LG Shine CU720 User Reviews
Review LG Shine CU720
Edited: Nov 30, 2008, 9:04 PMPhone owned for
I just recently selected an LG Shine when I resigned with AT&T. I choose the phone in Black, as I'm not a huge fan of colored phones; plus, Black goes with everything and looks professional.
The phone feels very sturdy, and the mechanics used for the slide have a strong feel to them; hopefully it will last a good long while (my last phone lasted me 4 years).
I'm not crazy about the 'mirror' that's on the face of the phone, as it seems like it would scrach easily, so I plan on getting a stick on cover to protect it; frankly, I'd rather not have the mirror, but it wasn't an option.
A majority of the navigation through the system menus is performed with the inset 'joy stick' in the center of the phone. This is probably the one feature of this phone I almost cannot stand. It really takes some practice, to get the hang of pushing on navigation joystick just right, as I was initially selecting things I didn't intend to select, and was getting frustrated by it's design. While you can use the numeric keypad on the phone to choose the various menu items, it doesn't make this task any easier. I personally feel if they had made the 'head' of the navigation joystick smaller in size, it might make it easier to push it in the correct direction with a finger. But this isn't a 'deal breaker', just a learning curve.
The LCD screen is excellent. Bright and easy to read, with a large face to it, even with my poor eyesite, I have no problems reading the screen.
The buttons are somewhat difficult to press, since the numeric keyboard is flat. I find myself using my finger nail/tip to push them, so if you plan on doing any serious texting, this phone probably isn't for you; you'd be better off getting something with a keyboard with raised keys.
The charger port is covered by this little plastic insert, which itself, is attached to the phone. Almost immedately, I suspected that over a period of time, the cover might snap off. I'd rather wish they would have inset a sliding cover or the like, but it is what it is.
The phone's OS is easy to navigate, I fairly much had it figured out after an hour. While there is a favorite menu that you can customize, and assign your most commonly used functions, the Navigation Joystick has assigned functionality from the "main page" that, from what I have found, cannot be changed. In other words, when on the "main page", if you push the joystick up, you go into Text Message mode, Right, into IM mode, Left into My Stuff, and down displays Contacts; pushing it straight down, opens a browser. Frankly, I would rather have control over the assignment of that joystick, than a Fav. menu.
The Camera is good, don't know why people expect so much from a phone camera, after all, it is a PHONE and NOT a camera. It takes fairly clear pictures, but as others have indicated, both you and your subject need to be rather still, as the shutter speed is S-L-O-W. But again, it works. I've yet to copy them off the phone to a PC, so I cannot speak to the quality from that stand-point.
Video works fine too, but the resolution puts the video size on the smallish side, but again, it's a phone, not a video camera.
My biggest "complaint" about this phone is with AT&T: because the navigation joystick is so sensative, and because AT&T has peppered the menu system with all sorts of "internet related" options (i.e., Shop Tones, Shop Music, Shop this, Shop that, SHOP SHOP SHOP), if you don't have a data plan, you're going to find yourself accidently connecting at every turn, until you get used to the phone, and configure it the way you like. You cannot disable internet connectivity directly from the Phone, shame on you AT&T, you have to call AT&T and ask them to block internet for you. Again, shame on you AT&T, you and I both know it does NOT have to be that way ... you want to make it difficult for people to not use the internet, so we're forced into a data plan, and that's shameful. I should be able to configure connectivity from my phone directly, without having to drag your support techs into the configuration of my phone.
My personal opinion is that I like the phone overall, I hope that this one can last me 4 years like my last phone.
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