Cheap LG Vu CU920 Phone (AT&T)

Amazon.com Product Description
Elegantly and simply designed, the LG Vu CU920 for AT&T features a stunning 3-inch touchscreen that provides excellent viewing of AT&T's new Mobile TV offering, which allows you to watch TV-quality programming from Comedy Central, ESPN, Fox, NBC, and more. The Vu CU920 even comes with a TV antenna that can be extended for optimal TV reception. This quad-band GSM phone also runs on AT&T's dual-band HSDPA/UMTS high-speed 3G network, making it easy to download music purchased from AT&T Mobile Music's partners Napster and eMusic.

The intuitive touchscreen controls makes it easy to navigate through all the features of this power-packed phone, which also includes a 2-megapixel camera that can be used with AT&T's Video Share service, multi-format digital audio player, and downloadable games. Other features include Bluetooth connectivity for communication headsets and stereo music streaming, microSD memory expansion (up to 4 GB), access to email and instant messaging, and up to 3 hours of talk time.

Enjoy AT&T Mobile TV on the LG Vu's brilliantly colorful 3-inch interactive touchscreen.

AT&T Service Options
This AT&T phone can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas. The AT&T 3G network uses the dual-band UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900 MHz network (also known as WCDMA), making it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services with speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. It also gives AT&T the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it's fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and email on the go. You'll also enjoy quad-band GSM connectivity, which allows you to make calls in more than 190 countries and access data applications in the more than 135 countries where AT&T offers international data roaming.

With 3G connectivity, you'll be able to access AT&T's Video Share service, which enables you to send a live, one-way video stream to another compatible phone during a standard voice call. The service also allows you to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. (Customers must be in an area served by the company's 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.)

You get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the go, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, stream music video, discover what's playing with Music ID song-recognition software, and find out what's hot with The Buzz music news portal. And it has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send emails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.

Note that if you want to enjoy the full audio and video capabilities of your UMTS phone, be sure to select a MEdia Max service plan option during checkout. If you do not sign up for a MEdia Max service plan option, you will be paying per KB when you use the over-the-air UMTS audio and video features on your phone (upwards of $10 per minute).

Choose from a wide assortment of channels from AT&T Mobile TV.

AT&T Mobile TV
AT&T Mobile TV with FLO is a revolutionary video service that delivers full-length television content and sporting events from top networks to your phone while you're on the go. Joining with MediaFLO USA's award-winning FLO TV service, AT&T Mobile TV with FLO provides an intuitive program guide that makes it easy to flip from one channel to the next. The service includes more than 150 simulcast and/or time-shifted programs, as well as live sports events, from CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, MTV, NBC 2GO, NBC News2Go and Nickelodeon. Additionally, the Mobile TV service includes two channels exclusive to AT&T users:

PIX, from Sony Pictures Television, offers a variety of contemporary films, including comedies, cult classics, action films and family favorites from the studio's vast library.
CNN Mobile Live provides users with access to 24 hours of breaking news with live streaming anchored coverage from CNN.com Live as well as CNN's most popular programs, including American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN Election Center, Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360°, and CNN International.

AT&T provides several packages for accessing Mobile TV, and it offers parental controls that provide content filtering and purchase blocking on your phone so that you can restrict access to content that may be inappropriate for younger viewers.

The intuitive navigation lets you quickly move from one function to another.

Phone Features
With a focus on simplicity, the LG Vu CU920 has a large 3-inch interactive touchscreen that's accompanied by a minimalist scroll bar design. The touchscreen provides vibrating haptic feedback so you know that you've pressed a button, and it includes a screen lock to prevent unwanted key actions. The phone also includes three hard keys--send, clear, and power/end--right below the screen. It comes with 155 MB of internal memory and it can be expanded using microSD memory cards up to 4 GB in size. The phone book has a capacity for 500 contact entries, each with space for storing 5 numbers, 2 email addresses and a picture ID.

This phone also shines as a mobile digital music player, with compatibility for MP3, WMA, AAC, and AAC+/eAAC+ files, customizable equalizer, playlist creation and management, and large capacity storage via MicroSD memory cards. Synchronize music from your PC (including music files from online services such as Napster and eMusic) via USB 2.0. The phone also offers USB mass storage capabilities for storing your most important documents and files.

This phone provides Bluetooth version 1.2 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, object push, file transfer, and audio/video remote control. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server. Send contacts, calendar events, and pictures/videos/voice memos wirelessly. The phone stores up to 20 Bluetooth pairings.

Snap great photos and videos on the go, for printing at home or sending via MMS.

The 2-megapixel camera offers five resolution settings--from 1600 x 1200 pixels for prints to 160 x 120 pixels for sending via MMS--and it features a 2x digital zoom, multiple shutter tones, night mode, multi-shot capabilities, self-timer, and customizable brightness, and white balance. An in-phone photo editor lets you resize, crop, rotate, and add color effects. You can also shoot video clips at 320 x 240 and 176 x 144 pixels. You can keep shooting for as long as you have space on your microSD card, or cap the length at 42 seconds for sending via MMS.

In addition to voice calls, text messaging, and MMS capability, the phone is also compatible with mobile email from services including Yahoo!, AOL, Windows Live, AT&T Yahoo!, and BellSouth, as well as instant messaging (IM) from AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo!. The Vu also comes stock with a built-in web browser for downloads and mobile web browsing via MEdia Net (with WAP 2.0, WML, iHTML, xHTML, and WCSS compatibility). T9 text entry, which is a technology that makes it easier for entering text on handsets, is built into the unit--a plus for mobile email and text messaging users.

Other features include:

Speed dial (8 entries, plus 1 voicemail default)
Speaker-independent voice commands
Voice memo recording
11 unique ringtones with vibrate and silent modes; real music ringtone support
Flight mode for listening to music and watching video with the phone functionality turned off
USB charging via computer and mass storage capabilities
Java 2.0 support for downloadable applications and games
PIM tools: Calendar, alarm clock, notepad, calculator, tip calculator, world clock, tasks, stopwatch, unit converter
Bluetooth profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures)

Vital Statistics
The LG Vu CU920 weighs 3.16 ounces and measures 4.25 x 2.16 x 0.51 inches. Its 1000 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 250 hours of digital standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as AT&T's 850/1900 MHz 3G frequencies (UMTS/HSDPA).

Customer Reviews

Clearing up mis-reviews
First, unlike a few of the reviews, I actually 1) own the phone and 2) waited to do the review. I like to know what I'm talking about when I review a product.

There's not much to add in the area of Pros and Cons. Everyone's just about covered the:

Great Screen, a little dim in full daylight, but very responsive.
My call quality is better than my HTC Tilt, reception better as well.
QWERTY keyboard is fantastic.
Very snappy interface.

The Cons that people are mentioning:

Battery life. Any 3G phone has a reduced battery life.

Here's how to turn off 3G on the Vu if you don't plan on using it.

1. Dial 277634#*# on the keypad to access the Test Menu
2. Select Modem Settings
3. Select Network Mode
4. Select Network Mode (again)
5. Select what bands you wish to be active. (select 2G if you want to make the 3G searching stop. This is what reduces battery life.)
6. Press the Clear/Back button until you return to the main screen

Shutting off 3G just about doubles the battery life. Also, someone said there is no charging indicator, that's wrong. It's right on the screen. Hopefully someone will make a hack to give percentages.

Good Phone But Not Quite a 5 Star Winner....Yet!
Good Phone But Not Quite a 5 Star Winner....Yet!

I love Samsung phones and really haven't been impressed with LG's lineup whatsoever. So i've opted to stay away from any of their phones, up until now. They definitely seem to be churning out the phones at a more rapid pace then their competitors and they even come up with very clever designs. But as unique as the designs are it never seems to come close enough to get the cigar or win me over.

The LG VU920 (Includes TV feature) which the LGVU915 doesn't. I purchased the LGVU920 from Radio Shack one day when i was browsing and only did this because the phone was free. To my surprise after playing with it in the store i was actually pleased. The phone comes with ear phones which the 915 doesn't. Also the 920 has a TV feature which lets you watch TV In real time but only has a few channels at this time and it will cost an extra $15.00 per month for the TV data plan.

The phone is actually very easy to use. The touch screen is pretty solid but doesn't operate as fluid as the iPhone. But it does come pretty close. The touch screen has haptic feedback so whenever you touch an option it will vibrate a little to confirm the selection. The one thing i liked most about the iPhone was that you could watch YouTube video clips. Another shocker was so can the LGVU. Once again it's not as crisp & sharp as the iPhone but it's just as good. The iPhone does have one of the prettiest & sharpest screens on the planet but it will suffice. This phone also has many features that the iPhone doesn't. For one you can send MMS & Video Messages. Which is something the iPhone can't do and still can't do even with the new release. The phone also has a camcorder feature which the iPhone doesn't. I was hoping for a 5.0 mega pixel and above but will settle for the 2.0 standard that seems to be dominating the US. The poor battery life which everyone is complaining about is true. The phone is super thin so i didn't expect the battery life to be that long. Then again all my other flip phones seem to last the same amount of time as the LG VU. So, i'm not sure what other phones everyone else had before this, but my usual battery life on a cell is about 2 days with minimal use, internet, talk time, messaging, etc. I have a few complaints as well. The ear phone's are not 3.5MM so you can't just plug in any old ear phones. The ear phone slot is also where the charger jack is so you cant do both at the same time. For some strange reason the phone can not be on and charged at the same time, which is beyond annoying. Also when it's charging there is nothing that appears on screen to indicate if it's fully charged or not, which is another annoying flaw. But your best bet is to get a spare charger to carry around with you. Another complaint is that the Micro SD slot is located underneath the sim card so it's another nuisance to have to lift the back casing in order to access the SD slot. The phone also includes a full HTML browser so you can see websites as they would appear on your computer screen. Don't expect the Safari browser on this device but its pretty good none the less. Also you can use a stylus cause peoples fingers do tend to be a bit larger & can hit accidental keys by accident. You also get a full qwerty keyboard in landscape mode for sending text & MMS which the iphone doesn't have. The design is also the same material used on the Samsung Blackjack 2 (Black) so it does attract a lot of finger prints. Aside from those minor flaws here is to hoping the next model is leaps and bounds above the already fantastic LG VU. Overall i am very pleased with my purchase and for free, who can complain?

It's no iphone but at least it's insurable...
Theres a lot I could write, but I'll simply list the pros and cons....

Pros:
*Touchscreen works EXTREMELY well
*Super lightweight
*Plastic Screen (trust me this is a plus if you drop your phone.. the iphone has a glass screen therefore breaks easily)
*You can use a stylus although I recommend a screen protector if you do
*Great reception
*Volume is loud
*Mobile TV works well

Cons:
*No 3.5mm headphone jack ( I can't even begin to explain how annoying that is for a so-called MEDIA phone)
*No Flash on the camera
*At&t fills the phone with tons of applications and other stuff that you can't delete
*Battery life is pretty awful
*The phone doesn't come with much extra... no usb cord... no real internal memory... and no headphone adapter
*The web browser definitely needs to be improved especially once you ZOOM

All in all I was tempted to return this phone, but since I have a job where my phone goes through a lot of abuse, the simple fact that this phone is insurable unlike the iphone was enough for me.