LG Dare Cell Phone Review
By Alfredo Padilla
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
Published on July 17, 2008
The LG Dare is Verizon's latest touch screen offering, coming hot on the heels of the LG Voyager and Samsung Glyde. The Dare is the best of the bunch so far. A rather squat block, the phone has three-inch touch screen display with three button arranged below it. The Dare also packs in a 3.2-Megapixel auto-focus camera, GPS, and high speed data on Verizon's EVDO network. The Dare is available for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
The Dare doesn't use the same BREW interface that most Verizon phones use. Instead, it uses a custom, touch screen-oriented interface, which is very intuitive and has a lot of customization options. While the interface features a lot of animated items, we didn't see any serious slow down. Like most touch screen phones, dialing a number on the Dare is a bit slower than average since there are no actual buttons to use. This also means you can't dial by feel: you have to be looking at the phone.
Although the Dare will compete with smart phones like the iPhone 3G or Windows Mobile devices, it is not a smart phone itself. This means its organizer features are generally no better than those found on most standard phones. You get contacts, calendar and notes, but don't expect to be able to manage a busy schedule on the Dare. Similarly the email features are almost non-existent. You can check web-based email or pay for Verizon's add-on email client. There's no support for synchronizing anything with your computer.
Text and picture messaging on the Dare is typical fare, except for changes made to accommodate the touch screen. One particular annoyance is that the on-screen QWERTY keyboard is very inaccurate and difficult to use. The virtual keypad supports predictive text and is much easier to use. The Dare's web browser was something of a disappointment. Like many modern mobile browsers, it boasted the ability to browse full web pages just like a computer. In practice, it was extremely difficult to click on links and the browser interface felt slow.
Multimedia is a strong point for the Dare. In particular, the software very fast to load both video and music. The interface for both was generally straightforward, but we did find ourselves occasionally unsure of where to go in the music software to get back to our list of songs. The Dare supports direct download of music from Verizon's V Cast music store, which tends to cost more for each song than rival stores from carriers like Sprint or the price you'll pay online from iTunes.
The Dare supports Verizon's high speed EVDO Rev A network, with maximum speeds comparable to a DSL connection. It also provides very good Bluetooth support, including support for wireless headphones. There is no support for Wi-Fi. The Dare is locked to Verizon's CDMA network, which is widespread in the U.S. Unfortunately CDMA is not generally used overseas, so the Dare is not a good choice for world travelers.
Performance
Read the full lab performance results at Wirelessinfo.com.
The LG Dare's audio quality was generally good, with only a slight bit of clipping to high-pitched voices. The audio sent by the Dare was more problematic. Lower voices will be depressed while higher voices will be exaggerated. Side tone, the small amount of your own voice that the phone pipes back into your ear so you can judge how loudly you are speaking, was just a slight bit too low, but nothing that should cause concern.
One of the Dare's most intriguing features is the 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera. We found the quality of photos taken by the Dare's camera to be significantly better than your average cell phone, particularly in terms of resolution. Color was a slight bit off, but judicious use of the Dare's extensive options should help you adjust to your scene appropriately. The Dare also takes very good video for a cell phone, with a nice extra feature that allows you to capture slow motion video.
Battery life was one of the Dare's strong points. Despite running on a battery-hungry, high-speed network, we were able to manage five hours, thirty-eight minutes of talk time on the Dare: significantly above average. Music playback time was even more impressive at over sixteen hours and web browsing lasted for almost six hours. Most users should have no problem getting through a couple of days moderate use or a full day's heavy use on the Dare.
Comparisons
Read more in-depth comparisons at Wirelessinfo.com.
As with any touch screen device, the LG Dare will inevitably be compared to the iPhone 3G. Although the iPhone feels like a more polished device and is an advanced smart phone, the Dare comes off very well in a comparison. In particular, the Dare's battery life was as good or better than the iPhone 3G and the camera is far superior. The Dare is also the best of Verizon's touch screen devices that we've reviewed, with a much better interface than the LG Voyager and a much more responsive touch screen than the Samsung Glyde. If you're looking for the best touch screen device on Verizon's network today, the Dare is it.For a more in-depth review, visit the LG Dare Review at our partner WirelessInfo.com
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