LG Accolade VX5600 – basic one without advanced features

For:

Satisfactory performance; well built; functional feature set.

Against:

The speakerphone call quality is distorted. The camera does not record videos and provides poor photo quality.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

LG Accolade VX5600 is based on CDMA technology that supports dual band of CDMA 800/1900. It has 15MB internal memory and SD memory card slot for external storage. Supported wireless interface is Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR.

1.04-inch external display on the lid has 64×26 pixels resolution, whereas 1.76-inch internal display inside the phone has 220×176 pixels resolution. 1.3-megapixel camera can capture still images in three different resolutions: 320×240 pixels, 640×480 pixels, and 1280×960 pixels.

LG Accolade VX5600 has 1000 mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 460 minutes talk time and 679 hours of idle standby time.

Razzle Dazzle:

LG Accolade VX5600 is 3.56 inches tall, 1.83 inches wide and 0.72 inch deep and weighs 3 ounces. It has gray-blue color scheme and mirror glossy plate on the top of its lid. This glossy plate works as a magnet to capture the smudges and fingerprint. Instead of having plastic skin, the phone gives sturdy feel while taking in hand. Its hinge is stiff.

Inside Dope:

LG has launched most of its quality handsets with Verizon Wireless. In addition, the U.S. market has always praised their long partnership for high-end cell phones such as LG Chocolate Touch and even for basic handsets like LG VX5400. Now, the company has launched the latest – LG Accolade VX5600 again for Verizon Wireless. This phone has good keypad, basic features, 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, dual display, simple flip design and average performance centered towards normal communication. The Accolade VX5600 is free with $50 service agreement from Verizon Wireless. Its unlocked version is available for $159. On the contrary, the speakerphone call quality is poor and the VX5600 does not record videos. The captured photo quality is also not good. If you need a free cell phone with contract from Verizon Wireless, then you can go for new – LG Accolade VX5600.

Design

The camera lens sits above the external display on the lid of LG Accolade VX5600. Voice dialing control, volume control, 2.5mm headset jack and micro-USB port for USB connection and charger is located on left spine. The camera shutter button also sits on the left spine.

Display

1.04 inches external display of LG Accolade VX5600 has 96×64 pixels resolution that supports 65,000 colors. It shows photo caller ID, signal strength, battery life, and date/time. The external display also works as viewfinder for self-portraits. You can change the clock format and backlight time for external display.

1.76 inches LCD internal LCD display has 220×176 pixels resolution that supports 262,000 colors. It shows good pictures and graphics as well as provides easy menu navigation. You can select three menu layouts: icons, tabs, and lists. In addition, you can customize the layout as well.

Navigation Array and Keyboard

The navigation array is comfortable and spacious. It consists of Talk key, End/Power button, clear button, dedicated speakerphone key, two soft keys and four-way toggle with middle OK button. All these controls are a bit raised above the surface. Keypad buttons are spacious and has large backlit numbers with small letters. While testing, we could text and dial accurately and quickly without any mistakes.

Phonebook and PIM features

LG Accolade VX5600 can store 1000 contacts in its phone book. Each contact can save five numbers, one IM screen name, notes, and two email addresses. You can organize the callers in groups and pair individually them with one ring-tone and a photo for caller ID. The basic feature set includes notepad, world clock, stopwatch, alarm clock, to-do list, calendar, tip calculator, 25 polyphonic ring-tones, multimedia and text messaging, and calculator.

The additional highlights of LG Accolade VX5600 are PC sync, USB mass storage, airplane mode, Web-based POP3 accounts, GPS support Verizon Family Locater and VZ Navigator, direct access to Bing Mobile, universal search, speaker independent voice commands, WAP 2.0 browser, and Bluetooth. We like that you can set the Accolade handset to speak out the numbers as you type on keypad.

Camera

LG Accolade VX5600 has 1.3 megapixels camera that can capture still images in three different resolutions. It features 2x digital zoom, noise reduction, night mode, brightness meter, spot metering and self timer, but does not record videos. The camera settings include three shutter sounds with one silent option, four color effects, four white balance settings, and forth.

We captured some still pictures for testing. The overall photo quality was average. The images looked dark and the colors were muted even with good light.

Games

LG Accolade VX5600 does not have any games. However, you can download BREW titles and other options via Web browser.

Call Quality

We made few calls through dual-band based LG Accolade VX5600 via Verizon Wireless. The overall call quality was average. We received loud, clear and natural sound as well as strong signal strength at our end without static or electronic interference. The callers received good sound at their end with few background sounds, but they could tell that we were talking through cell phone.

The speakerphone call quality was poor. Both of us received distorted voices with loud volume. The Bluetooth headset call quality was average. LG Accolade VX5600 compliance the standard of M4/T4 hearing aids.

Battery Life

The battery life of LG Accolade VX5600 is 7.6 hours of talk time and 28.3 days of idle standby time. The digital SAR is 1.01 watts per kg as per FCC radiation tests.

Verdict:

If you are getting the LG Accolade free with your service agreement from Verizon Wireless, then you can go for it. If you are buying its unlocked version, then it is better to look some where else.