Verizon Wireless Brings LG Chocolate Cell Phone to U.S. Market

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Verizon Wireless Brings LG Chocolate Cell Phone to U.S. Market

7:30 am on August 1, 2006 | Category: Mobile Devices, Cell Phones, Multimedia

Verizon Wireless has launched the LG Chocolate mobile phone in its U.S. stores, hoping to offer a strong mix of video and music features capable of challenging the Apple iPod.

The Chocolate handset is already a hit in a number of foreign markets, and Verizon hopes to duplicate that effect in the United States, by integrating the new phone with its V CAST mobile multimedia store.

Users are able to buy music from a catalog of 1.3 million songs, paying just $1.99 for each over-the-air download and $0.99 for each internet download, with no monthly fee. Video clips and games, meanwhile, are available for a flat fee of $15 per month.

Verizon is also making it possible to buy MicroSD memory cards along with the new handset, ranging in price from $29.99 (256 MB) to $99.99 (2 GB). This creates extra storage space for songs, videos, and other multimedia, making the Chocolate phone a direct competitor of the Apple iPod, and pitting V CAST against the wildly popular iTunes music service.

In addition to its wireless multimedia features, the Chocolate phone also boasts a 1.3-megapixel digital camera, as well as VZ Navigator, Verizon’s GPS navigation service.

In terms of style, the Chocolate handset, which is being called “part phone, part MP3 player,” bears a striking resemblance to an iPod with its slide-away keypad and click wheel interface.

This much-hyped new phone is now available at Verizon stores throughout the U.S., at a cost of $149.99, with a 2-year contract and after a $50 rebate.