OTHER TECH

$300

•V Cast multimedia capability •QWERTY keyboard for messaging •MP3 player •1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder •Bluetooth version 1.1 compatible •4.5 x 2 x 1 inches •5.25 ounces •us.lge.com •800-793-8896

Cellphones are suffering an identity crisis. One minute, they're a phone; the next minute, they're a camera - or a camcorder, a text messager, a TV, or a music player. Or at least, they try to be all these things. Which brings us to the LG VX9800 cellphone/media player (nicknamed "The V"), which runs on Verizon's broadband EV-DO (EVolution Data Only) network. It's a phone that's a jack-of-all-trades and a master of, well, some.

Viewed straight-on, the LG VX9800 looks like any other so-called slab cellphone, with a 1.5-inch color LCD, a square navigation rocker, and a dial pad. But viewed in profile, the inch-thick VX9800 is far from RAZR thin, and at 5.25 ounces, it's about 2 ounces heavier than most other phones - bulky for tight pockets.

Inside is where the fun begins. Turn the phone horizontally and lift the lid, and the VX9800 morphs into what looks like a mini-laptop (the three faces of the LG phone are shown above). The top half carries a 2.25-inch (diagonal) color screen, which doubles as a camera viewfinder, flanked by twin stereo speakers. The base has a full QWERTY keyboard for text-messaging.

This arrangement looks cool and works well for messaging, but it's awkward for other functions. The main shutter button for the 1.3-megapixel camera is inconveniently jammed up against the back of the open flap (though the OK button inside also works). And the onscreen legend for the controls for music and video playback corresponds to the navigation rocker at the far right - an ergonomic disconnect.

For downloading entertainment, the LG VX9800 cellphone/media player is compatible with Verizon's V Cast video and music services. A $15 monthly subscription lets you tap into both services, from which you can watch and listen to freebies or buy video clips or WMA music files. V Cast offers daily and archived video clips from news, sports, entertainment, and weather channels, including most news networks, ESPN and Fox Sports, E!, and MTV. The V Cast Music store just launched with about a half-million songs in its library. (Our sample of the VX9800 wasn't compatible with V Cast Music, but LG promises an updated version will be available, possibly by the time you read this.) You can also play MP3s you load onto a miniSD card (not included), which plugs into a slot on the cellphone's spine.

As a music player, the VX9800 is so-so. Tunes are relatively easy to get at through the menu. But, not surprisingly, the speakers deliver thin, AM-radio-like stereo sound, and the supplied stereo earbuds (with in-line mike) are just okay. You can plug in a headphone adapter to use a pair of high-end buds, but you'll have to unjack every time the phone rings to chat. And you can only download and play multimedia files with the flap open, which is a problem when you just want to stick the phone in your pocket to listen to music.

On the other hand, viewing video on the landscape LCD screen just feels right, although clips can look like old VHS tape. A couple of Ramones and Green Day videos I downloaded played relatively smoothly but suffered from banding, splotchiness, and pixelization when zoomed from postage-stamp to full-screen mode. Clips can also occasionally lose their voice-to-video sync, lending a What's Up, Tiger Lily? vibe to your viewing. Still, this is typical of most video cellphones.

Despite its ambitions, the VX9800 is a still a cellphone - not a portable media player, a digital camera, or an iPod. For listening to V Cast music playback, I'd recommend LG's VX8100, a more conventional cellphone with external playback controls. When it comes to text messaging and video, the LG VX9800 cellphone/media player is the best choice for Verizon customers. If you're waiting for the end-all, be-all, do-it-all from Verizon, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer.

Watch this phone in action!

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