David Pitkin

While waiting for my EVDO ExpressCard from Booster-Antenna I decided to try out a Cingular 3G phone. The only one that was interesting was the LG CU500 which was also their first. The phone hardware itself is nice, sturdy and the keys are easy to press, dual color displays and a solid flip.

The good: The data speed on this phone is really fast, compared to about 150kbps and ping response times above 800ms on a good day via bluetooth with my Nokia 6682 the LG achieved speeds of 600kbps and response times were in the mid 150ms. These speeds were all via bluetooth to my MacBook Pro. A few of the built in applications that came on the phone were great, Java applications on phones are getting there. I like the MusicID service from Shazam Entertainment and the JamDat Tetris was great.

The bad: The phone has no support for syncing with iSync, can’t run applications I use all the time like ShoZu or Google Maps and 3G coverage is very poor around Boston. I had great coverage at work where we have 2 wifi devices but the 30 minute train ride home had two 5 minute pieces of good coverage.

My conclusion is that I am going to stick with the 6682 for a until at least when the Nokia E62 comes out later this month, I do really miss a qwerty keyboard.