LG Connect 4G
Phone Scoop Review
Mar 6, 2012 by Eric M. Zeman
MetroPCS's latest LTE 4G smartphone comes from LG. The Connect 4G offers a decent spec list, but stumbles a a few times on the road to smartphone nirvana. read review ›
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Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
There's a proverb written in Sumerian cuneiform which says, "[nÃÂg]-ge-na-da a-ba in-da-di nam-ti ì-ù-tu." Loosely translated, this means "anyone who signs a wireless contract in this age of plentiful prepaid alternatives is two goats shy of a full herd." On this I must heartily agree with our Early Bronze Age forbears.
Phones like the Connect make it difficult to justify forking over the extra dough for a contract; people think they're getting a great deal whenever they get a discount on a phone, but when you calculate the per-month cost of a contract plan and compare it to the per-month cost of a comparable plan on a prepaid carrier like MetroPCS, you have to wonder why anyone would ever sign a two-year commitment with any carrier.
The first thing you'll notice about the Connect is probably that it feels rather cheap in the hand for a mid-range Android device in this price range. This is solely because of the flimsy plastic back, and it is an impression quickly dismissed once you get an eyeful of the screen. How bright is the Connect's screen? At one-quarter brightness it's bright enough to use in full sunlight. At half brightness it's bright enough to illuminate the midday sky at White Sands Missile Range. At full brightness it burns a hole in reality, like a quantum cigarette left to smolder on the dashboard of space and time. Colors are rich with contrast, and fallout is kept to a respectable minimum.
No phone can be better than its network, though, and this is perhaps the Connect's sole drawback -- MetroPCS isn't known for its helium-stable data connections or its clear call quality. Also, as an LTE device, the battery will drain faster than you're probably accustomed to, but I had no trouble getting it to last a full day between charges.
If you can live with the relative uncertainty of Metro's network, the Connect provides a vastly satisfying Android experience at a fraction of the total cost of its contract cousins on Verizon and Sprint.
Excellent Phone
If you want the 4G experience without the high monthly price tag, this is the phone and the service for you. Let's start with the 4G LTE network itself. Speeds regularly approach 3Mbps. This is beyond sufficient for phone use.
The LG Connect has a crisp and bright display. It powers through menus and home screens without lag. It handles the most demanding of applications. If you've ever owned a lower end Android, you'll not have the frustration of the delay and lag while in an application.
Battery life is limited as the other reviewers have stated. Calls are crisp and clear. I'm not sure if the Phone Scoop reviewer had a defective unit. Camera and video are outstanding by phone standards.
Pros:
Display
Fast Processor
Fast 4G Speeds
Perfect Size
Camera
HD Video
Cons:
Battery Life
Metro PCS 4G LTE speed isn't as fast as other networks.
battery life is poor, good phone though
metropcs $60 4g lte plan all inclusive of fees and charges and taxes in woodbridge, nj. ownership is 1day.
good: screen is bright, phone calls were good at both end; 4g speed while browsing is good, has wifi to save on 4g limit. has boat load of app that i found useful for some it will be a bloatware.
bad:
battery lasts less than 12 hours after 3-4 hours of continuous usage of watching you-tube, emailing, talk, text web-browsing; app settings and then in stand by mode..
charging the device took a long time.
phone is bit pricey at 349$+tax -30$ rebate.
camera is poor indoor during the night.
google talk on 4g speed was not upto speed during video chat. liked playbook browser vs android built in browser. documentation of phone is bad. nearly useless. will check online it they have better one for new users of android+phone.
when on earphone when no sound is playing there is hissing sound for 2-3 second and on switching between applications.
final note:
not sure whether DLNP and tethering works. the store clerk mentioned tethering works for all new android device.
final take : android vs blackberry playbook. liked the simple yet powerful operating system of playbook's well designed interface; the browser on the playbook is also very good. trying to getting used to android interface.
also getting to last opened and active app in playbook is simple. on android you have to remember which app was being used there is no once touch way of getting back or what apps are running. (not yet figured out) probably it's 'cause it's phone O/S and not a tablet.
metropcs coveage : though most of the time there is 4g coverage at times it had switched to 1x (2.5g) and also have lost coverage.
whoooo
i mutha luven love this phone.
everyhting is sweet.
im happy i can surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time. i hated leaving att because of that.
but the BATTERY IS BAAAD.
after getting it two days ago, yesterday i used it here and there while my wife was in the fitting room, surfed the web, made a few phone calls, downloaded a few apps, texted a bit...
anyways, six hours later it is completely dead. after a full charge while it was completely off.
please come with extended batt pack. or come with upgrade for phone to save power. but there are apps that are supposed to work for it.
