LG 501c Review Part 3

Like I pointed out on the first two posts of this LG 501c review, I am not the author of this critique. Credit for that goes to long-time TracFone user and commenter on this blog, Otis226. I have also used the 501c myself, and I compared Otis’ written review with my own experience, adding and editing where necessary. The result is a combined effort that I feel presents a very accurate evaluation of this device.

This phone is available for both TracFone and Net10. You’ll find links to all portions of this review on the LG 501c review index page.

Connectivity

The 501c can connect up to bluetooth-enabled devices. That’s the short answer. I’ve tried to test this function as carefully as I know how, using both a Windows based PC and an iMac. The phone is easily recognized. Getting ,sending and exchanging vCard info, as well as calendar events works well and easily. But that’s where bluetooth connectivity seems to stop with this handset.

What made this confusing to me, is that since the LG500g has full bluetooth connectivity, I assumed the LG501c, being so similar in appearance, as well as being a newer offering from Tracfone, would have it also. My mistake, but the real capper was that the owners manual for this handset states, in the section on transferring photos from the phone to another device, that the choice includes sending via MMS or bluetooth. This is incorrect, as the only choice given with the 501c is via MMS messaging.

So, it seems that bluetooth connectivity is quite limited by Tracfone for this model. I am unable to test the capability of communicating with a vehicle bluetooth device, but I believe it should work at least for voice calls. I would be surprised, however, if the phone book function or voice commands work over bluetooth.

Further, USB connectivity is limited as well. I tried connecting via USB to both a Vista and an XP windows machine, and in both cases the phone was recognized by the PC as a “USB modem.” I found no options within the “settings” menu to change the USB connection mode to “mass storage,” which is the setting used on other phones (like the LG 500g) to allow for file transfer via USB.

Camera

The VGA (.3 mp)camera seems sub-standard in terms of resolution, when you compare it to the other 1.3 and 2.0 megapixel cameras on most new TracFone and Net10 mobiles. That being said, it works as well as any I’ve used with a Tracfone. It includes the standard adjustments for brightness, resolution and multishot functions, (3 or 6 shot). Also available are 5 options for ‘image effects and 5 options for ‘fun effects’. If the phone is held still in moderately bright light, you will get a passable image. There is no video option on this phone.

To sum it up here, as long as you know you won’t be getting a low-resolution image, you won’t be disappointed. The camera works fine, but is hindered by the VGA resolution, lack of video, and lack of airtime-free methods of downloading the pictures to a PC.

Extras

Internal memory is limited to 75 mb, approx. 2.7 which is reserved for messages, contacts, etc. Included ringtones number 32, but that includes 9 message tones. Additional ringtones can of course be purchased.

The same two games included on the LG500g are also available here, Chequered Flag and WordAttack, with the option to buy others. You can also add java apps, as I successfully installed the opera mini browser by navigating the 501c’s native browser to m.opera.com. Further, I logged into Facebook, and was promptly greeted by a suggestion to install their app, which I did without a problem.

I did not try any other apps from sites like getjar.com or umnet.com, but apps from those sites should work as well as long as they are compatible with this phone (look for .jar files). One thing to keep in mind as far as installing apps, though, is that there’s no apparent easy way to get java files from a computer to the LG 501c. With bluetooth blocked from transferring files, no removable memory, and with USB not functional for data transfer, you’ll be limited to downloading any jar files via the phone’s browser, therefore costing you airtime.

Speaking of the browser, I was happy with the speed of the connection. I tested it by loading ESPN.com, which has a lot of information on the main page, but is also a very main-stream site with plenty of resources for optimizing the mobile version of their site.

It took approximately 8 seconds from when I pressed the “browser” button until I was ready to enter the URL. After I clicked “ok” on the URL entry, it took around 20 seconds for the page to load. I then repeated this by clicking on ESPN’s “NFL” page, and it again took approximately 20 seconds to load the page. This isn’t blazing fast by any means, but then I don’t expect people to be using this type of phone for long web-browsing sessions.

A couple of complaints I do have on the browser, though. First, most other TracFone and Net10 handsets I’ve used will allow the user to select “browser” from the menu and then enter a destination URL BEFORE activating the browser. On the 501c, however, selecting “browser” from the menu launches the browser immediately, and therefore the airtime meter begins immediately. It’s not a huge amount of minutes, but I’d rather enter a URL airtime-free if possible.

My other complaint is one that I’ve made dozens of times before – the “browser” shortcut button on the home screen cannot be re-programmed. As I’ve said before, this can result in the accidental activation of the browser, thus costing airtime. You’ll have a couple of seconds before your charged, but this could be a real problem if the browser is activated while the phone is in a pocket or purse.

Moving on, the tools included are; a calculator, EZ tip calculator, world clock, stopwatch, and unit converter. The ‘My Schedule’ submenu brings up the alarm clock, which allows 5 individual alarms to be set.The phone must be powered on for the alarm to function.

A standard calander function, which allows 300 different events to be saved, with or without alarm function. And finally, a notepad, where up to 100 short, 150 character notes can be stored.

Perhaps the “extras” on this phone are more notable for what’s missing – in this case, an mp3 player and microSD card reader. Both of these options are something that I’d expect on this type of phone these days (and indeed are included on the LG 500g, the very similar GSM equivalent to the LG 501c).

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you are looking for a QWERTY keyboard on a Tracfone or Net10 handset, and you must have CDMA coverage, I guess this is the phone for you. Or at least until the release of the recently-announced LG 505c, assuming that comes to TracFone and Net10.

I still can’t understand why this phone’s price is more than the LG500g ($39.99 compared to $29.99), for what apparently is so much less. Perhaps that will change with time. All I can assume, is Tracfone wants to make using CDMA as unattractive as possible for people that don’t really need it in their area, and for folks that must have it, you take what you can get.

The LG 501c is not a bad phone by any means. It excels in terms of signal reception, and provides adequate call quality in a nice compact form factor.  However, the low-resolution camera, locked-down bluetooth, and lack of USB connectivity, expandable memory,  video recorder, and mp3 player make it hard for me to recommend this phone wholeheartedly.

All things considered, the QWERTY keyboard might be enough to influence some CDMA-using Tracfone and Net10 customers to make the switch, and I can’t disagree with that either if you are a big texter. But I would recommend this as an upgrade only for those who definitely want a QWERTY CDMA phone now. If you can afford to hold off a few months, though, you might want to wait and see what the price tag on the LG 505c is when it is released.

TracFone

Net10

As I noted in the beginning of this review, I am not the author of this critique. Instead, for this review, I called on my friend Otis226, who has a great deal of experience with a variety of TracFone and Net10 handsets, and whose judgment I trust fully. I have also used the 501c myself, and I compared Otis’ written review with my own experience, adding and editing where necessary. The result is a combined effort that I feel presents a very accurate evaluation of this device.

This device is currently available for both TracFone and Net10. You’ll find links to all portions of this review on the LG 501c review index page.

General Phone Function

Reception on this handset has been good to excellent for me during the several weeks I’ve been using it. I’m located in a GSM/CDMA overlap area, where I feel that GSM has a slight edge on call quality. My main Tracfone is a CDMA, LG290C, and this LG501C was every bit as reliable for signal strength, reception and call quality.

I still judge all Tracfones by how they compare to the Motorola W376g when it comes to call quality. I would give this handset a 3.5 to 4 rating if the 376g is a 5.

Volumes on this handset seem adequate to me. I can clearly hear the ringtones on volume level 4, (they are adjustable from the side buttons, with options ranging from silence all, alarm only, vibrate only, 1 beep, and volume 1-5). The in-call volumes are good to very good and fair to good in noisy, outdoor situations. I found the speakerphone to be excellent, and it is easily turned on and off with the press of a button in the lower right hand corner of the keyboard.

There are 99 speed dial slots, with #1 reserved for voicemail. Each contact can be assigned their own distinctive ringtone. The contacts can also be broken down into 1 of 5 different groups: Business, colleagues, family, friends, school, and no group.

The 950mAh 3.7 V Lithium Ion battery is identical to the one used in the LG500g Tracfone, (LGIP-531A), as is the charger. Here it is rated at 10 days of standby time and 2.5 hrs. of talk time. Interesting as this talk time is only half as much as is stated for the LG500g! I guess it depends on your source of that information. Anyway, I’ve found while testing, and considering that this phone doesn’t have the mp3 player or video capability of the 500g, battery life is fair. Of course if your web browsing and bluetooth use is less than average, your talk time per charge should be substantially better.

Display/Keypad

I find the display on this phone to be bright and crisp, and very similar to the LG500G. When viewing photos taken and using the slideshow feature, the viewing is comfortable, taking into consideration the size of the screen. Viewing the screen from an angle seems better to me than many former models. The only place where the display completely fails is trying to view the screen in full sunlight. Without shading it with your hand or a building, you’re going to have a great deal of difficulty seeing very much on the screen. I would look for a shaded area before attempting to use this handset out in the sun.

Having kind of gotten used to the menu set up on the LG500G, it seems that LG has once again slightly changed their menu format for this handset. Instead of the 9 options offered on the 500G, here you are given a choice of 12 submenu choices, (bluetooth, my schedule, and voice commands get their own submenus on the LG501C). I do like that they once again included numbering the submenu items so that hitting the corresponding number on the keypad brings up that submenu without having to scroll to it. I still feel more comfortable with the menu layout on my 290C, but I’m certain that anyone using the LG501C for a short time will find the menu and submenu display fairly easy to navigate.

Using the full ‘QWERTY’ keyboard is really what this phone is all about. If you need a CDMA-connected handset and you like the speed and ease of text input using this type of keyboard, you’ll love the LG501C. I’ve mentioned that I’m not an avid texter by any means, but using the QWERTY keyboard really does make it fun and so much easier than hunting and pecking with a standard numeric keypad. I would hope that in the future Tracfone would offer a model that includes a touchscreen as well as the full QWERTY keyboard, so users could have the option of using a touchscreen keyboard, or the real thing.

The tactile feel and response of these little keys seems just right to my thumb pressure. Add to that the general comfortable fit when holding this phone, and I think it’s a really good combination.

If you press the ‘CLR’ key from the home screen you will be brought to a screen that shows you the functions of the central shortcut keys (up, down, left, and right). As previously mentioned, I don’t believe these keys are programmable. They appear to be locked to the “Messages,” “Sound,” “Contacts,” and “Games” (clockwise, starting with the “up” key).

That’s all I’ve got for now, but there’s one more installment of the LG 501c Review coming next week. In that final article, we’ll go over the connectivity, camera, extras, and the final recommendation on this device. If you want more details from the sellers of this phone, here are the links:

TracFone

Net10

LG 505c Review

Another new phone is apparently headed in our direction. Thanks to The_Sweeper and TracFancier, both of whom pointed out that a tutorial is up for the new LG 505c. The big news here is that it’s a CDMA touch-screen phone, something that Net10, Straight Talk, and especially TracFone users have been waiting on for a long time now.