I caved and bought the new LG enV2 (in maroon) after switching to Verizon Wireless. Having been a loyal and avid Nokia fan for the last, like, 5 cell phones, I was leery about different organizational layouts of other phone brands. LG is a relatively new company to enter into the cell phone market. This is also the first time I’ve changed cell phone companies since my first phone in 1995, although in the interim my LA Cellular service was taken over by AT&T Cellular Services, then by Cingular Wireless, and now by AT&T Mobility. But I just get too many dropped calls and dead zones with AT&T Mobility to stay loyal anymore.

So far I’ve been impressed with Verizon Wireless phone service. I got the premium package cuz what’s the point of getting a texting, internet-capable phone without getting unlimited texting and internet? I didn’t realize it also came with an excellent roadside navigation program that incorporates traffic conditions. We were considering buying a portable navigation, because having the navigation in both our cars have made us kind of, well, street-dumb. I now can no longer imagine traveling to unknown parts and getting around without a navigational crutch. I’ve heard that AT&T Mobility covers a wider area than Verizon Wireless, so now when we travel, I guess we’ll have the benefit of both since Mr. W hasn’t switched out of AT&T.

I do have several complaints about the LG phone format, though. It surprises me that for such an integrated phone, the address book doesn’t let you enter addresses or notes. It only takes phone numbers and email addresses. No websites, no extension numbers, contact names, street addresses. That kinda sucked, cuz I didn’t want to lose so much contact information. It also only allows 10 contacts per Group. What if I have more than 10 people belonging to a Group? Too bad. I guess most people don’t have contact numbers for more than 10 coworkers, friends, family members, business affiliates…? Oddly, it also doesn’t allow a group ring tone. My complaint with Nokia before was that it wouldn’t allow individual ring tones, only Group ring tones, but then I simply created a group with just 1 name in it. Mr. W was in a group all by himself called “The Man.” And his ringtone was Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.” (Which I realized after putting it in place, that the lyrics were kinda stalker-ish, but oh well.) Another odd thing is that the instruction manual does not explain what the various symbol displays on the screens mean. The phone itself has an Icon Glossary you can bring up, but it tells you things like, the icon of the antenna with EV next to it with reception bars is “EVDO” and the antenna with a 1X next to it with reception bars is “1X”, and S is “SSL”. Well what the hell is EVDO and 1X and SSL?

The biggest downfall with the LG phone that I’ve discovered so far, though, is that there is no ringing profiles that I can set. This was very important to me in the Nokias. I had a “Meeting” profile that I’d put the phone on when I’m at work (which I hardly used because I didn’t have reception) or when I wanted to be discreet but still be notified when I get an incoming call, so calls would beep once and the phone would light up. I had an “Outdoor” profile that I’d use when I’m in loud places, and the phone would ring especially loudly and vibrate when I’d get a call. My “Normal” profile rang increasingly more loudly until I heard it picked it up. This LG only has the “Normal Mode” with sound at a volume you set manually to impose over all ringtones, and a “Vibrate Mode” to turn off all sound. The switch between the two is an easy 1-button operation, but I’d like other options.

I think the extra Verizon features override the LG programming shortcomings, though. I had just finished manually entering all the contacts from my Nokia into the LG, draining half the battery of both phones for the constant light-on, and I’ll have to invest more time in organizing and dividing up my Groups and assigning ring tones to each individual contact. Maybe that’s something to do tomorrow while I lay on the white sand of the Lake.