New Phone/MP3 Player

[Freebird]

A while back I posted that I was considering combining my phone and MP3 player because I saw no reason to carry a phone and an IPOD around. Several of you saw pros and cons about that but I decided to give it a try anyway. So, a few days ago my new LG Venus arrived and I've been putting it to the test. So far, I think it was a great decision.

 

This is a slide type phone and it support an 8 GB MicroSD chip which I have already added. At this time, I have just over 800 songs uploaded to it and haven't used 1/2 of the 8 GB chip yet. The sound is FANTASTIC through the earbuds that I have hooked to it. It also supports stereo bluetooth headsets but I haven't, and may not, bought one of those yet. As you can see, it even shows a small picture of the album artwork. You can play random, create playlists, etc. and you can select by song, artist, genre, album, etc. just like on an IPOD. It always has several tone settings such as rock, concert hall, flat...several more.

 

I can plug it into the auxillary of the RSV the same way I do the XM and IPOD now or if I really wanted to get fancy, I could buy a bluetooth to FM transmitter but I like the hard wired solution just fine. For me, it's just one less thing to carry when I'm on the road.

 

Anyway, the phone quality is great and the music player is great. I'm very pleased with it so far.

[Squidley]

I'll be interested to see how you like it after using it for a while....looks cool

[BOO]

Good looking piece of equipment.

Combining components seems to be the smart thing to do.

Does it have GPS and real time traffic as well?

Jerry

[Freebird]

It has Verizon's VNavigation built in but you have to subscribe separately to it and I've never tried it. Doubt that I will. I use my notebook computer with Microsoft Streets with the option GPS feature in my work car. I've heard that the Verizon navigation system is pretty decent but have never tried it.

[Freebird]

By the way, it also has a 2 megapixel camera. Not bad for those times when you see something you want to snap a quick shot of but don't happen to have your camera with you.

[Squeeze]

Nice Piece Don,

 

how long does the Battery hold up ?

[Freebird]

I'll have to get back to you on that. I've had it plugged into the USB port most of the time while I've worked on loading music and etc. It charges while hooked to the USB port. Today I've been listening to it unplugged for about 8 hours so far and it's still over half charged. Doesn't concern me too much because when I'm traveling, I usually keep my phone plugged in anyway. With this one it can be charged via the USB port on the notebook or the 12 volt adapter which I will use on the bike also.

[RoadKill]

Kind of an appropriate song setting on the screen for those that don't like your new toy.

[Cougar]

(just keep an eye on that battery Don if you need the phone)

(I just noticed that you got 8 hours and battery only half gone)

Now that's a battey!

 

I did that last year with my Krazer , So I could bluetooth , with-out

a wire hooked to my head at work.. I did however notice that

after playing for about 4 or 5 hours my phone always was on the verge

of no battery left.

 

So I went to the Ipod Classic with the Motorola Adapter.

 

And use my Motorola blue-tooth head-set.. they both will last 1.5 days

on a charge.

 

I was always having to keep my phone plugged in after work

in my truck to make my calls..

 

I hope the newer phones have a longer lasting battery for that

purpose.

 

keep us posted on your findings Don!

 

looks really kewl!

 

Jeff

[Guest longtrain59]

Hey Don, I did the same thing: however, I invested in the Blackberry Curve.

 

Two things I don't like is it uses a micro SD card and 4 meg is the largest at this time. Also, they put the card under the battery.

 

Otherwise the battery life, coporate email and media player are great. It also has the standard 3.5 mm sound jack and built in maps. You can access maps from your address book.

 

I went the smart phone way since my son left Sprint I no longer have my air card and have to go to public wi-fi or the motel to access email etc.with my laptop.

[Freebird]

I considered the new Blackberry Pearl but for $100.00 more, you basically get a lot of functions that I don't use or need. I don't use the email, browser, etc. I have my laptop with me for that. I also NEVER text message so don't need the keyboard.

 

The phone I bought also used the MicroSD chip. They are available in 8GB now but that is dependent upon your phone supporting it. You will have to check and see.

[Freebird]

Well...just an update on this phone. I ended up taking it back. I still love the overall concept of combining the phone and MP3 but I think that Verizon rushed this one to get it out by Christmas. Lot's of little problems with it. The biggest being that though it DOES read the 8 GB chip, when you transfer music there is a bug that only allows it to see half the capacity of the chip. They claim that they will come out with a software update soon to address that issue but I returned it and will look again AFTER they figure it out. There are some other small issue with this phone too and I just decided I didn't want to take the chance of being stuck with it for two years and the problems not being addressed. So.........great concept but not ready for prime time.

 

The IPhone would probably be a good choice but not available on the Verizon network.

[nelsonrl]

Got Judy an iPhone for Christmas. Made me want one, but am limited to Blackberry devices because of work. The iPhone is overpriced, but decent phone and great music player. The interface is extremely well done.

 

All that said, the battery on the first one lasted about 45 minutes - when not being used. Took it back and was told it is a fairly common problem. AT&T will not service the iphone. Their agreement with Apple is they all have to be sent to Apple. Apple did supply a loaner and ended up replacing the phone.

[Venture90]

I am using my Motorola Razor. Bought the 2G chip and down loaded my music it plugs into my J & M Intergratr IV and I have music and phone without switching anything. Battery last 24 hrs if I'm playing music.

[DragonRider]

When I bought my new phone from Verizon, it has GPS capability also, but for the monthly fee, which was pretty high, dont remember exactly how much, I did inquire as to being able to use it as needed and its $2.95 each time you connect to it, so in an emergency you can still use it if you need to.

 

 

It has Verizon's VNavigation built in but you have to subscribe separately to it and I've never tried it. Doubt that I will. I use my notebook computer with Microsoft Streets with the option GPS feature in my work car. I've heard that the Verizon navigation system is pretty decent but have never tried it.

[Mariner Fan]

Looks very interesting. I'm getting close to a new phone upgrade so I'll consider it.

[nelsonrl]

Well - another update. Our second iphone is now broken, With both phones the battery charges then simply does not hold the charge. After being on the charger all night, it stays charged for less than a day - will NO use.

 

The repair process is send it in and they fix and send back (or a refurbished replacement). Apple refuses to refund your money and AT&T refuses to do anything at all except tell you to call Apple.

 

So, third phone is on the way.

[Freebird]

and there you have it. IPhone, Ipod, seems they always end up with a battery issue. Wonder how the new Air Mac or whatever it is will fair? No thanks.

[BradT]

Similar phone that Rhonda just got. It is a LG but she had a wheel for the menus. (Think the model was CHocolate somthing) So far so good for hers.

 

She does not talk much on it so the battery lasts a long time.

 

BRad

[cmiles3]

As for battery drain, the MP3 player shouldn't use much power. If you use Bluetooth, it will drain pretty fast- the radio transmission uses a lot of juice. Same with the phone; it will sit on standby for days, but make a few calls, or get out of range of cell service, and the battery dies a quick death.

[dray]

I was thinking on getting a new razr V9 but I desided to go a better route. I have a razr V3C and its been a great phone for over 2 years so we just redid our contract and picked up two new razr V3A's. one for the wife and a spare this is cheaper than paying for the insurance. I am going to keep my V3c till it dies.

battery life with a stock battery sucks big time but I have the extended life battery for it now. this new one will last a good 4 days of talking and I spend hours on it at a time. If not in use it I'd have no idea how long it would last.

now were going to pick up 2 more extended life batterys for the two new phones the battery is a 1480 milliamp battery in it now.

also I'v picked up a new sony walkman MP3 cant wait till spring to hear it pluged into the bike and it works great as a stand alone MP3 Player.

[Freebird]

By the way...I can't remember if I posted it or not but I ended up taking back the LG Venus. I liked the phone but it was NOT ready for prime time. I wanted it primarily for the 8 GB MP3 player but though it recognizes the 8 GB chip, you get a "device full" error at less than 4 GB. Verizon and LG have found no solution to the problem but they still continue to market it as an 8 GB phone.

[WilCruise]

I got a Garmin GPS (nuvi350) for much the same reason. It has a built in MP3 player and supports SD. It tops out at 2GB but that's been enough for a multi day trip so I'm really happy with it. The GPS interrupts the music when directions are needed and the volume is always correct. The 360 is pretty much the same but adds bluetooth and doubles the SD card capacity to 4GB. The bluetooth allows you to use your phone through the GPS. I don't really need that so much since I just got us a pair of Nolan helmets that have integrated phone connection in addition to the intercom interface. If I had it to do over I'd get the 360 though.

[PGunn]

You guys might be interested in this from Google. It’s free GPS through your phone and it works pretty well from what I'm hearing from the guys (Sales) at work. Check these links....

http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/mylocation/index.html

http://www.google.com/mobile/gmm/index.html#utm_source=en-et-maps&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en

 

Basically:

If you don't have GPS on your phone it uses the cell towers to locate you on the map within an area you can then pinpoint to your location and have it give you directions from that point to where you want to go. If you have GPS on your device it will use it to locate you then direct you. This is not for all phones but take a look at it and see if it's useable. I hate the fact that phone providers charge for every little thing when the service is free without their device. In this case it's their device and it's still free....

[Mariner Fan]

By the way...I can't remember if I posted it or not but I ended up taking back the LG Venus. I liked the phone but it was NOT ready for prime time. I wanted it primarily for the 8 GB MP3 player but though it recognizes the 8 GB chip, you get a "device full" error at less than 4 GB. Verizon and LG have found no solution to the problem but they still continue to market it as an 8 GB phone.

 

That's the phone I'm thinking of getting. If the only problem is that it holds 4 gb of music then I'm cool with that.