What's in the box?

The box itself is a similar style to the box that the VX9800 came in. The boxes are a classy black that have VCast and application logs all over them with screen shots and stuff. This isn't a selling point or anything but it's amusing that they've changed the box styles. It's also ironic that the RAZR box is bigger than the VX9800 box given how much thinner the RAZR is.

The contents of the box are fairly basic. You get your phone (of course), the battery, the battery cover (which is metal), the wall charger (which has a mini-USB connector -- the only connector present on the phone), a manual, and your typical welcome CD.

Basic Operation

Basically, it's just like all of the other phones that have the Verizon user interface. Gone is the Motorola menu button. In is the now-standard user interface on Verizon. On the plus side, if you've owned a phone with this interface, you'll be used to it. On the negative side, if you wanted a Motorola user interface or you don't like the Verizon user interface, you're out of luck for this version of the V3C.

For images of the basic screens, check out the images here of the handset.

The buttons are actually easier to use than you might expect. The keyboard is not completely flat. There is also a lot of good tactile feedback when using the keys. In fact, some might say that they feel and sound better than normal keys.

Basic Features

The phone has a standard 176x220 screen, like the V710 and E815 before it. Also included is a 1.3 megapixel camera that can shoot video.

Camera Quality

To me, the quality looks to be about the same as the V710. I never used the E815, so I can't compare to that. It's not as good as the camera on the LG VX9800 but it seems to be as good or better than the camera on the Samsung SCH-a970.

The lens is, sadly, not only completely unprotected, but not recessed like that on the V710 or E815: it's the farthest piece out so it's prone to being touched and scraped at every possible moment.

I'll try to get some pictures and video up soon.

Bluetooth

Yeah, it's pretty much what the ads would have you think: headset and handsfree. It'll come up with the DUN profile, but whenever I try I get a bad username or password error. This has been the experience of many when using a VCast handset. However, since it actually has the DUN profile, that's a good sign for future possibilities. The phone definitely does not support OBEX or File Transfer, so you'll either have to use one of the Get It Now (BREW) applications to get your contacts on the phone or a quick thumb.

Battery Life

Battery life is pretty good for the size of the battery and handset. I don't have any hard numbers, but since it can also charge from a USB cable there are plenty of opportunities to charge it.

Web Browsing

Well, I'm not going to say much about this. Like all of the recent VCast handsets, this phone has Mobile Web 2.0 with the Openwave Mobile Browser version 6.2.3. This means, through the URL entering via the third item off the search screen, you can load just about any web page you want.

Little Nice Things

Well, this should be obvious: the phone is thin. No, not iPod nano thin, but thinner than almost any other handset out there.

It charges via the standard mini-USB port. What could be better?

It has a light sensor for the keypad backlighting.

You actually can watch The Daily Show on it. You can even watch Jay Leno or Letterman now, too. (Okay, okay, all VCast phones can do that -- but it is a nice feature. ;) )

Little Naughty Things

Opening the handset is rather difficult. I often end up hitting the voice command button. I also end up having to slide my thumb up the screen once it's slightly open.

The side buttons aren't labelled. You'll have to read the manually or exipirement to figure out which does what. You'll find you hit them accidentally enough that you'll learn quick enough (see above), though. ;)

There is no standard headset jack. Instead, you have to either use a Bluetooth headset or get one specifically designed to work with the mini-USB connector. Perhaps they're pushing Bluetooth here, but this is silly.

End Thoughts

For some people, tihs is not the right phone. Unlike the Motorola E815 (or LG VX8100, Audiovox CDM-8940), it doesn't have a memory card slot. Unlike the VX9800, it doesn't have a QVGA screen or keyboard.

However, compared to some of the other phones it has everything they have in a nice, thin package. Compared to the GSM RAZR, it's better in that it has EVDO, more memory, and a higher resolution camera.

If you have any questions about what the phone can do, feel free to ask here. Either I'll know or someone else may know. Of course, for the more adventerous out there HowardForums can always provide some fun and controversial information. If it was useful, let me know. If it wasn't, let me know, too. If you have something to add, go ahead.