I purchased a Chocolate phone by when it first launched, and can speak from experience as to how well it works. While there are other reviews that discuss the phone in detail, most were written off of first impressions rather than from practical experience. The following review examines how well the phone holds up over time.

Functionality

Cell phones should live and die by their functionality. If they don't work, people won't use them. Fortunately, the new Chocolate phone by LG manages to avoid all but minor problems in this category over time.

The Chocolate phone by LG uses a touch sensitive interface. Four light up directional buttons and a central "OK" button are the main tools. There are also two selection buttons, a phone button, and a return button on the front. The phone speaker is located at the top of the face plate. The microphone is located at the base of the phone. The music speaker - a key issue of the phone - is located on the back. There are also side buttons - not touch sensitive - for the camera, music, volume, speaker phone, and ending a program or call. The phone slides easily to reveal the keypad without feeling like it's going to break.

The new Verizon interface takes some getting used to (months in my case), but the Chocolate phone by LG helps ease that transition. There are six major menu categories: My Music, Get It Now, Messaging, Contacts, Recent Calls, and Settings & Tools. The menu is easily accessed with the "OK" button and scrolled through using the touch sensitive face plate. The big issue is the sensitivity of the buttons. While adjustable, there isn't much difference between the most and least sensitive settings, resulting in program choice mistakes.

The sound for the music component of the Chocolate phone by LG is very strong, and a head phone jack is included with purchase. However, a memory card and music transfer software are options, not standards.

The screen is clear and easy to read. The camera takes great photos, but poor quality video. Video playback is also less than ideal. Newer function such as VCast Song ID are still buggy months after release. There are also significant inconsistencies in downloading content. Sometimes it will go straight to the Chocolate phone by LG's memory, sometimes you will have to actively retrieve the material at a later time.

Durability

If there is one big issue with the Chocolate phone by LG, it is the durability. The casing is strong and unlikely to break, but the screen scratches far too easily. Just from taking it out of the box, I wound up with a giant scratch right down the middle of the screen. More have consistently appeared all over the screen through time. There are no cases yet that can attach to the phone for protection. The only options, months after release, are small fabric sacks and holsters.

The covers for the memory card and charger port are difficult to close properly. They are held on by clear, flexible plastic straps that appear to be weak. In fact, two months after purchasing the phone, one of these straps for the charger port actually snapped.

The battery casing is difficult to remove, which is a plus. If you drop the phone, it will not fall off and cause problems.

Conclusion

The new Chocolate phone by LG delivers basic functionality well, but falls short on fulfilling the promises of style over time. Your brand new candy colored phone may look great in the box, but expect a lot of difficulty in keeping it that way over time.

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