 icons arranged in a grid pattern, but there's not a whole lot happening on the app side. The dated Myriad 6.2 browser is only good for WAP pages, and only if you're patient enough to let them load over the 2G data radio. There's a basic calendar, a toolbox of little apps like a world clock and tip calculator, a demo version of Namco's Pac-Man, and EasyEdge, U.S. Cellular's little ringtone, wallpaper, and app store.
This isn't a phone for multimedia fans. There's only 24MB of free internal memory. There's no music player, video player, or camcorder. The non-standard 2.5mm headphone jack only works with mono, hands-free earbuds. The VGA camera may as well not be there; I can't believe I'm still seeing these on brand new phones as we approach 2012. Any photos you take only fill up about a quarter of the average laptop screen. Getting them off the phone and to the laptop in the first place is almost impossible; your only choices are picture messaging, Bluetooth, or online albums, and the latter choice requires that you set up an account with U.S. Cellular's service.
It's tough to be enthusiastic about this phone, even with its good call quality and battery life, just because everything about it reeks of ancient. The LG Envoy is basically interchangeable with the Samsung Chrono ($0.01, 2.5 stars) and the Samsung Stride (Free, 3 stars). All three are 2G flip phones with low-res screens, good call quality, and virtually no other features of note. Since we're talking about a two-year commitment that approaches $1,000, it's worth it to consider spending a little more up front. The LG Wine II ($39, 3.5 stars) is our current Editors' Choice, and well worth the extra $30, thanks to its good looks, quality music player, much faster 3G data speeds, and larger, sharper color LCD. Frequent texters will want something with a QWERTY keyboard; the Motorola Grasp (Free, 3.5 stars) and the Samsung Messager Touch SCH-R630 ($29.99, 3 stars) have roomy hardware keys, and the latter sports a touch screen for those who prefer them.
Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391558,00.asp
No comments:
Post a Comment