Run from this phone!

I hate this phone. And I mean HATE. I have never had a worse phone anywhere. I upgraded on my New Every Two with the VX8350 which, after having for about five days, I realised was absolutely terrible. I sent it back and asked for the VX5400 (just one or two steps up from the phone I had, which had worked wonderfully). At first, I thought it was great. Then, I kept using it.

Design
It's a basic clamshell. The exterior is fine, almost nice with its sleek paint and shine. Displays are nice and big and colour is great for viewing pictures. (No flash for taking them, but if it's noon in California your shot should come out okay with the light.) Menus are standard Verizon menus, but that was just fine with me.

Features
It's a standard phone without mp3 playing capabilities (but that's why I have my iPod). It takes ok photos and offers a few different options, but no flash. I did like that it had a specific button designed solely for speakerphone, so I didn't have to press and hold CLR.

Basic Functionality
Like most LG phones, the VX5400 didn't need charging every night as it would last for a couple days on the full battery. Bluetooth worked with the headset, but (as with all VZW phones) not with anything else. The keypad buttons were really close together and not raised at all, so it was difficult to text well as my fingers kept sliding all over.

Call Clarity
Here is where LG fell far short of the mark. Whether I made or received a call, there was a constant "white noise"/fuzzy sound. Even while the call was ringing to connect, you could hear it! If you were in the car driving the freeway or in an area with a lot of background noise, it wasn't bad as the outside noise overpowered and masked the white noise. But, when you were at home in bed where it was quiet, you would hear a constant buzzing. I thought I was going crazy. I had some friends try it out and most said they could hear it, too, and it was obnoxious. I had to stop talking to people because the sound made me irritable! I finally took it iin to a Verizon store where the tech guy tried it out. He didn't hear it, but switched me out for a new phone (same kind). I'd forgotten my charger so I ran home to get it and came back to a new gal. We exchanged the phone, I went to the car, and made a call from the parking lot. SAME SOUNDS! I went right back in. The gal tried the call and could hear the static. So, we went shopping for a new phone. I ended up with the MotoW755 (after being a staunch LG supporter for the past six years) as I'd already tried the LG VX8350 and hated it. I'm very happy with the Moto (read my reviwe) and am planning on sending LG a very strongly worded email about the poor quality of their latest phones.

Isn't the point of having a phone to talk on? Shouldn't it be made so that you can have a decent conversation without sounding like you're talking through a TV set that isn't getting reception?!? This is absolutely awful phone - STAY AWAY!<b>