Cell Phone Models

The Blackberry 8520, codenamed “Gemini,” is the latest addition to the popular Curve family. The Curve 8520 is intended as a well equipped, but entry-level device that comes in at a slight step below the Curve 8900. In more ways than not, the 8520 is effectively the 8900 trapped in a different body.

Hands-on

Arguably the biggest departure from the rest of BlackBerry’s lineup is noticeable at first glance. The traditional trackball that has graced most every BlackBerry in recent memory has been replaced in favor of an optical trackpad that provides the very same functionality.

As a big BlackBerry trackball fan, I’m sad to see it go, but admit that the trackpad works just as well (though you may have to crank the sensitivity up for a little more pep). Unlike me, those that have had their trackballs break on more than one occasion may take to the streets in celebration.

The Curve 8520 has the standard volume rocker and app launcher keys, defaulted to voice commands and camera as usual. The volume rocker and convenience keys, however, are enclosed in the same rubbery plastic that surrounds the mid-section of the device. As RIM has made a great habit of, the 8520 includes a standard 3.5mm headphone jack and micro-USB port for charging and synching.

On the back of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability. Unlike the Curve 8900, the 8520 does not have a flash. You’ll also notice that the charging connectors found on the back of the 8900 are not present on the 8520, making the device incapable of drawing juice from a desktop charger.

Messaging

The Curve 8520 offers BlackBerry’s standard email and messaging prowess. The device’s QWERTY looks and feels almost identical to that of the 8900. Both keyboards are a bit clicky, but offer adequate spacing between keys and a satisfying tactile feedback. There’s support for enterprise email as usual, as well as capacity for up to ten additional IMAP, POP, or popular web email service accounts from providers such as Gmail, AOL, Yahoo and Windows Live. Of course, you can download and view most email attachments on the 8520. The handset is also pre-installed with 6 instant messaging clients, including BlackBerry Messenger, AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and Windows Live Messenger.

Entertainment & Browser

With its newest BlackBerry, RIM has elected to cater slightly more to the media-hungry consumer, adding media controls to the top of the device. There’s a track advance and back button, as well as a play/pause button that also doubles as the mute key. The device has 256MB of on-board memory, but is expandable with support for a microSD card.

Pre-installed games include BrickBreaker, Texas Hold’Em, Sudoku, Klondike and Word Mole. The device also features support for BlackBerry App World, which provides access to thousands more games and applications for the handset.

Like every other BlackBerry of its generation, the 8520 is equipped with a full HTML browser. Pages are navigated using the trackpad to control an on-screen cursor. Of course, pages can be zoomed in and out on the accommodate the device’s screen size.

Wireless

While some purportedly higher end BlackBerrys soldier on WiFi-less, the Curve boasts the ability to browse the web and email over a WiFi network. The handset is also equipped with Bluetooth v2.0, with support for profiles including stereo (A2DP), headset, hands-free, serial port, SIM access, dial up networking, A/V remote control, and phone book access.

User Interface

Running BlackBerry OS version 4.6, the user interface on the Curve 8520 is standard fare. Expect the same minimalistic but sleek interface as found on the BlackBerry Curves, Bolds, and Tours of the the world.

The Bottom Line

Sure, the Curve 8520 is being billed as an entry-level device with an appealing sticker price, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less of a BlackBerry. The lack of 3G is a disappointment, and the absence of some of the bells and whistles like a camera flash and GPS is to be expected, but the 8520 will surely satisfy anyone looking for BlackBerry’s renowned messaging power along with a solid media experience.

The BlackBerry Tour 9630 is, at long last, almost here. The device, originally codenamed ‘Niagra,’ is effectively the next generation of the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak at the Tour, and we were impressed. The Tour, as its name suggests, connects to CDMA and high-speed 3G EVDO networks at home as well as EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks overseas.

The device’s impressive feature lineup includes a full HTML browser, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus, a camcorder, GPS capabilities, support for up to a 32GB microSD card, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and Stereo Bluetooth. (more…)

It seems like every few weeks I open up a paper (I know, so 20th century of me) or browse to a major website where I am greeted by a big, bolded headline that begs the question: Is [insert name of new device here] the iPhone killer? I make no efforts to conceal my dislike of the term “iPhone killer.” In fact, I’ve made every effort to avoid any serious use of the term in the past. Yet, after my time with the Palm Pre, I am willing to make a bold statement.

At long last, there may be the makings of an iPhone killer on the loose. To be sure, the Palm Pre has its fair share of first generation hiccups and disappointments, but with sleek hardware, superior multitasking abilities and a touch driven operating system that undoubtedly rivals (read wins over in many ways) that of the iPhone, Apple will finally have to begin thinking defensively if it is to maintain its dominance in the touch screen market. (more…)

We waited. We tried to document the excitement … and finally … we got it.

Here’s the Web’s first professional unboxing of the iPhone 3G S.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux4-W1PS9WA

Meet the Motorola Rival.  The Rival looks cute and cuddly – and my psychedelic purple demo model (also comes in a “Tin Silver” that isn’t so loud) is the epitome of what you would imagine a 14 year old “Texting Tammy” clutching 24/7.  Looks can be deceiving, however.  And this maxim certainly rings true with the Rival.   This QWERTY slider packs a surprising amount of power, and would not only thrill your teenage daughter, but would please anyone looking for a phone with a long list Smartphone-esque features that also comes at a smart price.

Look and Feel
The Rival is short and stocky.  Weighing in at 4.4oz, its heft is pleasing and alludes to the possibility that the Rival may be much more than meets the eye.  The phone is about three fourths of an inch thick, and about 2 inches wide and only 3.8 inches tall.  It’s sure to fit comfortably in a pocket, and can even slip into a small purse, or even a wristlet (yeah, I’m up the lingo).
The phone either has a black body with purple lining, or a silver body with red lining.  The front is home to a nice and bright 2.2 inch, 65k color screen that also boasts some touch functionality reminiscent of higher-priced Smartphones (more on that later).  There’s also a send key that brings up a recent calls menu, an end key that returns you to the home screen, a back key, a key that brings up an on-screen dial pad, and a four-way navigation key.
On the left of the phone is a volume up and down rocker that, when not in-call, is used to set the phone’s profile (silent, vibrate, loud, etc.).  A button below the volume rocker activates the speakerphone.  A miniUSB port for syncing and charging can also be found on the left, along with a fastening slot that allows the Rival to be hung around your neck or fastened to a wrist band.  On the right is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a key lock button, voice command key, and dedicated camera key.  A 2.0 megapixel camera/camcorder can be found on the back.
Sliding the Rival open reveals a nicely laid out full QWERTY keyboard with plenty of shortcut keys.  There’s a dedicated key for text messaging, another for mobile instant messaging (the Rival supports AIM, Yahoo!, and Windows Live Messenger), and even a key that brings up a menu of emoticons (OMG!).
User Interface
When open or closed, the Rival is navigated with the same four-way directional key and a centered select button.  Some menus and features are also navigated by tapping either the right or left of the screen.  In both portrait mode or with the keyboard open, a pair of bright white dots illuminate to indicate where on the screen to press to select a given menu item.  At the home screen, for example, tapping the left dot opens a messaging menu, while the right dot opens the contact list.  The main menu and sub-menus are intuitive lists that allow for quick navigation and access to settings and applications.  The four-way directional key can be customized to provide shortcuts to frequently used applications and features.  Pushing left, for example, launches the browser by default.
Features & Performance
Phone & Voice Commands
The dial pad button on the front of the Rival opens a touchable, on-screen dial pad that worked flawlessly.  The phone even vibrates slightly as you enter each digit.  The Rival’s phone book has room for up to 1000 contacts, with spots for five phone numbers, and two email addresses.  Of course you can also associate a picture and ringtone with each contact.  The Rival also supports Verizon Visual Voicemail ($2.99/month).

The Rival is also equipped with full-fledged voice command functionality.  You can speak the name of a contact or a phone number to call, say the name of a menu or feature to open it, or even speak the name of a playlist to begin playing it.  Unfortunately, however, the Rival does not allow you to speak the name of a song or artist and jump to it.

Messaging
Although it no doubt holds its own when it comes to many other more advanced features, the Rival is still a messaging device at heart.  With dedicated messaging keys, a messaging interface built for speed with multiple recipients in mind, and the ability to sort and navigate text messages by conversation or time received/sent , the Rival is an easy-to-use messaging machine.  The phone also supports Mobile Email ($5/month) for convenient on-the-go access to email from most major online providers as well as IMAP and POP accounts – without the hassle of having to use a web-based interface.  I gave Mobile Email a try with my Gmail account, and was pleasantly surprised.  I was even able to be alerted when new messages arrived (albeit not immediately as would be expected from a BlackBerry, for example).

Web Browsing
For a phone of its ilk, I was happy with the mobile browser.  It was great for browsing mobile pages (such as CNN’s mobile edition), and page loads were speedy over Verizon’s EVDO network.  The Rival will do a great job with basic mobile browsing needs such as reading news or checking the weather, but with a small screen and limited mobile browser capabilities, don’t expect an experience comparable to that of a true Smartphone.

Media
A microSD card slot can be found under the back cover, and supports up to an 8GB card for plenty of space for most music lovers.  The media interface was a little cumbersome to navigate, and took a couple seconds to load, but no major qualms.  Expect the usual feature set – the ability to create custom playlists, enter shuffle mode, or repeat a song over and over.  With a standard 3.55mm headset jack, there’s no need to purchase an expensive set of special headphones.  The Rival supports VCAST Music with Rhapsody for downloading music on-the-go (songs are $2 a pop) as well as VCAST Video (streaming access to full length popular TV shows, music videos, and other entertainment).

Camera/Video
The Rival has an onboard 2 megapixel camera and camcorder. It’s without a flash or self portrait mirror.  Photo and video quality was mediocre to be sure.  Images in bright sunlight were sometimes washed out, and indoor images were often dark and blurred — even if the phone was kept absolutely still while the photo was being taken.  The Rival is fine for the occasional memory, but don’t expect digital camera quality.

Bluetooth & Extras
The Rival has full Bluetooth functionality, supporting Headset, Handsfree, Dial Up Networking, Stereo, Phonebook Access, Basic Printing, Basic Imaging, Object Push for VCard & VCalendar and File Transfer profiles.  The Rival also supports VZ Navigator ($2.99/day if you find yourself lost with nowhere else to turn, or $9.99/month).

The Bottom Line
With its functionality and advanced feature set, the Rival well…rivals many other more expensive devices on the market in everything but price.  It’s a strong messaging phone that incorporates more advanced features such as a full-featured media experience, voice command, Mobile Email support, and a camera with some extra goodies – all in a small and attractive package.  Whether you’re fifteen or fifty, the Rival is a great buy for the wireless shopper that wants it all but doesn’t want to shell out the big bucks.

Pick up the enV3 at Wirefly now!

If competition in the cell phone market is war – and it is, particularly this month with the release of 28 hot new phones – call the LG’s trio of phones coming out in June brothers in arms. The middle brother, if you will, is the enV3 – falling in between the Glance and enV Touch in price and feature load.

The enV3 has only a slight facelift as compared to the enV2, but is packing a fully enhanced feature set that looks alone wouldn’t hint at. The enV3 comes armed with a 3 megapixel camera/camcorder and a full HTML browser, as well as improved external navigation and internal keyboard layout. LG’s enV3 is a superior messaging phone that could certainly outgun much of its competition.

View a quick unboxing and video tour of the enV3

Look and Feel
The enV3 is a wide, rectangular device with a flat dial pad and small screen that make it reminiscent of a pocket calculator. Sure, comparing a cell phone to a pocket calculator isn’t necessarily flattering – but the enV3 is sleek in its own right. Its unique shape can be better understood by popping the hood to reveal a nice, full QWERTY keyboard responsible for the enV3’s messaging muscle. Open or closed, the enV3 feels sturdy and good in the hand.

With the exception of a silver four-way navigation key gracing the front of the enV3 and a one-touch contacts button instead of what was formerly a music button, the phone is nearly a carbon copy of the enV2. On the front of the enV3 is a small 1.6” moderate resolution TFT screen that provides the usual notifications as well as access to an abridged menu. Defined shortcut keys include access to contacts, voice commands (holding the same key down for several seconds accesses voice memo), key lock, and vibrate mode. The four-way navigation key can also be user defined to allow quick access to most of the phone’s features and applications, including text messages, Bluetooth settings and music. The dial pad consists of four wavy bars that, while effective, would have benefitted from being slightly raised above the phone’s body for easier dialing.

Flipping the enV3 open, you are greeted by a crisp and clear 2.6” screen, with two speakers at either side. The internal screen supports 260,000 colors, and will surely please the visual connoisseur. A new and improved full QWERTY keyboard features a key that provides one-touch access to call or text your 10 favs. Another such key gets you right into text messaging so you aren’t waylaid by a second when that burning need to text your B.F.F. (read best-friend-forever) arises. The keyboard is spacious, and keys feel satisfying when pressed.

On the left of the phone is a volume up/down key coupled with a camera button that will open the camera application or snap a picture. On the right is a microSD slot that supports up to a 16GB card – plenty of room for that overflowing music library. There’s also a 2.5mm headphone jack. If you don’t have a 2.5mm pair of headphones (shocker), it may be a good excuse to go pick up a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones. The enV3 supports stereo Bluetooth.

Like the enV Touch, the enV3’s hinge allows it to open to either a laptop-esque slant or fully flat. I preferred it to be fully flat when responding to a text message on the fly, but tilted like a laptop if I was browsing a web page while sitting at a table or desk.

User Interface
The enV3’s interface was fairly basic and intuitive – core features such as messaging and music were well integrated and easy to get at externally or with the device open. The small external screen provides access to most basic applications and functionality, but any advanced task such as creating a playlist or sending a text message to multiple recipients had to be performed with the enV3 open to its internal screen. Access to more advanced applications such as VZ Navigator (available on the enV3 for $9.99/month or $2.99/day if you find yourself up a river without a paddle in the middle of nowhere) or VCAST Music or Videos required also, not surprisingly, required the substantially larger and sharper external screen. The phone’s graphics and animated menu icons were easily identifiable and appeared sharp on the internal display.

I had no problems navigating the enV3’s menus and applications. The phone was quick and responsive, and I experienced no hang ups or freezes, even when trying to overwhelm the phone by opening multiple menus and applications in quick succession.

Features & Performance

Phone & Voice Commands
Numbers or contacts can be dialed from either the external dial pad or internal numerical keys. Opening the phone while in-call activates the enV3’s speakerphone. The speakerphone was impressive – loud and clear, with callers reporting that they could hear me well. The enV3’s phone book supports a generous 1000 contacts with space for 5 phone numbers, 2 email addresses and one physical address. For an additional $2.99/month, Visual Voice Mail is supported on the enV3.

The enV3 is equipped with a comprehensive Voice Command functionality. Pushing the ‘CLR’ button from the home screen activates Voice Command, and you can then command the enV3 to dial a contact or number, access a menu item (Bluetooth for example), or even start playing a particular song from your music library. My success rate with Voice Command was far from perfect, but in general the feature worked pretty well as long as you spoke loudly and clearly.

Messaging
The enV3 is billed as a Messaging Phone. And its internal QWERTY keyboard, dedicated messaging key, and well thought out messaging interface is sure to please the avid texter. When open, new text or MMS messages automatically bring up a screen allowing for multiple recipients to be added – just start typing the name of a contact, and a drop down list of stored contacts will allow you to easily select a recipient and shoot off a new text. Messages can be displayed by conversation or time sent/received.

The enV3 supports Verizon’s Mobile Email ($4.99/month), offering access to most popular web based email services as well as IMAP and POP accounts. It’s not going to rival the experience of a true email equipped Smartphone, but will satisfy anyone who wants casual access to email on the go. If you need casual access to a corporate Exchange account, an application called RomoSync is available for $9.99.

The phone is also equipped with Mobile IM, offering on-the-go chat through AIM, Windows Live Messenger, or Yahoo! Messenger.

Web Browsing
With the exception of a couple hiccups, the full HTML browser on the enV3 is among the best available on a phone built for messaging. The browser interface is intuitive and easy to use, with the ability to zoom in and out on pages, perform a search for text on a page, or even subscribe to RSS feeds. The browser opens to what Verizon has termed the Dashboard Mobile Web, which offers quick access to news, weather, and sports as well as portals to games and other entertainment. For browsing other sites, you must then launch Mobile Web which by default loads a screen called VZW Today. For the most part, sites rendered nicely and in about 10-15 seconds with a decent EVDO connection. Detracting from the superior browsing experience, however, is the oddity that the browser requires surfing to a Verizon page to enter in a new web address – a process that quickly becomes frustrating when visiting multiple web sites.

Media
With the capacity for up to a 16GB MicroSD card, the enV3 can accommodate plenty of music and pictures. The enV3’s music player interface takes no major departures from that of its peers, providing a simple player that displays any album art associated with a track as well as, of course, song title, artist, and album. Custom playlists are also easy to create. Songs can be downloaded from V CAST Music, or downloaded from your computer using the provided sync cable. V CAST Video also offers a wealth of streaming and downloadable video entertainment, ranging from music videos to episodes of many popular TV shows.

Camera/Video
Although a slightly unsteady hand was almost sure to result in a blurry picture, image quality on the enV3 was pretty decent. The camera allows pictures to be taken in six different resolutions (2,048×1,536, 1,600×1,200, 1,280×960, 640×480, and 320×240 pixels), and provides a host of customizable settings including shutter sound, white balance, a self timer, and 4 color effects settings. There are also 4 included shot modes – Smile Shot (detects smiles and automatically snaps a picture), Panorama (string together multiple images), Intelligent Shot (automatically changes settings based on conditions for best image quality), and Dual Display (activates external screen for self portraits). The enV3’s camcorder allows for 30 second video clips to be taken in two resolutions (320×240 or 176×144). While the quality was OK, it paled in comparison to the stellar performance of the enV Touch’s camcorder.

See images taken with the enV3: Image 1 | Image 2

Bluetooth
Supported Profiles include Headset, Hands-Free, Dial-Up Networking, Stereo, Phone Book Access, Basic Printing, Object Push, File Transfer, Basic Imaging, and Human Interface Device.

Conclusion
The enV3 is a powerful device all around – sporting strong multimedia features, an enhanced camera, and one of the better mobile web browsing experiences available on a phone of its kind. And, after all, the enV3 is designed for messaging – and in that realm it naturally doesn’t disappoint.

The enV3 is available for a great price at Wirefly.com.

The LG enV Touch is the successor to the company’s popular Voyager model, and the new age version of the original enV VX 99000 that debuted in 2007.  And with an updated and sleeker design and interface, 3.2 megapixel camera/camcorder with flash and autofocus, full HTML browser, and support for a litany of Verizon services, there’s plenty for the Touch’s older siblings to be envious about.  The enV Touch delivers a supreme media and messaging experience, and while it’s unfortunately lacking WiFi and support for VCAST TV, LG’s enV Touch is sure to win the hearts and minds of Verizon subscribers longing to reach out and touch a new generation of the company’s folder-style lineage.

Pick up the LG enV Touch now @ Wirefly for a great price!
Click here for a quick unboxing and video tour

Look and Feel
At first glance, it’s the Touch’s luxurious 3” external touch screen that stands out – and with a crisp and vibrant 800×400 pixel resolution, it should.  Flipping open the Touch reveals a twin 3” non-touch TFT display.  The enV Touch is about 4.5” long and slightly more than 2” wide, weighing in at a brawny but fit 4.92 oz.  At nearly .7” deep, the Touch is slightly bulky like its brethren – but hey, it’s packing a very nicely spaced QWERTY keyboard with a couple nice shortcut keys and four-way navigation key.   And it stills slides into a pocket or purse quite nicely.

The front screen is surrounded by a sleek and shiny metallic frame, and the only 3 buttons on the front of the phone are the nice dark brushed metal Send, End, and Back/Voice Command keys.  On the left side of the Touch is a camera button, volume key, and quick key lock button.    On the right is a microSD slot that supports up to 16GB as well as a standard 3.5mm headset jack for your media listening pleasure.  A 3.2 megapixel camera with flash set in a pretty classy grooved metal backing graces the back.  A Micro USB jack can be found on the bottom, and also serves as the charging port.

The internal display is surrounded by a pair of stereo speakers.  The keyboard on the other side of the device features shortcut keys for quick access to Messaging, Favorite Contacts, Vibrate Mode, and Voice Commands (doubling as the space bar key), with two navigation keys at the top.  Keys are slightly raised and feel good when pushed, making typing a message a pleasure.

The enV Touch’s hinge allows it to open to either a laptop-esque slant or fully flat.  I preferred it to be fully flat when responding to a text message on the fly, but tilted like a laptop if I was browsing a web page while sitting at a table or desk.  Each to their own.

User Interface
An aesthetically pleasing interface with some well thought out features made the enV Touch easy if not fun to navigate. After sliding up to disable the key lock, you are greeted by a fully customizable home screen.  Tapping an arrow at the right of a screen brings up a tabbed menu with Shortcuts and Media.  Shortcuts can then be dragged and dropped into the home screen and arranged however you want.  A customizable time widget can also be dragged to anywhere on the screen.  Across the bottom of the screen are icons providing quick access to Messaging, Phone, Contacts, Favorites, and a full menu where all applications and settings can be reached from.

The Touch is quick and responsive, and I didn’t experience any freezes or hang ups during my time with the phone.  The screen is a resistive touch screen – meaning that unlike some popular touch screens that shall remain nameless (ok, *cough*, *cough* iPhone), the Touch requires some pressure be applied.  To be sure, there is a slight learning curve, particularly for a veteran iPhone user such as myself.  But after a day with the phone, I was cruising around without issue.  The enV Touch also provides a very slight vibrating feedback confirming that an action has been performed.  Reading that you may be thinking that that would get annoying after awhile, but it’s actually quite satisfying.  If you disagree, or want to control the sensitivity of the touch screen, never fear – there’s plenty of customizable settings on the Touch.

Although the Touch is not the first in its family to feature the ability to navigate menus, play music, and make calls through voice commands, it’s still worth mentioning.  While the voice command functionality still often made mistakes, and you really have to speak up for the phone to recognize your voice, the ability to make a call or launch the music player, for example, was great – particularly while driving.

Features & Performance

Phone
When closed, making a call on the Touch is achieved through a good sized on-screen keypad. You can also easily launch voice dial from the dial screen. The phone book supports up to 1500 contacts, with multiple phone numbers, 2 email addresses, and a physical address.   Visual Voice Mail is available on the Touch, but requires a $2.99 monthly subscription.  The speakerphone can be activated by opening the Touch while in-call, or dialing a number from the internal keypad.  The speakerphone on the Touch is among the best I’ve seen, with calls coming in nice and loud with good clarity, and callers reporting that they could hear me well, even if I were standing several feet away. 

Email & Messaging
The LG enV Touch continues in its family’s tradition as a phone built for the heavy texter.  And it delivers.  Text messages can be grouped in a folder by contact, or can be sorted in sent and received folders by time.  T9 text entry can be used for a quick text without opening the phone, or of course the Touch can be opened to continue banging out a message from its formidable keyboard.  And to those who admit to occasionally reading a text message while driving, you can ease some of that guilt with the Touch’s text-to-speech functionality that will read a received text message aloud while you keep your eyes on the road.

Verizon’s Mobile Email ($4.99) is also supported, giving mobile access to most popular web based email services as well as IMAP and POP accounts.  I set up Mobile Email with my Gmail account and the experience was decent.  It’s not going to rival the experience of a true email equipped Smartphone, but will satisfy anyone who wants casual access to email on the go.  For corporate users with Microsoft Exchange accounts, the phone also supports a service called RomoSync.   The Touch also comes equipped with a mobile document viewer with support for .pdf, .doc, .xls, and .ppt files. 

Web Browsing
The enV Touch comes loaded with a full HTML browser.  Alas, the enV Touch doesn’t have WiFi, but with a decent connection to Verizon’s EVDO network, page loads were usually pretty snappy (10-15 seconds).  Most pages rendered just fine on the Touch, although there was the occasional cut-off or malformed table.  I became pretty comfortable with the Touch’s zoom feature, and liked the ability to search for text on a page.  Oh, and the Touch’s browser supports Flash.

Media
With its crisp 3” display, stereo Bluetooth, support for VCAST Music with Rhapsody and VCAST Videos, and memory expandable up to 16GB with a microSD card, the media experience on the LG enV Touch rivals any phone on the market.  Although I would have liked to see one touch access to music, navigating your music library is pretty intuitive and reminiscent of most media setups complete with album art and the like.  It is possible to create playlists that can be accessed from the My Media tab of the pop out menu for quicker access.  When a song is playing, a media bar appears on the home screen that displays the name of the song playing and an equalizer, as well as a pause button.  Tapping the bar brings the media application back up.

Camera/Video
The Touch’s 3.2 megapixel camera/camcorder with flash and auto focus doesn’t disappoint, and offers some great features.  The camera can be quickly accessed with the dedicated camera button on the left side of the phone.  Once the camera application is open (a quick two seconds after hitting the camera button), tapping the center of the screen will bring up an array of options ranging from flash settings to white balance, color effects, and resolution.  Resolution can be changed between a crisp and impressive 2048×1536 to a still decent 640×480.  Tapping an on-screen button in the upper right switches to camcorder mode.

The camera also offers a number of innovative camera modes.  My personal favorite was the Name Card Reader mode.  Take a picture of a business card, and the Touch will process the image and create a new contact that automatically imports the card’s readable information.  This may sound like one of those features that sounds great, but inevitably doesn’t really work.  But with a basic business card without fancy fonts, I was pleasantly surprised.  The camera also offers an Intelligent mode that alters settings based on surrounding conditions – and does a pretty decent job of it.  There is also a Panorama mode, Facial Makeover mode, and Smile mode (automatically takes the picture when smiles are detected:).  The Touch is also armed with a self timer.

The flash is bright, and great for objects that aren’t too far away.  Images taken were crisp and clear, and video was great quality for a cell phone camera.

View images taken with the Touch: Image 1 | Image 2

View a video taken with LG’s enV Touch’s Camera

GPS
The enV Touch supports VZ Navigator – and GPS software works just as well on the Touch as any stand alone GPS I’ve ever used.  VZ Navigator is available for $9.99/month, or $2.99/day if you don’t have a subscription and find yourself lost without a clue.     

Conclusion
The enV Touch deserves its name.  This sleek and well equipped folder phone certainly impressed, and will indeed inspire some envy among its peers.  It has a responsive and sharp external touch screen, great internal QWERTY keyboard, impressive camera, and a strong media and web browsing experience.

The LG enV Touch is available at a great price from Wirefly.com.