Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
132 of 136 people found the following review helpful.
LG Optimus V - Virgin Mobile By J. Corbett
I have never had a cell phone plan, and I don't plan on having one any time soon. When I first started using cell phones, the curse of prepaid services were the phones. Companies like Net10 had fantastic deals, but the phones were always cheap and disposable, which of course is the great part about prepaid service. I'm not stuck with a phone for two years and if I need one, I'm not worrying about the price.
Another great part about prepaid service is that I will never have to speak with a representative. Virgin Mobile is an easy set up and upon start up, the phone was quick to activate and start my service. This two reasons are high on my list for why prepaid trumps contract phone plans.
When this phone was announced, I was a bit skeptical. I was worried that it would be a watered down version of the LG Optimus S, but I am happy to report that it is essentially the same device. The following will mention the look, feel, and speed of the device.
The touch screen: Nimble! Going from screen to screen is fluid, transitions are visible. For every single touch and swipe, the device is right there with you. There is no lag to be found. However, there are times when I'm playing Angry Birds, and there is considerable lag. It usually happens for the first thirty seconds of the game.
Screen resolution: High quality but with the plastic front, it cheapens the device. However, I am not complaining. Zooming in and out on a webpage, you might notice that it's a little pixelated when you get close to the text.
3G capabilities: Testing this against my friend's iPhone, it's very fast. I was incredibly surprised by the responsiveness and how quick I could go from webpage to webpage. But, I will say that there are times there is absolutely no service. After looking through forums, one easy way to fix this is by activating the phone again. I did this once, and it helped tremendously.
App store: Although it's not as big as Apple's app store, it has everything one would need. The great thing about Android is that if there's something you don't like, you can change it. Widgets are absolutely one of the best features about Android's app store. You can even change the web browser if you don't like it!
This phone does not support Flash, so don't be disappointed.
Navigation: A dream. It works better than my Garmin, the voice is loud and concise. I will say that after plugging it into my auxillary connector that it does sound a little muffled. But I'm not disappointed at all. The maps are amazing. There was one time the directions were a little funky and another that it was taking a while to acquire satellite.
Camera quality: I have to say, the quality of the camera is amazing. With auto focus, it's great. And with the camera apps, you can create some great effects.
Overall, this phone is a great value. I talk a lot, so I use the unlimited everything plan for $60.00. It's not a bad deal considering I would be paying well over $100.00 anywhere else.
There are a lot of other prepaid services you might want to consider if you want to go prepaid. If you aren't someone who talks a lot and just need a phone, Net10 is the perfect service. But if you do talk a lot and browse the internet, then services like Boost Mobile, AT&T GoPhone, Straight Talk, and Virgin Mobile are great alternatives to the high cost of contracts.
The problem with prepaid still? The phones need a lot of work, but this is the first I've seen to make a huge step toward a great future with prepaid service.
Update:
I love this phone. It has efficiently replaced my iPod and GPS Navigator. Put in a 16gb micro sd card, and you're set. Apps like Double Twist make music listening a great experience (and for $4.99, you can sync your music wirelessly, listen to radio stations, AND podcasts)
If your car as an auxillary connector or even a tape adapter, connect your phone, and you can listen to Navigation WHILE listening to music. I know it's a weird thing to obsess about, but I always thought it was one or the other. Directions are precise, so I'm not constantly looking at my phone wondering where I am.
Streaming on Pandora and NPR is great. However, after a few hours, it completely stops and you have to get back into the app. It's not terrible, but I like to listen while I'm at work.
The Android App Market has everything you're looking for as long as you know how to search. I would recommend joining forums, because that's how I found out about different apps. One I love in particular is the WiFi Hotspot widget. With a simple click, you can connect your laptop and computer to the phone's 3g network. Other apps like Car Home allow you to travel and easily find navigation, music, and manage what apps you need on the go.
Depending on where I am, Youtube can lag a little. I expected this. But for the price and the fact that I have completely replaced a few gadgets I own, this is totally worth it.
FINAL UPDATE:
I have had this phone for five months, and I thought I would give my final impressions of the device.
First off, the battery life isn't amazing, but I've found that turning off data while I don't use it is really helpful. The phone lasts for days. If I need to check something online, I quickly go into my settings, turn it on, and check what I need to check. Before I started doing that, I realized that the phone would last MAYBE six or seven hours.
Web browsing has actually gotten a lot better. I was a little worried after three months in. There were times I couldn't get on a web page at all, but I feel that the problem has been resolved.
GPS is still reliable and better than my Garmin.
I actually no longer use this phone as an mp3 player. Even with Double Tap, I felt that it lacked organization.
I have experienced a few dropped calls. One time in particular, I was calling a friend, and our call was dropped four or five times within the hour. I'm not sure if it was his phone or mine, but it had never happened before, and it hasn't happened since.
This phone is really your best bet if you're on a budget yet want to experience a midrange smart phone. Does it have the capabilities of an iPhone or Droid? It's actually pretty close and for the price, I can't complain. $60.00 a month for unlimited everything and a quality phone is fantastic. If I decide I never want to see this phone or this company again, I'm not forced to pay a fee for having a choice. I can easily go online and cancel my services, and I'm not waiting on the phone to speak to a representative. In the five years I've used prepaid phones, I've never had to speak to one person regarding my phone, terms of service, etc. That alone is worth the price in saved time and frustration.
122 of 127 people found the following review helpful.
Awesome (and inexpensive) phone and plan(s) By ajpd
I had to abandon my ATT family plan in favor of letting my youngest daughter get on it and enjoy the free family minutes and unlimited texting, etc., which I don't use so much (already had 5 lines and they won't let me add another one). So, I was looking for the cheapest alternative to getting a 6th line, at least comparable to what I would have paid for the 6th line on ATT. I looked all over and all the individual plans where $40+ or so, without including texting. Then I came across the Virgin Mobile $25 unlimited data, text, web + 300 minutes and it seemed that it would fit the bill.
I got the phone on sale for $105 and it is just the best phone I have ever had, although I have not activated it yet (more on this later), at an awesome price. Why haven't I activated it yet? Well, it turns out, this android phone lets you install all kind of apps from the android market via wifi without activating the phone, you can pop in an 8Gb, 16Gb or 32Gb SDHC card and use this as a pretty awesome (and cheap) ipod/iphone substitute. I have installed apps for watching TV shows, read news (USA Today, NYTime, Bloomberg, etc), Pandora radio (sound through the speaker is very full for such a tiny device), GPS navigation/maps, calculators, MS Office documents viewer, a few games, GasBuddy to find cheap gas locally (pretty handy these days), etc. All FREE from the Android market. But, BY FAR, the best applications I installed are Google Voice, which together with SIPDroid (after signing up for a free GoogleVoice account and a free PBXes.org account) allows me to link them together and configure the phone to use VOIP to make my calls through the internet instead of using the limited 300 minutes I would get if I signed up with Virgin Mobile for $25/month, I can also use it to do unlimited free texting through my Google voice number.
I wanted to do this to make sure I did not go over the 300 minutes and start racking up a huge bill with VM once I activated the phone, but as it turns out, this has worked out so well that I am still undecided as to weather I will need to activate the phone and sign up for the monthly service. Granted, I can only make/receive calls when I am within WIFI range, but, WIFI is so prevalent these days. Many of the establishments a person does business with have free internet access for their customers: Starbucks, Dennys, Mcdonalds, Barnes&nobles, Homedepots, Panera bread, Hooters, highway rest stops, libraries, Krogers, Quiznos, Schlotzsky, FedEx offices, Hotels... the list goes on and on. I also installed a WIFI Analyzer App which shows if there is a free/open WIFI within range and its signal strength. You can get a nice directory of wifi spots in your area here-> [...] which of course does not list all the available ones.
What happens when I'm outside WIFI range? Well, of course I can not make calls, inbound calls go to my GoogleVoice voice mail and as soon as I get into WIFI range and connect, my inbound text messages get delivered and/or I get a notification of a missed call which I can check right away. Obviously not something I would want to use as a business phone, but for personal use when you do not need to be available 24X7 this works great! You also get a great excuse when you don't want to answer someone, later you can say... "Sorry, I was not in WIFI zone...", you can even put that in your answering message. This setup would be great for students who live on campus where they have free access to the campus WIFI network (many of them provide free open WIFI all over campus). All these for $0 a month plus the cost of the phone.
If you feel you need capability to make calls from anywhere in case of emergencies, or for 24X7 availability, then just activate the phone and pay the $25/month. You would get many other benefits which would make this device a very capable business phone. I've read that once activated, you can install an app to make the phone a WIFI hub for up to 4 or 5 devices (supposedly there is an app for that, :-) pun intended, in the android market). This would provide internet service to your WIFI based laptop anywhere. I will investigate this more if/when I activate the phone. I have to admit, it would be fun to be able to go on trips and have internet in the car for my kids ipod touches or laptops while we are on the road. The more they can entertain themselves, the less "are we there yet?, are we there yet?" questions we will get... :-)
Summarizing, if you activate the phone, you get unlimited texting, phone web browsing, tv watching, internet radio, etc. + unlimited internet based calls using the provided unlimited data service + internet for your computer/ipod touches anytime/anywhere. All these for $25/month? Sweeeet! I don't think any carrier can beat that, the closer unlimited everything plan is cricket for $55/month for an android or blackberry phone. ATT, Verizon, etc? $70 and up... Virgin Mobile uses the Sprint 3G network, so, it's coverage (at least here in Houston) is pretty good.
I hope you find this useful.
Enjoy!
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
Amazing phone with cheap, solid, feature-rich service By Andrea L. Polk
After being a T-Mobile customer for 8 years I finally dumped them when I found the phone and plan I'd been waiting for: the Android 2.2, LG Optimus V with the Beyond Talk plan.
The Phone:
An Android 2.2 operating system powers the LG Optimus V (V stands for Virgin... the S is Sprint's phone, but both share the Sprint mobile network) and allows for zippy web surfing via the 3G network. Apps open quickly and transitions from one thing to another are smooth. The processor seems up to multitasking and I had no problem downloading apps and emailing at the same time.
The body of the phone is comfortable to hold with a slightly rubberized feel, and the screen is bright and clear. I did note the back cover of the phone is a tad flimsy, so be careful pulling it off and on to put in the battery. Bear in mind I'm used to a Nokia E71 phone, which has a metal back, so that may just be something that bothered me and won't phase anyone else about this phone. The four navigation keys on the front of the phone are sturdy and responsive.
The touchscreen doesn't seem to respond as easily as my iTouch does, but then again, it may be me and the way I was gingerly giving it an initial once over. I have texted and emailed using Swype (a cool technology included on this phone that basically allows you the ability to move your finger over a keyboard and have it intuitively guess at what you're trying to type without you lifting your finger) on this phone, and it works well. I'm pretty slow at it, but practice will undoubtedly help.
The camera is a 3.2mp without a flash. I'm not overly impressed with the quality of the photos I've taken, but I don't use my phone-cam as my primary camera anyway. You can also take video with this phone.
Charging this phone can be done by two methods: USB or travel adapter. The travel adapter (included in the package along with the USB to phone cord) attaches to the USB end of the cord that attaches to the base of the phone. You can charge your phone via either AC or USB - AC seemed to do it a tad faster, but be prepared to have a full recharge take 1 to 2hrs.
This takes us to the downside of this phone: the battery life. If you are downloading or surfing the web, this phone sucks down the juice. There is a free app called Juice Defender, which will prolong your battery life - I highly recommend it along with Hotspot Widget, which allows you to use Hotspots for Wi-fi. Talk time on the battery is estimated at 6hrs, with up to 3 days of standby time. This would only work if you never checked the web, emailed, texted or played with apps!
The phone weighs 4.69 ounces and is a tad thick, but not much more than an iPhone with a hard case on it. It ships with a 2GB micro SD card in it, but I recommend picking up at least an 8GB card or larger to replace it. Adding apps will quickly diminish the 2GB.
No flash player is yet available for this phone - or so I've heard, thus 'flash' doesn't play on it. You can view YouTube videos and there are several TV apps, so not really an issue for me yet and probably something that will be fixed with firmware in the future.
I suggest purchasing a case to protect it, as none is included in the phone package. LG Optimus S and T cases will work with this phone. Deals with a case, charger, screen protector, etc... like this: LG Optimus S LS670 Full Diamond Bling Black Zebra Skin Hard Case Snap on Cover Phone Protector Sleeve + Mirror LCD Screen Guard Film w/Cleaning Cloth + Free Biodegradable Screen wipe are available on Amazon.
The Beyond Talk Plans:
No deal out there comes close to this one. Yes, the phone is an initial chunk of change, but it's an Android phone that will offer excellent call quality on the Sprint network and data at 3G speeds - unlimited data, text and email - for $25 a month with 300 anytime minutes. GREAT deal! A bump up for $40 a month gives you 1200 anytime minutes a month and unlimited data, text and email, or for $60 a month you get unlimited everything. NO CONTRACT. You can pay via gift cards you purchase with cash, or have a debit or credit card on file with Virgin Mobile. You can choose to have them take the plan fee out each month, or you can tell them you'll do it yourself via the online payment section. Really, really easy and no taxes or hidden fees. If you go over your minutes it's an additional 10 cents a minute, and minutes don't rollover to the next month.
Virgin Mobile coverage maps are available on their website. Check it with your address to see coverage in your area prior to buying the phone. There's a way to check voice coverage and then click over to data coverage.
'Porting' Your Number (Keeping Your Old Number):
If you want to keep your same cellphone number (the one used by another carrier) you need to keep these things in mind.
1. You have to be in the same area code to do it.
2. You cannot cancel your previous service prior to calling Virgin Mobile to set up service.
3. You cannot activate your LG Optimus V on Virgin Mobile's website, you must call them to tell them you want the same number.
4. You need to have your old number, account number for the other provider, and a bit of time (up to 72hrs, although it took VM only 1hr to port my number...) to switch the old number to your new phone.
5. You must have your LG Optimus V charged to be able to receive a text letting you know the number has been switched and your old service has been cancelled.
6. Calling your old provider to make sure your service has been cancelled and to pay off any lingering debt with them is advised.
Call to 'activate' your Virgin Mobile service after the number has been ported to your new phone. They will ask you how you are paying for your service and have you do a test call.
If you don't have an old number, you can either call Virgin Mobile to activate the phone or do it on their website.
The LG Optimus V phone is my first android smartphone and so far, I'm very impressed. GPS, email, web, checking in on eBay and Amazon... all very exciting and something I thought I'd never be able to afford as I couldn't justify spending $70 a month for it with T-Mobile or ATT.
In a few months the purchase of this phone will pay for itself and with no contract I'm sure I'll feel good about having the option to change, even if I never do. If you don't want to be under contract, but want to enjoy the perks of new technology at a reasonable price per month - get this phone and the Beyond Talk plan. Heck, get them for the entire family! You won't regret the purchase.
UPDATE: March 13, 2011
Found several FREE apps in the 'Market' of note.
1. ShopSavy: uses scanner technology to scan items in the store and then give you the best price for that item online or locally. Works very well!
2. GasBuddy: gives you the current prices on fuel at different grades. Type in a zip code or name of a place to get the listings. You can also add a price as you see it to assist others using the app.
3. Speed Test : gives you the current speeds of your internet upload and download. Noted that my wifi is much, much faster than the 3G network, thus when home I switch my settings from mobile to wifi.
4. Amazon Kindle: read all content on your Kindle, also on your phone.
5. Radar Now: shows current weather maps as shown on your TV weather report (satellite maps) in real time, via GPS.
6. HP Photo Print: found my home network printers and printed photos taken on my phone after uploading to the printer via this app. Also can use Photoshop Express (also free) to tweak the photo prior to printing.
7. SilentBoot: once downloaded an on, this allows you to turn your phone on and off without any noise.
8. AVG free antivirus: still a good idea to run an antivirus whether it's on your PC or phone.
9. Google Sky: really fun app that shows you the night sky (stars, constellations) and moves with you according to GPS location... play with this one!
10. Quick Settings: very easy way to turn on and off wifi/gps/mobile... and a host of other things like uninstalling apps you no longer want.
11. Zedge: lots n' lots of wallpapers and ringtones for free.
12. Memory Booster lite: frees up unused memory to use by the processor.
13. JuiceDefender: runs in the background to save your battery from draining too quickly.
14. World Newspapers: just like the title implies, access to worldwide news via newspapers, but also magazines, webnews, social networking, etc... fun to browse and in many, many languages.
15. Tune In Radio: allows you to pick up radio stations and podcasts by state. The 3.5mm headset jack (standard - like on iPods and other MP3 players) is great and this app plus your music library on a SD card means you can choose to leave your music player at home as it's all on your phone!
Battery drops quickly with a lot of app use, but without it the phone holds a good charge for several days. I simply keep topping the battery up whenever I'm home and near the charger. The manual says not to let the battery be completely discharged.
Also on the subject of 'battery': The battery also is somewhat loose in my phone. Not sure if that's all Optimus V's or just mine. Sometimes my screen goes black and it's a loose battery. A small bit of tape fixed the problem and is unseen under the back cover of the phone.
The Voice Recognition software on this phone seems to be fabulous! Both voice dialing and voice input for texting (instead of typing) seem to work great for me. One suggestion for texting via voice: make your sentences short. This seems to give me the most accurate input.
Overall I love this phone and look forward to using it and Virgin Mobile for a long time! Call clarity is great and so far the Android Experience is all I would have wished it to be. I've watched lots of YouTube videos, emailed, msg'd, all with great ease. The calls have been clear on both the sending and receiving end, and I've yet to find an area where I have not had service. That's a pretty big deal considering I don't live in a major metropolitan area. Great find, and happily discovering new things I like about the phone every day.
See all 98 customer reviews... 
More
Contact
Submit
Premium
