LG LX400

The LG LX400 is a clamshell EVDO cell phone with push-to-talk capability powered by QChat, a technology Sprint uses on its (CDMA) network now that it has merged with Nextel. Few professional reviewers have graded the LG LX400 since its release in February 2008, and most owner and professional reviews don't detail push-to-talk performance. CNET rates the LG LX400 as "very good," although battery life, a frequent complaint in owner reviews, is clocked at nearly a half-hour less than the promised talk time. Some owner reviews say the keys are too small, and still others maintain that the keys are way too sensitive -- giving the LG LX400 a mind of its own, turning on and off, making calls and deleting content at will. Sprint released a bunch of QChat phones in 2008, so if you need walkie-talkie features to connect with up to 20 friends, family or colleagues at a time, the LG LX400 is one choice. But Sprint's Motorola Renegade V950 has upgraded features including a 2-megapixel camera and support for Sprint's music and video services for about $30 more, although it, too, draws criticism for poor battery life.

CNET's Nicole Lee says call quality is "excellent," but there's no indication in the article or the accompanying video whether push to talk was tested. The LG LX400 offers a lot of features, none of them all that awe-inspiring. The 1.3-megapixel camera is about what you'd expect, better than a VGA but still pretty blurry, according to reviews. There's a camcorder, a feature missing from some cheap cell phones, but again, there are no raves. The LG LX400 has GPS, instant messaging, a web browser, Bluetooth, voice dialing and a microSD memory card slot (but no music player). There are 1-inch exterior and 1.75-inch interior color display screens.

We found the only professional review at CNET, and it also hosts the most owner reviews at this writing, about 10. We found a few more owner reviews at PhoneScoop.com and PhoneArena.com, but none yet at Amazon.com. Consumer Reports rates cell phones, but not the LG LX400.