Verizon Launches LG VX8600 182

Verizon - LG VX8600 (Closed) Verizon - LG VX8600 (Open)

As expected, Verizon Wireless has finally released the LG VX8600, becoming the first cell phone carrier in the U.S. to offer the phone. The LG Chocolate flip phone is intended for consumers who plan to listen to music on their phone and even features a MicroSD slot for extra storage. Although the phone may look like a rip off Motorola’s KRZR, LG had actually released the VX8600 overseas before Motorola even pushed out their phone. Anyways we hope LG has added something to make this phone better than the Moto KRZR, which we were quite disappointed with.

Verizon LG VX8600 Specs:

  • Type: 1.9GHz CDMA and EV-DO
  • Form Factor: Clamshell Flip Phone
  • Dimensions: 3.89″ x 1.93″ x 0.58″ inches
  • Weight / Battery: 3.26 oz / 3hrs40mins talktime
  • Camera / Camcorder: 1.3 megapixels w/ zoom
  • V Cast: music store, video content, 3D games
  • MicroSD: store music, images, videos, etc.
  • Bluetooth v1.1: stereo support for music
  • Others: Mobile Web 2, Get It Now, VZ Navigator
  • Special: Music-Only mode, External Touch Controls
  • Price: $129 with a new 2 year contract

The phone will now be available in all Verizon Wireless stores and authorized retailers for a price of $129 with a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in-rebate. Current VZW customers, who are eligible for upgrade, can get an additional $100 off the phone, therefore costing only about $30 before adding taxes. We would recommend this phone over both the KRZR and the original Chocolate phones since it is cheaper than the KRZR, has more features, and has a standard flip phone form factor.

DEAL ALERT: FREE VX8600 w/ New Contract

Links: Verizon Wireless – VX8600 | Press Release
Related: Motorola KRZR Review

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182 Comments

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VJ says:

wow, thanks so much dude. i really appreciate it.

Bev says:

Hi Aaron! Can U please recommend any bluetooth dongle that is compatible with Windows Vista? I’ve some and almost bought one but one of the reviews says is not compatible. Thanks.

Aaron says:

I personally run vista and one thing I LOVE about Vista (yes, I’m one of those people that absolutely LOVES Vista) is that it has driver support for just about anything. For plug and play (as in you take it out of the box and plug it in and it works), you need anything with the Broadcom chipset. I would recommend Bluetooth 2.0 over 1.2 (it’s the next generation of Bluetooth (kinda like USB v. 1.1 vs. 2.0). Anywho.. If you go to Amazon.com you can search for “Broadcom Bluetooth 2.0 Dongle” and it should pull up a list. I did that and here’s the URL of what I found. Anycom USB-250 Bluetooth 2.0 400 Ft Broadcom Chip I would say you should stick to any name brand (Iogear, Belkin, D-link, Logitech, etc.) but I suppose and dongle is any dongle as long as you have a broadcom chipset.

julia says:

does anyone have the same problem as me…if i get the phone even slighly damp( im talking even just sweating) it gets messed up and wont turn on.

VJ says:

does anyone know of a program for LG that accesses the phone directly? i dont mean flashing it, but i heard it somehow bypasses everything so you can reset the phone without turning it on. if anyone knows about it can you please let me know?

JJ says:

I saw this question asked but couldn’t find the answer, is there a way to save ringtones to the SD card or does it have to be on the phones memory. I only have like 1/3 of the memory available because I have lots of contacts, I deleted all pics and videos yet 16 mbs are still used, is there a way to see whats taking up so much space. I have 7 ringtones saved the largest being less than 19000 in size.

Aaron says:

You can’t save ringtones to the SD card. Ringtones must be saved in the phone’s memory. The biggest thing taking up space on your phone’s memory is the Verizon phone operating system. The system is the entire interface which includes all the default ringers and such.. Your best bet may be to try to go through your phone’s filesystem using bitpim and see if you can delete the default ringtones that you don’t use.

JJ says:

Thank you much sir, do you know where the default ringtones are located?

Aaron says:

I wish I could tell you where they are. This week is the last week in the summer school session so I was hoping to look into it soon. If you find them, let me know.. you could probably google it.

Derek says:

Just got the 8600 chocolate flip. Problem im having is the vibrate feature. When i put “Vibrate all” on nothing happens. the screen lights up and says i have an incomming call but it doesnt vibrate. But when i have it on volume lvl 1. it rings quiet and Vibrates. how can i have it to only vibrate or only ring?

Aaron says:

Derek,
If you go into the sound settings you can try messing with the call sounds and alert sounds. Other than that you might wanna check into taking the phone back.

Lora says:

Hey. I just bought Chocolate and I’m trying to figure out the way I can transfer my music to my new phone. I don’t have Bluetooth or Music essential kit. I do have SD card (2Gb.) When I put it in my laptop I keep getting a message about formating SD card. So I did and when I opened it there ws no folders, nothing. So I transfered some songs to the card. When I put it in m phone I can’t find my music. I went to Menu-Tools-Memory – Card memory and there was nothing. Maybe somebody can help me? Why is my phone not reading whatever is on SD card? I can’t go to store and ask them, me and my hubby in US military and we are station overseas for next 3 weeks, so I have no one to ask.
btw, sorry for mistakes… Engl. is my second language

Aaron says:

I thought your english was pretty good… You have to format the card in your phone first. Put the SD card in your phone. Go to Menu >> Settings & Tools >> Memory >> Card Memory >> Options (which is the right button) and the only option is to format the card.

Once your phone has formatted the card, always ignore what your computer says. Insert the card into your computer and open the SD card… There should be a filesystem on the card such as my_music, my_pictures, my_videos, my_sounds, etc. All you have to do then is copy the music into your my_music folder. You cannot have it in subfolders. You can only have the files in this folder. Let usknow if you have any more questions.

loozer says:

Once the microSD card is recognized byt the phone I cannot format it or copy files from my PC to it. What gives?

Aaron says:

Well… Once you put the sd card in the phone you don’t have to do anything to get it to recognize it, so I don’t quite follow what you mean by “microSD card is recognized byt the phone”. Could you please elaborate on your issue?

loozer says:

yes the card is formatted, the subdirectories are created but everything is set to read-only when viewed via Windows XP using SD card reader. How does one ccopy an MP3 from a PC to the \my_music directory? Does one have to have specific USB drivers as referenced by the Music Esstentials s/w package?

Aaron says:

In Windows. Right click on the folders… Click properties.. then uncheck “Read Only”. That should allow you to change the file structure. Then just copy the music files into the my_music. They cannot be in subdirectories.

loozer says:

When I stated sub-directories I meant \my_music as created by the LG VX8600 when the microSD was inserted for the first time. Sorry for the confusion. Once the microSD card is recognized by the phone, it becomes read-only when read by the USB readrer/Windows XP. The attributes cannot be changed from read-only because the top-level drive designation (F:\ in my case) is configured as read-only. So that leaves only 2 methods of write access and both use the phone (USB or blue-tooth). I installed the V-Cast Music Essentials Manager s/w pkg and it “sees” the correctly created directories (my_music my_flix, etc…) but all are read-only and even running attrib -R from DOS does not work because of the top-level drive being read-only.

So, that being said it seems you MUST have the card in the phone to download MP3’s etc.

Am I missing something here?

Aaron says:

Yes, you must be missing something because I know I just plug my microsd card into my computer and just copy the files. Try formatting the card in your computer.. Make sure you can write to the file system. Then put it back in the phone and reformat the card so the filesystem is available and try writing to it again. Also make sure there aren’t any administrative settings in XP set preventing you from accessing an external device.

loozer says:

Update….My wife has the LG VX8300 and she used to be able to copy files directly from her PC via the USB card reader to the my_pics folder on the card and she can no longer perform this either and Verizon just this week updated the phone’s s/w! Conspiracy brewing? I do not have a USB cable currently that supports the LG VX8600 since it has a proprietary connector (nice huh!) and I am holding back on spending 30.00 for the package until I am certain things will work “correctly”.

Aaron says:

Don’t buy verizon’s proprietary stuff. I also have the most current software version and it still works correctly, so I honestly don’t know what to tell you. Maybe it’s something in the phone that is formatting the card incorrectly?

loozer says:

Have you updated your phone recently? My wife’s phone could do this as well but no longer. I am not a Windows Admin (Unix is my thing) but since the filesystem on the microSD is FAT32 not NTFS attrib is the only command I know of and this fails as it cannot change top-level drives only sub-directories.

loozer says:

I went back through the threads Aaron and you state you use blue-tooth. I am going to pick up the USB cable (on sale for 3.00) and give it a try. Bottom line is using Windows XP (multiple hosts), the microSD card cannot be reformatted, period. Gotta love that!

Lora says:

[Comment ID #27420 Will Be Quoted Here]
Aaron thank you so much. I formatted the card in my phone like you told me. Then I put it in my comp. and I was asked to formate it again. So I clicked NO and that’s it, I mean I can’t open SD card, I can’t see folders inside. Everytime I click on Removable Disk E – it’s trying formatte it and won’t open without it. Why is that?

Aaron says:

It doesn’t work because windows is retarded? Err.. you’re using unix.. hmm.. I have no idea. I actually had to have my phone replaced last week. So yes, my phone is new. I have no idea dude.

loozer says:

Well let us know if your new phone works. Kind of makes sense now having to use the phone as the intermediary. Phone formats the microSD card, creates the directory trees my_music, etc and then controls access (I can store a pic generated via the phone to the my_pic folder without issues). So that being said, you use USB or BlueTooth to access the card while in the phone and this should work IF you can get the correct USB drivers installed for Windows XP. Follow my thoughts here Aaron?

Aaron says:

Umm.. no.. I don’t really follow your thoguhts. I’ve already stated that I have the new software version and that it work for me… Granted I haven’t stated that I never installed any drivers.. The only drivers you need to have installed are the drivers your computer uses to access your card reader. But I have a built in card reader. So… I dunno.

Marissa says:

How do you find the voice memo recorder on the LG VX8600?

Aaron says:

Well, an easy way is to just go into the get it now menu and select Music & Tones, then My Sounds and record new.

howie97 says:

i downloaded bitpim and i have no tabs to add ring tones, wall papers or anything. i have the lg vx8600

Aaron says:

Did you set up the phone? As in.. open the filesystem tab and verify that you are connected to the phone. Also try changing to like the VX 8300. It is still compatible but may allow more features.

Jared says:

Hi Aaron-
Is there a way to play downloaded games from an SD card on this phone? I dl’ed a bunch of games, but there is no root directory folder to put games into (only pics, flix, etc.) Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Aaron says:

I haven’t done a whole lot of research, but I don’t think there is. I don’t think there is because when you download a get it now game, it installs it right from getitnow, but I suppose if you could figure out an automatic installation script or something…. Or if you could figure out how to edit the games menu, then it could work.

Lizi says:

Where I live we have about 5 different cell phone providers. Today I tried to bluetooth a song to my phone (8600) from a different phone that wasn’t verizon. It transfered but then said it failed before it would load, is there anything I can do to override that?

fusi maugaotega says:

[Comment ID #24706 Will Be Quoted Here] i’m having the same problem with the front display with the right bottom button, everytime i press and hold to activate the voice memo, it say voice memo not avilable…can someone help me…

Jon says:

I was wondering the same…I have converted the files (I renamed .wav to .cpq files) and can listen to them and copy them to the internal memory from external, but still cannot set set as ringtones. Did you get an answer?

Thanks, Jon

fusi maugaotega says:

I just got the VX8600 and was trying to record a voice memo but it says voice memo not avaliable, I can not find this feature even though the LG and Verizon site says the phone has this feature. Can someone help? thanks

stoner says:

if anyone wants to play audio in pretty much any format i could think of to test then press OK-> 0 (seven times)-> 9-> UP-> OK-> RIGHT (twice) and there u have it… LG’s hidden Media Player that i have no clue what its there for… be careful playing around in the different folders and be warned i’m not sure what this would do for your warranty.

stoner says:

also contains a voice memo option and many other fun little toys i’m just starting to figure out

Sam says:

I just got the lg 8600 yesterday of Ebay(not my choice, dad would not let me pay $240 at vzw store). Everything is good except when I try to take a picture/video. Sometimes the picture looks perfect, but sometimes there is lines going across the picture(like on a bad tv). If anyone has had this problem I would appreciate some help.

Thank You.

magicbus says:

Hello All. Where can I download software to move pictures from my phone (8600) to my pc. I have the cable but can’t find software. thanks for any help.

Aaron says:

You can use bitpim or you can e-mail the pictures to and from your phone using picture messages to an e-mail address or sending an email to yourphonenumber@vzw.com. You can get bitpim at bitpim.org

magicbus says:

Hey Aaron, thanks. I had downloaded BitPim but I did not immediately understand it. After your post I went back and checked out the “tour” and it all made sense. I don’t like to email myself or others files as i don’t subscribe to verizons text/web services and don’t wish to pay per item. Again, thanks. Very helpful.

Andrew says:

i love my new phone, but if i get an mp3 of the internet on my pc, is there any way of getting it onto my phone and using it a as a ringtone, i just cant seem to figure it out? any help

Aaron says:

Check out previous posts about connecting your phone to your computer via bluetooth or the usb cable and using bitpim (www.bitpim.org) to create ringtones and put them on your phone.

Duban says:

[Comment ID #10329 Will Be Quoted Here]

Paula – did you ever solve this issue? i’m in the same boat….

Aaron says:

You can’t use the adapter that comes in the box. That adapter is intended for if you don’t get a bluetooth headset, but a wired headset, it gives you something to plug it into. It’s a mono output because the other contact is for the voice. To get stereo sound, you’d have to buy something like this: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/store/accessoryPopup?item=accessoryMart&accessoryId=25727 Let me know if you have any other questions.

Sarah says:

[Comment ID #26522 Will Be Quoted Here]

i had the same problem, my phone wouldnt charger. brought it to verizon, they said it was the phone, got a replacement but now it sometimes chargers on the ac adapter charger and does not charge at all on the car charger. also, my battery life does not seem to last as long as it used to.

*** does anyone know how to turn on the flash for the camera??

Matt says:

I just got the 8600 and would like to transfer music from my Mac to my phone. I have the music essentials kit and a 512 MB SD card. Is there a way to transfer the music without using Windows Media Player 10, because it doesn’t seem like it’s offered for Mac, so it seems like I’m stuck.

slade says:

can you set ringtones for your texts?

Dylan says:

HELP!!
I have an LG EnV and I want to transfer video off of my phone to my computer for a senior slideshow that is coming up for graduation. The video is longer than 15seconds so therefore I can’t send it to my email and retrive it that way. Help!!!

Sahas Katta says:

@matt
create a folder called “music” right in the root of the memory card. Then dump all your songs into there. do not create any secondary folders within the “music” folder.

@slade
head on over to your “sound settings” found in the settings & tools menu. Then click on “alert sounds”. There should be a item called “TXT Message” just open that then choose which Tone you would like and whether you’d like it to viberate!

@Dylan
wrong article to post under. please post your comment in our forums http://forums.skattertech.com . But if you’ve got bluetooth you can just use BitPim, which should let you copy just about any file.

@sarah
I do not believe this phone has a flash, but I could be wrong. I don’t have the phone with me ATM.

Steph says:

Is there anyway to save from an SD card to your phone? I don’t have internet on my phone.

cody says:

whenever i try to format my card on my phone it says “failed” and when ever i put the card into a computer(ive tried it in two) it says no disk inserted on one, and on the other it freezes explorer.exe . also when i check memory info on my phone it says memory full please help me cuz i dont know whats wrong

Will says:

Just got the 4GB microsSD chip for the phone. Wouldn’t format on phone. Checked into it and found out that any microSD that is 4GB or higher is not using the microSD HC system–no way around it; that’s just the way they are being made now. Unfortunately, the phone does not have software to recognize anything that is HC. Therefore, the phone’s maximum microSD expansion is at 2GB. If anybody has any different info, suggestions, or can confirm this, please let me know.

lexy says:

do they come in different colors?

Brandon says:

Can someone please help me? I have just purchased my phone and it came with a 1Gb SD card. When i insert the card into my computer and copy my songs to it, the songs show up on the My_music folder. However, when i insert the card into my phone to try and play the music, it says “No content saved” Help! I have no idea what’s happening.

Thanks, Brandon

Will says:

Did you format it on your phone, first? If you have, then you will wanty to make sure that the music files that you saved are in mp3 format, and that the rights protection is not preventing the file from playing.

Brandon says:

K, I’ll try saving them on a MP3 format.

Thanks

amy says:

what file type do i need to make the mp3s on my phone so i can use them for ringtones?

Brandon says:

Finally! I found out how to put my songs on my phone!

1) Put the the SD card into the phone.
2) Format it inside the phone.
3) Put it into your computer using the USB adapter
4) open up your file which holds the songs (Limewire, My_music, etc.)
5) open up windows media player and go to: Copy to CD or device.
6) Go to your songs file and drag the song you want into windows media player. The song should show up.
7) Make sure that all song files are MP3. After you have the songs you want copied checked off, Click on COPY. After your songs are copied to your SD mini card, insert the card into the phone.
8) go to menu > music and media > my albums > External memory. Now go to music, photos, etc or what ever you saved onto your phone and start playing!

Hope this helped :)

zane says:

need help! i cant get the songs on v cast the only thing that comes up is it is not connected (witch it is) and it says to take it out and imedatly put it back in for it to work but it doesant PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!
email me at zmanlizard@aol.com

Going Crazy says:

I have been able to get songs to my LG VX8600, but it sends them to ‘MySounds’, as there is no ‘MyMusic’ showing when I download the songs. I have tried a number of things to try and create or find ‘MyMusic’, but to no success. Is there a way to move the songs from ‘MySounds’ to ‘MyMusic’ once they are in the phone? I have formatted the card numerous times, but the ‘MyMusic’ file never shows for me to download the songs. The only files that show for me are ‘MyVideos’, ‘MySounds’ and ‘MyPictures’.

yun says:

help, i cann’t use my vx8600 in indonesia. how can unlock the provider?

CJ says:

[Comment ID #10329 Will Be Quoted Here]

You’re commenting o people’s spelling? You can’t even talk properly.

CJ says:

[Comment ID #45198 Will Be Quoted Here]
Stupid board put the wrong qoute.

Trev says:

is there any way to connect the vx8600 to your computer using bluetooth? If so can I transfer my contact list to my computer?

Melissa says:

Is there any way to format the SD card (or hack into the phone settings) to be able to save my text messages to the card? The bluetooth on my phone is not working correctly, so BitPim isn’t working to bring those over like I have before.

Seems like the phone is only set up to save pics, music, videos, and sound clips to the card.

robby says:

I bought a battery on ebay for my vx8600, but when i put it in the phone says use original battery, is there anyway to get past that or do i have to buy a verizon battery?

Adi says:

I just bought a 4GB microSD card for my LG VX8300.I am not able to format the card on my phone.The formatting fails every time I try it. Can someone please tell me why this is happening

jay says:

omg i wanna buy a lg choclate and i cant find one all that shows up is lg choclate v3 i want V2

jay says:

I have aproblem i want a lg choclate v2 but witch website should i go to??????????????????????????????

TK says:

Can someone help me out.. you know how when you have your phone on vibrate and you go to an end of a list or something the phone vibrates. Is there any possible way to turn that off.

jay says:

can someone plz help me where can i go to get a lg choclate v2 on the enternet remember V2

NICO VENECIA says:

omg ME TOO PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jay says:

OMG venecia your looking for a lg chovlate 2?

jessica says:

sista you a lier talk to the hand cause the face dont care

Hector says:

I would not recommend this phone it is my second one and both broke from the same place…..:( i really love it and i know that many of you do 2 but its not worth it if you have 2 keep on buying it over again….

iamthatiam says:

I have a verizon LG 8600. I am a retired senior and have a memory disability (which I am sooo embarassed about). I can’t remember passwords—- I can’t get to my voice mail and verizon won’t let me remove the password requirement.
I have spoken to a few verizon reps. and constantly get the “write it down and save the password in a safe place”—– I have so many safe places that I don’t remember! It is awful to have a phone I can’t access. Is there a way around this via the cellphone memory? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
thanks

Brittany says:

i just got the cocolate 3 and i don’t know how you get my music onto my phone. i have the plug and all. how do i transfer songs from my itunes to windows media player, then what do i do after i do that?
please help!!

rob says:

hey i just got a lg vx8600 and my friends sister said she forgot the unlock code to it does anyone know the unlock code and dont tell me it’s the last 4 numbers of the phone number or emid number or 1234 or 0000 i’ve tryed those already i need to know how to do a master reset on it thank you

mindyy says:

una vil copia del v8 pero no le llega ni a los talones jajaj

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