Product Review: The New CU500 Phone-- the Next RAZR or Simply a Ripoff?

If you are considering a sleek new phone with all the features, a popular model to consider would be the Motorola RAZR. However, recently AT&T has merged with Cingular, making Cingular have one of the most connected mobile-to-mobile networks in the nation. So all your friends are on Cingular and you want to take advantage of the free mobile-to-mobile feature, but it seems as though the sleekly designed Motorola RAZR isn't one of the phones offered. Is there any phone that is similar? Cingular has recently came out with a LG CU500 phone that looks remarkably like the Motorola RAZR.

Here is a brief comparison of technical features with the RAZR V3c. The CU500 specs are compared to the right of the RAZR specs:

Additional Features:

Camera 1.3 megapixels fixed external/ 1.3 megapixels swivel

Video clip recording / Video clip recording

MP3 Player

Yes/ Yes

Video on Demand:

EvDO (Evolution for Data Optimized) video on demand/ Streaming Video through 3G broadband technology

Details

Dimensions (WxDxH):

5.3 cm x 1.4 cm x 9.8 cm / 3.8 x 1.95 x 0.76 inches

Weight:

99 g / 104.85g

Vibrating Alert:

Yes / Yes

Voice Dialing:

Yes / Possible

Phone Design:

Folder type phone / Folder type phone

Data

Internet Browser:

Yes / Yes

Short Messaging Service:

Yes / Yes

Wireless Interface:

Bluetooth / Bluetooth

Battery

Battery:

Rechargeable / Rechargable

Standby Time:

Up to 200 h / 240 h

Talk Time:

Up to 3.13 h / GSM up to 5 hrs; UMTS up to 3.5 hrs

Overview of My Personal Experience With the CU500

I have seen many people use the RAZR and have had my phone for a couple months and if people were to ask me if I would get a RAZR or a CU500 if I were given the choice to choose once more, I would say the CU500 is a better phone.