My LG Dare Review: Is the LG Dare Worth It?
The LG Dare is a new contender in the touch screen phone market - and a part of Verizon's new lineup. Is the LG Dare really worth your money? I bought the LG Dare and tried it out for a week. Here's my conclusion!
LG Dare Specifications
Need-to-know specifications of the LG Dare:
- Size: 4.1" H x 2.2" W x 0.5" D
- Weight: 3.8 oz.
- Battery Life: 4.7 hours (talk time), 360 hours (standby)
- Screen Resolution: 240 x 400 pixels
- Camera: 3.2 Mpx
- Network: 3G
A Foreward
For the past two years, I've been using a Motorola RAZR V3. Ignoring the many complaints of its "slowness," I proceeded to choose the RAZR with my last plan, which was a 2-year contract with Verizon. I've found my Verizon service to be great - while the RAZR was, indeed, slow as hell.I'm not one who needs the best thing on the market, but have adapted to the point where I can't settle for a sub-standard phone. Being fortunate with a newer, better job - I can now afford to throw around a little cash here and there, and embrace the better things in life - including a bigger, better touch screen phone. I've tried the iPhone once, which was my first experience with touch screen telephony. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of its high monthly service plan ($70 at a minimum, so I'm told), and a better alternative was needed.
In the not too distant past, I came across several TV commercials for the new touchscreen LG Dare. I read up on the Dare, and sifted through at least a dozen review sites and videos, and was surprised to see that it had positive reviews across the board. It ultimately led to my getting the LG Dare LG-VX9700 - so, here's my review!
LG Dare 180° View
Verizon's LG Dare TV Commercial
LG Dare Commercial from Verizon
2008 ad for the LG Dare phone from Verizon.
curated content from YouTube
LG Dare: The Out-Of-Box Experience
The first thing that strikes you about the LG Dare is its size - it's really tiny! At 4" x 2.15", this certainly is no "brick." The screen size itself measures in at about a smidgen more than 1.5" x 2.5". As you may have already known, the LG Dare has no buttons or keyboard of any kind - everything is touchscreen-based (sans the volume up/down, camera shutter button, cancel/call/microphone buttons). Thankfully, the antenna is internal...which means, one less thing to break if you accidentally drop the phone.Remember the days when new cell phones came complete with a car charger and wired earpiece? Those days are long gone - you'll get neither with the LG Dare (I hadn't gotten these with my old RAZR, either). I suppose that with the bad economy come cutbacks in production, too. You'll want to be sure not to forget a decent case with belt clip, as you won't want to scratch or drop your bare Dare. You'll have to separately pursue all of these on your own, as the peripherals sold through Verizon are all listed at top price.
After its first charging session is done, the fun begins. Turn on the LG Dare by pressing and holding the "cancel" button on the lower right. If you're a Verizonite, you'll see the standard "evil corporate welcome graphic," and the phone will be up and running in no time. Sure beats that huge lag my old RAZR had!
My Verizon Plan
- LG Dare phone
- Nationwide Select 450 anytime minutes, free nights & weekends, free service to other Verizon users
- Unlimited text/pic/video messages
Service Price: $59.95/mo
First Time Touch Screen User, Eh?
About the initial learning curve:
Things get a little tricky if you've never used a touch screen before. A little bit of panic sets in, when you realize the sensitivity of any touch screen in general, and have to adapt to its behavior. I actually did not like the LG Dare after I started using it for the first time, until I gave it a few more hours of usage and really started to get into it.
One of the most impressive (and most difficult to get used to) features of a touch screen device is "finger sweeping." If you have a long list of contacts, poke and hold your finger down on the LG Dare, and sweep upwards to see the list spin like the vertical wheel from The Price Is Right. The frustrating aspect for first time touchscreeners is that you have to hold your finger down authoritatively, and sweep the screen in confidence...or else, you'll make a selection instead of performing a finger sweep.
Being a first time touch screen phone owner myself, I wondered "won't this thing constantly be making selections on my belt clip while I'm walking around?" There's a feature where the LG Dare will "lock" after several seconds of inactivity. You'll have to manually unlock the screen by first pressing a button (such as the call or cancel buttons), and then tapping the little "lock" icon on the screen. This prevents errant or random selections from happening while the phone is in your pocket or on your belt. It gets very annoying when a call comes through, and you can't answer it until you unlock the screen, though! The locking feature can be turned off, of course.
One of the most impressive (and most difficult to get used to) features of a touch screen device is "finger sweeping." If you have a long list of contacts, poke and hold your finger down on the LG Dare, and sweep upwards to see the list spin like the vertical wheel from The Price Is Right. The frustrating aspect for first time touchscreeners is that you have to hold your finger down authoritatively, and sweep the screen in confidence...or else, you'll make a selection instead of performing a finger sweep.
Being a first time touch screen phone owner myself, I wondered "won't this thing constantly be making selections on my belt clip while I'm walking around?" There's a feature where the LG Dare will "lock" after several seconds of inactivity. You'll have to manually unlock the screen by first pressing a button (such as the call or cancel buttons), and then tapping the little "lock" icon on the screen. This prevents errant or random selections from happening while the phone is in your pocket or on your belt. It gets very annoying when a call comes through, and you can't answer it until you unlock the screen, though! The locking feature can be turned off, of course.
LG Dare Interface
It's pretty easy to get used to the LG Dare's interface. Working much like your standard handheld Windows application, everything you need is located a touch away on the bottom menu of the main screen: text messaging, phone/contacts, options, and "favorites" (which is kind of a play on the "My Fives" feature, where you can store your most called buddies). On this same note, you can assign photographs to callers on your list, so that their pictures show up when they call. Those pictures can also appear within your "Favorites" section as mini Polaroid-styled thumbs, which you can drag anywhere on the screen.
There's a little triangle with a curved arrow on the right-hand area of the LG Dare's screen. Tap it, and a full menu pops out, with all of the phone's major functions in icon format. You can actually poke and drag these icons directly to your phone's desktop for quick access. I dragged over the "text message" and "camera" icons, since I use both of them frequently.You can customize your LG Dare's desktop not only with pictures, but also with animations. The ones that come with the phone are majorly cheesy, and you'll probably not want to use them. Of course, if you'll want alternatives, they'll cost you...nothing is free anymore, after all.
I was initially excited to see that the LG Dare came with a USB cable - thinking that I could simply plug it into my PC, and see it appear as an external device, in which I can freely drag and drop pictures and sounds to and from the phone, via Windows. That is not the case, however. You'll also have to perform these actions with some monetary contributions, if you know what I mean.
Text Messaging on the LG Dare
One thing's for sure - if you're going to buy an LG Dare, it would be ludicrous to *not* get the unlimited text messaging plan. This phone was built for texting, as it offers two means of doing so: text using the standard numerical keypad (i.e., press "2" twice to make a "b") or tilt the phone sideways as the screen flips over and turns into a QWERTY keyboard, iPhone-style. I don't know about you, but I was pretty unhappy when I didn't have a texting plan, and wound up paying a steep $0.20 cents per text sent AND received.
Note that the QWERTY is basically useless unless you're using a stylus. Unless you have the fingers of a 5-year old, you'll probably never get the hang of tapping keys with direct hits each time. Don't even THINK of using your thumbs, either! This is the downfall of the LG Dare's tiny on-screen buttons. Regardless, I'm so used to numerical key texting, that I would will have used it over a larger screen with a keyboard, anyway!
There's actually a handwriting recognition feature similar to that of the Palm Pilot, where you can write in print or script and have your handwriting convert over to regular text, if you would rather use that method to send text messages.
Note that the QWERTY is basically useless unless you're using a stylus. Unless you have the fingers of a 5-year old, you'll probably never get the hang of tapping keys with direct hits each time. Don't even THINK of using your thumbs, either! This is the downfall of the LG Dare's tiny on-screen buttons. Regardless, I'm so used to numerical key texting, that I would will have used it over a larger screen with a keyboard, anyway!
There's actually a handwriting recognition feature similar to that of the Palm Pilot, where you can write in print or script and have your handwriting convert over to regular text, if you would rather use that method to send text messages.
Talking on the LG Dare
There's not a whole lot to say here, but the clarity and reception of my LG Dare has been exceptional so far. I had constant issues with my RAZR being completely unable to maintain more than one or two bars, but have had full reception with the Dare. It's usually difficult to judge whether this is a service or a phone issue, but it appears to have been a phone issue in my prior case.One of my favorite features of all time is how the LG Dare's screen will light up if you move it away from your face during a conversation. It's a great way to check on what time it is without having to press a button to illuminate the screen while a call is in progress. Bring the phone back to your ear and the screen goes black again, to save power.
When you're done with a call, simply tap the red button to hang up, and a closing screen will blink your call's total time, before reverting back to the desktop. All of your calls and their times are logged in its respective menu, as well as missed calls.
Taking Pictures & Video with the LG Dare Camera Function
It's pretty refreshing to take pictures on a phone that is "all screen," like the iPhone or LG Dare. You get a big, unmistakable view, rather than a matchbook-sized preview on a clamshell phone. LG Dare features an auto-focus feature. Press the shutter authoritatively and quickly so that the phone can accurately focus in on the subject you're taking a picture of, and take a picture of it. If you hold the shutter button down, the phone goes into video mode, which can be annoying if you're trying to take a quick shot.
(LEFT: A segment of an image I took with the LG Dare. Not edited in Photoshop. The original size of the image was 2048x1536 pixels)
The 3.2 mpx camera with flash is a decent upgrade from anything else I was ever used to, in regard to a camera's phone feature. However, it is no substitute for your commonplace Sony CyberShot, nor should you expect it to be. Pictures in low light without the flash or with shaky hands turn out muddy and smudged. Be sure to hold the phone with both hands, and hold your breath for the moment while pressing the shutter briefly (this is commonplace photography 101).
As with most phones these days, you can take video footage...however, the LG Dare does it in one of three resolutions of your choice: 176 x 144, 320 x 240, or 640 x 240 in 120 frames per second, and up to 470 Kilobytes. Your YouTube account will thank you!
Videos also come out nicely, considering you're not using a camcorder or commonplace digital camera with 30-second video clip functionality. Sending off video clips to someone else's phone from your LG Dare may take awhile to arrive, although I've found that sending it to an e-mail account is much more of a quick delivery. Both audio and video quality is desirable enough for your blog.
(LEFT: A segment of an image I took with the LG Dare. Not edited in Photoshop. The original size of the image was 2048x1536 pixels)The 3.2 mpx camera with flash is a decent upgrade from anything else I was ever used to, in regard to a camera's phone feature. However, it is no substitute for your commonplace Sony CyberShot, nor should you expect it to be. Pictures in low light without the flash or with shaky hands turn out muddy and smudged. Be sure to hold the phone with both hands, and hold your breath for the moment while pressing the shutter briefly (this is commonplace photography 101).
As with most phones these days, you can take video footage...however, the LG Dare does it in one of three resolutions of your choice: 176 x 144, 320 x 240, or 640 x 240 in 120 frames per second, and up to 470 Kilobytes. Your YouTube account will thank you!
Videos also come out nicely, considering you're not using a camcorder or commonplace digital camera with 30-second video clip functionality. Sending off video clips to someone else's phone from your LG Dare may take awhile to arrive, although I've found that sending it to an e-mail account is much more of a quick delivery. Both audio and video quality is desirable enough for your blog.
Random Stuff I Like About the LG Dare
- The stock battery is pretty decent. I had a 2.5 hour conversation (4 hours being the maximum stated time that a fully charged battery can last during talk time) and ended off with a still fully-charged, full-bar battery.
- If you're talking to someone and hold the phone away from you, the screen automatically lights up so that you can see it. It's a nice touch, and I wish my old phones had done the same, rather than my having to press one of the volume buttons to make the screen illuminate. Bring the phone back up to your ear, and the screen will fade to black to conserve battery power.
- Contacts on your list are sorted by alphabetical order. There's even an A-Z list at the top of the contact screen, in case doing finger sweeps is annoying to you...although, it's so tiny that you might need a stylus or at least a pen cap spike to use it.
- Texting is made easy with a little button on the lower left side of the text screen, enabling you to sift between all caps, no caps, numbers and symbols. Unlike the RAZR: if you select the symbol or number screens, the screen will not immediately revert back to the lower-case screen after your first selection.
- Each touch of the screen is immediately responded to with a very faint vibration under your fingertip. It's a really cool little feature that not only ads to the tangible aspect of your five senses, but lets you know of correct finger hits to the screen.
- I love the calendar - you can store events within it, and have them "chime in" on cue. It would have been especially awesome if it could synch with my Google Calendar account, but I guess we can't expect to have it all.
- The LG Dare itself has about 150 MB of storage for your photos, saved message information, and everything else. It's pretty difficult to fill up quickly, and you can always buy a separate memory card to expand it.
- Can't say it enough: the LG Dare is the perfect substitute or alternative of the Apple iPhone. It's 'Verizon's iPhone,' for sure. Even the screen fonts and scrolling lists look similar!
- There's an extremely handy tip calculator function (separate from the standard calculator feature) that is a huge help. Drag it to your LG Dare's desktop if you frequent restaurants or use taxis.
- I get good usage out of the trusty Alarm function on trips away from home. Just set the time, and it rings on cue. It's a great backup if you don't trust your hotel's alarm clock.
Things I Don't Like about the LG Dare
- There's no contesting the fact that it can be difficult to "hit targets" on the screen with your fingertip. For 100% accuracy, use a stylus. However, certain buttons - especially the "back" button on the upper left corner of most sub-screens, is annoyingly hard to successfully touch without two or more tries. For better results, use the tip of your fingernail.
- It would have been nice to drag and drop files to & from my PC, via the supplied USB cable - much like how my Nikon digital camera works. I suppose that's just laziness, but it would have been a nice feature.
- I'm not sure whether to blame Verizon or LG for this, but the phone is jam packed with fruity stock images that cannot be deleted. It's just an annoying waste of space.
- One extremely annoying thing you'll have to put up with is when someone calls or texts you while you're typing out a text message. The incoming call/text screen immediately pops up while you're typing, and the likelihood that you'll press a button by accident on that screen is very high!
- For a $300+ phone, it would have been nice to at least get a standard car charger, it really wouldn't have killed LG to include one!
- There's no doubt about it, the standard ringtones and other sound effects SUCK. I'm fairly certain this was done on purpose to get you to subscribe to your phone carrier's online network of downloadables (like Verizon VCAST). I was never and never will be a ringtone fanatic, but there aren't even any simple ones worth using. The standard "Donk!" noise of touchscreen hits will get old really fast - I recommend turning it off entirely.
- You'll see options like "extras," "games" and more - which are completely empty by default except for a "connect to online store" option, where you'll have to whip out the credit card (see the aforementioned "VCAST" reference). It would have been cool to have at least ONE game on there, out of the box.
- You can sync your personal email account with your LG Dare. It's great if you're a Hotmail, AOL or Yahoo Mail user...but, if you're a Gmail fan like me, you're SOL. I'm going to chalk this one up to corporate sponsorships with Verizon.
- This may very well be a downfall of all cell phones, but the LG Dare tends to drain its battery very quickly in areas where it's difficult to find a signal. I recently spent a week in a rural area where there was barely any signal at all, and my LG Dare's battery went from full to 2 tickmarks within a matter of a couple hours, while idle.
- If you're outside in direct sunlight, the screen is literally invisible, even if you attempt to make a shadow over it with your hand.
The "Nice To Have But Who Cares?!" Feature List
Cell phones today always tend to have lots of options, most of which I personally never use, nor do most other people I know:
- Surfing the net is more tolerable on a touchscreen device like the LG Dare. Note the word "tolerable," as I find using the internet on anything that isn't a computer to be atrocious (although iPhone's "pinch and expand" feature makes it much more enjoyable). The LG Dare does let you browse internet sites in widescreen mode, if you simply tilt it lengthwise. If you're on with Verizon, you can begin using the net at any point (even without a plan featuring internet use), but you'll be charged on a per-megabyte basis. In other words, keep sites like YouTube on the down-low.
- Use your LG Dare as an MP3 player - it comes complete with a headphone jack and a very easy to navigate, Apple-ish interface for your stored songs. I may be old fashioned, but I don't have the need to use my phone as a portable music player, and I certainly wouldn't want to drain my cell phone's battery for the sake of playing MP3s. However, you have a decent & viable option here if this floats your boat!
- The calculator feature has a whole new level of simplicity with your new touchscreen phone. If you ever feel the need to calculate, you'll appreciate it more this time around.
- If you ever manage to remember this, the LG Dare has a voice recorder feature, in case you make lots of "mental notes."
The Verdict
Overall, I'm happy with the LG Dare, and I feel as though I've made a good choice. It's also nice to not have been a total bandwagon jumper and followed the iPhone crowd at the sake of having to use AT&T. There's no doubt that the iPhone *is* the best phone on the market right now, but I personally don't want a phone that does a million things that will drain its battery out - like, be an iPod substitute, a Garmin GPS replacement, a wireless internet device, and a phone on top of all that. I'd much rather have an iPod Touch and a separate phone.Service
While phone service differs from area to area, I've found Verizon to be a great service, overall (it seems as though many have mixed feelings on that opinion, depending on where they live). I have tried everything else, including AT&T, Cingular, T-Mobile and the now defunct VoiceStream, and Verizon is still way on top in regard to reception. Once again -- results may vary. Ask around and see if anyone you know of has the same experiences in your area.
Features
The LG Dare has all the features you want from the iPhone, of course - without the "pinch and expand" function and the iTunes store. The camera is superb and videos are equally fun and easy to take, edit and send. Call quality is fantastic.
Dispelling Doubt & Hype
I've read many, many reviews and did my homework on the LG Dare before making the big purchase. I've found that a lot of the "complaints" people have had were total nonsense, and many if not most of their praises were absolutely correct. If you're coming from brick or clamshell hell and want to step into the world of touchscreen, you will not be disappointed with the LG Dare. While certain things are difficult for adult-sized fingers (such as the QWERTY keyboard, or the A-Z listing on the contacts screen), you can always carry around a trusty cheap pen cap and use the pointy end as a stylus.
In the Long Run...
Looking at things in the long-run (as I usually do), I feel as though the LG Dare will serve my purposes well. I can see this phone being just as much of a novelty in the next couple years, as it has been in the first couple weeks. I'm sure that something newer and more exciting will be out in the next few years, but I've been spoiled enough to know that I can never go back to a non-touch screen phone ever again after using the Dare!
In closing, if you can afford the iPhone's monthly bill, go for it. If you want the next best thing, the LG Dare should be your number one choice!
Going with Verizon? Here's an Important Tip...
Since you don't have a choice with the LG Dare
If there's one thing I've learned in life, it's to never go to one of those Verizon branch stores on the side of the highway. If you're like me and hate high pressure sales situations, and, if you'd like to be left alone while you shop around, buy your phone directly through Verizon online, and check out their special offers section to see if anything's currently available (Samsung/Verizon Wireless has their own online service, too).When you do, you'll be able to pick and choose the options you want, get a statement and contract, and order your phone online. Your phone will arrive in the mail, connected to a phone number, and ready to use (after charging it, that is). There's no better or more convenient way to buy a phone - with salesmen excluded!
The cool part about Verizon is that you'll get the LG Dare for about $170 with a 1-year contract, and substantially less at around $80 with a 2-year contract. With Verizon, there's no reason not to get the 2-year, since they allow you to get a new phone once per year, as a standard customer perk. Other standard features with Verizon are free calls to other Verizon customers anywhere else in the country, as well as free nights & weekends (nights are defined as any time after 9:00 PM).
My Thoughts on the LG Dare...1 Year Later
Wow, it's July 2009 and a whole year since I've picked up the LG Dare. After an entire year of usage, my thoughts about the Dare are basically the same. I've only encountered a couple "issues" -- there are times where I'll open up the text messaging option, and the cursor doesn't blink or move, and will overwrite whatever the current letter is. In order to fix it, I simply power off and turn the phone on again. It tends to happen at the end of the day, after having sent many text messages. Secondly, people who talk to me sometimes complain that they are hearing an "echo." I'm pretty sure that it's an issue on my end, although I'm not a phone techie, and I don't really know if this can be attributed to the LG Dare, or to Verizon itself.
The camera on the LG Dare still rocks - it's great to have such a nice digital camera within your phone, and not have to carry around a Cybershot or some other pocket-sized camera that I'd probably lose somehow.
As for usability - I'm still sketchy on the responsiveness of the touch screen. That little arrow button on the upper left side of the screen for the text message area is so ridiculously hard to "hit" with anything but a stylus. Having owned an iPod Touch, I've gotten a little spoiled with Apple's near mastery of touch screen technology, especially knowing that the iPhone shares that same level of quality. If the iPhone's monthly fee weren't so damn high, I'd get one in a heartbeat. The LG Dare did pique my interest in touchscreen phones, and I'll continue using it for at least another year.
The camera on the LG Dare still rocks - it's great to have such a nice digital camera within your phone, and not have to carry around a Cybershot or some other pocket-sized camera that I'd probably lose somehow.
As for usability - I'm still sketchy on the responsiveness of the touch screen. That little arrow button on the upper left side of the screen for the text message area is so ridiculously hard to "hit" with anything but a stylus. Having owned an iPod Touch, I've gotten a little spoiled with Apple's near mastery of touch screen technology, especially knowing that the iPhone shares that same level of quality. If the iPhone's monthly fee weren't so damn high, I'd get one in a heartbeat. The LG Dare did pique my interest in touchscreen phones, and I'll continue using it for at least another year.
Buy the LG Dare at over 60% off, only through Amazon.com!
If you have a friend, relative or representative who can unlock and help hook up your phone, you can save a great deal of money by purchasing the packaged phone itself!
LG Dare VX9700 Phone, Silver (Verizon Wireless)
Avg. Customer Rating: 
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009) 
More Stuff for Your New LG Dare
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How To Download Pictures from the LG Dare to Your Computer
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The LG Dare has no option out of the box that lets you download your pictures to your computer. Here's an easy little tutorial on how to get it done!
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The LG Dare Case Place
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Since the LG Dare doesn't come with a case, it's the first purchase you'll have to make to avoid the risk of a scratchy screen! Choose from a leather, rubber, hard plastic or gel LG Dare case.
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Must-Have LG Dare Accessories
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So, you've gotten the LG Dare - congratulations! Here comes the fun part - the obligatory (and just plain fun) add-ons that will enhance your LG Dare experience!
by Pixelrage
It's everything you need to know about the LG Dare touch screen phone and its corresponding Verizon plan!
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