Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V No-Contract Mobile Phone – $149.99
By: Dappered Tech Correspondent Paul Olson
Dappered’s go-to mobile provider, Virgin Mobile, just launched another great Android-powered smartphone, the LG Optimus V. Why’s this one worth a look?
1. It’s Android
Android phones are great. You can play Angry Birds on them, keep track of your bank balances with Mint, read news with Pulse, and never get lost thanks to Google Maps. While the iPhone definitely blazed the trail, Android-powered phones offer all of the functionality at a fraction of the cost.
2. It’s Android 2.2
Android 2.2 matters for two reasons — it’s faster and it’s Microsoft Outlook friendly. If you want to access your work email on your phone (and your office uses Outlook), this if the phone for you. Virgin Mobile’s Samsung Intercept runs Android 2.1 — but it’s scheduled to get the upgrade this spring. Currently, the only phone with a more advanced version of the Android OS is the Google-blessed Nexus S.
3. There’s No Keyboard
I’m not a keyboard guy — I like the touchscreen. The Optimus V is keyboard-free, so you don’t need to worry about mucking up the sliding keyboard with your pocket lint and finger sweat. And it’s cheaper to manufacture, so the Optimus V is cheaper than the Intercept.
4. It’s Cheaper Than Your Family Plan
Let’s do the math for AT&T: unlimited minutes for 5 people cost $120 + (4 * $50); unlimited messaging for the family plan is $30; data for 5 phones (2 GB cap) is 5 * $25 … this is $475 a month or $95 per person per month. And you don’t get unlimited data on AT&T.
Virgin Mobile’s unlimited plan is $60 a month. Their 300 minutes, unlimited data and text messaging plan is $25 a month. It’s impossible to beat this.
5. It’s The Best $150 GPS Unit You Can Buy
For $150, you could buy a Garmin — but the Google Maps and Navigator apps make a Garmin entirely unnecessary. And unlike a stand-alone GPS unit that only does one thing, your Optimus V is basically a mini computer that can do everything your laptop can do.
Conclusion
Get this phone. Unfortunately, a lot of people have already come to this same conclusion — the phone’s sold out a lot of places and back-ordered on Virgin’s site. It’s worth the wait.
NOTE: Now that Paul our tech correspondent has gone over the new LG Optimus, know that Joe will give everyone an update at the end of the week on how he and his new Samsung Intercept are getting along. Some have asked. So know that’s on the way too.
That’s a pretty good deal on a phone running Froyo. Know that it’s limited to Sprint’s 3G network which might be all most people need..
I have the Optimus S on Sprint, which is essentially the same phone. I’m heavy into electronics, but my budget usually disagrees. I’m stunned by the quality and speed of this phone.
If you don’t want to shell out the big bucks for larger/faster/more expensive gear, this is a great alternative. As long as you don’t have any runaway apps, the battery life will knock the socks off the high-end phones, too.
This seems like an amazing deal. It looks like Boost Mobile has even lower prices and also uses the Sprint Network — but with not as good phones. Do you know if it is possible to carry a number over from Sprint? My contract expires in early March.
I switched my company over to EVO 4Gs last June and I couldn’t be happier with the phones or Sprint’s service. There is the small issue of the size of the phone, convenient for working on, but not so much for putting in your jeans pocket. I tend to carry my phone in my jacket pocket now and I have any tailoring done with the phone in the inside pocket. We were all using iPhones up until the switch and other than a lousy contact management system on the EVO, I have no regrets leaving the iPhone.
I could be wrong about this, but I believe you can still get service covered under Alltel (as in, start a new plan). Alltel has, as of now, unlimited minutes, texts and data plans for a reasonable price. If this is still possible, that is one of the best plans you can have as they will be merging with either Verizon or AT&T depending on your region. Where I live, as long as I don’t get an iPhone I can keep my unlimited Alltel plan prices even after they switch to AT&T.
I dropped AT&T for this phone the first day it came out. I am currently on the 25 dollar a month plan and I love it! Also it keep me in check by not wasting time talking about random crap with more time for homework! Also I love the andriod market place compared the the iphone app store. Things go on sale less but there is so much free stuff.
I like the Optimus V phone but it has so many problems that I can’t use it. I have taken back two of them both of which exibited over heating battery problems, very short battery life and inability to to connect to the internet about half the time. It also shuts down and restarts on it’s own for some reason and it is not software upgrades unless those occur 3 or 4 times a day. This would be a great phone if they could get it to work.