The LG Scoop: An Affordable, Well-Functioning Cell Phone

I kept the same old cell phone for years. It was an old Nokia. It worked great and I never had any problems out of it. But, technology improved and everyone around me was upgrading. I got to the point of being very embarrassed by my cell phone. It was ancient! So, I finally went in and bought myself a new one: The LG Scoop.

My provider is Alltel, so I don't know if this phone is limited to them or to all providers. I have to admit I love my new phone! There are still features on it that I don't know how to use! You have different colors to choose from. I chose the teal color. Of course, the color is the least of a buyer's concern. What's important is that you get your money's worth and as many features as you can possibly get. This phone gives you just that.

The feature I like best is the texting. This phone slides out to expose a keyboard. It is set up much like that of a computer (typewriter for those of you that remember those). This feature makes it so much easier and faster to text. You have your shift key for when you want to capitalize something. You also have the function key that allows you to use the upper numbers or punctuation. The space key is also a great feature to have. You can still text on the keypad on the face of the phone, but why would you want to text "old school style" when you can slide it out and use the keyboard?

The Scoop is also a camera and video phone as well. This has really come in handy when I don't have my camera with me. I can switch on my phone and take a shot! The one thing I wish it did have is a flash. I do have the option to go in and set it to night mode or to lighten it up, but it would help if it had a flash.

Probably one of the features I use the least is the Axcess Shop and Axcess Web. Axcess Shop allows you to purchase and download various applications to your phone. You can choose from tools to games. Axcess Web is exactly what it sounds like: you can get online. I have used this feature a couple of times when I wasn't able to get to a computer, but it is slow and I'm just not very comfortable with it. Airtime charges will also be applied and that can get to be costly. My advice is to not use this unless you just really need to.

The Scoop is also Bluetooth ready. Another feature I do not use. I guess I am just not up on all of the technology being offered today. But it is there if I ever need it.

Other features include Voice Command, Voice Mail, My Menu, Alarm Clock, Calendar, EZ Tip Calc, Notepad, Calculator, World Clock, Stopwatch, and Unit Converter. Most of these are basic, I'm sure, with many phones, but for me, they are all new. Voice Command is a setting you can use to dial up people just by telling your phone who to call. This would be great to set up for those who drive and talk a lot on the phone or for those people that are blind. Voice Mail is one familiar with most people, although I didn't have it with my Nokia. I have come to really like this feature when I'm not able to answer my phone. The other features are pretty self-explainatory and are easy ones to use. I probably use the alarm clock and the calculator the most out of these features.

One thing I have a lot fun with is the wallpaper. The phone comes with basic ones, but you can take pictures and personalize it. You can also purchase new ones. Ringtones are also something I've had fun with. You can purchase and download any song you can think of in any genre. This also adds a personal touch to the phone.

Celltop is a new feature offered by Alltel. This will pull up several different things: your call log, top ringtones and this is where you can purchase and download them, your text message inbox, the local weather, world news, the stockmarket, football updates, basketball updates, baseball and rodeo updates. These can be changed to other cells, depending on what you prefer. I don't use this feature very often, except for the weather cell if I don't have a way of getting it otherwise. Airtime charges will also apply, so be careful or you'll rack up a huge bill.

When I bought the phone, the sales rep warned me that they have had several complaints about ruining the screen. Many people put their phones in their pockets. With this phone, you can't do that. It will ruin the keypad and the screen, both. I have used a lot of caution with this phone, I want it to last as long as my Nokia did. I did have to take back the first Scoop I bought and they replaced it for me. Since I had purchased it, I had not been able to access the web, celltop and some of the features wouldn't work. Then one day the screen went blank. I took it in and they didn't even blink an eye. They exchanged it at no cost to me. I'm sure they get a lot of phones that are mistreated and broken, but I had been very careful with mine and you could tell that it hadn't been dropped or sat on. It just happened to be a lemon. The one I carry now works perfectly, though. I haven't had one problem with it. I would like to find a protective case for it, just for added safety. I also purchased the insurance for it just in case I did do something to break it. This is a minimum cost, about $2 to $4 a month. It is worth paying for.

I do highly recommend this phone. It's not as fancy as some others out there, but it is affordable and functions great! It has a stylish look to it which makes me feel more "with the times" than my old Nokia did. If you need an upgrade and you are capable of not being rough with your phone (depending on your work and your age or clumsiness) this phone is great for you!