LG enV2 Review - Usability & Performance

Usability & Performance

I really enjoyed using EnV2, though I have to say I don’t know how much I’d enjoy having it in my pocket on a daily basis.  I tend to prefer thinner phones and found EnV2’s thickness and hard corners (they’re rounded but only ever so slightly) a little cumbersome.  That said, actually using the phone for everything from texting to talking to GPS-enabled navigation was generally smooth and easy.  The QWERTY board was comfortable, the internal display was big and bright enough to be easily read in all but the brightest conditions, and the phone sounded good on calls and during music and video playback.  EnV2’s two-megapixel camera is capable of capturing still shots and video, but image quality was a bit below average and there’s no flash or autofocus to help matters.

As mentioned, Verizon’s Mobile Email client is kind of lame - especially for $5/month extra - and I’d recommend trying to access your mail via EnV2’s WAP Web browser (or VZW’s own free Webmail site) before signing up for the service.  Speaking of WAP, the Mobile Web browser is definitely a bit limiting if you’re used to getting the full Web on your handset - though it’s just fine for quick news/info updates.  You’ll have to either buy headphones (or a 2.5-to-3.5mm adapter) or use stereo Bluetooth headphones with EnV2 as it doesn’t come with any, and LG also eschewed their regular AC charger in favor of a micro-USB charger here, though that of course comes in the retail packaging.

I tested EnV2 all around the San Francisco Bay Area and signal strength and voice quality were generally excellent.  The phone’s internal earpiece and speakerphone were about average and calls sounded good so long as I didn’t crank the speakerphone up to full volume, whereupon some distortion occurred.  I had no problems pairing the handset to several mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets, and high-speed data access over Verizon’s EV-DO network was quite good.  EnV2 can be used as a laptop modem as well, which is a nice bonus you don’t usually see on a VZW non-smartphone. 

I had a little bit of trouble getting an accurate GPS reading on the phone while inside of my house, but got excellent results out-of-doors both in the East Bay and in downtown San Francisco.  I also found VZ Navigator to be a handy, easy to use service - though the newest build pre-installed on my Glyde loaner offered a few features that the older version on EnV2 didn’t have.  Battery life was on EnV2 was solid, offering a bit more talk and standby time than the Samsung Alias (which has a smaller battery).

 

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