I chose the Vu over the iPhone & a few other touchscreens--not b/c the Vu is better than or just as good as the iPhone, but because for my purposes, it makes more sense. I wanted a stylish-looking phone that was lightweight and easy to use, that could check email and get on the internet, that could handle a few apps, and that didn't cost much. I'm pretty happy with the Vu, even recognizing that I would prefer an iPhone if cost didn't matter. Here's how I decided:
1) After reading online reviews, narrowed my choices to iPhone, LG Vu, LG Xenon, & Samsung Eternity (I was already an AT&T customer). Visited the AT&T store to try out phones, and narrowed it further to iPhone or Vu based on ease of use and size/weight. In terms of functionality and ease of use, the iPhone wins; its touchscreen is superior to any brand, it supports the most apps, it does cool tricks (like that turning-on-the-side thing), and it's easiest to sync with my Mac. But the Vu was lightweight, fun, and intuitive to use.
2) Cost comparison. For me, iPhone's required data plan was more than I wanted to pay. The math: Vu over 2 years (life of contract) works out to about $1,590 ($6 phone/shipping + 450-minute plan + monthly taxes/fees + $15 unlimited data plan). iPhone, if I bought a refurbished 8GB (cheapest option), would be about $2,050 ($99 phone + cheapest iPhone plan + monthly taxes/fees). Difference = approx $460 over 2 yrs. So, were iPhone's advantages worth that much to me? Ultimately, no.
3) Things I like about Vu:
- Easy to use. Simple & quick to get on the internet, make calls, reach your apps, change settings, etc. The few physical buttons are convenient and easy to get used to.
- It is a really sweet-looking phone. Love the wine color.
- Screen is bright, crisp & easy to read.
- Lightweight & compact compared to other touchscreens. iPhone is bigger (won't fit in a pocket as well) and significantly heavier.
- Can't comment on Mobile TV since I don't get service in my area. That would not have been an important feature to me.
- Voice dialing works great.
- It's a bargain and accessories are cheap.
4) Drawbacks of Vu:
- Limited ability to download and use apps unless you're a pretty proficient hacker/programmer (see #5 below).
- Generally, touchscreen works fine but scrolling can be tricky. The screen simply isn't as responsive and accurate as the iPhone. But we all knew that, right? It's fine for dialing. For text, you can use the dialpad or a QWERTY keyboard. QWERTY keys are quite small so I do make mistakes; this is a problem with all touchscreen phones. A stylus might help. I wouldn't write a thesis on the phone, but I do update my facebook status, check email, run searches, send text msgs, no problem.
- Lack of Gmail or POP/IMAP support. You can use the phone's email software for Yahoo, Hotmail, a few others, but not Gmail. You can download Gmail's user-friendly app which works great except...see #5.
- Fingerprints like you wouldn't believe. It's ok, though. No one's looking that closely.
- Limited # of bookmarks allowed. Irritating since AT&T forces some useless ones on you that you can't delete.
5) About apps. One thing I love about iPhone is the ability to download a gazillion useful apps. For Vu, there are a few apps available, all with monthly subscription fees, from AT&T. Bleh. Here's the thing. The Vu has a lot of untapped programming potential. It supports Java, which theoretically could give you functionality pretty close to an iPhone's; you can find non-iPhone mobile apps all over the internet. But AT&T, no doubt to protect the iPhone's market position & higher-priced plan, has placed an annoying Java security feature on the Vu so that when you run a 3rd-party app (i.e., one AT&T didn't sell you), you get an annoying permission screen at every turn. If you go to www.lg-vu.com, you can find detailed instructions (even video) for how to hack your Vu to get rid of this feature, as well as delete all the trial version apps and other nonsense that are on the phone. I'm working on this--haven't succeeded yet, but others have, so I'm hopeful I'll eventually get it. Meantime, I downloaded gmail and googlemaps (free apps) and I put up with the security feature. Doesn't prevent me from using the apps; it's just annoying. Happily, there are lots of mobile websites optimized for phone use, everything from shopping to news to lolcats, so you can do quite a bit even without apps. You do not need an app to use facebook or twitter or to look up movie times, gas prices, or weather, or watch youtube (it's blurry).
So if you really want an iPhone, get an iPhone. If you know the limitations of the Vu and nevertheless think it meets your needs--esp. if you just want a good phone (no internet/apps)--I think you'll be very happy. This is a really nice device. Just don't expect it to be an iPhone.
1) After reading online reviews, narrowed my choices to iPhone, LG Vu, LG Xenon, & Samsung Eternity (I was already an AT&T customer). Visited the AT&T store to try out phones, and narrowed it further to iPhone or Vu based on ease of use and size/weight. In terms of functionality and ease of use, the iPhone wins; its touchscreen is superior to any brand, it supports the most apps, it does cool tricks (like that turning-on-the-side thing), and it's easiest to sync with my Mac. But the Vu was lightweight, fun, and intuitive to use.
2) Cost comparison. For me, iPhone's required data plan was more than I wanted to pay. The math: Vu over 2 years (life of contract) works out to about $1,590 ($6 phone/shipping + 450-minute plan + monthly taxes/fees + $15 unlimited data plan). iPhone, if I bought a refurbished 8GB (cheapest option), would be about $2,050 ($99 phone + cheapest iPhone plan + monthly taxes/fees). Difference = approx $460 over 2 yrs. So, were iPhone's advantages worth that much to me? Ultimately, no.
3) Things I like about Vu:
- Easy to use. Simple & quick to get on the internet, make calls, reach your apps, change settings, etc. The few physical buttons are convenient and easy to get used to.
- It is a really sweet-looking phone. Love the wine color.
- Screen is bright, crisp & easy to read.
- Lightweight & compact compared to other touchscreens. iPhone is bigger (won't fit in a pocket as well) and significantly heavier.
- Can't comment on Mobile TV since I don't get service in my area. That would not have been an important feature to me.
- Voice dialing works great.
- It's a bargain and accessories are cheap.
4) Drawbacks of Vu:
- Limited ability to download and use apps unless you're a pretty proficient hacker/programmer (see #5 below).
- Generally, touchscreen works fine but scrolling can be tricky. The screen simply isn't as responsive and accurate as the iPhone. But we all knew that, right? It's fine for dialing. For text, you can use the dialpad or a QWERTY keyboard. QWERTY keys are quite small so I do make mistakes; this is a problem with all touchscreen phones. A stylus might help. I wouldn't write a thesis on the phone, but I do update my facebook status, check email, run searches, send text msgs, no problem.
- Lack of Gmail or POP/IMAP support. You can use the phone's email software for Yahoo, Hotmail, a few others, but not Gmail. You can download Gmail's user-friendly app which works great except...see #5.
- Fingerprints like you wouldn't believe. It's ok, though. No one's looking that closely.
- Limited # of bookmarks allowed. Irritating since AT&T forces some useless ones on you that you can't delete.
5) About apps. One thing I love about iPhone is the ability to download a gazillion useful apps. For Vu, there are a few apps available, all with monthly subscription fees, from AT&T. Bleh. Here's the thing. The Vu has a lot of untapped programming potential. It supports Java, which theoretically could give you functionality pretty close to an iPhone's; you can find non-iPhone mobile apps all over the internet. But AT&T, no doubt to protect the iPhone's market position & higher-priced plan, has placed an annoying Java security feature on the Vu so that when you run a 3rd-party app (i.e., one AT&T didn't sell you), you get an annoying permission screen at every turn. If you go to www.lg-vu.com, you can find detailed instructions (even video) for how to hack your Vu to get rid of this feature, as well as delete all the trial version apps and other nonsense that are on the phone. I'm working on this--haven't succeeded yet, but others have, so I'm hopeful I'll eventually get it. Meantime, I downloaded gmail and googlemaps (free apps) and I put up with the security feature. Doesn't prevent me from using the apps; it's just annoying. Happily, there are lots of mobile websites optimized for phone use, everything from shopping to news to lolcats, so you can do quite a bit even without apps. You do not need an app to use facebook or twitter or to look up movie times, gas prices, or weather, or watch youtube (it's blurry).
So if you really want an iPhone, get an iPhone. If you know the limitations of the Vu and nevertheless think it meets your needs--esp. if you just want a good phone (no internet/apps)--I think you'll be very happy. This is a really nice device. Just don't expect it to be an iPhone.
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