The LG VX8550 is yet another master piece from LG cell phones and is definitely a beauty in itself and is a major upgrade from the first LG Chocolate phone. However it does retain its familiar chocolate bar shape and with the addition of a wonderful glossy look and feel.

In the hand the phone does have a perfect weight and feel, at 3.85 inches tall by 1.87 inches wide by 0.67 inch thick it is a comfortable phone to use for a slider.

Users can accept calls by sliding up the phone and can end calls by sliding down the phone. The slider mechanism moves up and down easily.

At the front of the phone in place of the problematic touch sensitive navigation wheel the designers have placed a shiny, mechanical scroll wheel with a middle selection key. The scroll wheel also has a trace of light emitting from its background which further adds to the beauty of the phone when the scroller is being used. There are four vibrating touch sensitive buttons that respond to a gentle touch with a vibration.

On the left side of the phone users will find the volume up and down keys along with the charger port, whereas on the right side of the phone there exists a port for the MicroSD card and a dedicated music key.

The main problem with this phone is that the glossy finish is a magnet for fingerprints and smudges, users will have to constantly clean the phone in order to keep it smudge free.

The box contents contains the LG cell phone itself, a standard 800 mAh Li-Ion Battery, AC Charger, Headset Adapter, and User Manual. The box contents may be different depending on your country and service provider.

Camera:

The LG Chocolate VX 8550 comes with a 1.3 mega pixel camera, why they would put a 1.3 mega pixel camera in this phone instead of a 2.0 mega pixel camera is beyond me. But even with the 1.3 MP the results are very decent, except in low-lit conditions. The camera shoots in three different resolutions, 1280 x 960 px, 640 x 480 px and 320 x 240 px and can support only a 2x zoom.

Specifications:

Display: 2” TFT LCD, 262K colors, 240 x 320 Pixels, 11 Lines.

Battery: Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is user replaceable. 800 mAh. Claimed talk time is up to 4 hours and standby is up to 350 hours. Optional 1500 mAh battery sold separately.

Size: 3.85 x 1.87 x 0.67 inches. Weight: 3.24 ounces.

Camera: 1.3 megapixel camera and camcorder. 2x digital zoom exception in the highest resolution. Camera resolutions: 1280×960, 640×480(default) and 320×240 Pixels. Camcorder records 3G2 format, can take 30 second videos for messaging or 1 hour videos. Video resolution: 176 x 144 pixels.

Audio: Built-in speaker, mic, LG headset jack and a 2.5mm headset jack (non-standard). VoiceCommand and speakerphone included. Has standalone mode (radios off) and vibration mode. Supports Bluetooth A2DP for wireless stereo.

Networking: Integrated Bluetooth v1.1. Supported profiles include: Headset, Hands-free, Dialing-Up Networking, A2DP, Phone Book Access, Basic Printing, Object Push for vCard and vCal, FTP, Basic Imaging Profiles.

Expansion: 1 microSD card slot supporting up to 4 GB card.