This clamshell features a sleek look and a bevy of calling and messaging features like Bluetooth and instant messaging at a budget price. Is the LX150 a steal, or do you get what you pay for?
Review summary of the LG LX150:
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 The stylish, budget LG LX150 clamshell would make a nice option for cell phone neophytes who are just looking for the basics. The handset offers all the calling features we expect from a basic calling phone, including a speakerphone, voice tagging, Bluetooth and three-way calling. However, we experienced some muffled-sounding calls. The phone does make up some ground when it comes to messaging, where it offers decent text messaging and instant messaging support for MSN, AOL, Earthlink and Yahoo. The handset's keypad ranks among the most convenient and comfortable we've tested for light messaging phones, with dedicated buttons for texting, voice dialing and the speakerphone. Release: November 2006. Price: $1.
Pros: Comfortable keypad with lots of convenient dedicated keys; solid calling features; attractive glossy finish.
Cons: Muffled sounding calls; disappointing talk time; blocky messaging interface and phonebook; low resolution displays.
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Full LG LX150 Review:
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Design
The LG LX150 is a budget phone that sports an appealing glossy sapphire blue shell. While its shiny appearance does attract its fair share of fingerprints, it wasn't as bad as other glossy phones we've seen, such as the smudge-magnet Motorola KRZR K1m. The LX150 isn't thin at 0.8 inches, but it still manages to feel light (2.9 ounces) in our hands without being cheap or flimsy. However, the the handset’s budget status is revealed in its displays. The monochrome external screen is traditionally an entry-level standard, but we were disappointed to find such a low-resolution internal display (128 by 160 pixels) that suffered from a serious screen-door effect.
Calling - Good
Call quality on the LX150 was decent at best, and though we didn't hear a lot of static on our calls, our friends' voices sounded muffled, distant and slightly slurred. The flip phone's reception was pretty solid throughout New York City and north Jersey, never dipping below two bars. We're also fans of the phone's robust (for a budget handset) feature set, including Bluetooth, a speakerphone with a dedicated button, three-way calling and voice tagging, which also gets its own dedicated key. All of the calling features were easy to use and functioned well. However, we weren't impressed with the LX150's phonebook, which looked rather blocky and bland, though it does support while-you-type searching. We were also let down by the clamshell's talk time; we barely got three hours out of the phone, well short of the promised four hours.
Messaging - Very good
Messaging is certainly the LX150's strong suit, as it features one of the most convenient and comfortable keypads we've used on a light messaging phone, and includes a dedicated "text" button. In general, the keys are large and easy to distinguish, especially since the glossy center column of keys sits slightly lower than the rest of the keypad. The interface looks a bit dated and blocky, but fits a respectable 129 characters on outgoing messages, and can receive 120 characters on the screen at once. The LX150 also serves up instant messaging support for AOL, MSN, Yahoo and Earthlink.
Related phones: Entry-level clamshells on Sprint
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Sanyo SCP-7000
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Score: 65% When: December 2006 Worth: $20 - $180 Carrier: Sprint
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The entry-level flip phone boasts a rugged (albeit bulky) design and calling features including a speakerphone, push-to-talk and voice tagging. But does the $30 price tag make the extra girth worth it?
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Sanyo SCP-3100
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Score: 76% When: April 2006 - $190 Carrier: Sprint
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A close cousin of the Sanyo SCP-2400, the 3100 clamshell comes in the same range of eye-catching colors but replaces the 2400's parental controls with a VGA camera. How does it compare to its free-phone competition?
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Price and availability
The LG LX150 is available immediately from Sprint for $180 or $30 after a two-year service agreement.
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