LG Optimus S / Optimus U / Optimus V
Phone Scoop Review
Oct 26, 2010 by Philip Berne
The LG Optimus S offers Sprint ID and Android 2.2 in a compact, inexpensive touchscreen phone. Does a newer Android OS help keep this phone up to speed? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
The Mighty Optimus V!
My husband bought me this phone as a get well gift after my motorcycle crash. From that moment on, I NEVER put that device down!
The smooth, responsive, touch screen is the best one I've ever used. It never failed to recognize my touch, and the speed at which is navigated the web, or applications was astounding!
I could run multiple apps at once and never experience any lag or loading issues.
Angry birds works great, Spirit, Zombieville USA, and any social media apps are very fun on this phone.
The 3.2" screen is beautiful, and adds to much more to the experience.
The 3MP camera did a lot more for me than i had expected! I am able to take clear, crisp photos and upload them online for people to gawk at.
The video feature is great a well. Voice quality was good, and the focus was also very accurate to make for a clean, clear video.
With Go Launcher you can download multiple themes, as well as keyboards to really customize the phone.
Bakery Story, and any of the other games work great on it as well!
GPS worked flawlessly and I never lost my way, even when traveling down the entire East Coast!
And I use Sports Tracker on a daily basis when I jog/run and it's very accurate with the GPS feature. I get to log all of my work outs and even sync them online for a later view!
Call quality was great, I never had trouble hearing anyone, and they never had trouble hearing me (and I talk pretty quietly)!
All in all, I rate this phone a 10/10, because even after I upgraded, I went right back to it, and I do not plan on leaving again!
Thanks LG! And thanks Virgin Mobile!
If you do not get this phone, you are really missing out!
Should be called LG Work Horse
After 3 years of visiting PhoneScoop, I finally decided it was time to write my first review. Why? Because the LG Optimus V deserves to be praised.
I don't buy high-end cell phones. Any nice cell phones I have bought were outdated by at least 1 year when I purchased them. Previous phones include Nokia bricks, Nokia 6200, Nokia 6230, Pantech Slate, Blackberry 8830. All were solid, dependable phones.
The LG Optimus V is my first smartphone and does just about everything I'd ever want in a phone, and does it well.
PROS:
-Weight is perfect. Not too light, not too heavy. Solid.
-Reception is perfect. Virgin is strong in South Florida.
-Can withstand falls from 4ft and some water moisture.
-Physical UI buttons are a plus. And are well placed. You get 4 navigation, 1 camera, 1 voice command, 1 power, 1 volume, 1 microSD slot on the side.
-Call volume and quality are great. Speakerphone is great. Even better with Bluetooth.
-Can tether with USB (PDAnet or EasyTether) or Wifi hotspot (Hotspot Widget). Virgin Mobile + LG Optimus V on 3g network served as my home internet connection for months and months before I ordered DSL.
-Themes are plentiful (Go Launcher iPhone theme my fave)
CONS:
-The UI is ugly compared to iPhone. Luckily easily solved by installing a theme.
-Only 128mb of RAM
-Occasionally freezes
LG OPTIMUS V IS A BEAST. Best 3G Android in its class.
Awesome phone!
This phone is awesome. I was at first very skeptical coming from Verizon with the HTC thunderbolt, but I was very surprised. For $25 a month this phone does everything you need it to do. Emails, most apps being free, running on a 3g network, and swype.
PROS
-battery life is good for android
-fast enough for what im paying
-hardly any glitches (unlike the thunderbolt)
-smoother and easier to use
-interface is smooth
-very share friendly, gallery is fun and easy, take a picture and share it instantly
-swype is sooo cool.
-reboot time is 20 seconds
CONS
-cant install adobe flash
-sometimes internet goes out no biggy
THATS IT!
Pretty good little phone
I really like this phone. I wasn't sure about getting it because I have never been a fan of lg but my husband got it and liked it so I decided to get it to.
No major issues with the phone. It freezes sometimes and I just pull my battery and put it back in to resolve the issues. The internal intenna isn't the best but I seem to get good service most of the time. I would recommend this phone to anyone. its my first android phone and I'm loving the android marketplace. great apps :)
Great little phone
After using treos fort years I decided to a different direction since Sprint opted out of the pre and Really don't need all, the extras. My daughter recommended the Optimus S and was I ever impressed. Easy to navigate, functionality is amazing and I still have access to most of what I had with palm. The only downside is getting used to the on screen keyboard which is easily corrected by turning phone sideways and I miss having and alarm that sounds when phone is off. Otherwise this is and amazing phone at and even more amazing price.
You can't be serious because I got it for FREE
I have used HTC EVO, Galaxy 4G etc.. but Optimus S is as good as those or even better for price (don't have to pay extra $10 bucks)
1. First I got it FREE
2. NO activation fee
3. Android 2.2 out of box where many top of the line phone waiting for 2.2 upgrade.
4. Fast no lagging at all
5. Pretty good battery life
6. Perfect size & very responsive touch screen.
7. You can do all the thing that HTC EVO can do.
8. Tons of apps for banking to tethering works without single problem
9. Voice quality is good & ringer is loud.
10. you can watch tv & movies as well for FREE
I need to stop & now cons
1. It is not 4G but 3G on Sprint is great
2. For known SD card issue here is the solution. First format the SD card in computer after that insert into the phone.
3. Some phones have rebooting or shutdown problem (mostly with purple ones)
Better than expected
I've had smartphones from the early PPC600 days, with main negative being poor battery life. I finally settled on the Q9 with extended battery, and then the HTC SNAP; both with 2 days usability. I've been shying away from Android because of the poor battery expectations, but when Virgin Mobile went to the $25 300 minute talk plan and offered this phone, I jumped into it.
I was surprised; first, the phone is fantastic - easy to use, fast and responsive (much faster than a Mogul and the SNAP), the Swype keyboard works great, and generally, no complaints.
Yesterday, though, I rode my bike for 4 hours, using 2 cycling GPS programs, streaming Pandora through bluetooth headphones, taking texts and emails and using Google maps from when I got lost, and at the end, I still had 54% battery left!
Absolutely no complaints or compromises with this phone - camera and music player works as good as any other (the PPC6700 had the best camera)and I even have a movie stored on the SD card to watch.
Highly recommended, get this phone
I can't find a reason not to get this phone.
Pros:
-Android 2.2 "Froyo" out of the box
-Fast
-Swype
-Good battery life
-Good reception
Cons:
-No notification LED
Get this phone!
Excellent first Android.
I am a former cell phone salesman so I know my phones. I upgraded to this phone last week and I love it.
The Android OS is awesome, very customizable, smooth, and responsive. There is a FREE app for just about everything, if not most are $1.99 or less. I have yet to have to buy one.
I live in a Metro suburb with 3G... The Optimus makes calls where my trusty old Palm Centro and my wife's Sanyo Katana LX could not. In-Call volume is loud and clear. The ringer volume is good, but not as loud or clear as my old Palm Centro. The manual touch dialer is good. However, dialing part of a contact's number does not bring up the option to pick that contact as you would expect and since there is no physical key pad, choosing a contact from a long list requires some practice. Also there is no "phone" button so you may have to press a few "buttons" to make a call if you're not on the dialer screen.
The web browser is good. EVDO Rev A is fast and reliable. You can view mobile web pages and full HTML pages, but there is no Flash support, which isn't a big deal for most people.
LG has come a long, long way since just a few years ago when they were limited to bottom of the stack free phones. This phone is solid. No loose buttons, no sharp edges or mold lines, and nice clear, sharp, bright screen.
This is a smart phone. That said, like most all smart phones the battery is the weak spot... but, I charge my Optimus every night and go to work in the morning. I listen to Pandora streaming radio in the car. Then I use the phone some at work to call/text my drivers, research part availability, and entertain myself at lunch. I end up with around 50-60% battery at 6:30pm. Then, more Pandora, and at home I can browse the web via my WiFi connection, make more calls, use more apps, and play some games and I still have about 20% battery left when I plug it back in around 10:30pm.
In conclusion I highly recommend this phone for a first time Android / touch phone user.
Thanks for reading. :-)
Optimus S Unbelievable Free Phone: Best!!
Pros:
1. lightning fast menu navigation and app loading
2. good quality pictures and camera
3. free hotspot capability (you need to download a hotspot widget from the Market but it works without adding anything to your rateplan)
4. phone has been rooted and there is a custom recovery available now so you can load custom ROMs, just like the Evo and the Epic
5. battery life very good
6. size perfect: fits in front shirt pocket, nice and thin, and you won't notice it is there (unlike the Epic)
7. the price: it is free at the Shack and was free at Best Buy for Black Friday and online at sprint.com
8. Android 2.2 out of the box
Cons: low on board memory for apps: can be ameliorated by moving apps to SD card (android 2.2 out of the box: another PRO!!)
All in all, I can't believe this phone is free. The day to day experience is as fast as my Evo was. The only thing missing is 4G. Grab this phone!!!
