Android LG Optimus V Review

My wife and I have a few areas where we are wildly different. Most notably, I’m a gadget freak while she would probably still be using one of those old-timey candlestick phones if I hadn’t begun an effort to drag her into the 21st century. That having been said, I’ve been trying to convince here to upgrade to a smartphone—particularly a pre-paid version because, in her case, we simply don’t need to spend another fortune on cutting edge features and plans.
So, when I got a chance to test out the LG Optimus V, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if an affordable prepaid Android phone would be up to snuff. After spending several weeks with it, I can say that the Optimus V will probably be her next phone.

Again, the LG Optimus V isn’t going to hold up to the latest dual-core Android phones in terms of features. However, it runs Android 2.2 smoothly and includes all of the basic features you would expect—like Android Market apps, Webkit web browsing, push email, Swype text entry and free Google Maps Navigation with turn-by-turn directions.
Positives:
On the plus side, the call quality was excellent for the most part (far better than my iPhone as was noted in several of my conversations), 3G data speeds (YouTube videos played well), the UI was responsive and accurate despite a relatively weak 600MHz processor, the memory can be upgraded to 32GB with a microSD card and the battery life is decent at around 5 hours of real-world talk time. Because Virgin Mobile USA is owned by Sprint, it is also features seamless Google Voice integration, which may be important to some. It certainly is for me.
We also found the build quality to be good overall. A little small for my giant hands, but its very slim with a soft-touch feel and it doesn’t seem cheap. It’s the kind of phone that will be very comfortable traveling in your pockets. The 3.2 megapixel camera isn’t anything to write home about, but it is capable of sharp photos.
However, one of the major upsides to owning the LG Optimus V are the Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk no-contract prepaid plans:

• $25 for unlimited text, email, data and web / 300 anytime minutes
• $40 for unlimited text, email, data and web / 1200 anytime minutes
• $60 for unlimited everything

That’s pretty hard to beat. My wife’s current dumbphone costs $40 a month on contract with AT&T without texting or data.
Negatives:
On the downside, the LG Optimus V isn’t powerful enough to run Flash natively even though Android 2.2 supports it and there’s no hotspot tethering or LED flash. I’m also not a big fan of Swype, especially on such a small display. I usually prefer to use Android’s voice recognition features, though it can definitely be inaccurate at times. Of course, that’s a personal preference.
The Bottom Line:
If you are looking for an inexpensive entry-level smartphone that doesn’t sacrifice too much functionality, the LG Optimus V is a definite buy. Despite being a no-contract phone, the hardware is even competitively priced at $149.