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(More customer reviews)I got a LG 550 Fusic in June 2007 and traded it in for this one a month later, not knowing at the time that a successor was in the works. The Muziq is an excellent upgrade to its predecessor, but is similar or identical in most respects. Its footprint is a little larger, but the phone itself is slimmer and lighter, making it easier to fit in a pocket.
Unlike the Fusic, which had separate music players for memory card and downloaded content, the Muziq has one multi-capable music player which integrates the online Sprint music store. It contains most standard music player features, including shuffle and repeat. Although the music player is capable of displaying album art, this feature seems to be erratic. Sometimes it works, most of the time it doesn't, for content I've loaded from my computer using the bundled software (some of the artwork was manually added and some automatically added, all using iTunes), and the artwork didn't appear on the external screen either. Still, album art isn't a big deal if you're not staring at the phone constantly, and with a 2 GB microSD or 4 GB microSD HC card, the phone does a decent iPod Nano impression. The phone comes packaged with half a headset - it's basically the microphone/clip/button/cable assembly with a standard size headphone jack. So, once you insert your headphones of choice, the cable effectively turns the combination of the two into a headset. Naturally other cell phone headsets work as well without the adapter; I haven't tried a Bluetooth headset yet, though. The phone also includes an RF transmitter, which has decent enough quality and works well but has a short range (5-10 feet) which means results will vary widely depending on where your car's antenna is located. My Pontiac Vibe has no problems with it at all.
The Muziq's earpiece has a bit of a sweet spot, but the volume and quality are good once you find it. Use of the speakerphone, however, is not recommended. It sounds okay for music (certainly not as good as stereo headphones, but not too tinny and the volume range is passable), but people on the other end aren't able to understand me most of the time. This is disappointing, because the Fusic's speakerphone was much better. Call quality in general is good though the person on the other end can tell it's a cell phone. Dropped calls are typically not a problem.
Camera quality is to be expected. I use the 1.3 MP camera for caller ID photos and not much else. One setting, the "image enhancer", I highly recommend turning on. I don't know what it does, but it improves the quality noticeably. Although the camera has a "flash", it's not terribly effective. You can also take videos with it, though those over 500 KB can't be sent by picture mail. Still, the camera is good enough for what I use it for.
The side keys are reliable but impossible to read. I had to memorize their positions before I could use them effectively. Also, the power/USB port has a door that must be removed, making it somewhat annoying to plug in, but I certainly don't mind not getting dirt in there. The headphone port and microSD card port also have doors, but I found them easier to manipulate than the ones the Fusic had. Also, the music controls on the outside are tactile, but not in a standard way - they don't depress like normal buttons. Instead, they vibrate when you put your finger on them. You can also increase the vibration to a second, harder setting if desired. I've found that the keys are reliable but a tad disconcerting to use. There's a key guard setting, also, so you don't activate them when you don't mean to, and naturally this can be turned off.
Three major PC connectivity gripes: The phone comes with a USB cable, but it CANNOT be used to charge the phone; when the phone is in file transfer mode, it cannot receive calls; and there's no Bluetooth file transfer (though you can transfer contacts with another Bluetooth phone). Despite these glaring flaws, if you have a decent size microSD card, you can use this as a USB flash drive in a pinch; it just can't be a phone at the same time. For the mildly computer-impaired, the Muziq is packaged with Sprint proprietary iTunes-like music synchronization software which is more than happy to find all the music on your system and make adding it to your phone as easy as drag and drop.
I highly recommend switching the phone from the default theme to the LG theme. I found it to be ugly and washed out looking; that's probably why CNET's review mentioned that the screen looked washed out - once the LG theme is in place, I couldn't disagree more with that assessment, as both of the 262,000 color screens look vibrant and detailed. It dispenses with the options cluttering up the main screen if one does not or cannot use the On Demand or Text Messaging functions. Also, with this theme active, the four directional buttons can be set to shortcuts, similar to many other Sprint models.
The phone has many preset simple, MIDI and polyphonic ringers, but you can't use MP3 ringers unless you download them from the Sprint music store. There are ways of tricking the phone into accepting a user MP3 ringer for the resourceful, though the process is by no means straightforward (do a web search for adding MP3 ringers on the Fusic; it's similar for this one). It would have been nice if LG made this easier, but seeing as how it would most likely result in a sharp drop in music store sales, I'm not too surprised by it.
One big advantage, in my opinion, that this has over the Fusic is the ability to independently control the vibration ringer option. On the Fusic, you could only enable vibration by itself or with the lowest and highest ringer levels. With this model vibration is a separate option that can be enabled at any ringer level. It's a little thing, but it's little upgrades like this that make the Muziq truly superior to its predecessor.
I don't have a data plan, but the small amount of internet I've used on the phone has shown speedy downloads and good quality. I can't speak to the TV features of this phone as a result.
Battery life is excellent. I've had the phone on for nearly a week without having to recharge it, talking about an hour a day and not using internet or music. It would be nice if the included USB cable functioned as a second charging cable, though.
Overall I have found the Muziq to be an excellent phone in the short time I have used it, nearly three weeks now. Aside from the slight USB gripes mentioned above, I'm very satisfied with it and it definitely catches eyes with its sleek design. There's no way to know how it will hold up over time, but I'm hopeful it'll last out this two-year contract better than the miserable experience I had with the Sanyo 8200.
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LG Muziq LX-570 Phone (Sprint, Phone Only, No Service)A successor to the popular Fusic, the LG LX-570 Muziq seamlessly combines all your mobile communication needs with an easily pocketable multimedia powerhouse. It offers a wide assortment of format compatibility for both audio and video, an FM transmitter for playing audio over an FM radio, and personalized streaming radio from Pandora Mobile. And with a dedicated music key and multitasking capability, you can run another application while you listen to music. It operates on Sprint's North American CDMA voice network, as well as on Sprint's Mobile Broadband Network (EV-DO), which enables you to quickly access audio, video and data applications. Other features include a MicroSD memory card slot, 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder, Bluetooth stereo streaming, POP3 email support, and full duplex speakerphone.
Supporting the EV-DO high-speed data standard, the Muziq is fully compatible with Sprint's Power Vision service. With Power Vision, you can download and stream high-quality video, straight onto your phone. Enjoy full-color video clips or live TV of the latest news, sports, and entertainment from brands you know, like CNN, Fox, The Weather Channel, NFL Mobile, and more. Power Vision also serves as a portal for enhanced games. Where coverage is available, EV-DO connectivity provides average download speeds ranging from 400 to 700 Kbps, with peak rates up to 2 Mbps.
Sprint's music service is another EV-DO-powered service that makes the Muziq all the more desirable. With the Sprint Music Store, your phone is a music player, letting you buy, download, and then jam out wherever you are with new songs or old favorites. Offering a growing selection of more than 1.6 million songs, the store provides you two copies of each song--one for the phone and another for the PC, as well as the ability to burn songs to a CD using Windows Media Player. Save your songs to a MicroSD memory card with a capacity that's right for you (it supports capacity up to 4 GB).
Focused on music playback, the LG LX-570 Muziq has a dedicated music controller on the front of the phone that's designed to allow easy access to your music, as well as an easy way to use your multitasking feature to put your music in the background or bring it to the foreground. It supports a wide variety of audio and video formats (MP3, MP4, 3G2, 3GP, AAC, AMR, MID, QCP, 3GPP, PMD, M4V, M4A, KOZ). In addition to personal listening through wired (3.5mm jacks) or wireless (Bluetooth) headphones, the phone also includes a built-in FM transmitter that enables you to transmit tunes wirelessly through any FM radio within 10 feet (with your choice of an open frequency, from 88.1 to 107.9 MHz).
Stream music to your phone with Sprint Radio, offering over 30 channels of both music and talk radio--from Hip Hop and Latin Pop to NPR. And with Pandora Mobile, a downloadable application, you can get personalized streaming radio by entering a favorite artist or song and automatically receive a radio station with songs that have similar qualities.
This phone provides Bluetooth version 2.0 wireless connectivity, and includes profiles for communication headset, handsfree car kits, audio/video remote control, and printing. With the A2DP Bluetooth profile, you can stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking (DUN)--surf the Internet, send email, and access files from a server--using Sprint's Mobile Broadband Network.
The 1.3-megapixel camera shoots still photos in three resolutions (from 320 x 240 to the default 1280 x 960) as well as video clips in two resolutions (default 144 x 176 and 96 x 128). You can shoot video up to 2 hours in length, or a short 20-second clip for sending via video mail. You can manipulate a number of photo settings, including brightness, white balance, color tone. Other features include a self timer and customizable shutter/cue sound. It also provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). Shoot and share your digital photos instantly with Sprint PCS Picture Mail.
The Muziq sports an internal LCD that measures 2.25 inches, has a 176 x 220-pixel resolution, and displays up to 262K colors. The secondary external TFT LCD has a 128 x 160-pixel resolution and 65K colors, and it can display pictures, time, call information, battery and signal strength, and more. The internal phonebook offers up to 500 contact entries, each with storage for 5 numbers, 3 email addresses, and a picture ID.
Instantly send and receive SMS text messages across the room or across the country, anywhere in the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network. Sprint Navigation, powered by TeleNav, provides full-featured GPS navigation including voice and on-screen turn-by-turn driving directions and more than 10 million business listings (TeleNav unlimited requires data plan plus monthly subscription). Other features include:
E911 Emergency location enabled with embedded Global Positioning System (GPS). Chip necessary for utilizing the E911 emergency location services, where available.
Enjoy easy, hands free communication with a full duplex speakerphone that lets you hear callers loud and clear.
Connects to a TTY device, allowing anyone who is hearing impaired the ability to communicate
Wireless Backup: If your phone is ever lost, stolen, damaged or replaced, you can use Wireless Backup to restore your contact information quickly and easily. Additional charges apply.
Vital Statistics The LG LX-570 Muziq weighs 3.14 ounces and measures3.80 x 1.94 x 0.61 inches. Its 800 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4 hours of talk time. It runs on the CDMA 850/CDMA 1900 frequencies for voice and CDMA2000 EV-DO for data. The phone comes with a one year limited warranty.
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