http://www.osnews.com/story/16825/Cellphones_on_a_Budget_Reviews_of_the_SLVR_L7_and_LG_U8500 Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:12:56 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread?196442 http://osnews.com/thread?196442 Just got the L7 after having my other Motorola stolen (some flip POS). I was absolutely convinced that the phone's mp3-ability was a price inflating gimic and planned to remove the app as soon as I plugged the phone in. In what has to be the most pleasant surprise in months, I now find myself using it, along with a 2gb microsd card, daily in my car. "iTunes" turns out to be a poorly named port of the system software they use on iPods (and, come on, who doesn't like the iPod interface?). That's a swift upgrade from my 1gb SanDisk.

It is a /gorgeous/ phone: beautiful, high-res display, glossy sleek metal case and "laser etched" keypad. There's even a light sensor to control the intensity of the subtle blue ambiance of the keypad. AND IT'S THIN! Sure, there's no qwerty keypad, but I also don't feel like I'm carrying an overheating pocket bible where ever I go.

Call quality is great. It gets better reception and drops less than my old phone. And as for software locks (iTunes 100 song, limited video record time, etc): all taken care of within an hour of ownership. Easy if you know what you're doing.

I can't say enough. I really have never been happier with a phone. $90 if you have Cingular and know the right place to look. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 04:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (i3X171UM) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196458 http://osnews.com/thread?196458 I have the lg for cingular (LG CU500) and i just recived it recently, and so far i love it, i just tried 3g tonight and was amazed, i wish i had coverage in my house. Its a decent upgrade from my SE W600i

the mp3 functions are nice, i can hold more on my 1 gig sd mini card, which is better than the 256 on the se, but the card is in a hard to reach place and i dont have the usb cable.

my only grips are you cant just use any mp3 as a ringer, it has to be a certin size, and that you cant set a custom ringer for text messages. if anyone knows how to do it could they tell me? Wed, 27 Dec 2006 04:44:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (amp306) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196490 http://osnews.com/thread?196490 I got an L7 a month ago. Works great with Linux and KMobileTools and another app called moto4lin. Best buy in months. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 07:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (cypress) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196513 http://osnews.com/thread?196513 For a little bit more, i would recommend the nokia 6280 instead. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Hugo) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196514 http://osnews.com/thread?196514 Pardon the rudeness, but after becoming dependent on the synching feature of my two year old €100 N-Gage with almost all fields of Mac OS X's iCal & Address Book, a phone review that does not mention how the phone performs in that aspect, what it allows (or if it allows synching at all), has missed the point for me. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elmimmo) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196519 http://osnews.com/thread?196519 The L7 syncs fine with iSync, don't forget that this is the second iTunes-capable phone released, so it didn't require extra thought to know this.

The LG phone doesn't work with iSync. It only works with the Address Book, Bluetoothing addresses one by one -- multiple addresses sent via Bluetooth results in one mashed-up address, so avoid.Edited 2006-12-27 10:39 Wed, 27 Dec 2006 10:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196528 http://osnews.com/thread?196528 the "OS" as well as the "news" parts in this article. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (lemmy) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196539 http://osnews.com/thread?196539 Hey, this is lots better than "another boring view on the minimum req. for windows vista", "let's have a closer look at all the different vista versions", "there are two BRAND-new screenshots of OS X showing a dropdown box with filesystem names in it", "is this the year of linux on the desktop, while it is not ready yet with gnome 2.x?", ...

Don't blame OSNews for variety in topics, if the matter is good. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:08:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Ford Prefect) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196540 http://osnews.com/thread?196540 Is it really THAT hard to make photos with subject in FOCUS? Do you REALLY have to make them at night with flash? Wed, 27 Dec 2006 13:19:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (stooovie) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196555 http://osnews.com/thread?196555 Do not fret I have a P990i and it is very difficult to take pics with it that are in focus. For a 2 MP camera I expected a bit more. Hpwever quality is quite good when you are out in the sunlight taking pics. I think it has to do with the firmware for the camera. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 14:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196573 http://osnews.com/thread?196573 I'll stick with my HTC "StarTrk". Windows Mobile is the best platform available for cell phones, at present, and the form factor is the best I have ever used. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kelly Rush) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196584 http://osnews.com/thread?196584 You bought an NGage? I'm sorry Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196605 http://osnews.com/thread?196605 Smartphones are better. But what is this about Windows Mobile? I havent heard good things about Windows Mobile. One of the reasons I went the Symbian route. Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (suryad) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196688 http://osnews.com/thread?196688 Yes. I usually work at night. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 01:37:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196715 http://osnews.com/thread?196715 Number of software packages available, and interface, would be my major two reasons. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kelly Rush) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196734 http://osnews.com/thread?196734 I like the StarTrk too, but a StarTrk without a plan costs over 3x more than the SLVR (the title of the article is "Cellphones on a BUDGET" afterall).

I've had a number of smartphones, and with the typical battery lives I've had to put up with, I'm seriously considering a basic cellphone. As long as: I don't have to charge it EVERYDAY, and it has superior reception, I'll consider it. I think the Motorola SCPL (sp?) has a standby time measured in weeks rather than hours... sounds tempting. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (gtada) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196740 http://osnews.com/thread?196740 The Nokia E61 smartphone has very good battery life, as it has a 1500 mAh (disable UMTS/3G if you don't have use for it, so you save battery life). From the feature phones (as in, not a smartphone), the W810i has amazing battery life too. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196770 http://osnews.com/thread?196770 Cons:
Very poor reception

Rating: 8.0/10

Maybe I'm just an old fogey, but I actually like to use my phone as, well, a phone. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 15:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (eMagius) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?196958 http://osnews.com/thread?196958 Thanks for the recommendations. I'd been looking at the Ming/A1200, but it looks like a marginally faster A780 (limited software and crappy developer support).

Right now I have an iPaq 6515 because I like the GPS features, but it's a piss-poor phone.

The E61 looks good, as well as the StarTrk. Fri, 29 Dec 2006 05:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (gtada) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?197048 http://osnews.com/thread?197048 > You bought an NGage? I'm sorry

You are kidding, right? S60 Symbian OS, with excellent sync features, full IMAP and POP E-mail support, and gazillions of apps compatible with it (among which there indeed happen to exist some useful ones, Opera, TomTom city maps, etc)., FM radio, MMC card slot, MP3 support, blah, blah TWO YEARS AGO for €100!? And that was when Nokia had already retired it…

The fact that it is an utter crap for gaming (which would have disappointed if I was ignorant about that when I got it, which I was not) only reveals how Nokia was so wrong at marketing it as such. It was the ultimate cheap smart phone.Edited 2006-12-29 16:50 Fri, 29 Dec 2006 16:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (elmimmo) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?197137 http://osnews.com/thread?197137 I hated the design, regardless of the features it had But that is just me. Fri, 29 Dec 2006 23:06:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (helf) Comments