LG CU500v

The LG CU500v is a new phone available from Cingular in the United States with a great deal of focus on multimedia capabilities. Unfortunately, while this phone appears to be amazing at first glance, upon using it you quickly realize that its features have been exaggerated somewhat - leaving a lot of people wanting more than what they paid for. However, there are a few redeeming qualities that still make the LG CU500v a good phone to consider for those who want a flip phone but are not particularly fond of the Motorola RAZRs.

For a phone that is roughly the size of the RAZR, the LG CU500v packs in quite a bit of weight. This extra bulk may be due to the battery size which is significantly larger than the RAZRs and can average talk times of up to five hours and standby times of 240 hours. However, there have been reports that these numbers are greatly exaggerated, with some people saying that they can only get one hour of talk time on a full charge.

The camera and the internal screen on the LG CU500v are really nothing to write home about. While the screen is only 176 by 220 with 65 thousand colors, the camera is a 1.3 megapixel model. Both of these features would have been fine on a phone that came out early this year or sometime last year - but on a phone that was released only a few months ago, these are absolutely dreadful specifications.

As with so many other modern phones, the LG CU500v is very media centric, with a lot of its design features geared to allow the user to watch videos and listen to music. There is a built in media player with an expandable memory slot that takes MicroSD cards and because the LG CU500v is 3G capable, it can stream downloadable content directly from your GSM service provider. While GSM's 3G data transfer rates are not as quick as those associated with CDMA technology, it is functional nonetheless.

Other features packed into the LG CU500v include the obligatory Bluetooth technology, a speakerphone, and email access.

Pros

• Stylish design
• Media centric capabilities
• Good reported battery life
• 3G capable

Cons

• No Wi-Fi
• Battery life may be exaggerated
• Camera should have been updated
• Major reception problems in some areas (not service provider related)

Overall

The LG CU500v is a fine phone if you are looking for a device that can double as a media player. While there are better models out there if you are looking for GSM capable multimedia phones (the RAZR V3xx, for example), the LG CU500v does all of its jobs well. Although the battery life issue is a bit disturbing, this is a phone you really need to pick up and try yourself before you decide whether or not it is right for you.