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Is It Your Type?

The Volt 2, an update to last year's Volt, is a mid-ranger that offers a lot of LG flavor. At $150, it represents a decent value for Boost Mobile customers who want something a bit more compact.

Body

LG's smartphones are beginning to run into one another as far as looks go. The Volt 2 is another variation on a theme from LG. Its family lineage is clear thanks to the curved shape and rear button placement. The phone doesn't carry the high-end refinement of the G4 and comes across as a bit more plebian.

The Volt 2's coloring is rather plain: black glass on the front and grayish plastic on the back. The rear shell has a faux metallic finish to it (sort of like brushed aluminum). The shading of the rear half of the phone offsets the black front half in an appealing way. The side edges are almost flat enough to allow the phone to stand on edge. I like the way LG cut the corners where the back surface joins the sides, as it almost gives the plastic a chamfered appearance.

With a 5-inch screen, the Volt 2 is a mid-sized handset by today's standards. It's bigger and heavier than the original Volt, but just slightly. The rear of the phone is curved just a wee bit, but the side edges are thicker than I'd like them to be. At 10.2mm, the Volt 2 isn't the thinnest handset available. Even so, the Volt 2 should be easy enough for most people to use one-handed. The size and weight are comfortable. It's definitely smaller than the G Stylo, which is also sold by Boost. The Volt 2 should slip into most pockets with ease.

LG used good materials to build the Volt 2. The plastics that form the rear shell are solid and don't feel cheap at all. The shell snaps onto the frame snugly and all the seams are nice and tight. The phone feels extremely solid. My one complaint is that the materials are a bit slippery. I dropped the phone a few times.

Body  

The earpiece and user-facing camera blend in well on the front face. There's a bit too much bezel surrounding the screen for my tastes. I'm glad there are no buttons on the front.

You won't find buttons along the side edges, either: LG moved the usual side controls to the back surface. The rear-placed buttons have become LG's signature design characteristic. The camera, up/down volume controls, and screen lock button are encompassed in a single module. The volume toggles are indented somewhat and have a distinctive texture to make them easy to identify. The screen lock button is raised and has its own texture. You shouldn't have any trouble telling the buttons apart, even if you can't see them. All three have great travel and feedback.

The headphone jack is located on the top edge of the Volt 2 and the USB port is on the bottom.

I really like the design of the speakerphone. You'll note four little squares in the bottom-left corner of the rear surface. There's a chrome-colored grille behind the squares that creates a sharp, professional look. It's a minor detail, to be sure, but an appealing one all the same.

It takes a bit of effort to remove the Volt 2's rear cover. The claws holding it in place don't like to let go too easily. The SIM card and memory card slots are stacked together on the side edge. I like that the SIM card is accessible without touching the battery. The battery is removable.

The LG Volt 2 is a respectable piece of hardware. It doesn't aspire to be much, but it delivers an enjoyable experience for the price.

Screen

LG improved the Volt 2's screen in size and resolution over the original. Last year's phone had a 4.7-inch display with qHD resolution. The Volt 2 has a 5-inch screen with 720p HD resolution. The new size and resolution are well matched. The LCD panel from LG looks great. Text is sharp and on-screen graphics have smooth edges. Brightness is quite good, though the auto-brightness setting was a bit fussy. I found myself setting brightness manually, as the auto feature never turned brightness up high enough for outdoor environments. You can surely use the phone outdoors as long as you have the brightness cranked. Colors and viewing angles are quite good. I was satisfied when watching YouTube videos on the screen. It did well with HD movies I've rented, as well. This is a nice screen for such an inexpensive handset.

Signal

Boost Mobile operates on Sprint's network. The Volt 2 can run on Sprint's LTE network, including its tri-band Sprint Spark service. I found the device connected to the network readily and performed on par with other Sprint handsets I've tested around New York City. Every call I placed connected on the first attempt, but the Volt 2 did drop one call at highway speeds. The Volt 2 did well on Sprint's data network. Speeds aren't the quickest I've seen, but were speedy enough for checking Facebook, Twitter, and email without issue. Data did slow down noticeably in areas with weak signal coverage.

Sound

I'd rate the Volt 2's call quality a bit below average. Voices coming through the earpiece were muffled from time to time, as though someone were speaking through a door or wall. Further, I had to keep the volume set to the maximum setting all the time. Calls were easy enough to hear in my quiet office, but it became more difficult out in the world where there are more noises. Those with whom I conversed via the Volt 2 said I sounded "just OK."

The speakerphone was a disappointment. The engineering behind it doesn't live up to the cool design. The volume isn't good enough at all. When cranked all the way up, I was able to hear calls reasonably well at home and in a non-moving car, but voices were prone to distracting distortion. Conducting speakerphone calls in noisy environments — including a car moving at highway speeds — was next to impossible.

Ringers and alerts provided plenty of noise to get my attention. The vibrate alert is rather weak.

I wouldn't listen to music through the speakerphone. The experience sucks. Music sounded decent enough when passed through my best pair of wired headphones.

Battery

LG significantly reduced the size of the battery in the Volt 2 when compared to the original. This year's phone packs a 2,540 mAh power cell compared to the 3,000 mAh power cell in last year's phone.

The Volt 2's battery is of average capacity and powered the phone through the day only about half the time. Using the phone in a basic fashion (messaging, social networking, browsing) meant I had plenty of power to spare come bedtime. Using media took a toll on the battery. Watching YouTube or streaming Spotify curbed battery life noticeably, and the camera has a significant impact, too. When I mixed media into the equation, the Volt 2 was gasping for breath around 10PM.

Thank goodness the Volt 2 includes a battery saver tool. You can set it to come on automatically when the phone reaches 15%, or toggle it on/off manually. It limits background processes and notifications and can extend your battery long enough for you to get safely home at the end of the night. I relied on it on several occasions.

Battery  

Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, WiFi

The Volt 2 has a handful of other radios on board that more or less work as they should. I didn't have any trouble pairing the Volt 2 with other Bluetooth gear. Call quality was passable, but just barely. Music pumped through my fave Bluetooth speaker was OK, but would have been better if the Volt 2 supported the aptX profile; it doesn't.

The GPS radio located the Volt 2 quickly and accurately, and interacted well with Google Maps.

The original Volt had NFC on board, but the Volt 2 strangely doesn't. That's a bummer.

I was able to connect the Volt 2 to my home WiFi network with ease, and didn't experience any trouble when surfing in my house.

Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.

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