Display & Audio
4.7
The main display is a 2.2" TFT screen capable of resolutions of 176 x 220 pixels at up to 262,00 colors. Big and bright, the display is easy to read and generally looks great. Watching videos on the handset, however, reveals the limitations of the display resolution - some videos that looked a bit blocky here surely would have benefited from a QVGA (320 x 240) display.
A real treat, however, was the externally mounted secondary display. As mentioned, this screen doubles as a viewfinder when the phone is in camera mode and also provides key information in music player mode. At 1.3" in size and capable of displaying 65,000 colors, the outer screen is quite useful for the aforementioned tasks as well as your basic caller ID, clock, and wallpaper funcitonality.
The VX-8600 also features flash-based user interface menus that are a step forward from the standard Verizon UI we've grown accustomed to. While nothing so sexy as the glitzy UIs recently shown on, say, LG's Prada phone, the 8600's flash animations are pleasing to the eye nonetheless.
I tested the dual-band CDMA VX-8600 on Verizon's network in the San Francisco Bay Area. Voice quality through the internal earpiece was excellent. Calls came through loud and clear on both mine and the other end, and I kept the volume no higher than the middle of the range.
The speakerphone, on the other hand, was noticeably quiet and tinny. While I don't expect much from music playback through a cellphone's built-in speaker, the 8600's speaker didn't do much for voice calls, either, which could be a deal-breaker for users who rely on speakerphone functionality. As mentioned, the handset comes with a 2.5mm headphone adapter that supports optional wired headsets, including stereo earphones.
Bluetooth audio devices are also supported, though stereo over Bluetooth is not. I had no trouble pairing a Bluetooth earpiece with the phone, and voice quality with the earpiece was good.
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