LG enV (VX9900)

LG enV

Introduction

With the rise in importance of text messaging and mobile email access, the integration of a full, QWERTY keyboard into cell phones has become an valued feature in phone technology. Until recently, mobile phone users desiring such a keyboard have relied on T-Mobile Sidekick / Hiptop for their on-the-go typing needs. The LG enV brings Verizon into this market and offers new competition for the old standard. In addition to its keyboard and accompanying large internal screen, the enV also offers a 2.0-megapixel digital camera, as well as standard phone service.

As a physically advanced phone, the enV combines three devices—a phone, camera, and internal "laptop-esque" setup, featuring keyboard and screen. Important to note is that the enV is not a smartphone, like a Blackberry, but the internal setup makes for easy typing, internet navigation, and media viewing. The phone's camera, operating horizontally on the "back" of the phone, also gives the feel of a standalone device. The "front" of the enV features a trim, block-style phone, including a full-color front screen. Despite this complexity of hardware, the phone remains remarkable light, small, and streamlined.

In addition to its physical infrastructure, the enV offers the standard high-end software capabilities, including MP3 and video download and playback, enhanced by the large internal screen and speakers. Users may choose to send video and picture messages in addition to simple text. Various other application downloads, including BREW games and IM clients, are available to expand the phone's organizational and entertainment options. Verizon's Mobile Web 2.0 browser lets users surf the internet while out and about. Verizon's Navigator feature offers detailed driving directions on demand. The phone supports a conveniently larger-than-average number of Bluetooth profiles, allowing the phone to connect to several peripheral devices, including a printer or speakers in addition to standards like headsets and handsfree car kits.

The enV's revolutionary new design, featuring several electronic devices in one small package, is backed up by high-end features, such as MP3 / video playback and support of a variety of Bluetooth profiles. The only downside - most of the high end features (including games, videos, and internet) require extra fees.

Design

The design of the enV reflects its multiple-technology package. Closed, the unit looks like a compact block phone, complete with full-color screen and standard dialing / navigation keys. Turned around, the closed phone becomes a stand-alone horizontal digital camera, with the phone screen doubling as camera screen. The phone opens up along the long edge in a sideways-clamshell fashion to reveal a full keyboard and a large screen in a format resembling a tiny laptop computer.

With the enclosed keyboard, the phone cannot and does not attempt to compete with the latest ultra-slim devices floating around on the market. Nevertheless, at 118 x 53 x 20 mm and 130 grams, the phone is far from bulky. Its dimensions and weight fit nicely into the hand, whether the unit is being held vertically (phone) or horizontally (camera, keyboard).

The front of the closed device contains all the features of a standard block-type cell phone. With a two-tone black and silver front plate, the phone looks both interesting and professional. The small external screen is located close to the top, and is large enough to handle the usual call-related display necessities. Beneath the screen, the power and navigation keys arrange themselves in the usual fashion. The number keys fit neatly into the bottom third of the phone in the form of slender rectangles, an arrangement that makes for easy dialing. The bottom edge contains the power port, while the microSD slot and headphone jack dwell along the right edge. With its relatively small size and compact, two-tone design, the "phone" makes for a nice device by itself, regardless of the other technologies rolled into the enV.

The "back" of the phone is really the digital camera. Turned sideways, the phone becomes the "back" of the digital camera, so that the phone screen becomes the camera viewing window. The camera face itself is mostly silver, with a large circular black-colored lens area. The battery slides in to the right of the camera lens, taking up about two-thirds of the camera's "face." Still, the battery is not so intrusive that it detracts from the look of the camera. All in all, the "camera" side of the phone looks much more like an actual digital camera than that of the average cameraphone, which is usually no more than a circular afterthought on the frontplate.

Of course, the most exciting feature of the enV is its full-keyboard input option. The phone opens along the long right-edge in a sideways clamshell design that both looks cool and allows for the keyboard to be included in a compact design. The keyboard for the most part resembles the standard QWERTY layout with a few exceptions. Instead of a single space bar, the phone features two "Space" keys on either side of the bottom row, which allow for easier thumb-typing. The left-handed space bar is at the bottom of a column along the left edge of the keyboard, along with a "Symbol" key for accessing common punctuation, a "Shift" key for capitalization, and an "email" key, which brings up email for registered clients. This keyboard format helps facilitate the transition from two-handed touch-typing to two-thumbed typing. Although typists can not attain as high WPM counts as with a full-sized keyboard, they should be able to type more naturally and much more quickly than with traditional alphanumeric phone pads. Could this phone spell a return to proper capitalization and punctuation in the world of electronic messaging? Only time will tell.

The keyboard takes up most of the bottom half of the open clamshell, with the remaining space dedicated to a five-way navigation key, Send and Power keys, a Speakerphone key, and the Clear key, conveniently placed beside the right-hand space bar. Near the phone's hinge, two soft keys allow users to choose navigation options on the screen. These features allow for users easily navigate the internal screen as they would on any other phone. The upper half of the open clamshell features the large internal screen between two speakers. The large screen should facilitate typing emails and long text messages, as well as viewing pictures and video.

With a cell phone on the front plate, a camera on the backplate, and a keyboard / screen combo on the inside, the enV packs a different technology on every page. In addition, the phone manages to fit all of these features into a small, hand-held package. All in all, the enV manages to combine multiple electronic devices into one compact, professional-looking package.