Following the popularity of the LG enV, LG strikes back with three primary upgrades in its LG enV 2 sequel for Verizon Wireless: it’s “smaller, slimmer and sleeker”.
While the LG enV 2 looks in its closed state as bland as popcorn tastes without butter, it flips open in the middle to become a more powerful force. A full QWERTY keyboard makes it ideal for fast text messaging and mobile email.
Along with a full keyboard, LG has taken fast SMS messaging (as seen, for example, with the AT&T Quickfire) another step forward with advanced features like automatic text readout, message sort and the ability to store up to 300 text messages.
While the LG enV 2 touts a “larger” internal display screen size of 2.4 inches, the size still isn’t nearly as large, for example, as the 3.5-inch multi-touch screen on the iPhone 3G from Apple.
Also unlike the iPhone 3G or Samsung Instinct, the enV 2 doesn’t have a touch screen.
A decent camera does come with the LG enV 2, though, along with a music player and a microSD memory port for up to 8 gigabytes of storage.
At 5.3 hours, the LG enV 2 has a longer-than-usual rated talk time. At 4.23 ounces, though, the handset is a bit heavier than some might prefer.
Price
At $179.99 with a required two-year Verizon Wireless service contract, the LG enV 2 doesn’t price out as a budget cell phone. While an online discount of $50 helps to bring the cost down to $129.99, the enV 2 still doesn’t make it under the $100 barrier.
The handset is priced in the middle of the range of comparable quick-messaging phones.
Full Feature List
# Full, compact QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
# Large, 2.4-inch internal screen
# Auto-complete feature for picture, video and text messaging
# Music player
# Sync music from your PC to the phone
# microSD memory port with up to 8 gigabytes of storage
# USB mass storage
# 2-megapixel camera and camcorder
# Image editor (rotate, zoom and crop)
# Text, picture, video and voice messaging
# Mobile instant messaging (IM), mobile Web 2.0 and voicemail
# Download games, ringtones and more
# CDMA technology
# One-touch speakerphone (via the internal keyboard)
# Voice commands and menu readout
# High-speed EV-DO data transmission
# Hearing aid compatibility: M3/T3
# TTY compatible for the deaf and hard of hearing
# Camera resolutions: 1600x1200 (default), 1280x960, 640x480 and 320x240
# Video resolutions: 320x240 and 176x144 (default)
# Stereo Bluetooth for short-range wireless communications (i.e. for a wireless headset)
# Highest FCC-reported SAR (radiation) rating: 1.34 at the head and 1.27 at the body
# Internal LCD display screen: 260,000 colors, 320x240 pixels, 2.4-inch screen
# External LCD display screen: 260,000 colors, 160x64 pixels, 1.45-inch screen
# Handset insurance is available
Battery
LG has done the enV 2 right with 5.33 hours (or 320 minutes) of rated talk time. On the other hand, 520 hours (or 8.66 days) of rated standby time (when the phone isn’t in use at all) underwhelms.
Size, Weight
The LG enV 2 measures in at 4 inches high by 2.13 inches wide and 0.65 of an inch in diameter. The phone weighs in at a slightly heavy 4.23 ounces.
Differentiation in the Marketplace
The LG enV 2 competes on price and features with other quick-messaging phones such as the AT&T Quickfire, Pantech Matrix C740, Pantech Slate C530 and Samsung A767 Propel.
On price, the LG enV 2 doesn’t beat most of them and some phones in this handset class. Moreover, neither does the LG enV 2 deliver one particular design or other market-leading feature where the handset can be exclusively differentiated.
While its advanced messaging features (like automatic text readout and message sort) have the right idea, the enV 2 hasn’t taken its marketplace differentiation far enough.