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LG CU500While not as fast as EV-DO phones, Cingular’s first HSDPA clamshell provides superior video and multitasking performance. Price: $99.99 (with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate)
by Stewart Wolpin 
As the first phone to access Cingular’s HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) network, we had high expectations for the LG CU500. Instead of an original design befitting its singular Cingular status, LG chose a variation on a RAZR theme. Hidden behind this derivative dress is an impressive body of features and applications that make this clamshell a worthy multimedia flagship.
The CU500 sports a clean and well-spaced keypad and navigation array. Below the volume toggle is a small key that provides direct access to the MP3 player, camera, and camcorder. A row of media playback buttons (Rewind, Play/Pause, and Fast-Forward) resides underneath the external color LCD. Since Cingular doesn’t yet have a music store to compete with the likes of Sprint and Verizon, the LG CU500 is a better bet for those who like to load their own tracks. Too bad the microSD Card slot is inconveniently located behind the battery, requiring a reboot every time you want to access it. LG doesn’t include earbuds either, although the phone is equipped with stereo Bluetooth. One very cool music feature is MusicID, an application that lets you hold the LG CU500 up to nearby speakers while a song is playing to identify the artist and track. We tried it out, and the service accurately identified Coldplay’s “Clocks” within 30 seconds. MusicID then asked if we wanted to buy the corresponding ringtone. Accessing the 15-fps Cingular Video service ($20 per month) is a breeze, and there are several content categories for users to explore, including TV to Go, News & Weather, Sports, Entertainment, and HBO Mobile (an extra $4.99 per month). To get live TV, you’ll feel like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, frustratingly negotiating numerous labyrinthine dead ends in the CU500’s menus to find where Cingular has buried the competitive MobiTV application. Once you overcome these hurdles, video and audio quality is exemplary. Both Cingular Video and MobiTV are devoid of the usual color splotchiness and digital artifacts that often mar both Sprint Power Vision TV and Verizon V Cast video content. Other than occasional buffering delays, videos were smooth as velvet on the 1.9-inch screen. Unfortunately, there is no option to watch video horizontally in landscape mode, as there is on V Cast. HSDPA data lagged a second or two behind Verizon and Sprint’s EV-DO service—and was a second or two faster than Cingular’s own EDGE service. In our side-by-side data download races in Manhattan, one of 18 Cingular HSDPA markets at press time, Web pages loaded within three to five seconds, and video streaming started in less than ten seconds. One of the unique benefits of HSDPA technology versus EV-DO is that the former can support simultaneous voice and data sessions. We started watching a CNN video update and could accept a call mid-playback. When we hung up, we were able to resume the clip right away. Also excellent is the camera, which takes some of the cleanest and most color-accurate 1.3-MP pictures we’ve seen, lacking the usual jitter blur and artifacts typical of pictures taken by plastic lens camera phones. However, both camera-to-PC transfer options are unappealing. Turning off the phone and digging out the microSD Card is annoying, and figuring out how to transfer the images via Bluetooth to a PC is a nightmare. First you have to find your pictures (they’re in the My Stuff folder under Graphics—there is no Photos or Pictures folder), and Bluetooth is available under Options—not Send—and only in thumbnail view. For those who actually plan to use the CU500 to chat, voice quality was true and landline-like. But the higher-speed HSDPA network draws more power than plain old GSM, resulting in only 3.5 hours of talk time, and that’s if you use the CU500 only to talk. Since this phone is designed for more than mere conversation, keeping the charger handy would be wise. An impressive package of technologies comes in this surprisingly lightweight clamshell. If only LG and Cingular had been a little more original and a little more thoughtful in the presentation.
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