vB Easy Archive - lg cu500 review

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lg cu500 review
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Posted by: cjmedina

i had the lg cu320 and the samsung zx10 now i have the the lg cu500 hspda/utms phones.

im not going to post pics of the phone because there are so many already up.
the first thing i noticed on the phone was the nice screen. the screen is more crisp and clear then the cu320. almost like the samsung zx10 or slvr. the next thing i noticed was the glass display on the outside and inside. ( much like the motorola slvr.) which make the screen much better than it already is.
the next thing i tried was the camera also a improvment over the cu320. if you had the cu320, you will remember the picture not looking so good after you took it. it looked realy fuzzy. you had to press the zoom to make it look clear. well thats no longer the problem. it has a dedicated camera button, in the camera settings you will find 4 diffrent resolutions
1280*960
640x480
320x240
160x120
the video
has 176x220
and 320x240
you can take a picture from the outside screen but not video
the next thing i check was the headphone jack. its just like the cu320 and not taking a standard dual earpiece. ( although a standard 2.5 tip worked but only with one bud i tried 3 diffrent ones all just gave me sound out of one bud)
the mp3 player works pretty good the outside buttons are a plus as soon as you hold down the play button it brings up your mp3 files.
next was ringtones i made my own ringtones encoded at 128 they are really loud i put them on 7 and it was really loud, you can only choose mp3 clips for ringtones. not messages. another note on the mp3 player you have an option to go 3d sound which made it a bit louder. it also has a equlizer.
the next i check was messaging.
yes there is no on board email app. but i use flurry mail ( its a java app but once you get an email it sends you a text telling you have an un read email.)
the text message was ok push the up button and takes you to a new message. the mms is nice if the picture is to big to send( you have 5 diffrent options for setting 30kb 100kb 150kb 300kb) it resizes it.
next was the data
the cingular video was really enjoy able to watch. it wasnt choppy. it was smooth and the lips were in sync with audio.
mobitv and mobi radio are preinstalled with 7 day trials. the mobitv was actually pretty good almost looked like cingular video. mobi radio was nice too pretty loud . it ran smooth no hiccups (im comparing it to my w600 )
i tried orb and it works way better then it did on the cu320. the video was pretty smooth the lips were in sync with audio i watch more then half of old school on orb (it was in 3gp format) i ran some speed test and got an avg og 500k with 128k up not bad (test was tethering to a pc via bluetooth)
the body of the phone is nice. the buttons are real responsive you can feel like you pushed the button. there is a dedicated music button that brings up a menu with 8 diffrent sub menus
1 music player
2 shop tunes
3 music id
4radio
5 music videos ( takes you to the music video section of cingular video)
6 the buzz
7 the community
8 music apps

the other buttons are the basic ones. i like the (maybe) stainless steel back on the buttons
the battery is alot better than the cu320 and huge improvment over the zx10.
the javas apps are kind of a pain with when ever you get data you have prees ok. (probably be fixed in the next firmware, there is an option for downloading a new firmware ota) i have opera mini which works a little better, before on the cu320 you couldnt download a picture from it now you can(yes i had the new opera mini it would say do you give permisson for it to open the browser and would do nothing). i have google maps, flurry mail and some chat app.
the phone calls were really loud like the previous cu320 (if you push 277634#*# and go to modem settings/speech you can take off the half rate amr you can also go 3g only and gsm only) i make a call with my bluetooth headset and surfed the web at the same time worked good(beat that evdo)
nothing else comes to mind at the moment feel free to add more or i will if i remember i posted photos in the mega thread

THESE WERE TAKEN FROM THE MAIN THREAD

Posted by: jbzcar

Great review.

I agree with the majority of your assessments.

Posted by: KlamshellKing

very nice review. not too long, not too short. i think im definitely getting this phone tommorow. but can anyone post some pics of the phone it self? ive only seen that dirty picture and a dummy phone... i would like some pics of the phone though

Posted by: ikoolguy

any downside to this phone

Posted by: Tin Star

Not much I could add as a review except that I've had a lot of phones with this being the first LG but so far I believe it is going to be one of the best if not the best I've had in a long time. I'm impressed with the speed, duh, the volume, ease of operation, call quality...everything damn near perfect..

One thing I haven't been able to do is watch my cable channel through Orb. Am I missing something here?

Posted by: cjmedina

nothing big yet but i have only had it since saturday. the only minor thing is the black housing and finger prints and oily fingers

Posted by: .7

Great review...thanks for taking the time to write it up.

Posted by: xbmods

great review now i guees if your not in a 3g area time to hit ebay

Posted by: xbmods

got this off google

Posted by: cjmedina

Wirelessly posted (whatever the next lines says: LG-CU500 Obigo/WAP2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Oh one more thing. ringtones you can set it to vibrate, ring and vibrate then ring and ring and vibrate at the same time

Posted by: hitechy

I have a weird question. When you have just EDGE or GPRS signal, is that icon above the signal strength bar where the 3G indicator is, or just in the middle of the top bar on the screen?

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by hitechy

I have a weird question. When you have just EDGE or GPRS signal, is that icon above the signal strength bar where the 3G indicator is, or just in the middle of the top bar on the screen?

It is where above the signal strength bar where the 3G indicator is.

Posted by: cjmedina

if im readingthe question right. there is diffrent icons g then the bars e then bars (black) then 3g then bars (blue) there always all the way to the left top/ except when you are in airplane mode then its just an airplane

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

you can take a picture from the outside screen but not video

Mine does take video from the outside screen. I push the button on the side to give me the options. Highlight the record video, push the ok button to record. Worked fine and when I was done I hit the stop record button and it saved the video to the phone just like a regular picture. By the way, excellent review. Thanks very much for all the time you put into it. You are what makes Howardforums a great place for phone idiots like me. I didn't even know there were options on the front like that until I read your review and tried the video thing.

I thought it only worked off the music buttons.

Thanks again!

Posted by: hitechy

Quote:

Originally Posted by squish37

It is where above the signal strength bar where the 3G indicator is.

Thanks for the response. I have another question for anyone. Can CV be viewed in full screen like V CAST , and can downloaded non-streaming videos be viewed in full screen? Thanks!

Posted by: cjmedina

Quote:

Originally Posted by hitechy

Thanks for the response. I have another question for anyone. Can CV be viewed in full screen like V CAST , and can downloaded non-streaming videos be viewed in full screen? Thanks!

you cant watch full screen videos while streaming. but if you download it to card or onbard memory you can go full screen just click options and then landscape, the bars (on the bottom) are not that bad.(its all black now instead of the grey it had on the cu320)

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by hitechy

Thanks for the response. I have another question for anyone. Can CV be viewed in full screen like V CAST , and can downloaded non-streaming videos be viewed in full screen? Thanks!

I tried CV and I could not play it full screen but I tried a video I recorded and if you play it in landscape view it is full screen.

Posted by: s2kvietboi

THOSE ARE MY PICTURES Im PISSED. LOL Jk its okay.

Posted by: hitechy

Quote:

Originally Posted by squish37

I tried CV and I could not play it full screen but I tried a video I recorded and if you play it in landscape view it is full screen.

Cool. Has anyone tried downloading a music video and playing it full screen? I hear you can only keep them for a day which sucks.

Posted by: s2kvietboi

YUP you can only keep them for 24 hours. But dont Sucks so bad quality! i got Lean with it Rock with it, SUKed AS*S.

Posted by: kuj

Can you do any kind of syncing (BT or USB cable) to the computer (PC or Mac)?

Posted by: s2kvietboi

Hey want more photos well this was from my ebay auction i had about a month ago its Really old! but here:

cool huh
Sorry that was my old camera, not good Macro.
BUT i just got My NEW SOnY t-30 so im happy

Posted by: hitechy

Quote:

Originally Posted by s2kvietboi

YUP you can only keep them for 24 hours. But dont Sucks so bad quality! i got Lean with it Rock with it, SUKed AS*S.

So the quality is very bad? Is it choppy?

Posted by: s2kvietboi

yea its choppy and not high REs.

Posted by: Angelsnitch

I know this sounds stupid but I use text messaging a LOT and since switching from verizon, I have not found a phone that has emoticons for text messaging on cingular?? My LG from VZW had them does this phone??

I know silly question but curious.

Thanks!

Posted by: waxhawsam

Yeah like above, more info about bluetooh support, and voice dialing, is it the speaker independent kind??

Thanks!

Tony

Posted by: jbzcar

Quote:

Originally Posted by waxhawsam

Yeah like above, more info about bluetooh support, and voice dialing, is it the speaker independent kind??

Thanks!

Tony

There is no voice dialing.

Posted by: SHoTTa35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angelsnitch

I know this sounds stupid but I use text messaging a LOT and since switching from verizon, I have not found a phone that has emoticons for text messaging on cingular?? My LG from VZW had them does this phone??

I know silly question but curious.

Thanks!

You know those aren't really being sent right? It's just like AIM, it sends the text and then on the other side the AIM program sees the common keystrokes (

) and changes it to the emoticon. So same for the LG, if the person you sending it to doesn't have the same phone that would understand your the codes (not all of them use the same one for smileys) then it would just show the text. So wanting a phone that does that is almost mute.

Posted by: Angelsnitch

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHoTTa35

You know those aren't really being sent right? It's just like AIM, it sends the text and then on the other side the AIM program sees the common keystrokes (

Ok. Thanks. Disappointing, but oh well.

Posted by: jbusa

Can you play music through a bluetooth headset?

Jim

Posted by: Clearest

I'm upgrading my phone sometime in the next month and for the most part I only use Voice / Texting, however I may get a data package sometime in the next year or two, and this LG looks like a nice phone.

I have 3 relatively simple questions about this phone. How are the menu speeds compared to other phones? I am going to be spending a semester abroad starting in January, and is this phone easily unlocked? Is the ear piece volume relatively loud? (Being a college student, its nice to have loud ear piece volume when at parties, etc...)

Posted by: daleaherman

Hi,

Am expecting a CU500 soon and was wondering what

Cable (USB) or BT dongle I should get for syncing or file downloads

I know the phone is MSC compliant for file transfers, but what software for syncing to outlook or other contact managers?

Thanks in advance

Dale

Posted by: waxhawsam

Really no voice dialing? Time for Cingular to get going, jeez...

Posted by: s2kvietboi

Quote:

Originally Posted by waxhawsam

Really no voice dialing? Time for Cingular to get going, jeez...

Not Cingular....LG

Posted by: the_good_doctor

After playing with this LG...I want a 3G blackberry

Posted by: s2kvietboi

3G blackberry sounds nice

Posted by: KlamshellKing

yea, or the tytn. still cant decide between this or the tytn... both are so good. only three bad things about the tytn though price, size, weight. bad things of the lg are, java, no email, and ??... i guess there are a few little things here and there. but do you think teh tytn will be just as good as the LG Cu500 with voice??

Posted by: mush10

Having never owned a LG phone, how is the RF......

Posted by: KlamshellKing

Quote:

Originally Posted by mush10

Having never owned a LG phone, how is the RF......

apparently to these guys its the best ever

Posted by: dcdttu

I've had a V551, V3, and Nokia 6230. this LG easily matches them, if not surpasses them in overall reception. One thing I notice on this phone is that when you do lose a signal (elevator, basement) it is extremely fast in picking up another signal. Also, I had a lot of issues with TDMA GSM in my downtown loft in Dallas. When I'd make a call, or anyone would for that matter, the signal was just awful. With this phone on 3G, it is crystal clear. Anywhere my 6230 could hold a signal, this phone holds it as well. When it is on 3G, I'd say even better because with no signal you still have the call.

Excellent reception. Now, if they'd fix the Java, I'd be happy!

Posted by: cozz36

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcdttu

Excellent reception.

Just what I was looking for. I live in a fringe (not French) area and need good reception. I may order this for my son and give him my Razr I've got coming.

Posted by: WirelessAndy

Call me skeptical... but "good reception" and "LG" is not something I'm used to hearing in the same sentence, given the past GSM offerings.

But boy if it's true, that'll be a nice change.

Is it confirmed that you can an "old" non-3G SIM in this? Or is it a MUST for the phone to work at all?

Posted by: jrhsr

Does the CU500 have a flash for its camera? If not, does it have a brightness control for boosting brightness in low light conditions?

Can you have it default to saving pictures and videos directly to the memory card?

What all can you move to and from the CU500 and a PC via Bluetooth? Only address entries, or photos, videos, etc., too?

Lastly, I went to the Cingular web site, browsed to Upgrade my phone, and the CU500 was not listed as a choice. Does that mean I will be unable to get this phone? I've been using a moto StarTAC for >6 years, and I'm ready to upgrade! <g>

Thanks.

Jim

Posted by: blumoto

I have had the phone now for about a day and I ditto everything that was said here, I too was very suprised about the rf it has been top notch in 3g mode and gsm mode cv is really nice but there is absolutely no way to download any videos from cv(I have not tried to download music videos and don't intend to) that being said the only problem i have seen so far is that I use sim pins on all of my phones and if you turn on the sim pin lock on the cu500 and then enter it on start up it says "invalid smart chip" but if I go to my w810 and deactivate the sim pin on that phone then put it back in the lg it works fine, but everything else works fine so I am not about to make an issue and since none of my local stores have them yet I can't check to see if thewy all do it. Sorry for the long post.

Posted by: rock99rock

Jim, a StarTAC? wow. If you aren not in a 3g (HSDPA) area, it will not list the phone for purchase. Ebay is your option for this phone if that is the case.

Posted by: cjmedina

Quote:

Originally Posted by WirelessAndy

Call me skeptical... but "good reception" and "LG" is not something I'm used to hearing in the same sentence, given the past GSM offerings.

But boy if it's true, that'll be a nice change.

Is it confirmed that you can an "old" non-3G SIM in this? Or is it a MUST for the phone to work at all?

you can use a non 3g sim to make a phone i used mty 32k but i didnt have data enabbled on it so i cant say

Posted by: cjmedina

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrhsr

Does the CU500 have a flash for its camera? If not, does it have a brightness control for boosting brightness in low light conditions?

Can you have it default to saving pictures and videos directly to the memory card?

What all can you move to and from the CU500 and a PC via Bluetooth? Only address entries, or photos, videos, etc., too?

Lastly, I went to the Cingular web site, browsed to Upgrade my phone, and the CU500 was not listed as a choice. Does that mean I will be unable to get this phone? I've been using a moto StarTAC for >6 years, and I'm ready to upgrade! <g>

Thanks.

Jim

the camera dosent have flas. but it dose have the brightness settings
yes you can default the pictrures or videos to either onboard or card
i have transfered small 3gp clips wall papers and mp3 rintones no java games

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

i had the lg cu320 and the samsung zx10 now i have the the lg cu500 hspda/utms phones.

im not going to post pics of the phone because there are so many already up.
the first thing i noticed on the phone was the nice screen. the screen is more crisp and clear then the cu320. almost like the samsung zx10 or slvr. the next thing i noticed was the glass display on the outside and inside. ( much like the motorola slvr.) which make the screen much better than it already is.
the next thing i tried was the camera also a improvment over the cu320. if you had the cu320, you will remember the picture not looking so good after you took it. it looked realy fuzzy. you had to press the zoom to make it look clear. well thats no longer the problem. it has a dedicated camera button, in the camera settings you will find 4 diffrent resolutions
1280*960
640x480
320x240
160x120
the video
has 176x220
and 320x240
you can take a picture from the outside screen but not video
the next thing i check was the headphone jack. its just like the cu320 and not taking a standard dual earpiece. ( although a standard 2.5 tip worked but only with one bud i tried 3 diffrent ones all just gave me sound out of one bud)
the mp3 player works pretty good the outside buttons are a plus as soon as you hold down the play button it brings up your mp3 files.
next was ringtones i made my own ringtones encoded at 128 they are really loud i put them on 7 and it was really loud, you can only choose mp3 clips for ringtones. not messages. another note on the mp3 player you have an option to go 3d sound which made it a bit louder. it also has a equlizer.
the next i check was messaging.
yes there is no on board email app. but i use flurry mail ( its a java app but once you get an email it sends you a text telling you have an un read email.)
the text message was ok push the up button and takes you to a new message. the mms is nice if the picture is to big to send( you have 5 diffrent options for setting 30kb 100kb 150kb 300kb) it resizes it.
next was the data
the cingular video was really enjoy able to watch. it wasnt choppy. it was smooth and the lips were in sync with audio.
mobitv and mobi radio are preinstalled with 7 day trials. the mobitv was actually pretty good almost looked like cingular video. mobi radio was nice too pretty loud . it ran smooth no hiccups (im comparing it to my w600 )
i tried orb and it works way better then it did on the cu320. the video was pretty smooth the lips were in sync with audio i watch more then half of old school on orb (it was in 3gp format) i ran some speed test and got an avg og 500k with 128k up not bad (test was tethering to a pc via bluetooth)
the body of the phone is nice. the buttons are real responsive you can feel like you pushed the button. there is a dedicated music button that brings up a menu with 8 diffrent sub menus
1 music player
2 shop tunes
3 music id
4radio
5 music videos ( takes you to the music video section of cingular video)
6 the buzz
7 the community
8 music apps

the other buttons are the basic ones. i like the (maybe) stainless steel back on the buttons
the battery is alot better than the cu320 and huge improvment over the zx10.
the javas apps are kind of a pain with when ever you get data you have prees ok. (probably be fixed in the next firmware, there is an option for downloading a new firmware ota) i have opera mini which works a little better, before on the cu320 you couldnt download a picture from it now you can(yes i had the new opera mini it would say do you give permisson for it to open the browser and would do nothing). i have google maps, flurry mail and some chat app.
the phone calls were really loud like the previous cu320 (if you push 277634#*# and go to modem settings/speech you can take off the half rate amr you can also go 3g only and gsm only) i make a call with my bluetooth headset and surfed the web at the same time worked good(beat that evdo)
nothing else comes to mind at the moment feel free to add more or i will if i remember i posted photos in the mega thread

THESE WERE TAKEN FROM THE MAIN THREAD

very nice review, thanks for sharing.

Posted by: blumoto

is anyone having trouble sending files from the phone to a pc? everytime I try to it says "connecting" then "connecting cancelled" but I can send from the pc to the phone

Posted by: rock99rock

"Packages

$29.99 MEdia Max 1000 ($250 value*) 1000 Messages
Unlimited Includes Wireless Internet, Mobile Email, and downloadable usage Unlimited Cingular Video³"

SOOOOOoooo does the unlimited wireless interned really mean unlimited internet? like say I stream ORB video to it for a few hours a day? Does all that internet apply to tethering like if i want to use the phone as a modem for my laptop or desktop? Could this phone replace my cable modem with all that high-speed goodness?

Posted by: cjmedina

Quote:

Originally Posted by rock99rock

"Packages

$29.99 MEdia Max 1000 ($250 value*) 1000 Messages
Unlimited Includes Wireless Internet, Mobile Email, and downloadable usage Unlimited Cingular Video³"

SOOOOOoooo does the unlimited wireless interned really mean unlimited internet? like say I stream ORB video to it for a few hours a day? Does all that internet apply to tethering like if i want to use the phone as a modem for my laptop or desktop? Could this phone replace my cable modem with all that high-speed goodness?

it does include unlimted internet, i stream orb often but offically your not suppose to tether but some do

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

(if you push 277634#*# and go to modem settings/speech you can take off the half rate amr you can also go 3g only and gsm only)

Dude this information right here makes you KING for the day, no more amr-hr!!!!!!!!

You are the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by .7

Great review...thanks for taking the time to write it up.

Can we sticky this thread!?!?!??!

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

yea, or the tytn. still cant decide between this or the tytn... both are so good. only three bad things about the tytn though price, size, weight. bad things of the lg are, java, no email, and ??... i guess there are a few little things here and there. but do you think teh tytn will be just as good as the LG Cu500 with voice??

When all the talking is done VOICE is still KING!!!

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by WirelessAndy

LG finally decided to give one of its GSM phones some CDMA love, and hence we get the best of both worlds. 1. Easily the best GSM LG ever!!!! 2. CDMA but with GSM friendliness!!!!

Posted by: cjmedina

1997 while you are in that menu if you poke around you will see the engineer. mode you can see what band you are on! what network! the l.a.c ,and the cell id! you can also see the dbm (actual signal strenght) you are getting

Posted by: Quatre

so to make use of HSDPA speeds you have to get a new 3g sim card? I have 2 64k (i think) sim cards for 2 lines. Can i just trade one for the 3g card for the LG if i got it and have them transfer the phone #/info on the new 3g sim card? or will they have to charge me for a new 3g sim card

Posted by: Quatre

If this was the first hsdpa phone to be released, what is the next and upcoming ones. What is the first hsdpa pda phone for cingular?!

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

1997 while you are in that menu if you poke around you will see the engineer. mode you can see what band you are on! what network! the l.a.c ,and the cell id! you can also see the dbm (actual signal strenght) you are getting

Dude how did you find this information out!?

Posted by: cjmedina

the next hsdpa phone will be the samsung zx20 there is a thread in this forum,

Posted by: WirelessAndy

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

you can use a non 3g sim to make a phone i used mty 32k but i didnt have data enabbled on it so i cant say

Did you mean, "You can use a non-3G SIM to make a phone call" and you "used my 32K SIM but didn't have data enabled on your account, so you can't say for sure if 3G data is disabled w/o a 3G SIM."

Is that right?

Posted by: cjmedina

ya i was in a rush sorry

Posted by: nieds

Anyone else experiencing the fact that the phone is backordered thru cingular. Placed an order on Tues and don't know when it will ship.

Posted by: davistld01

I just checked the Cingular website and this phone is nowhere to be found at all. What's up with that?

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by davistld01

I just checked the Cingular website and this phone is nowhere to be found at all. What's up with that?

It is still listed on the website in 60099 zip code.

Posted by: davistld01

Quote:

Originally Posted by squish37

It is still listed on the website in 60099 zip code.

OK...why there and not in my zip code area?

Posted by: yeltnerb

Quote:

Originally Posted by davistld01

OK...why there and not in my zip code area?

I just walked back into the door of my house with 2 of these (we just moved and needed new phones). The place that I picked mine up had 4 more in stock. Plus they gave me the preimier price plus a rebate to make them 80/each.

This was in the SF bay area.

Posted by: calh22a

Quote:

Originally Posted by davistld01

OK...why there and not in my zip code area?

Are you in a 3g area? If 3g is not available in your area, you can't buy that phone from the website. Well, that's my understanding.

Posted by: davistld01

I'm in Springfield, MO....anybody know if that's 3G territory or not?

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by davistld01

I'm in Springfield, MO....anybody know if that's 3G territory or not?

check the mti sticky!!!!

Posted by: TX1

How does the new LG phone compare to the w810i other than the hspda difference? Which has better phone reception, sound, build, functionality, menus, music capabilities, etc. I know Sony's camera is better at 2 mega pix. Is the LG HSPDA worth getting now vs getting the edge w810i if it comes to cingular in Aug/Sept/Oct?

Posted by: Caiman1900

As far as voice quality goes, I am noticing a staticy white noise everytime sound comes out of the ear peice, it is not the normal gsm background hiss you can sometimes get, is anybody else noticing this? If not maybe my speaker came slightly blown.

Posted by: Dr. John

Quote:

Originally Posted by nieds

Anyone else experiencing the fact that the phone is backordered thru cingular. Placed an order on Tues and don't know when it will ship.

Just ordered mine this morning from Customer Care. The lady was actually quite competent. I'm supposed to receive it on Saturday or Monday. *crosses fingers for Saturday*

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caiman1900

As far as voice quality goes, I am noticing a staticy white noise everytime sound comes out of the ear peice, it is not the normal gsm background hiss you can sometimes get, is anybody else noticing this? If not maybe my speaker came slightly blown.

Maybe it is your area? Mine is great. I don't hear anything but great voice quality during calls and the music is fabulous when the mp3 player is on.

Posted by: blumoto

still having trouble with the bluetooth can't send files from the phone to the pc but can send from the pc to the phone anyone else having this same issue?(I have tried everything under the sun to try to fix it)

Posted by: davesz

Quote:

Originally Posted by WirelessAndy

well, my brother and I both have cu500s. He has a 64k 3g sim, I don't. He got 3g in chicago and elgin, I didn't.

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by blumoto

still having trouble with the bluetooth can't send files from the phone to the pc but can send from the pc to the phone anyone else having this same issue?(I have tried everything under the sun to try to fix it)

Well, sending files from the phone to a computer via BT seems...a bit flaky. I tried sending something from the phone to my WinXP laptop, but it failed every time. I can send things from the laptop to the phone via BT with no problem.

The Mac is another story. I can send files from the phone to my iMac via BT without problem if I initiate the file transfer from the phone.

However, if I initiate the file transfer from the Mac (using "Browse Device" from the BT menu on the Mac), it initiates the file transfer but then the phone crashes and reboots, comes backup with no signal bars showing and no "Cingular" on the home screen. BT on the Mac says the connection was lost and asks if I want to reconnect. If I say "yes" at that point, it successfully connects and transfers the file, but the signal bars and "Cingular" name don't show back up on the phone's home screen until the transfer is done and I press a key on the phone.

Weird!

Posted by: kuj

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranphi

The Mac is another story. I can send files from the phone to my iMac via BT without problem if I initiate the file transfer from the phone.

However, if I initiate the file transfer from the Mac (using "Browse Device" from the BT menu on the Mac), it initiates the file transfer but then the phone crashes and reboots, comes backup with no signal bars showing and no "Cingular" on the home screen.

I don't have any trouble transferring from a Powerbook G4. I initiate from the Powerbook (using "Browse Device") and can see the files. When I send the file it takes a little bit before it starts transferring but it eventually goes through.

Posted by: theGrue

Only complaint I have so far is that I can't seem to find a way to switch to vibrate mode when the phone is closed.

EDIT: Also, how did no one bring up the "Avatars", yet? They're so wonderfully cheesy. Go to add/edit a contact, go to Picture, and select "Avatar" from the menu, if you haven't found it yet.

Posted by: wpbear

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

Originally Posted by cjmedina
(if you push 277634#*# and go to modem settings/speech you can take off the half rate amr you can also go 3g only and gsm only)

What is half rate amr?

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by theGrue

EDIT: Also, how did no one bring up the "Avatars", yet? They're so wonderfully cheesy. Go to add/edit a contact, go to Picture, and select "Avatar" from the menu, if you haven't found it yet.

LOL! OMG, that's too funny! I hadn't seen that yet.

Time to make all my male friends listed in my address book look like bad effeminate anime-hero-boys now!

Posted by: cjmedina

Wirelessly posted (whatever the next lines says: LG-CU500 Obigo/WAP2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

Amr is a voice codec that cingular uses to regulate the network. You know when you have low signal and it sounds real choppy

Posted by: lolifer

Just picked up this phone yesterday. I was waiting for Cingy to release the "official" RAZR V3i but got tired of waiting, and I don't use iTunes at all. I've had a Moto V600 for a while now and have a fair amount of Java games.

On the Moto phones (using bluetooth connection) you could do an OBEX Object Push to install games and other Java apps. Anyone try to install Java games on the CU500 yet?

Every time I try to push a game on the phone it simply stores it in my 1gig sandisk microSD card. Can't seem to install any Java apps or games.

Posted by: cjmedina

Wirelessly posted (whatever the next lines says: LG-CU500 Obigo/WAP2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

It wont install thru bluetooth. Ive tried it goes on to the memory but wont install just gives me the name and a ? Mark. What i do is upload it to a site. (mobstorage) and download it works good

Posted by: .7

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingular1977

Can we sticky this thread!?!?!??!

Its so the stickys dont clog the forum and push everything down. If its to be at the top its cause the members put it there and not because I stuck it there.

Posted by: lolifer

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

Wirelessly posted (whatever the next lines says: LG-CU500 Obigo/WAP2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

It wont install thru bluetooth. Ive tried it goes on to the memory but wont install just gives me the name and a ? Mark. What i do is upload it to a site. (mobstorage) and download it works good

Glad to see I'm not the only one with the prob. Finally made it to page 37 of the "LG CU500 (released)" thread where someone posted this page to upload, then download it from the phone.

http://pcs.cruz-network.net/index.php

Hopefully Cingular will eventually put out an update that will allow you to install games via bluetooth. This x-tra step is a pain, but do-able

Posted by: davistld01

Looks like the 3G technology won't be around my neck of the woods for another year at least...so the phone isn't available here. Oh well...I just was wanting another cool flip phone to replace my Razr, and so far nothing has been available until the LG.

Posted by: squish37

EDIT: Also, how did no one bring up the "Avatars", yet? They're so wonderfully cheesy. Go to add/edit a contact, go to Picture, and select "Avatar" from the menu, if you haven't found it yet.[/QUOTE]

That is really different. I like them. Thanks for the info!

Posted by: JKalid

I am interested in buying the cu500, but want to know what java capabilities it supports. IN particular, I am interested whether it has JSR-135 (multimedia) support (and it may or may not say - but whether it has the optional audio input).

All you have to do is run a java test app off the web. Here are some I reccomend:
http://pcs.cruz-network.net/index.php
which lists:
midp sys info application: http://www.grimo-software.com/java/downloads.jsp

and / or:
TastePhone: (https://tastephone.dev.java.net/)
direct download from their wap site: http://wap.club-java.com/en
or:
http://www.club-java.com/TastePhone/TastePhone.jad

Just post all the results please or IM / email me. Thanks a lot!

Posted by: davesz

Quote:

Originally Posted by davesz

well, my brother and I both have cu500s. He has a 64k 3g sim, I don't. He got 3g in chicago and elgin, I didn't.

Ok, I take back that INCORRECT statement. I spent the last couple days in chicago and I had 3G the WHOLE time with my 2yr old 32k SIM.

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by davesz

Ok, I take back that INCORRECT statement. I spent the last couple days in chicago and I had 3G the WHOLE time with my 2yr old 32k SIM.

Ah, interesting to know. I wonder what the specific reaons are for Cingular moving everyone to 64k 3G SIM cards then.

Thanks for posting that info, davesz.

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by xbmods

got this off google

Notice that there is no way to get the date and time to display like you see it in this picture!?

I've tried everything and it just isn't there.... Am I wrong? Please someone say yes and give me the info!

Posted by: MyPyle

I dont think you can.

Posted by: MyPyle

I dont think you can get the date up on the screen like the one displayed.

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyPyle

I dont think you can get the date up on the screen like the one displayed.

Why do they do things like this to us?!!?!?!?!?

Posted by: djDiZZyD

Quote:

Originally Posted by cingular1977

Why do they do things like this to us?!!?!?!?!?

yea i just pulled my phone and from my pocket and proceeded to say the same thing

Posted by: DRC72

I'm seriously debating weather to get this phone or not. What do you guys think, is it worth it?????

Posted by: Freakshow105

I hate LG but am loving this phone, had it a week now. What is ORB that you are referring to?

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by drc72

I'm seriously debating weather to get this phone or not. What do you guys think, is it worth it?????

The phone is absolutely worth it! The price makes one look like even more of a genius!

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by drc72

I'm seriously debating weather to get this phone or not. What do you guys think, is it worth it?????

i say, do it,

Posted by: jst51

I sold my V3i and bought one. Its a very good phone. My wife saw it and I sold her black v3 and bought her one. So far solid phone with good performance.

Posted by: nieds

Does eveyone else with the CU500 notice that the phone heats up while charging?

Posted by: Jay1187

I also just got this phone, I was under the impression that the phone can hold up to a 2gb sd micro chip but the guy at cingular just told me only 512mb. Is this true? I finally stepped up to get a music phone when they finally added one that could actually hold more than a few hundred songs. If this is not the case i will return the phone and go back to using my old phone.

Thanks for the help.
Jason

Posted by: squish37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay1187

I also just got this phone, I was under the impression that the phone can hold up to a 2gb sd micro chip but the guy at cingular just told me only 512mb. Is this true? I finally stepped up to get a music phone when they finally added one that could actually hold more than a few hundred songs. If this is not the case i will return the phone and go back to using my old phone.

Thanks for the help.
Jason

I know for sure it can take at least 1gb and I think I have heard of people having a 2gb.

Posted by: Jay1187

Quote:

Originally Posted by squish37

I know for sure it can take at least 1gb and I think I have heard of people having a 2gb.

Thanks!

Can anyone confirm the 2gb works before I go buy one off of ebay.

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay1187

I'm using a 1 GB card in mine and it's fine. 2 Gig transflash cards have *just* become available, but I don't know if they're actually being sold yet, so no one's had a chance to see if they'll work with this phone (that I've seen anyway).

Posted by: Jay1187

sorry for all these questions but will any sd micro card work or do I have to buy one from cingular. They are going for around $30 on ebay which seems like a good deal but i noticed they are being sold for $80 at cingular. Are the ones at cingular any different than the one's on ebay?

Thanks again.

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay1187

sorry for all these questions but will any sd micro card work or do I have to buy one from cingular. They are going for around $30 on ebay which seems like a good deal but i noticed they are being sold for $80 at cingular. Are the ones at cingular any different than the one's on ebay?

Thanks again.

You don't need one from Cingular, but some peeps have reported problems with certain (lesser-known) brands.

From earlier posts the general consensus was that the SanDisk brand works without problem. I don't remember any other brands that work for sure, sorry.

Posted by: blessd24

Ok I did a search and couldnt find the answer.

Apparently assigning ringones to groups is not working. Contacted LG and they said it was a software issue that they were aware of and they are not going to fix it. Has anyone tried this and succeeded?

Posted by: kuj

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranphi

Stay away from Kingston. I bought a 512MB and it didn't work. Others have also experienced problems with the Kingston. I bought a 1GB SanDisk and it works fine.

Also, someone on the Cingular Forums on cingular.com tried the 2GB SanDisk that is being sold at Verizon Wireless stores for the LG Chocolate and it didn't work.

Posted by: Faceless Rebel

I picked up a Sandisk Ultra II 1GB MicroSD and it works flawlessly in my CU500.

Everyone should be aware that the SD standard changed when cards went from 1GB from 2GB and bigger. A lot of computer SD card readers choke trying to read 2GB+ SD cards, such as the built in reader in my Dell Inspiron 700m. The point is, you have to be absolutely sure before you buy a 2GB+ SD card that it will work in your device, whether it is a computer card reader, a digital camera, or a mobile phone.

Question: what program are you guys using to stream sound from SomaFM? I tried Opera Mini and it told me the address was unsupported or something like that. The built-in browser can't seem to load the page at all.

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuj

Stay away from Kingston. I bought a 512MB and it didn't work. Others have also experienced problems with the Kingston. I bought a 1GB SanDisk and it works fine.

Also, someone on the Cingular Forums on cingular.com tried the 2GB SanDisk that is being sold at Verizon Wireless stores for the LG Chocolate and it didn't work.

Yeah I was going to say that listening to anything on the Cingular forums is like going to pre-school for your information!

Posted by: hle2001

hi everyone,
first of all, it is a great review.
what is a 3g phone? i am looking for a new good looking phone. so please advise.
should i get the LG cu500 or the SE z525a?
Thanks.

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Quote:

Originally Posted by hle2001

hi everyone,
first of all, it is a great review.
what is a 3g phone? i am looking for a new good looking phone. so please advise.
should i get the LG cu500 or the SE z525a?
Thanks.

No contest CU500!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Wide_opeN

Originally Posted in the CU500 released thread

Here we go,

Exterior: Phone is rock solid and has a very good feel to it. Quickest way to describe it is to compare it to the Blade. However, it does not have the fugly round edges like the Blade. LG sort of did a compromise, while there is no lip at the bottom of the phone like there is on the Razr the outside is designed to give the appearance of having a lip. I think it's neat! External display shows: time, day, date, and everything else! The hinge on this thing is wicked nice, it's very smooth and stealthy looking. I didnt think I would like the scroll camera but it's actually a nice touch. Also, there is about a millimeter of space above the camera when flipped open, for whatever reason that just makes it look that much more sweet when opened. Keypad is done nicely, didn't realize how much I missed spaced buttons(the buttons on both sides of the d-pad will irk you however.) Very funny to see a Qualcomm sticker on a GSM phone, but that just lets you know you've purchased the real deal.Too, I like the fact there is Cingular branding all over this thing. That's it for the exterior.

Screen: The screen is very sharp and does 11lines of info. The internal and external are very bright!

Phone Book: I was so paranoid that I wouldn't be able to assign ringtones to individuals as this was the case on previous lg's, but you can. Everything else is pretty standard.

Speed: The phone is very fast, but I can't commit on the 3g (I know right) because I'm right on the outside of the boundaries and haven't been in a 3g area YET!!! I'm sooooooo pissed because I was hoping some magical way that the signal would reach me but it does not. All I can do is hope for continued expansion. However, it does seem as if somehow the underlying HSDPA gives more speed somehow to EDGE, so if you're not in a 3g area I still recommend getting this phone.

I'm to tired to really write the kind of review I want to, but I wanted to give the community something, I'll be off and on all nite. So, please feel free to ask other questions I will write any such answers in review format!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: hle2001

thanks cingular1977.

Posted by: Wide_opeN

no problem and welcome to HOFO!!!!!!!

Posted by: DRC72

I took the plunge and got the LG CU500 today, and I am loving it!!!!!! I been stuck with GPRS speeds way to long. EDGE is a refreshing change. I can't wait until the 3G indicator comes on!!!!!!

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjmedina

(if you push 277634#*# and go to modem settings/speech you can take off the half rate amr you can also go 3g only and gsm only)

Removing AMR-HR was my first order of business, when I picked up the phone today.

Posted by: KeilwerthSX90R

Can you read text messages on the outside LCD when the phone is closed?

Regarding voice dialing - is this not available on any Cingular phones? (thinking of switching to Cingular). What is the deal with the voice dial added monthly charge, will that work with the CU500?

Thanks for the great reviews.

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeilwerthSX90R

Can you read text messages on the outside LCD when the phone is closed?

Regarding voice dialing - is this not available on any Cingular phones? (thinking of switching to Cingular). What is the deal with the voice dial added monthly charge, will that work with the CU500?

Thanks for the great reviews.

Nope, can't read texts on the outside screen with the CU500.

The CU500 itself does not have voice dialing, but Cingular does offer a voice dialing service for a monthly fee that's supposed to work with any of their phones.

Posted by: RE1000

A question and a suggestion:

What is AMR-HR?

For SD cards, search on www.reselleratings.com, you can just type in the search what you are looking for and the prices and stores with a rating on it will appear.
(CompUsa and Microcenter occasionally have great deals too)

Posted by: Faceless Rebel

OK, I went to the Engineering Menu and chose the Modem Settings menu, and mines doesn't have the Speech option. I'm not sure what to do now to turn off AMR-HR.

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faceless Rebel

OK, I went to the Engineering Menu and chose the Modem Settings menu, and mines doesn't have the Speech option. I'm not sure what to do now to turn off AMR-HR.

It should have it, unless Cingular decided to remove it on the newer batches. If that's the case then I just lucked out with my model.

Posted by: kuj

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faceless Rebel

OK, I went to the Engineering Menu and chose the Modem Settings menu, and mines doesn't have the Speech option. I'm not sure what to do now to turn off AMR-HR.

What options show up when you get to the Modem Settings menu?

Posted by: b0stonirishguy

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuj

What options show up when you get to the Modem Settings menu?

1)FA Setting
2)Network Mode
3)Engineer Mode
4)FCC Test
5)Band Freq
6)GRPS Attach
7)GSM Speech Pref

Posted by: epsilon3

My #7 says "GSM Speech Ver". The Choices are "EFR Speech Pref" and "AMR Speech Pref". Is that it? Do I pick the former? What other things are beneficial to set in the engineering menu?

Posted by: jst51

Pick the EFR

Posted by: epsilon3

Quote:

Originally Posted by jst51

Pick the EFR

Thank you. What else should I set in those menus? In particular, is there something that will help me tether the phone successfully?

Posted by: kevink1

There are other options for tethering. Bluetooth and USB options.

My phone came setup for USB (but without the USB cable), but I wanted to use bluetooth.

Now that I have it setup right, it works MUCH better than my V557. The class is higher, so the potential Edge speed is higher than the V557. But more importantly, it is more reliable. I regularly had to cycle power on my V557 (and the V551 before that).

Posted by: hitechy

Wow, have you guys noticed the phone does actually have triband HSDPA?!?! When you go to the network settings and choose WCDMA bands it lists 850/1900 and 2100!

Posted by: cjmedina

ya i noticed that too. its also in the cu320. did you see it has an option to change to europe mode? i think lg is like samsung and uses the same menu system.

Posted by: DRC72

I love my CU500, although the RF could be better. My old LG l1400i was like a Nokia when it came to RF signal strength.

Posted by: RE1000

I just got mine 2 hours ago, so far i like it. I was looking to see if you could customize the shortcuts, but I haven't found if you can yet. That's always a very nice feature to have. I just dl'ed Opera Mini, and I too get the "yes, always ask" data network every time you click.

EDIT: how do you "log" off of the defualt browser and how do you just go back to the main background screen?

Posted by: cjmedina

you push the end button (red) it will ask you if you want to disconnect. same with the main wallpaper. unless you want to low profile the music then its in settings

Posted by: celnut

Quote:

Originally Posted by jst51

Pick the EFR

I picked the EFR and now my phone won't make calls out or even to vm. Changed it back to AMR and now it works fine. Has anyone else had this problem??
I live in the metro phoenix area. Also, when my phone switches from a 3g tower to 2g it always drops out. Thought Cingy would have gotten that straightened out by now.

Posted by: Faceless Rebel

I read that other thread explaining EFR and AMR awhile back, and I seem to recall they are different codecs entirely. So wouldn't picking EFR lock me out of AMR-FR in addition to disabling AMR-HR?

I set it to EFR Speech Pref and it seems to still work here in Seattle, for what that's worth.

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faceless Rebel

I read that other thread explaining EFR and AMR awhile back, and I seem to recall they are different codecs entirely. So wouldn't picking EFR lock me out of AMR-FR in addition to disabling AMR-HR?

I set it to EFR Speech Pref and it seems to still work here in Seattle, for what that's worth.

EFR is working for me, here in the Hartford area.

Posted by: cjmedina

Wirelessly posted (whatever the next lines says: HTC-8100/1.2 Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; PPC; 240x320))

works for me here in san diego

Posted by: celnut

I also tried using my 32mb micro sd card & it won't recognize it. Maybe I got a bad phone??
Tried changing the codec to efr again with the same results. It won't even let me get incoming calls when it is set on that. I think the phoenix market needs some improvements.

Posted by: celnut

Between the fluctuating volume, hard handoffs (drops call when switching from 3g to 2g tower), poor camera quality, poor recognition of sd cards this phone is not worth the $300 I paid for it. Hope everyone else has better luck with it than I have.

Posted by: SpecialCase

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranphi

There are some phones that DO have built-in voice dialing in the sense that you can record a name for a given contact, call him Bob, and then say "Bob" and the phone will call Bob. I never actually tried it on my previous three Cingular Motos (v551, v557 and RAZR). You'll just have to look around for a phone with that feature.

According to the Cingular website, the following current phones have voice dialing built-in:
Nokia 6102i
Moto RAZR (all colors)
Nokia 6010
Moto SLVR L7
(There may be more but I just went by the "Included Features" tab on the page for each phone.)

Posted by: George Knighton

A couple of people who moved from the Razr to the CU500 have mention RF signal capture.

Do you mind if I ask just how much worse it is?

Are we just watching the indicators or are we actually unable to make and receive calls with the CU500 in exactly the same places we could make them with our Razr's?

Posted by: jst51

I had a V3i for several months and got the CU500 about 2 weeks ago. I can hold calls in the same places I could with the V3i. The bars seem about the same strength. Just my observation.

Posted by: George Knighton

Thanks.

You can understand why this would be a concern. The V3i seems to good with RF signal capture, I'd hate to be going downhill.

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Knighton

Thanks.

You can understand why this would be a concern. The V3i seems to good with RF signal capture, I'd hate to be going downhill.

The CU 500 seems to be really good with RF. I had an issue earlier on, but I think it was the signal from the tower not the phone, as I am able to make crystal clear calls now.

Posted by: walkguru

the rf is quite good on my lg cu500, but my little pantech is better,

Posted by: cheekz185

The one thing that really bothers me about this phone is the increasing ringer!!! Is there anyway to make the ringer at its highes as soon as a call comes in? Also I hate that sound it makes after you save or confirm something. Any way to disable that?

Posted by: Wide_opeN

3g on this phone is bloody fast!!!!!!!

Posted by: DRC72

Alright guys I love the phone, but I am dropping some calls lately on it. With my old LG I would drop a call maybe once a month, and that is if I am lucky. I'm hoping it's just 3G network upgrades that are causing the problem and not the phone.

Posted by: squish37

I think it is the network. I have several phones and ALL of them are suddenly dropping LOTS of calls. The commercials crack me up about the network with the least dropped calls. This is the only network I have been on that had this many. I used to have a drop every couple months with my old provider but I average two a day with cingular. It has gotten much worse in the 3 weeks since 3G came to my area though. I finally got my friend to port over and she is going to drop them because 1 in every 4 calls drops on her. I wish she would wait it out a little but I think she is going to cancle.

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by squish37

I think it is the network. I have several phones and ALL of them are suddenly dropping LOTS of calls. The commercials crack me up about the network with the least dropped calls. This is the only network I have been on that had this many. I used to have a drop every couple months with my old provider but I average two a day with cingular. It has gotten much worse in the 3 weeks since 3G came to my area though. I finally got my friend to port over and she is going to drop them because 1 in every 4 calls drops on her. I wish she would wait it out a little but I think she is going to cancle.

I probably get at most 2 dropped calls a day, once in awhile there are more. I know Cingular techs are currently retrofitting the sites in CT with 3G panels and equipment.

Posted by: Maverick05

I've read through this whole post and there seems to be some disagreement on how good the phone's reception is. As a point of reference, is it better or worse than the v3? Is it possible that people stating it has poor reception is because the UMTS network isn't that built-out yet, but in a gsm environment it would perform as well as a v3?
I really want this as i'm tired of my GPRS razr, but if the reception isn't as good, i can't get it

I live in SO CAL and we all know how poor the network down here is with a phone that gets good reception.
Thanks for any comments!

Posted by: DRC72

I think I was having network issues previously, because reception has been really good today. Maverick05 give it try. If you don't like it, you have 30 days to bring it back.

Posted by: Maverick05

thanks drc72!

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maverick05

thanks drc72!

Let us no how it works out for you. Enjoy the great EDGE speeds, or if 3G is available, then have some real fun.

Posted by: walkguru

so far no problums, except no 3g yet, i love the phone.

Posted by: wrex

Does anyone know how to keep the radio playing if you shut the flip? And I seen the question but not the answer, can you turn off the chime when you do almost ANYTHING?

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkguru

so far no problums, except no 3g yet, i love the phone.

I agree, where's my 3G???

Posted by: I have a phone

Quote:

Originally Posted by drc72

I agree, where's my 3G???

84N (or is it E?)
90E til you see the exit for 495N/S

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by drc72

I agree, where's my 3G???

we need to go steal ihaveaphone's 3g,

Posted by: only1chip

I love this phone.

I picked it up on Sat. (two days ago) here north of Atlanta. The 3G is fantastic. Previously I tethered (BT) my iPAQ to a Nokia 6820, and I was able to read e-mail/surf at about 60-90 kbps, but I would avoid graphics intensive sites.

With the CU500, I'm seeing 300-400 kbps most of the time. 498 kbps is the high-water mark for me so far.

FWIW: I used the tethering instructions here:

https://onlinecare.cingular.com/support/setupOTW.do

BUT IN ORDER TO GET IT TO WORK...

I had to change the username from ISP.CINGULARGPRS.COM to WAP.CINGULARGPRS.COM, and the dialing string from:
+cgdcont=1,,"isp.cingular"
to:
+cgdcont=1,"IP","wap.cingular"

Both of these are settings on the iPAQ that I used-to-use when tethering with the Nokia...

I *think* this is required because I don't pay for the "PDA Connect" plan, I have only the old "Media Works" plan (similar to the MEdiaNet plan they surrently offer at $19.99/month. Cingular's site is unclear on the matter, they do not list the "PDA connect" plan as a requisit.

So it's possible that the "ISP" settings are used for PDA/Laptop connect plans, and "WAP" settings are for MEdia Works (MEdia Net)???
Can anyone confirm this?

Even when I'm not is a 3G area, the EDGE is noticably faster (higher class support than my old Nokia). I am seeing 120-135 kbps is EDGE mode.

The opera mini browser is very nice on this phone:
mini.opera.com
And yes, I also get the "yes, always ask" prompt fairly often - anybody know how to get around that?

And finally, call quality has been on par with my Nokia experience, none dropped so far (I don't make that many phone calls).

I look forward to getting a 2GB mini SD card for this phone. NewEgg.com has them starting at $44 plus $3.99 shipping. I'll wait until I read a post claiming success with a particular brand before I buy... Please share the info if you get one to work!

Chip

Posted by: m0m0

Quote:

Originally Posted by only1chip

The opera mini browser is very nice on this phone:
mini.opera.com
And yes, I also get the "yes, always ask" prompt fairly often - anybody know how to get around that?

Yup! Someone finally figured out a fix.

See this post:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=981113

Posted by: DRC72

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkguru

we need to go steal ihaveaphone's 3g,

Let's me and you go get him. I'll round up the dogs and calvery.

Posted by: epsilon3

Quote:

Originally Posted by only1chip

+cgdcont=1,,"isp.cingular"
to:
+cgdcont=1,"IP","ap.cingular"

Thanks for the tip on changing the the 3rd field in the modem initialization string to "wap.cingular" but, unfortunately, it still doesn't work for me.

I /am/ slightly confused by what you wrote. The Cingular help page you linked to, shows the string as:

at+cgdcont=1,"IP","isp.cingular"

This is not what you said it was; perhaps you accidentally left out the "at" part but notice that the second string is already shown as "IP" in the Cingular page.

It may be that my problem is that I'm on MEdiaNet and not Media Works. I'm using the D-Link BT adapter, something that Cingular specifically says works. Everything works correctly; I pair the phone, the appropriate phone services show up -including DUN-, but I can never establish a connection.

Has anyone gotten this to work with MEdiaNet?

Posted by: Faceless Rebel

You should try not having a modem initialization string at all. I didn't even know there was supposed to be a string when I tried to tether my CU500 to my laptop, and it has never refused to work because of the lack of string.

Posted by: only1chip

Well, I can;t believe it, but you're right. No dialing string at all is required.

This was a major PITA with my oilder phones and was *very* required.

Thanks for the tip!

I wonder why Cingular is specifing the use of dialing strings on thier tech support site? And I still wonder why they spec "ISP.CING..." for the user name??? This doesn't work for me.

Quote:

I /am/ slightly confused by what you wrote. The Cingular help page you linked to, shows the string as:

at+cgdcont=1,"IP","isp.cingular"

This is not what you said it was; perhaps you accidentally left out the "at" part but notice that the second string is already shown as "IP" in the Cingular page.

Epsilon3,

I think there are several slightly different sets of direction at that "cingular help page" depending on your model of PDA.

I don't think there are any differences related to our versions of "MEdia xxx".

Also, it looks like a new (better) thread has been started on this topic:

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=961403

Maybe the posts there will help you?
Maybe we should move future posts over there?

Posted by: epsilon3

Thanks for the input guys, I'll check out the other thread and will try your suggestions as soon as I get a chance.

Posted by: epsilon3

Update: Success! There was a simple oversight on my part (although this was *not* mentioned in the Cingular documentation): I needed to turn off "wait for dial tone".

3G speeds (3/5 bars, I'm on the edge of coverage) tested with speakeasy.net were ok: 520 down / 228 up. They may get better if I try in the middle of the night. One factor may be that I cannot set the COM port speed to more than 115k.

I also plan to add a couple of DNS servers because the ones supplied by DCHP do not resolve several names.

ETA: I ended up leaving the initialization string in (without the doc-specified "at" at the front). I don't want to experiment with taking it off, now that things are working.

Posted by: Trivialist

I just got a CU500, and I'm going to see if I can tether it to my Palm TX. I purchased the unlimited MediaNet package, and I'm hoping I can use the phone as a Bluetooth modem to surf the net with the Palm TX. Has anyone else tried that and had success?

Posted by: lilfazzl

Does anyone know how much memory it has built in?

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilfazzl

Does anyone know how much memory it has built in?

15 MBs, if I recollect right.

Posted by: wrex

Is there a map somewhere showing where 3g coverage is? My local store said we are in between two covered cities.

Posted by: dropdfocus

yes it's on cingular.com

Posted by: lilfazzl

anyone know a good program to lower the bitrate of songs to compress them besdies itunes that r free? thanks, for the cu500.

Posted by: Faceless Rebel

Just use LAME, there are plenty of very good front ends for LAME which add a GUI to it and make it very simple.

Posted by: awj223

Quote:

Originally Posted by kisher12991

What is wrong with the Java?

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilfazzl

Does anyone know how much memory it has built in?

10 mb,

Posted by: ranphi

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkguru

10 mb,

You sure about that, Walkguru? Looks like mine has 15 MBs.

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by ranphi

You sure about that, Walkguru? Looks like mine has 15 MBs.

well i thought i read 10, but hopfully your right and im wrong,

Posted by: MyPyle

How thin is the phone? Is it as thing as the razr?

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyPyle

How thin is the phone? Is it as thing as the razr?

no, its a little fatter.

Posted by: m0m0

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkguru

well i thought i read 10, but hopfully your right and im wrong,

Mine has 15mb

Posted by: m0m0

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyPyle

How thin is the phone? Is it as thing as the razr?

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkguru

no, its a little fatter.

oooo ... a whole two-tenths of an inch fatter

Razr V3 = 3.86" x 2.09" x 0.54"

CU500 = 3.80" x 1.95" x 0.76"

Posted by: walkguru

Quote:

Originally Posted by m0m0

Mine has 15mb

ok, im wrong, i guess its my pantech c300, that has 10mb.

Posted by: jyalexop2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by m0m0

oooo ... a whole two-tenths of an inch fatter

Razr V3 = 3.86" x 2.09" x 0.54"

CU500 = 3.80" x 1.95" x 0.76"

It is 40% thicer and noticeable. Especially to me, who keeps the phone
in my front pocket. I'd rather a phone be thinner and shorter.

Posted by: sdfrfv

(edit post)
CU500 96.5 x 49.5 x 19.3 mm
RAZR V3XX 104 x 53 x 16 mm
little thicker than moto RAZR V3XX(3G) about 3mm (19mm:16mm)
not V3 (98 x 53 x 13.9 mm)
bigger battery (1100mA)
BUT weight is almost same(105g:102g).
key pad area is better than razr.
It looks solid and slim.

Posted by: jyalexop2003

Quote:

Originally Posted by sdfrfv

little thicker than moto RAZR about 3mm (19:16)
bigger battery (1100mA)
BUT weight is same.
key pad area is better than razr.
It looks solid and slim.

Its is 40% thinner 19mm vs 13.5mm.
I think V3 keypad is nicer than CU500.
Battery life is OK for me.
Just my preference, but I see/feel a noticeable thickness diffrence,
especially since i carry the phone in my pocket. CU500
noticebaly bulky.

Posted by: BigEvan23

This might be slightly off topic...my gf is gonna get a new cingular plan and give me this phone...(I have an extra RAZR for her that she really wants...SIGH). My current everyday phone is a Treo 650 with unlimited data. I got grandfathered in at the sweet 19.99 unlimited data/sms-mms plan that was discontinued. Now I'm in New York where I believe UMTS/HSDPA has been rolled out? My question is, can the sim card I'm using with my current unlimited data plan access the 3G/UMTS network (given the area I'm in has coverage) with the CU500? Is it just as simple as poping my sim card in the CU500 and it working if the service is available. Or is there an additional charge for UMTS data vs. the Unlimited EDGE data that I currently have.

Thanks,
Evan

Posted by: jst51

If you have a 3g sim card you are good to go. I travel to some areas that have 3G/UMTS up and runing and have the MediaMax for $19.99 and I incur no extra charges.

Posted by: BigEvan23

Which sim cards are 3G and...will my grandfathered rate be affected by picking a new sim card up. I don't want any paper trail associated with the change. I'm assuming my 64k Orange smart chip isnt?

Posted by: jst51

The newer sim cards are 64k and are blue on the back with 3g printed on them.
Sorry, don't know about your grandfathered plan.

Posted by: kevink1

Comments after finally using the CU500 for more voice calling in 2G areas (I have not yet been in a 3G area to test).

Data, even on 2G, is noticably faster than my V557 while tethering. And it's WAP browser is better when browsing from the phone.

Tethering is very significantly more reliable than the V557. All too often, I would have to cycle power on the V557 to get either my PDA or Laptop to connect via bluetooth with the V557. With the CU500, I've only had difficulty once, not counting the day I decided to set things up, when data coincendially was flakey. It wasn't even working on the V557, so wasn't a phone problem.

I also like the slimness of the phone compared to the V557, and the much improved battery life.

On the down side:

Voice is noticably inferior compared to the V557. At times, things worked well. Other times, cuts out, both sending and receiving. So, my theory is that it is less robust to marginal coverage. I had more voice problems today on the highway in an area that the V557 worked well earlier in the summer. As well as here at home.

Maybe in 3G areas, it works much better. I'll find out later this month in San Diego.

Posted by: kevink1

Quote:

Originally Posted by WirelessAndy

I know that I'm a little disappointed in reception on GSM with this phone. My V557 is better. Seems to drop easier, and cut out.

I should be able to try 3G tomorrow, since I'll be in the Torrance/Carson areas of LA the rest of the week.

At least, in 2G areas, the data is much more reliable than my V557.

Posted by: Quatre

any other phones release yet domestically for cingular that are hsdpa capable besides this lg and the samsung?

was thinking of getting the HTC TyTn pda phone with hsdpa but think i will wait till cing has hsdap more widespread before switching my data and pda phone use from evdo to cing and hsdpa

waiting for the moto maxx too with hsdpa but think i will just import a krzr k1 for now to replace my aging v3i.