opinions/advice on LG Venus

[nonlinear]

ok well i dropped my 6265i last weekend and the microphone stopped working. after calling telus and trying to buy out my contract so i could switch providers (long story), they gave me a nice rate plan offer.

so now i'm thinking of signing another 3-year contract and getting a new Telus phone. I'm just not sure which one to get since I haven't been into a telus store for ages. i would like to spend less than $100 tho.

i like slider phones and was looking at the LG Venus, but i'm not sure about the quality of the touch screen controls. my little bro once had a chocolate phone and didn't like the way the crappy touch buttons worked... (not sure if this is the same thing or not).

Also considering the Samsung A523. Looks nice and has good reviews, but costs more than the Venus.

does anyone have expereince with either of these phones?
what other phones should i consider?

thanks:thumbsup:

[TomcoPDR]

I just bought the Venus, it's not bad... you can control the sensentivity on the controls (not sure if the same on Chocolate)

Lots of stuff to do on the phone, simple to use, clear camera/video (30 sec)

Very friendly to use (IMO)

[toyboy88]

I've tried both in person this weekend actually... (one friend has the Venus, another has the Samsung).

The Venus is pretty much like the chocolate, except a bigger (and nicer IMO) screen and the "touch" screen controls actually vibrate when you press them (so it feels like your pressing more like a normal key. I still find the normal keypad too much like the Chocolate (which I didn't like, too cramped for me IMO).

The Samsung is pretty nice from first touch/feel/look, didn't play with this one as much though.

[TomcoPDR]

Yo, anyone with the Venus, you guys notice your battery life sucks? (or do I have a defective battery? just got it last week)

Like recharge every 36-50 hours, WTF (1-3 days)

And I hate it when it shuts of because of low batteries, it doesn't give you much chance of making 1 last call. (on some phones it'll shut off, but you'll still be able to call another 3-5 minutes; but this just shuts of if you try to reboot when outta juice)

[MR.Ladner]

i got the venus, battery life sucks, i just charge it every other night, touch screen is cool, i turned the vib off cuz that drained the battery even more. the camera is amazing , when i upload the picsto the computer from the memory card they are great quality. i rate the phone 8/10 since bad battery life and cluttlerd buttons for texting

[msommers]

Just thought I'd give this a quick bump as I'm looking at the A523 as well but reading that this phone is hard to use for texting. Anyone have feedback on this phone?

[msommers]

How many people are experiencing software problems (ie: lots of freezing) with the Venus? I've been reading a ton of reviews from owners and this seems to be notorious for this phone. Just wondering how common it is, or if I'm hearing a bias of mainly negative feedback.

[nonlinear]

OK, lost my phone again. didn't end up going with either the venus or the samsung A523, but after reading these reviews, i'm really leaning away from the venus.

any comments on the A523?