LG Dare VX9700 Phone, Silver (Verizon Wireless)

LG DARE, I dare you to give it a try! August 12, 2008

Reviewer:  Stuart Floyd  (New York, NY) -

I have had the LG DARE/VX9700 touch screen phone for over a month now and it is a great phone and certainly the best touch screen Verizon has to offer and a great alternative to an iphone over on that other network AT&T. Remember you will need phone plan, internet plan, picture/text plan and they have many to choose from. Myself I went alacart and chose specific things I wanted and know I would use and it cost me less than several of the packages offered. NOTE: This is not a SMARTPHONE, it doesn't promote itself that way but some may expect that and it is not.

Side note for comparisons:
I have an Apple iPod Touch mp3 player which is basically a first generation iPhone without the phone. The Touch is a superb product and the screen is unsurpassed in it's size and clarity, identical to the iPhone and I even get free wi-fi on the iPod Touch, something you pay for with a data plan with the iPhone. If the iphone had more features and fair plan/price options it would be more desirable, maybe it's next iteration?! For example for the $59.99 plan I have with Verizon, the same plan/options with the iphone on AT&T would cost me $99.99. Again I have no affiliation to either and would prefer NOT to be a customer of either one but sadly we have little choice but to select a company and their pricey offerings.

Back to the LG Dare, it is a superb product the screen is exceptional and if it were as big as the iPhone/iPod Touch screen it would be even be more exceptional. However, LG went with a little smaller footprint but packed it with many goodies that you can't yet get in any other touch screen phone including the Apple iPhone 3G.

I am not a fan of any contract to any service provider, I just happen to have been on Verizon a long time, they do have in my experience the best call quality and coverage coast to coast but I still hate signing anything for 2yrs. Remember you have 30 days to test out the phone and if it's NOT what you expected or want, return it and get another or go out and try another provider.

I didn't return mine as I really like it allot and yes the biggest gripe would be to have a larger screen thus less need to scroll during internet use as the net takes up allot of real estate when dealing with a small screen. I am not on there to do long term surfing or intensive seraches. I get onto the net to check my hotmail email and to look at weather, movie times, news headlines for brief periods. Sometimes it can be slower then you'd like but that depends allot on the signal strength of the area you are in.

You can view horizontal or vertical as the screen will adjust to however you hold the phone. This also happens with typing text for text messages or using the internet. Hold the phone horizontal and you will get the onscreen qwerty keybord, hold it vertical and you get the phone like keyboard to enter text. There is a button on each of the screens to select either one you like best for your typing.

The call quality is exceptionally clear and loud, the screen adjusts to indoor and outdoor lighting which is great and better than many other phone screens and even digital camera screens. Of course you have bluetooth as well for connecting to headphones, your computer if it bluetooth equiped etc.

You have the ability to drag and drop icons/buttons on the main screen, arrange them to your liking. You have an abundance of menus that are quite easy to click/scroll through and easy to follow or test and see what your options are with many of the features.

It does have hand writing recognition, it is not easy for me with big fingers to draw things, or a map and with a stylus pen certainly better. You can craft something and email or text it someone, it's a nifty little feature and something unique for now and you will see more of it in the future and of course it will be improved with each iteration.

You have many sound settings and vibration settings for the phone, tactile feedback when typing/scrolling and a load of ringtones to choose from or go buy/download others.

Speaker phone is loud and you can even have it verbally read your text messages to you which can be amusing with the computerized voice.

This phone has the best camera of any cell phone sold in the U.S. It comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera, with face detection, zoom and editing in the phone to name a couple things off the photo menu. The photos I have taken are exceptional for a cell phone and close to what I had in my first digital camera several years ago. They are more than exceptional for emailing and online posting. Remember when emailing them to users on a smaller phone that the photo text messages will be very pixelated because they are trying to view it on a much lower resolution screen and a 1-2 inch screen at best.

I recommend getting a micro SD card and you can get them pretty cheap on amazon, search and do a little research and you'll find a good cheap 4gb card and thus you will have ample room for photos and videos and not suddenly run out, but in saying that make sure to download stuff so as to keep the phone pretty empty allowing you to photo and video when out and about or when you forget your digital camera.

As for it being an mp3 player that is another great option and of course Verizon wants you to use their store but you can plug the phone in and download/rip music from your computer but not from itunes of course, all about file conversions and all that proprietary BS. In any case it works just like an iPhone for music minus the very good itunes store that can be accessed direct from an iPhone. For me I don't use this phone for music being I have the iPod Touch and it also saves me concern on draining the phone battery. I have gone several days without charging when using the phone, texting, taking photos and sending them as well as accessing the net. The charger has a plug for the electrical outlet and a usb plug to connect to your computer to charge as well.

It is a little smaller over all from the iPhone a tiny bit thicker but almost not noticable. Slowly I see more and more accessories for the Dare and many are here on Amazon and much cheaper than Verizon or other retailers. I recommend a cover, silicone, rubber ones are great and I have dropped my phone several times without any damage or marks as it almost bounces with the silicone cover I have. I also purchased a few of the screen protectors.

By having the screen protector I often use a stylus pen on the screen as I have very large fingers and one thing that happens with any touch screen when you have big fingers it is easy to select the wrong thing or more then one thing. The LG Dare will allow you to actually set the sensitivity in the options menu. It comes preset but you can actually run a test and change the sensitivity to make it more pressure sensitive to how you tap the screen.

I have touched on many things and many more things I have easily missed but go to Cnet, ZDnet, Amazon and check out Reviews, or just google LG Dare reviews. The best way would be to go take it for a test drive at a local Best Buy, at the Verizon stores and check on the 30 day trial as well via Verizon.

As with any electronics product, they could always be better and this is the first version of the LG Dare and hopefully they can improve the next version just like Apple did with it's iphone, however, Apple didn't go nearly far enough so maybe the 3rd generation iphone will be great and the 2nd generation of the Dare even further unique than it currently is on the market today.

GREAT phone.. not for me thou. READ August 27, 2008

Reviewer:  Jonathan Doyle  (Frederick) -

ok I am considered a tech-junkie by most family and friends so when i got this phone i was more than excited..
ill do a basic pros/cons and then talk a bit more.
pros:
-light
-loaded with features, such as vz navigator,games (downloadable), and a basically customizable desktop for icons
-an incredible camera with features u wont find anywhere (face detection and smart pic??!!)
-cool battery saver option of when i put the phone to my face to talk during a call, the display turns off. remove it from my face and it turns back on.

cons:
-when i compare the scroll and touch features to the ipod touch i have.. the LG DARE just doesnt hold a candle as far as accuracy goes. WITH THAT SAID, if you are new to touch screens, like my wife, you would find it enjoyable.
-the call quality to me was a bit lacking.. i would call from the same spot as my wife and just MUCH MUCH better call quality from her chocolate..
-i have bigger hands/bigger fingers. im 6'2 and 230lbs.. and when id try to type or dial or something, it was a bit "wonky" with its responsiveness (i felt like shrek with it)
-stereo bluetooth is not that good of quality. i tried three $100 headphone sets and they all sounded muffled. when i hooked up my wired Sennheiser headphones, all was fine..
-lastly - to me, there was an annoyingly elongated "load" time for the display to turn on, and then id have to push unlock and then answer.. while others would find that fine, i just need a faster time. (ipod touch is lightening fast)

now i referenced the ipod touch, but that is just the mp3 player.. not the phone. i do think this is a GOOD phone, but its just not for me. little quirks over 7 days of use just got to me..if you have no touch screen experience, or very little - this phone might be for you.
if your looking for a FAST paced phone - this might not be for u..

i hope i can help someone out there..
cheers

Great phone! My first touch screen.... July 7, 2008

Reviewer:  Angela Schmidt "Angel"  (Knoxville, TN) -

I just got this phone a few days ago, and I love it!!! I can't get enough of it! It has taken me no time at all to get used to the touch screen and navigating through the menus is so easy, and I am hooked! I highly recommend this phone to everyone!

This phone has so many great features, and some of the many that I like are (in no particular order):

-A home button on every page except for the dial pad (but you can use the clear or end key there) so if you need to start over you can

-A back arrow on each page that allows you to go back one step on the path you took (How convenient is that?!)

-The non-touch screen physical buttons on the bottom of the phone are great and practical (unlike the iPhone) so you don't have to worry about searching for the send, clear/voice command or end keys (I find the send key to be convenient for placing three way calls as well.)

-Drag and drop ability for shortcuts to your home page

-Speakerphone button on side and on the touch screen if you choose

-Face proximity sensor so the LCD turns off when on a call so no button pushing with your face

-Handwriting recognition (a bit of a learning curve with pressure but still so cool!)

-Scroll/flick through menus, photos and contacs up or down AND side to side

-Qwerty keyboard touch screen when you turn it sideways

-Tactile vibrating feedback option for touching and scrolling

-3.2MP camera/camcorder (awesome!)

-Music player with sound effects that will play in the background while you do other things and also auto pauses if you receive or make a call

-Lots of fun animated and still wallpapers to choose from

-Different menu font styles to choose from

-You can use your finger, yes, but also a stylus (that doesn't come with the phone but should) or a retractable pen that is retracted, etc.

-USB cable comes with the phone and an adapter to turn it into a charger (no extra money shelled out for a USB cable there!)

-And it just looks freaking cool!

OK, OK. I have to let you know that there are a few things that some people might not like about it (but they don't bother me):

-The Dare doesn't have wi-fi, but the plus side of that is that no data plan is required to have this phone...unless you want to get the regular internet browsing stuff.

-You can't put iTunes directly on it. They have to be converted to wma files or mp3s first, or you can burn a CD from your iTunes and burn/rip those songs right back and load them from iTunes that way.

-It's just a hair thicker than the iPhone, like .04 of an inch.

There is so much more about this phone that is great, though, but just read about it here and on Verizon's and LG's sites. You can also watch a short video about it on CNET at [...] Play with one, get one and LOVE IT! It's more awesome than any phone I've ever had or seen that I can't give it anything less than 5 stars!

Go on! I DARE you to get one! ;)

Verizon's best July 8, 2008

Reviewer:  Robert Jenckes "RobbDogg"  (Phoenix, Az) -

Ok, I don't have time for a full detailed review but I'll try to cover the basics. This phone is awesome, I bought it the day it came out after looking at the Voyager and the Glyde and reading several reviews for months on all the different touchscreen phones. This thing looks far better than both and the features are much better as well.

The screen is 3 inches, slightly smaller than the Instinct and Iphone but its bigger than the Voyager and Glyde. Trust me, it's a good size. When you turn the phone from vertical to horizontal while looking at pictues or the internet the screen will automatically rotate with it, much like the iphone, which is cool! I didn't like the white un-organized main menu that you see in all the pictures of the phone but you can change it to an organized black one more like the iphone which looks a lot better if you think the white one doesn't look so great.

The camera is much better than anything I've seen on a phone and you can edit and draw on any of your saved pics and then save it. The camera button is in the exact spot where it would be on a digital camera and you can even hold the button half way down to focus just like any digital camera. The headphone port allows you to use any headphones without a stupid adapter that you're never going to carry around.

The onboard QWERTY keyboard works pretty good, I have no complaints but I do hit the wrong key every now and then (I've never had a QWERTY before this phone). The Voyager's actual keyboard may be more user friendly but this one works well and is very convenient.

My buddy got the Samsung Instinct, which is supposed to be the Sprint Iphone, two days before I got the Dare. We compared them for over an hour (while sitting in a bar) and he was definitely upset with some of the features mine had. Camera was much better, bluetooth syncing was better, keyboard options were better.

Lastly, if you were thinking about the Voyager or Glyde, I would definitely go with the Dare. I saw a guy with the Voyager the other day and I almost laughed at him. The Dare is smaller and thinner with a bigger screen and its better looking. You really can't go wrong with the DARE!

Mostly good October 8, 2008

Reviewer:  Chris Hann  (Alameda, CA United States) -

First, a few words about the network. Verizon does have good coverage, but I get a lot of vmail when I am sitting at work with 3 bars on both signal meters. I also get text messages in blocks. I now advise people who get my vmail to just try again a couple of times. The message does eventually get through though. Text messages sometimes result in a "network error" message too, that's just laziness on their network folks part, they need to deal with making sure the message gets through rather than putting it back on to the users.

I do actually like this phone, as a software professional of many years experience that's actually quite unusual; I have high expectations. Most of the features on this phone work well and it's a reasonable size too. Given the choice of a bigger phone with a better keyboard or a smaller one that I don't mind carrying... well the choice was obvious to me. But in the months that I have had it there have been no software updates and they do need to fix some bugs.

The phone works well enough, not the same as a phone with a proper keyboard, or even a phone with a regular keypad. A few things you can do with the real buttons, but the rest has to be done via the touch controls.

Phone connectivity has been better than with AT&T, it has never dropped calls at the places where AT&T dropped them 100% of the time, as an example there was a railway bridge (just north of 84 on Mission Blvd in Fremont, CA) where AT&T drops 100% of calls. Verizon doesn't.

But on the general phone call quality front the Verizon network more often suffers from bad echo, I make phone exchanges and echo cancellation is a network issue, so that's not the phone. But outside of that the voice quality, both sent and received, though adequate is not spectacular. It's good enough, comprehensible, but not great.

Controls are a vast improvement from my Motorola phones, the best thing of all is that the side buttons are locked when everything else is locked, so I don't end up with zero ring volume unexpectedly and miss calls.

The display is OK, but not as good as my three year old Dell 51v PDA, not by a very long way. This makes the net browser of questionable use, but zooming in helps with readability, if not the quality. The data network is not fast, nowhere near as fast as AT&T. But then AT&T doesn't have the coverage, so a slow Verizon net is a lot better than no net at all in many of the places I visit. Round Silicon Valley it's rather disappointing though, seems like they should be able to achieve more in the tech capital of the US.

I used BitPim to transfer the comma separated variable (.csv) file I exported from my Nokia E51, which I liked better as a phone, but which lacked GPS and good camera, though it had much faster data and 802.11 too.

The camera is pretty good. It's about the quality of the $800 Olympus I bought about eight years ago, or the cheapest digital you can buy now. The lens isn't as fast and doesn't have great optical zoom, but the sensor is fast, so you can get some surprisingly good low light shots. The shutter delay is long though, and the exposure control with the 'flash' isn't good, so you end up with burned out blue-white images if you use it too close to your subject. Better than nothing though.

Should I review the navigation as if it were a dedicated GPS? First, the GPS features depend 100% on data coverage, when you don't have data coverage you don't have GPS. So don't rely on this as your only form of navigation. The big problem with traffic linked navigation systems is that the method of getting the traffic reports in is poor. The data tends to be old or missing. So you get reports about incidents that were in the distant past, or you get no warning before running in to a problem. The Bay Area has a lot of radar based traffic speed monitoring, but even that isn't enough to cause either this LG phone or my Garmin Nuvi 670 to make good traffic related decisions. The regular routes chosen are fine and the maps downloaded are adequate. But if you are heading out where there's no network coverage then there's no GPS guidance either. The phone does really use GPS, not some awful signal strength based triangulation. Re-routing on bad traffic isn't as good as Tomtom or Garmin, sometimes it even asks you if it should request a new route rather than just getting on with it. Right now I am wondering if I should continue to bother with the GPS or just keep it as a curiosity.

The interface to the phone book is different and much less good than the regular interfaces: navigation is a loaded application, so it doesn't do things the LG way. It should. The phone native software has a favorites list, a contacts list and a dial pad for selecting numbers. The favorites list can use pictures of the recipients. In the messaging the favorites are available as a short list under one tab. In the GPS software there's an option to send a sit-rep to tell people when you will get where you are going, it's under the options menu. But then you have to hit 'add' to add a contact to the recipient list and then either dial the number or find it in the address book. This version of the address book lacks the short cut letter bar, so you can't just go to the 'S' entries with one tap. You have to search for individual names. This is the last thing you want to be doing whilst driving.

The email interface is not good. It is slow and neither includes the graphics nor can follow links. So if your receive html based email you aren't going to know what the message is until you get to a real browser. Or, if you are lucky, you can browse to the page on the Verizon browser, which actually seems OK. The email client also crashes on trying to do a group reply and takes the phone down with it. They need to improve this and also add some user friendliness, like allowing the notification tone to be changed to separate it from other features on the phone.

Then there's the curious operational bugs/incompatibilities/irritations. When it receives an email or text message it just has to tell you right now, even if you are busy writing another text. Couldn't it just beep and flash an icon? Instead you either have to read the other message now, at which point your current message is stuffed into the drafts, or hit the read-later button. Now, if you were typing at the time the message turned up you might randomly get either one of those. When email comes in it beeeeeeps. Nothing you can do about that. And then you have to hit ignore, if you hit the hangup key you also close whatever else you were on. If you get email notification it holds the screen lit, even if the phone had locked the keys and gone blank before, so if you don't tell it not to bother you at night you are very likely to wake to a dead battery. Sometimes the navigation system starts itself for no apparent reason, like when the phone is sitting on the coffee table and we are watching a movie.

The phone comes with a poor set of ring tones, my Nokia E51 was much better and I think the sound quality was better too. In general I think Nokia are much better than LG.

The web browser can be slow, not the data connection, that varies with signal quality and all else; at times the touch screen and the web page are slow to respond, the tactile feedback shows that the 'mouse' events have been ignored for long periods. The widgets can be very hard to select too. Mostly it's OK, but on the low side of acceptable. You wouldn't want to try browsing normal web pages with anything less than this, but it can be used.

Anyway. so what do you expect when you have a phone that's smaller than an iPod but has a web interface and all else built in? maybe just a bit more than I got. A screen that can be read in direct sun and has better resolution would be a good start.

3 Months later:

The GPS, especially in the 'traffic based routing' mode is more of a novelty than anything else. If it is all you have then it's better than nothing, but a basic $100 GPS receiver is better than this. Recently I was making a side street diversion (home brewed, not the phone's idea), even when I was almost back on the main road, no more than 200 yards from empty road, it was still advising me to go back to where I got off I880 and sit in traffic for 30 minutes. The Garmin Nuvi 680 is much better than this. Verizon should disable this supposed 'feature' until their software people have done some serious rework.

The work-flow around text messaging is poor. New messages interrupt while you are entering a response, picture messages take over completely. When you are entering text other things should happen in background. These phones have fantastically powerful little processors, I can only suppose that the software guys know nothing about multi tasking and real time software (where I have 25 years experience). When you have read one text message and told it to you'll read two or three interruptions later it drops you out of messaging instead of back to the in box to deal with the new messages. Sloppy.

Reliability has been good, though with a few crashes and still no software update. An interesting strange behavior that has crept in, each time I enter a $ sign in a message it enters $130000 but puts the cursor before the 1. It crashes if I try to group reply to email. Sometimes it just crashes. Not very often though. So it's not a show stopper for me.

Would I buy this phone today? Still yes. The network coverage on Verizon overrides the better bandwidth of the iPhone. If AT&T had better coverage it might be a different answer. If coverage doesn't matter to you, like you don't leave metro areas, then Verizon doesn't have any trump cards.

Late December: still no software update. I've found a few more ways to crash the phone,[...] can do it any time. Hmm, no, that's not true. There is a software update, and there has been one for some time, I have v0.3 and v0.5 was out in September when I got the phone. Not great to find that out now.

March 09 update

The software update fixed most of the reliability issues, and if I ever got round to complaining about questionable Bluetooth performance... well that was fixed too. They have massaged the UI code and it has made the web abd keyboard interfaces easier to use, a subtle but important improvement, hard to quantify but very good.

The GPS guidance and especially the traffic avoidance are still not worth using, unless you are really lost. Verizon's navigation scheme is not a good solution. If you need that sort of thing then buy a cheap GPS.

The Truth about Dare August 15, 2008

Reviewer:  FastGurl "Energy Junkie"  (New York, NY USA) -

After much deliberation I purchased the LG Dare. My concerns were as follows: the size, Outlook calendar synchronization and the QWERTY. My previous phone was a KRZR which I loved because of the size and hated for many more reasons. My phone before this was the V710 which I hated because of the size but loved everything else about it. So purchasing a "waffle phone" such as the Dare was a big concern. Men don't have much of an issue but women's clothing does not often allow a roomy enough pocket to store something the size of the Dare and I'd grown accustomed to the small size of the KRZR. The other phone I was considering was the Blackberry Curve.... which isn't any smaller but it does come in pink. haha

I bought the LG Dare because A) it's cool, B) it does almost everything I want and C) the camera phone. I was hesitant to buy the Dare because it is not a smart phone.

To the best of my knowledge you can not sync your Outlook calendar with your Dare the second you boot it up. There are tweaks and downloads available so that you can basically do it but there isn't a feature that is as straightforward as ActiveSync available. This would be my #1 complaint.

The second problem I have is that it does not appear that the internet pages I am bringing up are MOBILE internet pages like you would get from surfing from a pocketPC or a smart phone. Instead it's the full size page, shrunken down a bit but not really enough because you have to scroll from side to side and up to down.

All in all this is a fun phone. It's easy to use and the LG/Verizon interface is really smart and simple to use. The mp3s sound good, it plays flash, video and jpg look great and after 24 hours of use I'm pretty happy with it. I've calibrated the touch typing and did the "voice training" so I feel like the phone responds very well. The Dare isn't a smart phone if you want a smart phone that's like the Dare try HTC's latest but it's much bigger (I have one of these also and really love the keyboard and feel like I'm on a micro-laptop).

I gave this phone 3 stars because I feel like if LG had added Outlook syncing and a better HTML browswer (like on a smart phone/pocket PC) it would be the perfect phone.

Oh, hey, and I almost forgot... the call quality is awesome. Quite possibly the clearest I've ever heard. Not that phone calls are important on a phone. haha

THE LG DARE, I LOVE IT November 22, 2008

Reviewer:  Richard Tjomsland "Common-Sense Wit & Wisdom"  (Encinitas, CA USA) -

I got so tired of the negative reviews with no basis in fact that I have addressed almost all "CON" issues by previous reviewers to bring you the real facts without being tainted by lack of intellect, common sense or lack of understanding on how the phone features work best. You will first see the "CON" followed by my "RESPONSE". I have made no changes in their negative reviews. They are quoted exactly as posted by them. Furthermore, I am not a tech, just an informed novice. I tried to address all of the 1 and 2 stars and some of the 3 stars. First, start with the online tutorial.

CON: The back buton is on the top left hand corner.
As a right hander , each time I press the back button , my thumb needs to travel all the way to the top left corner and the button is not with-in reach , inspite of my big palm.
This is putting lot of pressure on my thumb.
If you are really interested to buy this phone , please check the ergonomics before you do so.

RESPONSE: This is absurd. This reviewer can't even spell. Most of us are right handed. However, I hold my LG in my left hand and simply move my thumb to the top left corner and unlock it. It is very easy.

CON: The Dare is slow, it's touch screen is oversensitive you have to correct the . mark because you wanted an n but it keeps giving you a period mark. Give it some time and you to will be back to texting the old way instead of using the full keyboard.

RESPONSE: I have not found the Dare to the least bit slow and my previous phone was the LG VENUS a similar phone. I had some learning curve problems with the touch screen and went into Verizon where the tech quickly showed my how to use it correctly and I have had no touch screen problems since then. First of all I can't believe people still text message when Jot.com is available. But, if you do, I find the full keyboard very easy to use and user friendly. I am 6'1" and have big hands and it is still not an issue. It was like moving from a stick shift car to an automatic, just a little learning curve.

CON: unresponsive touch screen freeze ups and lock ups battery overheating phone would place calls on its own even when the screen was locked with that being said the lock feature was sketchy......

RESPONSE: I have never had this problem and never heard of anyone else having the problem. If I would have had the problem, I would have simply had Verizon replace it with a new one.

CON: this phone has a terrible screen. You can not read anything when outside or in direct sun. The connection ports are not well designed eitgher and you have to take the cover off everytime yo want to simply use your car charger.

RESPONSE: If this is an issue for you, for less than $5 you can buy a screen protector and it does away with the glare without loosing any of the screen's resolution.


CON: I bought it mainly for the 3.2 megapixel camera. That has been a major disappointment, mainly because it is so difficult to transfer photos to my computer. Verizon and some other companies make it difficult to transfer photos directly to your computer because they want you to use the avenues they have set up for you, such as emailing the photos, for which there is a charge. I have had to buy a Micro SanDisk chip for about [...]...... The location of the two buttons that turn the DARE on are located on the lower right of the front and on the upper left side, locations that result in the phone being turned on accidentally very frequently, and draining my battery......

RESPONSE: Absurd. I love the 3.2 megapixel camera and I simply took the Micro Disk from my previous phone and plugged into the Dare. And, of course, there is a charge for texting photos. Is it supposed to be free? Texting is not a free service. And, for $[...] at Best Buy you can buy a Micro Disk which I previously purchased for my LG VENUS. I have no problems transferring photos from my phone to my computer. If you really have justified issues, have Verizon replace the phone. Further, I find the placement of the lock/unlock buttons excellent. You also do not need to use the touch screen feature if you find it inconvenient. Simply push the unlock button twice. I have never had it unlock in my pocket. It seems to me it is fool proof.

CON: Reception sucks. No one is experiencing this, so I guess it's my location.

RESPONSE: I think the above person probably answered their main CON. I have never had a reception problem.

CON: when i compare the scroll and touch features to the ipod touch i have....

RESPONSE: The DARE also does not cost [...] or [...]. Would you expect an apple to compare to an orange?

THANK YOU

Decent hardware, ruined by horrible software support and details January 4, 2009

Reviewer:  D. Crain "nanohead"  (NJ United States) -

Quick Summary

I'm on my 4th Dare unit in 5 months. And it is still not functioning correctly. I've tried all the new firmware, replacements, calibrations, service modes, etc. Nothing fixes the systemic problems.... the LG Dare is stillborn.

More Details

I'm a very satisfied Verizon user for over a decade. I've also had reliable service from GSM Blackberrys for international travel for many years, but always carried a Verizon phone for the US also, as Blackberry GSM phones have been so so in the US. When the Dare shipped, I thought I would try it as a consolidated device, especially as Verizon is now available in many of the countries I travel to, so GSM is becoming less a concern. I won't engage in the religious debate over the iPhone and Apple. It is a waste of time. I like Verizon, and have had horrible ATT experiences. Not gonna happen anytime soon.

Well, the Dare looked like it would fit the bill, as it had a "IMAP/POP" mail reader, full keyboard, and the great and unbreakable Verizon wireless network. The MP3 player also looked like another consolidation, as I've had a Sansa for years also. The camera also looked like another nice plus.

The Verizon folks sell what they have, and they make the claims that their marketing people say. I should have known better.

Technical Details.

Phone: Call quality is decent, on par with just about any contemporary phone. There is an internal antenna, so reception is flaky as always. The Dare seems to have good reception when you are under a cell tower, but when other members of my family have 1 or 2 bars, the Dare has ZERO. Also, the Dare can show 3 bars, and as soon as you make a call, they all disappear, and you have no signal. 4/10

Touchscreen: When it works, its fine. Not much different than iTouch or any other Gen 1 or 2 touch screen handheld. The keyboard is actually decent, and you can definitely get used to it. I don't mind it now. There are NO hard keys at all, so everything is softkey based. It is slow going. But in general, not bad.

The main problem is with the Proximity Sensor and screen blanking during calls, which controls whether the touchscreen is lit or not. This is the unmitigated DISASTER of the Dare. The screen blacks out constantly, you cannot use the phone. This is endemic to all Dares. Imagine calling voicemail and not being able to get to the keypad to enter your pin. Or calling an 800 number and not being able to enter numbers. The settings on the phone to control this do NOTHING. Some folks have been able to get theirs to work, many others simply never have. 0/10 A total FAILURE.

Email: DOES NOT WORK unless you have GMail, YMail or AIM. IMAP and POP DO NOT WORK. The reader cannot authenticate, been trying for months. No one knows anything. There is no support. 0/10... A total FAILURE.

Camera: Works pretty well actually. As well as the small Nikon snapper that I've used. But I bought this for the phone. 8/10

MP3 Player: I personally, have had mixed luck getting it to work. Way to complex getting things onto it and getting the files organized. 2/10

Web Browser: Awesome! The best mobile browser ever. 10/10

Technical and Configuration: There is nearly no flexibility in setting up the various screens and hard buttons. Simply, you cannot change any hard buttons. It is a massive hassle. If you put it into your pants pocket, and happen to bend down, it starts talking to you, over and over again. You CANNOT shut it off. Even if you lock the screen. 1/10

Physical: A great size and layout. The hardware is simply excellent in its conception, although lacking in execution.

Summary

This phone is a total failure for anyone who actually needs a real phone and handheld email device. For personal use, if you are a a gmail user, who lives under a Verizon cell, and likes to take pictures, this could be an interesting fashion phone. If you are an adult, who needs something reliable, this is a complete waste of money.

It is a nice piece of hardware ruined by a complete LACK OF SOFTWARE SUPPORT and bug fixes. Forget downloadable apps, and other silly trendy things, Verizon and LG haven't even gotten the BASIC phone to work properly

I love Verizon, and have been with them for over a decade (on a family plan with 5 phones for years and years). But the Dare experience has been such a catastrophe, I'm at a loss as to what to do. At this point, its like I don't even have a phone. Total bummer.

The Dare is Good But My First One Had Problems December 16, 2008

Reviewer:  John Paul L. Finan  (Wisconsin, USA) -

I bought a Dare and hated it for various reasons. First, the phone kept getting unlocked and making random calls - not cool. Then, it kept interrupting my mp3's to ask me for a voice command. God knows why, but I couldn't go ten minutes without getting the dreaded "Please say a voice command" message. It seemed like something with the headphone jack sensor was messed up - just a guess - but it seemed like jiggling the miniplug connector caused the voice command prompt.
In any case, that sucked. Also, the screen scratched easily, as I found out when I put it in the same pocket as my keys. The shortcut menus bugged me, too.
I took the phone back to Verizon, hoping to trade it in for a Chocolate or some phone that worked and had a decent mp3 player and VZ Navigator on it. The kid didn't want to give me a different phone due to the scratch on mine. He would agree to swap mine out for a new one, though, after trying a firmware flash to the same version I already had. The problems persisted post-flash so I got my replacement, which was a step in the right direction right away. Good Verizon customer service got me an un-scratched phone that I didn't entirely deserve to get for free, so that helped my attitude.
Then, I discovered the new phone didn't do the insane voice command thing, which was a big relief. It hasn't done that since I got a replacement, so my first one was just broken. I went out and got the Zagg InvisibleShield for my new Dare's delicate screen after determining that a Zagg is the strongest shield money can buy. They aren't cheap but my screen is now honestly un-scratchable. I have attacked it with my keys a bunch of times just to show off and it still looks new. I pressed as hard against the touchscreen as I thought I should without physically squishing the electronics inside and still, no scratches. The protector isn't perfect. You can see it, for one, and it seems to gather dust easily. Not to mention it costs $12 for half a gram of clear plastic. But I believe the Zagg is totally worth it for the amazing protection you get.
The unacceptable keypad lock failure has a work around, too. You can buy a $3 silicone wrap for the phone (available on Amazon) that covers the lock button with a slightly popped out button shaped silicone bulge. The effect is that the button is still accessible but it only activates with a sturdy push, not a mere pocket rub as before. That prevents embarrassing accidental booty calls. I tried a hard shell case for $9, too, and I really like it's style (dark red colored soft touch plastic) though its design might not be adequate to protect the keypad lock button during physical activity. I'll report back when it's warm enough to go outside again and test it out.
Lastly, the annoying user interface is less annoying now that I figured out how to use it. This was a case of non-intuitive software and a less than patient operator (me). The dual shortcut screens are a gimmick, but you can just use one or the other with whatever functions you want. It could be easier to figure out, but it's not too bad. I still can't find a way to shortcut to my text inbox, though, which seems like a strange oversight for them to make.
The phone still has annoying quirks, like a generally poor (but functional) mp3 player, a somewhat putzy touch interface, and some annoying menus. The important difference is that now I'm nitpicking instead of hating.
If I could change my stars (this is an edit) I'd go to four out of five. With better free software, a better mp3 player, and some easier method of locking the keys securely, I'd give it five. Other wish list items include some way of getting pictures to my PC without paying Verizon or hacking the phone (yeah right, Verizon makes you pay for that good service - they aren't doing it for free) and an FM tuner but you know what? I like the Dare now that i got it all figured out.

Well rounded and feature packed September 12, 2008

Reviewer:  Jason Bentley "Entrepreneur"  (Everywhere, USA) -

The fact that I decided to come back to Amazon to actually leave a good review for this phone says a lot (for me at least). I have owned the phone for 3 months now and I have no major complaints. My two previous phones were both flip phones; both Motorola's, and I will probably never buy another Moto again because this phone has opened my eyes to the fact that there is product out there with superior quality in comparison.

Size:
The sleek profile of the phone fits nicely in my pocket without making it bulky. However, it's not so small that it is uncomfortable to grip for long periods of time. It sits nicely in the hand while on calls.

The screen:
My favorite aspect of this phone. The touch response is lightning quick, accurately calibrated, and the vibrational feedback (which is configurable to either short or long pulses) is a neat function. The screen resolution and color are amazing, with my only gripe being that the screen is much harder to view in direct sunlight. But this should be obvious since it's a problem with most mobile devices.
The picture and video quality are also excellent.

Sound quality:
My phone calls have never been so crisp. I HATE holding the phone up to my ear if I don't have to and so I've always been a fan of speakerphone whenever possible. The speakerphone on the dare blew away any other phone I've had. Not only are my callers loud and clear, but so am I to them on the other end. I also don't use my phone for music much, but this little thing impressed me very much when I played music using the same external speaker output that the dare uses for it's speakerphone.

Menu icons layout:
I found the phone to be very intuitive, another big surprise for me after purchasing the phone. I had initially worried about where LG would decide to hide all the menus, options, and gadgets of the phone, but this worry was quickly dispelled. Simply put, the customization and standard layouts of this phone are easy to learn and well placed. This aspect of the phone, along with the screen itself and sound quality deserve 5 stars. Transitions between menus and the like are virtually lag-free as well; another plus.

Battery life is phenomenal, even with heavy use. Although I have only had the phone for 3 months.

The only reasons this phone does not get a 5 star review is because the buttons at the bottom of my phone do not "bounce back" as well as they once did and are a bit harder to actually depress, as they "stick" a little bit now. Also, out of the box, the phone is quite slick. I didn't have to live with this problem for too long because I invested in buying an Invisible Shield protector for my phone (a super thin, super scratch resistant adhesive film covering the entire phone and significantly improving the phone's grip at the same time. I would suggest one to anybody buying this phone).

I totally love my phone and would suggest it to most.

Update:

I've had my phone for several months now and the invisible shield that I bought to cover the entire phone worked well at first, but started bubbling up and peeling in some spots. The film that covers the screen and the backside of the phone are holding up well, but my suggestion would be to just buy the one for the screen if you were interested in one at all.

I should also mention that I never have and never will use this phone to browse the internet. I have a laptop for that, and so my rating doesn't take into account the internet or email feature of this phone.

Overall, still very pleased with the phone. If you can live with a touch screen and are realistic about what having one means for functionality, I think it's a good alternative to an iPhone.