I was able to easily send ringtones, contacts, and modify settings over USB. Took me 15 minutes to find free apps and a driver compared to hours with other phones.

To me the external speaker sounds like a speaker. I do not know why so many people complain about it. I use it A LOT! I also drop it a fair amount. The battery will drain if you go out to the woods or mountains where you do not get signal but then again every phone will do that.

The finish is pretty durable. Like I said I have dropped it a few times and have even used it in the shower…I know TMI. It works great. Note, when it was in the shower it did get wet but it was not under the fixture getting drenched. I have also dropped it in the pool and it just keeps on ticking.

I wish you could remove some of the lame backgrounds and icons that it comes with but what can you do. There is always something that you do not like.

The LED light works great too. I use this one more than I ever thought I would. It is plenty bright in most conditions, unless you are trying to use it in the daylight…then of course why do you need it.

I think the only buggy thing for me is the compass. I have tried to use it a couple of times and each time it has been off by several degrees. If you have ever used a compass then you know that several degrees can mean finding you camp or not.

Lastly the camera is pretty good. It would have been nice if you could zoom more into the picture after you take it. The features here are both limited and a bit fuzzy.

FYI, I work as a Facility Manager and really put this phone through the tests. Sure I can get by with a standard type of phone but after a few drops I am calling the insurance company. Not with this one. I seriously hope that they continue to make this phone or at least continue its line for sometime as it really is a great phone.

If you are looking for a flashy touch screen with high resolution camera it is not for you…go buy a Iphone or LG Dare. This is a no frills do or die phone. Best part is, even if you do not use the PTT you can still have the phone and just not use that feature.

External speaker sounds like a old AM radio you have to have it turned down to understand it, but then you can only hear it with your ear against it.

If this is as good as it gets then believe me keep your old phone, choose another, or use your landline, but do not buy this phone.

Several folks here and otherwise have complained about two things, audio quality and battery life.

The “audio quality” issue is a common error that many people make. Look at the phone – the speaker is very small (they have to make it waterproof after all!), and it is way up at the top of the phone. Several people I’ve seen try to use my phone put there ear up to the screen, which is below the speaker! The audio quality is bad if you try to listen to the screen. Move the phone down so that the tip of the phone where the speaker is located on or even in your ear. The audio quality is fine if you listen to the speaker.

I have to admit that the microphone and speaker are not the best I’ve ever used/heard, but think about it, the mic and speaker are waterproof in this thing. The sound quality is probably slightly muffled since it is waterproof, but it is better than most cell phones I have used.

The battery life can be a problem, but is usually due to using flash animated wallpaper (the default surfer you get with the phone, or the football or mountain biker flash animations that come with the phone), or setting the phone timeout settings too high. The other issue with the battery is that there are two batteries, a small one and a high capacity one. The phone comes with the small battery.

Here are the default settings for the phone, if you set these higher than this, you’ll significantly decrease your battery life (these settings are all under Settings & Tools/Display Settings):

Display backlight: 7 seconds
Keypad backlight: 7 seconds
Power saver: 2 minutes

The last one seems to be the real killer, setting this to 10 minutes drains the battery quite quickly.

And also under Display Settings is the Wallpaper setting. This significantly affects the battery life. If you choose any of the Flash animations from “Fun Animations” (the surfer (default Wallpaper setting when you get the phone), football or MTB mountain biking), these use up your battery very quickly. Choose a still picture and that should help quite a bit.

There are two batteries, the “standard” one which is 800mAh (the VZ website says 810, but I’m looking at the battery itself, and it says 800), and an “extended battery” which is 1680mAh. That should help quite a bit, although it looks a bit bigger and is probably heavier as well.

No I don’t work for VZ or Casio or own stock in these companies, no connection.

But the accolades end there. This is a terrible phone that shouldn’t have been released — especially considering the high reviews for the first-gen Type V and even (slightly lesser) the 2G model.

Every call sounds like talking to someone laying in a coffin full of jello. I have had to ask everyone to repeat themselves numerous times, to the point where my wife won’t call me on it until I get a different model. In all honesty, my Nokia from 2000 sounded twice as good.

Secondly, and perhaps even worse, the battery is pathetic. This phone is brand-new, and today, for instance, I took it off the charger at 10 a.m., have made three calls and a handful of texts since, and it’s already at half-power. Yesterday it died by sunset. They’re hyping this phone for adventurous, outdoorsy types, but if you want to go tramping around in the woods during a downpour, using the gimmicky (and fluky) digital compass — be sure it’s a suburban woods and electrical outlets are aplenty.

If anything, this phone should have TWICE the battery of “civilian” models, not this.

There are also software glitches, which, while not deal-breakers in themselves, add to the annoying disappointment that this phone has been.

I’m sending it back, and I’m certain there will be thousands more like me. Verizon deserves to lose their shirt on this one. Should never have been released.