LG Decoy VX8610 Phone, Silver/Blue (Verizon Wireless)

Great, sturdy phone! June 26, 2008

Reviewer:  The Toddball "The Toddball"  (Los Angeles, California USA) -

I went from my ever-trusty LC Chocolate (1st generation) to this. My main selling point were the similiarities ,in design to the Chocolate. The other selling point was the built-in Bluetooth, which says something being that I never used a Bluetooth device before. Needless to say, I think this phone is great. Nice, sturdy design without being too heavy or bulky. Great response when I touch the top buttons as well as the keypad. The display is absolutely gorgeous with it's 2.2", 262K color screen. The interface is Flash-based and comes with 4 different themes to choose from and looks great. Pictures come out surprisingly clean as well (as with any camera phone, a steady hand does help) and the larger video option (320x240 as opposed to 176x174) is a nice bonus as well. I'm absolutely fascinated by the Bluetooth headset. Ridiculously easy to setup and use. And EVERYONE I talk to was not able to tell I was on a headset, let alone a Bluetooth headset of this size. The ONLY cons I have against this phone are 2 things. I may have found a software bug (at least, that's what I'm hoping) in where I received a Video message from a friend and was not able to play it. It came from an LG phone (the Chocolate) and is the same file type. When I hit Play on my phone, it takes me to the Reply menu commonly found on LG's menus (1. TXT Message, 2. Picture message, etc.) I have still not been able to view it because I can't even save the video. Hoping this will be in the software update. My primary gripe is the music player. Coming off of the Chocolate, I loved the fact that I could play music while receiving text messages, going online, view pictures. Unfortunately, this phone has the standard VZW music player which means if I get a call, receive a text or, at any time, want to go back to my original menu, the music stops. Kind of annoying and a drag and probably something I'll have to get used to. But that's one thing where the Chocolate ruled. In terms of everything else, I'm very pleased with this phone

Adore it January 28, 2009

Reviewer:  M. M. Jackson  (St. Petersburg, FL United States) -

My company offered to pay my cell service outright if I'd switch to their Verizon plan from my T-Mobile plan. At a savings of at least $55 a month, it was a no brainer.

I liked my T-mobile SDA (which I had since '06...scratched to heck, but chugging along like a champ) which allowed me to run programs, listen to music, etc.

Long story short, the integrated bluetooth headset sold me, and I LOVE this phone! It is sleek, has a high resolution screen that's easy on the eyes, texting is easy and more automated than the SDA and - by far - the killer app is the clip-in bluetooth headset. I love putting it on and going "call (my wife)" and sure enough, the phone is calling...all the usual headset perks, EXCEPT WITHOUT THE SEPARATE UPKEEP! It's all in one, they charge together, you have an "always there" place for it (no misplacing it), etc. Convenient!

I had a headset with my SDA but it was way bulkier (this thing is tiny and - dare I say - way more ergonomically clever than my old headset) and separately charging it was a hassle. This is a no-brainer for ease of use.

SPECIAL NOTE: if you don't want to scratch this thing up, get an InvisibleShield. They are PRICEY but WORTH it, 100%! I got mine for half off, look for coupon codes online. At least get the screen protector minimum, but the full body is very clever and even comes with separate "shield" pieces for your headset or it's "dummy" plate when you don't want to use the headset. Nice!

SPECIAL NOTE 2: there is one flaw in this phone: it does NOT turn off the bluetooth headset when you clip it back into the phone. This means you will "think" the battery on the headset is awful. It isn't. You just need to turn the headset off "manually" by holding down the call button (on the headset, the big round one) until it does it's "descending boop" and the phone tells you the headset is disconnected. Instant headset battery booster!

All in all, CLEVER and really enjoyable phone.

Great phone, especially with the headset attached June 24, 2008

Reviewer:  Michael R. Fisher 

I just got this phone today, and really love it. LG has always made good phones, and this is another one. The attached wireless bluetooth headset is of really good quality and I enjoy the small size of the phone and it's a great alternative to a flip phone, I prefer the sliding phone. It has gotten great reception, even in places where my Razr would cut off.

Cons:
There isn't a screen protector or case for this, but that is only because it is so new
There should be a choice of color, although I like the coloring, offering different colors would be nice

It will take me longer to get a full idea of everything the phone has to offer, but so far I like this over the Blackberry that I got rid of for this!

My favorite camera phone February 15, 2009

Reviewer:  Noname 

I love my LG Decoy. It's compact and lightweight. The keypad slides right out and it even comes with a Bluetooth headset.

When I first opened the box, I thought wow. It's so sleek and shiny. That face looks like a fingerprint magnet. It didn't hold any fingerprints at first. But after talking on it, holding it to my face and getting all that skin oil on it, it did start to hold prints. Just rub it on my shirt and the prints are all gone and it looks terrific.

The sound is awesome, nice and clear. I haven't had any complaints from the other end and my end is just fine.

The headset fits in my ear and I have no trouble hearing my end of the conversation, but people on the other end complains about a horrible echo, so I don't use the headset except when I really need to. I don't normally use a headset anyway, but it's a nice option to have and it's right there where I can't lose it.

The cradle also has Bluetooth functionality so I could use it as a speaker when I'm at home. That's another nice option. I also like the cradle because it's easy to recharge my phone. I just put it down -- no messing with wires. My phone and headset get recharged together, another plus.

The phone buttons automatically lock when I close it up, which is wonderful. My last LG kept taking pictures of the back of the camera lens or the inside of my purse. I had so many photos of black nothing. This phone won't do that accidentally.

The phone has multiple camera options. It has a flash and I can adjust color (make it sepia or black and white) and white balance. I can make it "Say Cheese!" It has a timer, so I can take self portraits. I can also edit the photos in the camera, zoom, rotate and crop. And the photos are nice for a camera phone.

The toggle button took a little getting used to, but I much prefer it over directional buttons. It works better for those who have fingernails. Otherwise, it's easy to accidentally select the wrong options.

This is a wonderful phone. Now if they could just improve the sound quality of that headset, it would be a champion. Until then, I have to give it 4 stars and not 5. If you don't plan on using the headset much, this is a winner.

UPDATE: I now have reason to love this LG Decoy even more. This phone has terrific reception. I have Verizon, which I thought didn't work at my in-law's house. I thought it was the Verizon service. Not at all! Ever since switching to LG Decoy, my Verizon service works there with no trouble. My mother-in-law says most cell phones don't have service at her house. Verizon doesn't show service in her area, but this phone works.

Okay, but not the best cell phone I've had January 3, 2009

Reviewer:  Sierra Dawn  (South Carolina) -

I have now had this cell phone for about 7 months. It is a decent phone, but has definitely not been my favorite. The standby battery life is decent, but the battery life for when it is in use, is one of the worst I have encountered. If you make many calls during the day plan on charging the phone daily.

Also, the screen easily gets scratched if you have it loose in your purse without a protector on it.

The bluetooth headset is nice, but I prefer to use my own headset as the included one is awkward to use and doesn't stay in my ear.

Finally, the "mouse-style" center button to use to scroll between menus is annoying as I often find it will move left or right when I am trying to click it to select something. I think up/down buttons work much better.

The total size of the phone is also slightly larger than some competing products.

Overall it's still a good phone with many nice features, is an attractive phone and decent reception. My biggest issues are #1 the battery life, and #2 the annoying mouse-style scroll button.

Great slow and confusing Cell Phone. March 31, 2009

Reviewer:  elchamber  (Chino Hills) -

I've had this phone for a while now and great, but their are some options on this phone that make me miss my LG VX8100.

The negative specs on this:

1. The phone is slow. I uploaded a bunch of photos for wallpapers purposes and music videos/movies, but the damn thing takes too long to look through them. Each video and pic needs to upload it's image on the screen. Look through videos is a chore. On my VX8100, I would have just scroll through my video library and play them easily. Here, I don't just need the title to show, but a picture of that video.
The pic album is just as slow, unless you've uploaded in the phone.

2. The music menu is too damn slow. On my old phone, I either went through the menu to my MP3 files, use a shortcut or use the shortcut on the external buttons. This phone has some short cut options that are great, but getting into the music section requires some time for the phone to upload the menu only. Here is a suggestion: Don't put all of your MP3 files in you MicroSD. You'll need to create playlist.

3. No flash. Are you kidding me? Why is it such a problem to add a flash? I really miss my old phone, because of it. When ever I needed some emergancy light, I could always count on using my phone's flash to light the way. I understand that that's not what the flash is for, but taking a photo on this phone would have been great if their was a flash.

4.Recharging the battery. NOW THIS IS A PROBLEM. I've been having some problems charging this phone, because of the bluetooth. When recharging the phone, the phone and the bluetooth are charging at the same time. But, when the bluetooth is completely charged, the phone automatically thinks that the phone is completely charged as well. I realized this problem when I was charging it. I left it of about 20 minutes and was surprised how fasted it charged, but a minute later I was stuck with only haft of a fully charged battery. I basically have to remove the bluetooth, if its already fully charged, and then charge the phone.

The good part is that it is a big upgrade from my LG VX8100. Bigger memory(8gs, 7 something after it's format), great screen for viewing videos and pics, creating wallpaper feature and great reception. Obviously, the fact that this comes with a bluetooth attached to it is a great, convienate factor.

[...]

Eh, ok October 7, 2009

Reviewer:  H. Edwall "hedwall"  (Mammoth Lakes, CA) -

Screen gets scratched too easily and I HATE that I can't set the "snooze" function to the time I want! The soft keys are not consistent either - in one menu they do one thing and in the next menu - something different! But, I have never had battery problems, reception seems good, and the built-in bluetooth is pretty neat. Compared to the other phones on the market now for the price, I would buy this one again.

Neat design, but doesn't hold up well November 9, 2009

Reviewer:  Cara  (Maryland) -

I've had this phone for 11 months. I like the design; the joystick makes browsing the phone easy, and I like that the sliding design keeps it from dialing randomly. The build-in Bluetooth headset is simply brilliant.

The problem is, this phone isn't reliable. For the past two months, it's been shutting off randomly. It has a fully charged battery, but it just turns itself off without warning. It can get through a full day sometimes; other days, it shuts off several times in the span of a few minutes. Since this is my only phone--I don't have a landline phone--it's frustrating that I can't rely on it. I've never dropped it or gotten it wet, and I carry it in a cell phone pocket in my purse, not in a pants pocket with keys or anything.

To sum up, this phone has great features, but don't expect it to survive a full two-year contract. I expect I'll have to retire it soon, since it can't stay on consistently.

EDIT: It's now February 2010, and I can't get my phone to stay on for more than a few minutes at a time. There's no reason why it would stop working--I'm very careful with all of my electronics--but I can no longer use this phone. I'm downgrading this to one star. It should at least last the length of a two-year contract, but this one made it only 13 months--just over halfway through my contract. I'd recommend getting the LG Chocolate instead; my partner has had his for 13 months as well, and it's still going strong.

Looks Good Untill You Dig Deeper Into It May 27, 2009

Reviewer:  Austin 

I have had this phone a little over five months and i hate it. When im texting the shift menu comes up for no reason and the phone shuts off with full battery it will do this up to three times a day. The battery is terrible and must be sharged every night. The joystick is either overly sensitive or doenst work at all and will sometimes get stuck and keep going through menus. The only good thing i can say about this phone is it looks nice and the headset works well.

Why doesn't the Bluetooth stay in my ear? January 31, 2009

Reviewer:  Laurie  (Ontario, CA) -

I like my new Decoy. It functions well and has more features than my old LG (3 years old). However, I bought this one because of the built-in Bluetooth. When I finally got to use it (two weeks after buying the phone) the thing wouldn't stay in my ear! I tried every which way to make it stay, but after a minute, it popped out. On that trip, I ended up puting it in my ear and holding it there when I was talking, which defeated the whole purpose of the thing. The LG company and Verizon couldn't help me. Anyone have any suggestions. I can't find a over-the-ear device to hook on to it, and I can't get my money back. Very disappointing!