I also have a LG TU500, I upgraded from CDMA about 4 months ago when my old phone died.
The most frustrating feature with it is that it you cannot set it to give reminder beeps when someone leaves a voice mail or text message.
In an urban environment it seems to work where most other phones drop out. I bought the LG because it is one of the very few Next G phones that has a direct RF connection for a patch lead to allow an external aerial to be fitted (most phones can only use an inductive pickup which results in RF losses).
I have used both CDMA and NEXT G well offshore with an external aerial at Hardy Reef. Both phones worked at times and not at others. Next G either worked brilliantly or not at all.
Unlike some other phones I have tried, the browser allows you to pull up usable single weather radar images from the bom site - a poor man's weather radar. You can access forecasts through the bow registered user section as well, however I haven't been able to use it with NAIPS though.
It is quite a rugged phone - I have even dropped it out of the plane at Whitehaven Beach, recovered it from out of the sea after about 30 seconds, removed the batteries, soaked it in several batches of bottled water and dried it out. It is still working two months later - but occasionally turns itself off.
W