LG Optimus V - Black (Virgin Mobile) Smartphone

I got this half price used on eBay & love it (first smart phone). Compared to the Apple iPhone 3Gs, the LG Optimus has Speech Recognition that uses cloud computing so works great, fast, accurate but probably not too secure--the same feature (but maybe with a different provider) is available on the newer iPhone 4S, and with the higher 4G bandwidth of the 4S, it may be possible to encrypt Apple's speech recognition--i dunno. In comparison, the Optimus also has a removable SD card, and dual processors (one CPU, one GPU) (the newer iPhone 4S has dual processors also).

But this Optimus (Optimus V) has no GSM so there is no Sim Card and you can't unlock it to use in Europe, for example. I bought the Optimus V to use with Virgin Mobile in the USA because i can afford that no-contract limited voice but unlimited data plan.

SWIPE (the keyboard entry feature in which you slide from virtual key to key to type a word, then lift your finger to add a space) just doesn't work for me because the Optimus screen is too small for my fingertip size. Fortunately, the standard keyboard entry method is an included option.

I think that the Optimus screen is 0.3" smaller (diagonally) than the iPhone 3Gs, and with my fingers (which are average size for a 6 foot man), i think i would appreciate the (about 1/4 inch?) extra horizontal screen room of the iPhones when using the virtual keyboard (though for everything else, the slightly smaller screen size is adequate in my opinion and with my apps).

If you don't have small finger tips, I would recommend that you get your hands on any Optimus and try out the standard keyboard entry, then compare to an iPhone (the later iPhone 4S model has the same size screen as the iPhone 3Gs).

Note that there is currently no accessories such as a wired or wireless external keyboard, mouse, or monitor for the Optimus. The iPhone at least offers a wired external monitor.

The latest iPhone (at this time--i.e., the 4S) has some additional features, but still no removable SD card. Those features are 4G (even faster web access), upto 64 GB internal memory (costs plenty extra $$ though now) (the maximum Optimus SD card is 32 GB), better antenna logic, Bluetooth 4.0 (saves battery life, size, weight on Bluetooth devices), front camera (videoconference!), and higher screen & rear camera resolution. Apple also has a convenient phone trade-in program (though you can always sell your old phone on eBay).

The SD Cards have different speeds for any capacity--i also bought a 32GB Class 10 SD Card. The included battery has 1500 mah (milliamp hour) capacity, but i also bought 2 extra 1600 mah batteries and a separate battery charger (for an isolated battery), screen protectors, a flexible plastic phone enclosure, and a leather case.

While i'm talking on the phone, i don't want to freak people out when they see the exposed camera lens on the back of the phone inadvertently pointed at them, so i put two short pieces of black electrical tape on the flexible plastic phone enclosure (one piece on the inside, and one piece on the outside), with both pieces directly over the camera hole of the enclosure, and the sticky side of each piece facing the other. Then i pressed the 2 pieces of tape together at the camera hole. The tape stays in place and i just remove the flexible plastic enclosure when i want to use the camera.

The included headset plug has 4 contacts but works in a 3-contact 3.5mm (1/8") stereo receptacle.

I picked this up for about fifty, so maybe my review is a little biased. Prior to this phone, I had in succession a LG Imprint, then a Rumor Touch, then a Rumor 2. I paid 60, 90, 50, respectively. None of them hold a torch to this phone. My only complaints are lack of physical keyboard, because I am clumsy and have thick fingers, and am too lazy to get a better keyboard app, and battery life could be better, or maybe my internet surfing browsers should be exited when I'm just walking around not using my phone. Did I remember to mention that laziness bit?

The phone does crash. The screen might be too sensitive, or I'm just too clumsy, but sometimes, I hang up on people because my cheek hair brush the screen. There's probably a lock app to prevent that, but I haven't bothered to look.

It's an android phone. There's almost endless free programs to run on it, and at 40 a month, albeit they will throttle me if I go over 2.5gb of transfers per month, this is the best deal I've ever had, and the most enjoyable phone experience ever. Do consider my mileage though. To the person who sold it cheap due to some bad acrylic paint job: thank you. I don't care about the paint job, I care about the functionality, and this one is like night to day with those other piles of crap.

Webpages take seconds to load, not minutes. It synced with all google accounts, my primary source of accounts, in the background without me even noticing. I'm rendering the most awesome screensaver in the world, electric-sheep to my phone's desktop. Granted, I only get 6fps, but not bad and way cooler than some non-moving picture. Unless it's your significant other, in which case I retract my statement and mean no offense.

For those with big clumsy fingers like me - find the app. There's battery app I just installed, which takes care of some issues, but raises others. Mostly it's because I've only owned this thing and had it activated for a week, so I'm still learning it.

The construction itself is very solid, this is a dense piece. Unlike that Rumor Touch, with it's wannabe touchscreen and fischer-price style casing.

I think I've run my fingers enough on this review. Good entry level android phone, no significant drawbacks.

I chose this make/model/carrier for the very reason that i didnt want to empty my wallet every month just to have a smartphone with a simple data plan. With verizon pay as you go...I didnt need credit for this above par phone.It actually allows you to use the internet and apps for more than one music video for example..unlike some of the other services! Before i paid 80/ month and only had minutes, text, and a cheap old phone(no options). This phone gives you all the droid capabilities without the Worry of breaking your bank! I pay only 35 per month. Unlike other smart phones where you get to pay extra eveerytime you listen to music or use an extra 10 minutes on the internet and they stick you with an outrageous fee. Great Camera, Pre loaded social networks. easily connects to your computer and recieves/transfers files. Keyboard is ideal for a touch screen. Its small but which touchscreen isnt? The worst thing i could say is the battery tends to run out fast but only if you are using a lot of apps... Its a very easy phone to use....after all when i opened mine the first time DROID the little green guy: ) had a tutorial teaching me to use it in less than five minutes!

the battery on this thing is a marathon runner compare to other androids. i can easily go a full day without charging with moderate use (text, maybe a phone call, and internet with gps and auto refresh constantly running). the phone is all plastic with a metal frame so this thing although not as stylish as those glassy phones, can take quite a beating. it also doesnt come preinstalled with a bunch of bloatware like the htc wild fire. you can install a ton of apps before this things runs out of space and when it does, you can use the sd card. it doesnt come with apps that run in the background all the time either(though it does come with a few that you can't uninstall but they dont take up that much room and u can shut them off so they dont run)
cons:
-runs android 2.2, so its kinda outdated but it will serve ever function u need. most apps work on it.
-camera has no flash
-metal frame gives it a heavy feel
-vibrations is kinda weak, as with all virgin mobile phones. its not the worst like the rumor 2 but if you are walking, u probably wont feel it shake in your pocket.
-as expected from the low price, its not the best of phones. there are occasional glitches (phone will sometimes restart and lag or freeze) but that could be attributed to the software problem of the android system and not the phone. the screen isnt as responsive as say an ipod touch but at less than half the price, its worth it. simply speaking, all functions work but not as flawlessly as something higher end.
-with the virgin mobile network, internet sometimes gets shuts off without warning for no reason. its pretty reliable for the most part but these black outs do occur. text messages are also affected by this and will sometimes be sent hours later. picture messages sometimes have difficulty sending. its not to the point where its annoying but just something to be expected.

This Android 2.2 Froyo phone is a good starter Android phone for low intensity usage. The 3.2 inch touchscreen has a smaller touchscreen keypad which makes the actual letter keys a little smaller. The 3.2MP camera and camcorder is satisfactory for taking pictures and video. The internal memory is only 140 MB, which will limit the quantity of Android apps you can download on this phone. The included 2MB SD card is helpful for moving some apps onto the card, thus freeing up some of the storage space on the phone. I did find myself having to remove some apps to make room for others though, as you will see a Low Storage Space warning on the phone when there are too may apps installed. You can install up to a 32 GB SD card if you like, but this does not help the quantity of apps issue, because many apps cannot be moved to the SD Card. The battery life is satisfactory, and can be increased by turning off Wi-Fi, Navigation, Bluetooth, and any other services not in use. The price is a good value. At the time of this review on 11-08-2011, this phone is selling for about $70.00 - $90.00 on eBay for a used phone. I had paid $110.00 for a used one on eBay in August 2011. The phone brand new in August was $149.99 at virginmobile.com. Now the phone price has been lowered to $129.99 at Virgin Mobile. The Virgin Mobile service does offer higher minute plans. If you are thinking of buying this or any phone used, be careful of the ESN being able to be activated. Many phones will have a "bad ESN" and sellers may not tell you this, or even know there is a bad ESN. Sometimes the price of the phone used on eBay, is so close to the price of the phone new, it makes sense to just buy the phone new, and know you are getting a brand new, never touched phone.