LG enV Touch – the Best Dumbphone Verizon has to Offer.

With over fifty different phones to choose from, your average Verizon wireless customer looking for a new phone might think they have a lot of hard decisions to make. But lucky for you, Verizon has a contract with LG which has produced one of the best non-smart phones on the cell phone market, the LG Env Touch. So what makes this such a good phone? Let’s take a look:

touchscreen, and not only that, but a responsive touchscreen. Sure, it’s no iPhone, its not even capacitive, but for resistive touchscreens it’s extremely responsive. If you’re used to an iPhone/iPod touch, it might take some getting used to, but for beginners to touchscreens the learning curve is very quick.
with full html browsing and a pdf/microsoft office viewer, you wont even need your computer! ok not really, but with things like a tabbed browser, flash support, and of course Verizon’s ever present 3g network, you’re really starting to straddle the middle line between smart and dumb phone.
a customizable homepage, which lets you put all your favorite apps and shortcuts right where you want them. It’s also app friendly, but whether or not it will be able to compete on the level of the iPhone and G-1 is yet to be seen.
3.2 mp camera that is unrivaled by other phones. Really the only comparable phone is the LG Dare which actually has the exact same lens. The other competition comes from the Casio Exilim’s 5 mp camera, which ironically takes worse photos.
a 3.5 mm headset jack and intuitive music software can make this your personal portable music device. Those of you with iPods may not find this too exhilarating, but it’s a big step up from the normal 2.5mm with a boring and hard to work Verizon music player.
full qwerty keyboard, while the concept may not be so unique as it was with the first enV, this one is definitely one of the most comfortable and spacious ones on the market. so whether you text, email, or just write a lot of notes, the enV Touch offers an experience like no other.

This short list only scratches the surface, there’s a whole ‘nother slew of characteristics that sets this phone apart from the rest, like two 3in/480×800pixel/16,777,216 color displays (one of the best on the market), up to 16gb external memory, stereo speakers, a charger that doubles as your USB cable, excellent call quality/reception, stereo Bluetooth, and the list goes on.

And just to prove I’m not a completely biased reviewer, there a quite a few complaints I’d like to point out:

horrible battery life. if you thought the battery life on your two year old phone was bad, wait till you use the brand new battery on this phone. If you actually use your phone, you’ll get about 2 days before you have to charge it again, if you’re lucky. If you’re a poweruser, you may be charging it everyday. Simple solution? extended battery.
it’s big, and as my mom said when she picked it up, “it’s heavy.” of course its still smaller and lighter than its predecessors and quite a few competitors, but if you’re looking for the sleekest, slimmest, lightest phone on the market: you may want to look elsewhere.
slight echo on the call quality, but it’s not that big of a deal… unless it’s really windy.
its no iPhone, iPod, or standalone camera, but you have to admit it does a pretty good job of combining all three at an affordable price, both for the phone itself and for the monthly service plan (data plan not necessary!)

Right now the env Touch is priced at $100 with a 2 year contract (that’s after a $70 rebate and a $50 new every two discount). And for what you’re getting, that’s a very good deal. So if you like the pros and could care less about the cons, why not give it a shot? Play before you buy, and if you’re really studious you can even see some more in depth reviews here, here, and here.

Got questions for me? Ask away! Already own the enV Touch? Post your thoughts!