Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2310 in Cell Phone Accessories
• Color: Blue
• Brand: LG
• Model: GR500
• Released on: 2008-05-04

Features

• 3G-powered smartphone in blue with 2.8-inch touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard; customizable and intuitive user interface
• Compatible with AT&T Navigator GPS, Video Share, AT&T Mobile Music, and streaming video from Cellular Video service
• 2-megapixel camera/camcorder; Bluetooth stereo music; MicroSD expansion (to 16 GB); digital audio/video player
• Up to 4 hours of talk time, up to 264 hours (11 days) of standby time
• What's in the Box: handset, battery, travel charger, user manual, quick start guide

Amazon.com Product Description
A quick messaging phone boasting a full keyboard for text messaging beneath its vibrant colors, the LG Xenon for AT&T also offers a large touchscreen display with a customizable and intuitive user interface. The phone can quickly download video, music and more over AT&T's lightning quick HSPDA 3G network. Additionally, with AT&T's 3G network, you can listen to a conference call on a headset while sending and receiving e-mail attachments, picture messages or Web pages at the same time. This GPS-enabled phone can access the AT&T Navigator service for turn-by-turn directions as well as its Video Share serve, which enables you to send video of yourself to another compatible phone while making a voice call.

The LG Xenon in blue with a 2.8-inch touchscreen with vibrating feedback....

The Xenon's large touchscreen with vibration feedback and enhanced user interface make menus, shortcuts, and contacts available right at your fingertips. And with its compact, slideout QWERTY keyboard, you can quickly send text messages and e-mails. Other features include a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth for handsfree devices and stereo music streaming, MicroSD memory expansion (up to 16 GB), organizer tools, access to mobile e-mail and instant messaging, and up to 4 hours of talk time.

AT&T Service
This AT&T phone can handle high-speed data connectivity via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband data network, which is available in most major metropolitan areas. The AT&T 3G network uses the dual-band 850/1900 MHz 3G network (UMTS/HSDPA), which provides download speeds ranging from 700 Kbps to 1.7 Mbps, and upload speeds ranging from 500 Kbps to 1.2 Mbps. This makes it possible to enjoy a variety of feature-rich wireless multimedia services, and it gives you the advantage of offering simultaneous voice and data services.

In areas where the 3G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Providing average data speeds between 75-135Kbps, it's fast enough to support a wide range of advanced data services, including video and music clips, full picture and video messaging, high-speed color Internet access, and e-mail on the go. You'll also enjoy quad-band GSM connectivity, which allows you to make calls in more than 190 countries and access data applications in the more than 135 countries where AT&T offers international data roaming.

With 3G connectivity, you'll be able to access AT&T's Video Share service, which enables you to send a live, one-way video stream to another compatible phone during a standard voice call. The service also allows you to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call. (Customers must be in an area served by the company's 3G network and have a Video Share-enabled phone.) While using Video Share with family and friends is a fun way to communicate, it's also very useful for business. For example, a majority of users in the architecture, engineering and construction industries rated the ability to share live video through Video Share highly, according to research commissioned by AT&T. Video Share lets you see progress on a job site or review the day's work without having to drive from an office or other site to do so.

...and a smooth, slide-out full QWERTY keyboard for easy text messaging and writing longer e-mails.

You can take advantage of the AT&T Navigator GPS software and service, a full-featured premium navigation application that includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and re-routing options, and 3D moving maps (additional charges applicable). AT&T Navigator offers several other features to make your commute more enjoyable and reliable, including mobile access to Yellowpages.com. Additionally, AT&T Navigator is the only mobile phone-based GPS service that provides integrated speech recognition for address entry and points of interest search.

With 3G connectivity, you'll be able to access AT&T's Cellular Video (CV) service and the Internet while on the go. Cellular Video features content from CNN, The Weather Channel, iFilm, Comedy Central and exclusive premium content from HBO and much more. And you get access to AT&T Mobile Music, which enables you to buy tracks while on the, access the Napster and eMusic subscription music services, stream music video, discover what's playing with Music ID song-recognition software, and find out what's hot with The Buzz music news portal.

The phone has a built-in web browser for MEdia Net downloads and mobile web browsing. AT&T's MEdia Net service enables you to receive and send e-mails, read news headlines, get weather updates, download games and ringtones, and more.

It's also pre-loaded with AT&T's Mobile Banking application, which is compatible with accounts from banks including Wachovia, SunTrust, Synovus, and BancorpSouth. Mobile Banking from AT&T affords you the flexibility to stay on top of your banking needs while you're on the move, enabling you to check your account balance, securely transfer funds between your eligible accounts, view and pay bills, and review your transaction history. AT&T customers pay no additional fee to access mobile banking and, because the application resides on the handset, the service is optimized to reduce the number of new page views necessary to complete a transaction. Minimal data usage charges apply and vary based on individual use.

Phone Features
The LG Xenon has a 2.8-inch LCD touchscreen with a 240 x 400-pixel resolution and support for 262K colors. It provides haptic vibration feedback when you touch icons or the onscreen keyboard, and it also has an accelerometer for auto-rotation of the screen when you turn it from portrait to landscape view. Below the screen you'll find just three buttons--one for accessing the main menu and standard send/end keys. The Home screen menu from LG's Flash user interface (UI) provides quick access to your calendar, alarm clock and digital audio player, and it provides an intuitive tab-based layout for accessing phone, multimedia and other tools. The phone also offers a four-row full QWERTY keyboard that smoothly slides out from the left side of the phone (when viewed in tall portrait mode).

The phone comes with an 80 MB internal memory, which is expandable via optional MicroSD memory cards (up to 16 GB in size). The internal phonebook can store up to 500 contacts, with each entry providing space for up to five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, and a picture ID. The phone also includes nine speed dial options (eight entries plus one voice-mail) and support for caller groups as well as designating a specific ringtone to a contact.

Handsfree communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, and file transfer. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send e-mail, and access files from a server (additional charges or subscription applicable). You can save up to 20 Bluetooth pairing and the phone supports two simultaneous pairings.

The Xenon also features GPS navigation, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, MicroSD expansion to 16 GB and a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder.

The digital audio player is compatible with MP3, AAC/AAC+, and WMA files, and it allows you to create and manage playlists directly on the phone. Other features include a customizable equalizer and visualization, the ability to multitask in other phone applications while still playing music, and easy transfer of files from your PC via USB (optional cable available separately). The phone also includes a flight mode, which allows you to continue playing music while turning off the cellular radio.

The 2-megapixel camera offers four resolution modes (1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixels) and it has a 2x digital zoom. It also features white balance and brightness controls, multishot capabilities, night mode for enhanced imagery in low-light conditions, multiple quality options, and your choice of shutter tones (including silent). Additionally, this phone can capture video clips with audio in either 320 x 240 or 176 x 144-pixel resolutions. You can record clips up to 32 seconds for sending via MMS messaging or up to 60 minutes for saving to your PC.

Other features include:

• SMS text and MMS picture/video messaging
• Threaded messaging displays messages in time-order from a contact
• Mobile e-mail--Yahoo!, AOL, AIM, Windows Live, AT&T Yahoo!, & BellSouth Accounts
• Instant Messaging--AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo! Messenger
• Organizer tools: alarm clock, calendar, notepad, calculator, tip calculator, world clock, tasks, stopwatch, unit converter
• RSS Feed Support--quick access to updates on regularly changing web content
• Speaker-Independent Voice Commands
• USB mass storage capabilities and charging via computer (cable sold separately)
• Java 2.0 support for application and game downloads
• 10 unique ringtones with vibrate and silent modes; compatible with MP3 real-music ringtones
• Shortcuts menu--add up to 9 shortcuts to the standby screen
• Voice memo recording (MMS and general modes)
• Bluetooth version 2.0 with the following profiles: A2DP (stereo music streaming), AVRC (remote control), HFP (hands-free car kits), HSP (communication headsets), BPP (basic printing profile for text, e-mail), DUN (dial-up networking), FTP (file transfer), OPP (object push for business cards, calendar items, and pictures)

Vital Statistics
The LG Xenon weighs 3.81 ounces and measures 4.16 x 2.11 x 0.62 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of talk time, and up to 264 hours (11 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as AT&T's HSDPA 3G network (850/1900 MHz).

Customer Reviews

Perfect phone for my needs
And what are those needs?

- I wanted a phone a step below a smartphone with cool features... no need for web browsing, navigator or the higher priced data packages.
- small enough to fit in my pocket
- physical qwerty keyboard for tons of texting (the touchscreen qwertys really irritated me so buh-bye iPhone and Samsung Eternity)
- decent camera


I narrowed it down to the LG Xenon and the Samsung Impression. They are both great and are almost identical in looks and features. The Xenon won for two reasons: the price on amazon at the time of purchase (a penny vs. $49) and the size... the Impression is just a tad larger. Also, I've owned many LG phones with Verizon (switched because of no reception at my parent's new home) so I guess I could throw in brand loyalty to that list.

And after five days of ownership, here are some PROS: great battery life, very intuitive, responsive and bright touchscreen, memory slot is easily accessible on the side, three tabs on the homepage to organize/group your favorite contacts(very useful!), the camera (with flash) is AWESOME even at just 2MP, the huge and rubbery qwerty keyboard and I actually like the blue "xenon" color. And judging from the LG phones I've owned in the past, this phone should be very durable and reliable.

CONS: the speakerphone is horrible for both the talker and the listener (kind of a shocker because all my past LG phones had great speakerphones) and I'd like it if the slider were a bit more resistant (now I'm just nitpicking).

Overall a great phone!

**** UPDATE: 5/15/09 ****

I had to return the phone. AT&T's service was horrible in my area (San Francisco Bay Area). Tons of dropped calls and static. I asked a few friends who also have AT&T (which I should've done before switching over) and they agreed about the service. Most of them are iPhone users and put up with the terrible service just to keep the iPhone!

It's a shame because the phone really is good... but I think a phone is only as good as the service you're getting. Also, I did find a few more flaws during my three weeks with the phone:

- noticeable scratches and scuff marks on the keyboard from the slider.
- slight freezing with the three homepage touchscreen buttons on top (favorite contacts, home, star features)
- the enunciator drop down menu (accessed by pressing on the top edge of the touchscreen) stopped working altogether
- phone randomly didn't ring for incoming calls, but would alert me if caller left a voicemail. (not sure if it's a phone issue or an issue with AT&T's horrid service)
- phone would occasionally freeze when trying to make outbound calls

The freezing issues with the touchscreen and outgoing calls may be a bit of a concern. I noticed it started to do it after I loaded the phone with contacts, pictures, text messages, etc... So I would take away one star if I could.

And I have to just mention that it was a bit of a pain to return. It took about four days before I finally got the right info. I spoke to three Amazon reps and some were clueless about the return process. One guy put me on hold for five minutes before telling me he would just email me instructions... the email arrived two days later but required I call AGAIN to get authorization. Just a very clumsy and disorganized return process. So my suggestion is if you're going to go through Amazon, be sure that this is the phone you want.

I decided to go with another online retailer for my replacement. Not sure if I can post the company on here, but feel free to ask me privately for the info. They were great and definitely instilled more confidence in their buying and return procedures. (this is the first time I've had to return anything to Amazon, so I'm not sure if this is common or just isolated with the cell phone department.)

So now I'm now with T-mobile and received my new Blackberry Curve 8900. The service is awesome... no dropped calls and the call quality is superb. I never thought I would own a blackberry, but this phone is GREAT! Review on that will be coming shortly =)

Finally a phone that has what I want without being a smartphone!
The Xenon is about near to perfect as I have found for my needs in a cellphone. First off, I have tried the Dare, the Omnia, the Behold, the Zine, and the Nokia 5310. All of them had some neat things, but weren't for me. I had initially been attracted to the phones with the high MP cameras because I didn't want to have to carry a camera with me, but I found that a higher MP doesn't necessarily mean a better picture. I also wanted something that could have music, which all these phones have, but some have the sd card inside. I wanted easy access. I wanted something that wasn't too small, which the Nokia seemed to be. I really liked it, otherwise, because it also had an FM radio. I was afraid I'd lose it, though. The Zine was okay, but I didn't like the keys. I really can't put my finger on why I didn't like the Behold. The Omnia was a smartphone and with it came the higher phone bill. It just had too much on it for me. I don't think I liked the side pullout menu of these two Samsung phones. It was neat to pull the icons onto the main screen, but they could be very cluttered. The Dare was a cool phone, but it was lacking one very important thing for me and also had some problems with locking up or turning off at the wrong time. It lacked a place in the contacts where I could input a street address with the contacts. I liked the touch screen and camera, though. I have written a review on the Dare, so I won't go further.

On to the Xenon. I like the smaller size. I like that it has both a touchscreen and keyboard. The qwerty keyboard slide is comfortable to text on. The keys are fairly flat, but they still feel like separate keys. I have big hands and it is great to use. I appreciate the .com, @, and text related keys along with the quick access keys for email and IM. It has AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo! Messenger. Although the keyboard is four rows, you must use the Fn key (blue) to access numbers and symbols. It wasn't difficult to use. The sliding action of the keyboard feels solid to me and not springy. The covers for the sd card and charger/headset port are a little different. It's best if you have a bit of fingernail to grip the indentation and then carefully pull on the cover piece because it has a plastic post for the little covers to swivel on. I found it a bit tricky at first.

The touchscreen is quite responsive with haptic vibration and the accelerometer is quick when you go from portrait to landscape (qwerty). I like the layout of the menus and the Xenon offers different ways to access the things you need. It is as if LG tried to accommodate almost every possible user. You can use a virtual dialpad to text in T9, tap, or just use the qwerty keyboard. It also has a copy and paste feature. To access contacts, you can do so from the slideout qwerty keyboard, by using the green call button, and by the bottom icons on the screen using either the rolodex type icon or the menu icon that looks like a dice. AND, you can input street addresses in the memo area of the contacts! The dice button will bring up the various menus, as well. At the top of the screen (hidden from view), you can pull down a menu for messaging, your calendar, bluetooth, stop watch, music player, and ring options. Just below that you can access three icons. When you are on the home screen, only the person and the star icons are highlighted. The star icon brings up your favorite menu items, which you can move/drag to the order you want. The person icon brings up your favorite contacts with some cool features, which I'll write about in a moment. When in either of these areas, the home icon will be highlighted to quickly close your favorites. On the home screen, at the bottom left is a small pullout menu that gives you quick access to notes, calendar, pictures, music, an alarm clock, and world clock. You can drag and drop these onto the home screen, if you want. It is a very full featured phone, but not a smart phone. In between the call (green) and end (red) buttons is a task manager button, which is handy if you have a couple things going on. The back function is virtual on the touch screen.

The neat thing about the favorite contacts is that you have an icon that you can save a picture ID to and when you click on it, four options become available. You can call, text, see if there are messages from that person, and view the phone number. You can also quickly access all the contact info for that person by double tapping on the picture and edit also. In addition, you have three locations within the favorite contacts area, denoted by three little dots towards the bottom of the screen. You can have one be for your family, one for friends, and one for co-workers or whatever your three favorite categories would be. In these areas, your icons can be set grid-like and stationary to a designated spot or they can have the ability to shift as the phone shifts by pressing in the empty space around your icons until a small menu pops up at the bottom of the screen. The menu will have a plus sign so you can quickly add to your favorites, a grid icon that will put your icons in place, a push pin icon that will give you the option for your contact icons to shift with your phone orientation or be fixed in the position you want. I like a little more stability so I set them to their places.

The camera is a 2MP with a flash that is very bright. The Xenon offers so many options to have fun with pictures. You can morph, stamp, draw, edit, colorize, etc. It doesn't offer a panorama or multi-shot function that I have found, but the other options make up for the lack of these. It doesn't have a zoom. The photo quality is good. It also has a video option so you can video call or just take a quick video.

The battery life is pretty good. I charge it about once a week with a lot of use. I'm not a heavy texter, but I've been playing with the phone and learning what it can do. I didn't find the learning curve to be steep at all and I didn't read the manual. The speaker phone is okay, but I never really use that feature on any phone unless I'm waiting on hold. I've yet to experience a really clear speaker phone conversation on any phone. The normal call sound is clear. I can't comment on the internet function because I don't use the internet on my phone, but from researching the phone, it appears to be good at that, also. It has GPS capability, but that wasn't really important to me.

The Xenon is a really fun and functional phone. It's close to being smart. It had enough smarts for me to finally commit to a phone and a two year plan after a year of playing with phones and different providers. My 15 years old daughter has really enjoyed it as much as I have. Thank goodness for the family share unlimited texting plan!

Much Better than the Techies Give it Credit For
All over the internet there are reviews of this phone comparing it with the Samsung Impression. I didn't want the impression because it is GIGANTIC and also because as someone who has used Samsung phones for a long time, I've always found their battery life to be horrendous. My last cell was the LG Shine, and I was pleasantly surprised with how long its battery lasted.

Some of the reviews on the internet complained about the haptic feedback (aka the fact that the phone vibrates when you use the touch screen). Actually, you can adjust this feature to your liking (there are three vibrations to choose from) or completely turn it off. Another feature complained about was the sensitivity of the screen, but again if you go into the settings menu you can recalibrate the screen to your liking.

I actually think this phone is better and CHEAPER than the Samsung Impression. It has a screen lock on the side which the impression doesn't have. It also has a camera button on the side so you can take a pic in an instant. The camera is 2 mega pixels, but it takes decent pics and has a flash. Samsung Impression is 3+ mega pixels, but has NO flash. When using the mobile web this phone automatically re-adjusts the screen size. Again, Impression doesn't do that!

Best of all, this phone as a lot of great "little" features. It has widgets, like post its that you can leave on the back drop. It also has a special column where you can organize your favorite phone contacts for easy access. Overall, a great phone for the price!