LG Xenon GR500 - Blue (Unlocked) Cellular Phone

I got my unlocked Rogers LG Xenon GR500 for a great price. I've never owned a Keypad and Touch Screen before, and I love everything about it!!! This phone is more than just a phone, it's like a PDA!!!

I mainly wanted a phone so I could write down quick notes. The keypad is very small, the keys are close to one another, but after practicing with it for an hour, I'm used to it now! I did hit the Internet Browser key twice though because it's right next to the letter "A".

The phone has a Tools menu with TONS OF USEFUL STUFF!!! It has a tip calculator, unit calculators of all kinds (Like converting Fereignheit to Celcius, or centimers to inches, etc) and lots more! The Camera ain't so bad and it has a flash. But it's terrible for photographing moving objects... I tried photographing my cats and if they move, they will appear blurry.

The touch screen is great, but they made several buttons a little too small! Like for example, if I want to shut down an application in the task manager, I have to press a little "X" on the right of the task, but the "X" button is so small and right next to the vertical navigation bar! Half the time I end up just scrolling down instead of closing the application. So annoying. Because the touch screen ain't no iPhone, but for the price the Xenon is worth, it's actually quite decent... but LG screwed up the GUI! If only some buttons were bigger and weren't next to other touch sensitive objects, I wouldn't be having that problem!

Also, this is a Rogers cell phone, and i'm with Fido! But I just read a few forums and I was able to fully setup Fido's internet services throughout the whole phone and now everything works perfectly! It's just weird because it always says "Rogers Network" whenever I open the Internet browser but it ends up loading the Fido network instead. :)

The phone itself, when used as a phone is AMAZING!!! I read another review where the person said my voice quality is just like a real phone! Like people would call me and they won't even realize i'm using a cell phone... THE QUALITY IS AMAZING!!! No static, no digital robotic voice... it's perfectly clear!!! It also blocks out lots of background noise! As a test, I had metal band Slayer playing off my computer speakers at a fairly loud volume, I made a call, and the person on the other end could barely make out what music I was listening too!!! As an actual phone device, this is truly the best phone I have ever owned!

The only disappointment is that Rogers purposely blocked all application installations via USB, Bluetooh or memory card! This means you can't download MP3s or JAR games, copy them onto your device and install it or use as a Ringtone! Only AT&T and Fido Xenons are not branded like this. Rogers branded theirs! GRR!!! If I had known Rogers did this to the the Xenon, I probably would of paid a bit more for an AT&T Xenon or Fido Xenon.

But I shouldn't complain too much... doing such things are illegal anyways, and I got my Rogers LG Xenon for an awesome price, so i'm not too disappointed. But if you're someone that wanted to play free JAR games or use your own free MP3s as a ringtone, do NOT get the Rogers version of a Xenon! There is no firmware and no way to unbrand the device! Get the AT&T or Fido one! Don't get the Bell one either, Bell pulled the same stunt as Rogers did!

For a resonable price on a great phone, I can recommend this phone. I have never had a battery last longer than the one in these phones. I keep an extra phone around "just in case" and I check to make sure someone else in the family has not walked off with it. It slides easily. The e-mail option is easy to operate. I love the camera's clear pics.

had a phone like this 3 phones ago, miss it so much i wanted one back, i just have not seen any as good as this although it only a 2g for photos its the only one that comes with a flash, and has so many other things, i not into the whole smart phone thing for the price, if i am force to get a smart phone i think i will just go back to land line and let people wait on me to get back to them, big brother dont need to know everything. O ya my last lg was so durable but the semi was just too much, but the sim card is still working. I also had the Impression it too was ok, but found it to freeze up at times. had the impact and just hated it, last one was 100 pick up and go touch but it was so junkie before my 90 days was up the screan crack and was not under the warrenty, that did it i wanted my xenon back.

Phone was good for a while than the screen stopped responding to touch, u could still use the keyboard and the screen looked fine,, but, one is not able to interact with the buttons on the screen. I purchased this on to replace another like unit witch failed to charge the battery anymore. It is possible that the phone was put through a rough environment.

I've had the LG Xenon GR500 for about 2 weeks and I love everything from it. When I first started the phone,it automaticly guided me through the features on the touch screen and assisted me to set it up. The touch screen is quite responsive and the touch buttons are well sized and have a good tactile feel making easy to press. Calls are clear. Bluetooth is good.I'm glad to see that it has a micro USB port for charging and connecting to a computer. The charger recharges phone very quickly and last pretty long. It has a great 2-megapixel camera with an LED flash taking pictures either way. Camera quality is pretty good for the megapix. I love the different effects and settings for pictures, and that you can edit. The sliding keyboard may look small but for me, I find it easy to type in especialy texting with a good tactile feel. The web browser works fine which I usually use surfing craigs list, ebay and checking my emails. Touching the screen helps make the view bigger. So far I am well satisfied.