LG Dare cell phone review - Conclusion (by Noah Kravitz)

LG Dare Review - Conclusion

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Posted on Friday, July 18, 2008
by Noah Kravitz, Editor in Chief, PhoneDog Media

At a Glance Introduction Design & Features Usability & Performance Conclusion

Conclusion

Editor Rating:

4.7

Styling: 5

Ease of Use: 5

Display: 4

Voice Quality: 4

Battery Life: 5

Quality/Durability: 5

No phone is without its strong and weak points, and you can’t please all of the people all of the time. While Dare left something to be desired in a few areas, in general I found it to be an extremely attractive device that excels at most of what it does. Perhaps most importantly for a phone that does so many things, Dare’s easy and fun to use. It took a little while to get used to the touchscreen’s idiosyncrasies and learn - and customize - the many shortcut menus (even the main screen has two options: Grid and Scattered), but once I got the hang of it I really liked being able to set the home screen up with a photo of my choosing and single-click links to my favorite features.

Hardcore texters may lament Dare’s lack of a physical keypad and relatively small onscreen QWERTY, while those looking for the optimal mobile Web experience could also do slightly better elsewhere. And Dare isn’t a true smartphone, so don’t expect support for your custom POP3 Email account or robust PC syncing. But Dare does have plenty of features to appeal to the masses, and a killer camera and great media player to boot. And if size matters to you, you may prefer Dare’s compact body to longer, larger options like Instinct and iPhone. I personally really love Dare’s size and shape, even if a larger screen would make Email and Web browsing a little easier.

Will Dare lure AT&T customers away from iPhone and Sprint devotees from their Instincts? Probably not. But it certainly should help Verizon retain customers who’ve been yearning for an all-touch, media-friendly handset of their own. Verizon’s had a solid network for quite some time. Now they’re starting to fill their shelves with some eye-catching new handsets to take advantage of all that EV-DO goodness. Dare gives VZW their most direct iPhone competitor to date, and a great cameraphone to boot. But it also gives them something else: A handset that’s cool to look at and fun to use. In the fickle eyes of the consumer, sometimes cool and fun are worth more than all the features in the world.

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ibmills @ Oct 4 8:00 PM

the fone is nice but i find it is not compatible to the mercedes benz bluetooth i down load it to my car and it works but than when i leave the car and get back in the car i have to reload it again to my lg my motorola i t stayed connected until i walked twenty feet away then i get back in the car it would still be connected so any one else has this problem hateing haveing to go into fone and add every time i get in car

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Buddab @ Sep 16 10:02 PM

I have had this phone since it came out... I loved it at first... I just got my 3rd one tonight. My first LG Dare touch screen went out. They did replace it with a new one... 97 days later I am back at the store getting another one. This time when I push the camera button it states CAMERA START ERROR....SO tonight I come home with my 3rd phone.... I am thinking of getting a different phone any ideas????

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a.c012 @ Sep 8 3:14 PM

wich is better the samsung glyde or the motorola rival (reply back)

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corn9268 @ Nov 3 4:10 PM

motorola rival the glides battery last a bout 30 minutes if u r texting

VoyagerDude @ Aug 13 12:31 AM

I think im gonna get this phone but im not sure

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jades491 @ Aug 2 3:07 PM

i mite get dis fone 4 mi bday nov 18.does it realy hv alot of problems?

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jalundin @ Aug 5 5:08 PM

Check the reviews of this phone on Cnet.com and Amazon.com. I have an enV now and have been looking at phones for 2 months and I have decided to get the Dare, or the Samsung Rogue (Avail Aug 15).

i_luv_tacos_010 @ Jul 27 2:03 AM

idk which i should get. the env touch or the dare?

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vaan144 @ Jul 29 5:24 PM

the lg dare is smaller , but the env touch has a qwerty keyboard. they both havec a 3 inch display, but some argue that the display on the touch is better. the env touch is better for messaging, but may be too big. they have the same exact camera - 3.2 mp autofocus and flash, and the dare is thinner than the env.

drew1590 @ Jul 16 2:36 PM

i have the dare its cool works well can your home screeen be horizontal too or just in your text and on the internet???

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brandi_lulu_ @ Jul 12 4:22 AM

i want this phone i think

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hdsoccer @ Jul 9 8:17 PM

do not buy this dare.
I loved this phone when i got it. But three days later, a whole line of pixels on the screen went out. Verizon gave me another new dare.
I had that phone for five months when the speaker stopped working. Verizon overnighted me another new Dare.
I have had the one i have for a week now and am very fustrated. The new software installed on the new device has glitches in the text messaging interface. I took the phone back down to verizon and they told me i had to wait for a software update. Now how is this fare? I have had to deal with this phone constantly and now i have a device that has defective software and i have to deal with it until a new version comes out. How fair is that?
DO NOT BUY THIS PHONE!

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zacky2cool @ Jul 4 8:25 AM

im getting the LG DARE on july 26th thats my birthday im so excited i think that phone is soo sickkkk and i love its touch screen
its always nice to have a phone that fits into your hand and is not a little bit bigger its perfect size

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leanna100 @ Jun 20 8:15 PM

DARE RULES!

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bond523 @ Jun 15 10:14 AM

yo everyone whos hating on the dare really it just isn't the right phone for you. i've had the dare for about a month now and I love it. the camera rocks, the touch screen works just fine for me and better than my voyager. I could have waited for the Env touch but i wanted the full touch screen experience without the hassle of a mandatory expenxive internet plan. My dare works just fine for me even though it may not be the right phone for one of u. And the touch screen keyboard takes one day to get use to after that I was flying on the keyboard and internet isnt the best but it works well and I love the favorites and moveable shortcuts. Really an all round cool phone and no complaints.

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