LG Vortex
Phone Scoop Review
Dec 8, 2010 by Philip Berne
The LG Vortex brings the compact LG Optimus family to Verizon Wireless. Is this compact smartphone the black sheep of the flock? read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
I hate this phone
I have always been an lg fan. But this has got too be one of the worst phones ever made. I work with cell phones and have for 6 years. And this is the worst by far. The touch is awful the scroll doesn't work right and trying too use fb is no fun. I think lg should give the people who are stuck with them some kind of compensation.
A good basic smartphone
This is my first foray into the smartphone arena. I'm very pleased with the result. The Vortex is classed as an entry level smartphone but it's perhaps the most capable of the entry level devices. As a phone, it seems to offer excellent results. In the Raleigh, NC area I generally get 3-4 bars and the phone calls are clear and natural. I have had no comments about sounding artificial and I have noticed none of the echo that occasionally plagued my previous phone.
The Android (v2.2) operating system seems to be peppy and easy to use. I did set up a gmail account for email, contact and calendar purposes and syncing between the desktop and phone is automatic and quick. Setting up a link between my personal email account and the phone was also easy. I found the learning curve to be much less than I expected and I haven't yet experienced a lock up.
Following external recommendations, I did download Google Maps and use them rather than the VZ Navigator which came preinstalled.
The Phone gives you an option of setting up either 5 or 7 home screens. I have opted to use 7 although I am actually only using 6 for content. The main home screen gives you a clock and weather, and the basic phone functions, bing search, the contact list, Android Market and voice mail. I also have a page set up for app shortcuts, a calendar page, a multimedia page, the social networking page and a page of my most heavily used contacts. My touch screen does suffer from some of the unresponsiveness that the professional review commented on, specifically at the lower edge.
Battery life is adequate, smart phones are known battery hogs. I can get a days use under normal conditions. Generally when I'm in my office, my phone is connected to my desktop to slow charge.
Pros: Android v2.2
Access to the Android Apps Market
Responsive and fairly quick
Ease of Use and flexible
Easy to customize
Excellent Phone
Cons: Battery Life
Somewhat unresponsive screen
Not a bad little phone.
The official review mentions a problem with facebook. I found the same problem. Classic provider and phone manufacturer bloat-ware, they put a crappy proprietary version of FB on this and it sucks. Just remove your account info, then download FB for Android from the app store and your good. Over all, if you set it up right, this is a great little phone. I also deleted the bing widget from the desktop and downloaded The google search Widget muuuuch better.
Pros:
-Priced slightly less than the Captivate and Galaxy phones, but has a comparable processor.
-Good signal strenght everywhere around Austin so far.
- Text to Speech is really good on this phone.
Cons:
-Kills a battery in about 7 hours with minimal use
-Not the best capacitive response I have seen. Seems like the edge sensors aren't calibrated very well.
-Plenty of bloat-ware (would consider rooting it if you don't care about the warranty)
-Screen is not as pretty as the galaxy, but its not as expensive either.
good phone
very quick.. hasnt froze.. great calling-- seems like you're on a landline
love the touch screen i dont see why the professional review was so harsh because according to other pro reviews this phone really isn't all that bad.
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Worst phone ever
This phone is the slowest phone I have ever had. Any app that I use takes a long time to open, the keyboard is slow to type, the camera quality is awful and so is the sound, and I can't draw over other apps. Definitely do not recommend to anyone!
Worst phone ever!
This was my first attempt at owning a smart phone. I loved it when I first got it, now I hate it. Every day I find something else about it I don't like. It comes loaded with apps I don't want and can not delete. I frequently have to delete text messages, pictures and apps to allow for space on the device. I have a dead spot on my screen which makes texting nearly impossible. It is super slow.
My last phone was an LG (decoy) and I loved it, I thought LG would continue to provide an awesome phone. I was wrong.
PROS: Gmail works great, swype is awesome, can add some space with SD card
CONS: Battery life sucks, dead spot on screen, glitchy with apps, slow, pre-loaded with crappy apps
Basic of basic
I've had this phone for about two years now, and my satisfaction with it has decreased steadily since I first got it.
The battery life is good: it has never suddenly died on me.
I use this phone for gps, facebook, email, internet browsing, news apps, calendar, music, radio, and of course texting and calls. This phone can't keep up with it all.
The phone has limited memory and often needs new space created (by deleting information/texts/clearing data from apps). It can be glitchy; closing apps suddenly, freezing, selecting one app and having a different one open. The only function I have never had an issue with (and I'm including all apps, turn by turn gps, contact list, text messaging, phone calls, EVERYTHING) is the Gmail app. The camera is comparable to a traditional cellphone - grainy with limited options but takes an decent picture in good light.
It seems like this phone is too overloaded, that at heart it's a traditional cellphone trying very hard to function like a smartphone. It is not for someone who uses a smartphone regularly for email, Facebook, browsing, music, shopping (basically how a smartphone should be used). Which is how I want to use it. If you want a smartphone for turn-by-turn gps, email, some browsing, texting, calls and nothing else this phone might be good for you. Anything more than that (Facebook, music, video, file transport, etc) I think you'll find yourself throwing it out of frustration.
This phone really sucks!!!!
I've had this phone since the end of January. It has had problems since like a month out. It freezes, hangs up on people, turns itself on and off, recently when I'm on the phone with someone and I get call waiting, it automatically transfers the call before I have a chance to tell the person on the phone to hold on a moment and then it usually hangs up on them. The Virtual Qwerty keyboard used to be great but now it just sucks. Sometimes it shows the keyboard on the home screen when I haven't done or touched anything. Also when I call a company that I have to push 2 for this and 3 for that, it pushes the number like 5 times when I've only hit the number once. Basically I really hate this phone and Verizon won't do anything except give you a refurbished phone (which everyone knows its just going to have the same problems) and they charge an arm and a leg to upgrade early. Anyways, not much good about this phone, the camera is pretty good but no flash.
Pros: Camera but no flash
Cons: Everything else!!
not impressed
if you've ever had a smart phone before you will not be impressed. i got this phone when i lost my blackberry storm. i was looking for something a bit simpler than the storm. i found it!
Pros: nice response to touch. speakerphone sounds great. websites load quickly. great camera
cons: the apps freeze and don't work sometime. five "home" screens for who knows why. apps are not the game demos....really?), when you don't plan to use them. setting up sync was confusing. bing sucks. the screen flips late when turned to the side.
I'm thinking by the price point and functionality(or lack there of)that this phone is geared towards teens or people who really aren't really dependent on their phones being "smart." overall nothing to really complain about as long as its your FIRST smartphone. if i were a salesmen i wouldn't recommend this to any serious buyer.
A Good Paperweight
I just canceled my account with Verizon because they wouldn't exchange my new Vortex Phone for something better.
The Vortex comes pre-loaded with junk apps that clutter the screen. They are impossible to remove. Some are games that must be purchased in order to work.
The touch response on the screen is very frustrating. We also did not like the complex way that the phone loads and organizes messages. You have to weave your way through a maze of menus in order to read, forward, or store anything.
Bottom line: There must be better phones out there for comparable prices. We lost money by entering into a contract with Verizon for this phone. How can anyone avoid the risk of buying a phone without the benefit of trying it out first?
