LG VX8700 is being sold as a cheaper version of the Shine. Like most LG phones it looks great, but it has some design issues that mean that it is not as good a phone as it could be. If you are willing to over look a few issues when it comes to design you may find that the LG VX8700 is a good quality phone.
The LG VX8700 is undeniably a good looking phone, that is one thing that is beyond any dispute. The metal casing gives it the look of being made of steel. It is quite a small phone so if fits comfortably in your pocket, although it is heavier than you would expect from looking at it. The external display of VX8700 is a little bit different than you would expect. Rather than having the rectangular screen that you get on most phones it runs vertically down the center. Another interesting feature is that when the backlight is off you can use it as a mirror for when you want to take pictures of yourself. There are no external music controls which is a pretty big oversight since you have to open the phone every time you want to play music.
The internal display of the VX8700 is outstanding. The colors are great which you can tell just by looking at the wallpapers, clearly designed to show off the quality of the graphics. You can choose from one of two different menu designs although both of them are quite simple and easy to use. The navigation controls are not really the best feature of this phone. They are flush with the surface with textured lines so that you can tell the keys apart. It works fine when you are looking at the keys but you can’t really use them without looking.
One of the best features on the VX8700 is the camera which provides for outstanding photo quality for a phone. The video camera is also good, at least by the standards of the phone cameras. The multimedia features are very good, much better than on previous versions of LG phones.
Like all LG phones the VX8700 looks great, but this one also works pretty good, which is not something that you can say about all of their other models. There are however a few design flaws that still need to be addressed. The flush keys are a pain to use. There is also the issue that battery life is not good at all. Another thing that we didn’t like is that the phone didn’t come with some of the stuff that it should have. Items like a USB cable have to be purchased separately. It also doesn’t come with a microSD card and the slot for it is in one of the most inconvenient places we’ve seen on any phone, you have to take the battery out to get to it.