Welcome to Android Authority’s review of the Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V. The Optimus V is one of the Optimus One line of phones which has graced every carrier in the USA, as well as set sales records for LG. The fact that they sold one million phones in 40 days is no surprise to me anymore, as soon as I opened the package I knew why it sold so well. Read on to find out more and find our video review below.

This handset is only $199.99 at Virgin Mobile with no contract, and is a steal at that price. Combine that with Virgin Mobile’s unique pricing system for the United States, and overall this handset stands unmatched. The Optimus V is on their “Beyond Talk” plans which give you Unlimited Messages, and Unlimited Data with fixed amounts of minutes for very reasonable prices. Their cheapest offering is their 300 Min plan which is only $25 a month, which is perfect for your average person who has made the cultural switch to texting instead of one on one voice chatting. If 300 Minutes is too few for you, most likely their 1200 Minutes for $40/mo plan would suffice. Their most expensive offering at $60 includes Unlimited Minutes as well as Unlimited Data and Messaging.

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If this is a MUST HAVE product, be sure to order now to avoid disappointment.

We already done the research and spend a lot of time for you. CLICK HERE to find out where to get the best deal on Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V.

Product Description

  • Fast 3G connectivity via Sprint’s 3G network
  • Virgin Mobile LG Optimus VPowered by the Android 2.2 operating system with deep integration of Google services and access to thousands of apps to customize your phone via the Android Market
  • Preloaded Voice Actions from Google allow you to send texts and e-mails, navigate to local restaurants, search the web, or play music–all simply by speaking
  • Built-in GPS for real-time location on maps, driving directions, and more (additional charges may apply)
  • Google Maps Navigation (Beta) provides free, pre-loaded turn-by-turn voice guidance. Powered by Google and requiring an Internet connection, it enables you to simply say “Navigate to [your destination]” to get on your way. See live traffic, use Street View or satellite imagery to view your route, and get access to the most recent maps and business information from Google Maps without ever needing to update your device
  • 3.2-inch touchscreen display (480 x 320 pixels, 16 million color depth)

Swype Keyboard

An alternative to the Android virtual keyboard, the Swype virtual keyboard allows you to input text Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Vby swiping the finger with one continuous finger or stylus motion across the screen keyboard. Based on testing, speed and accuracy are equal to or better than the traditional keyboard-tapping method. You can activate the Swype keyboard by pressing and holding in a text field, wait for popup to appear, click Input Method, and then select Swype.

In the image to the right, the word “quick” was generated from tracing the path shown above in a fraction of a second, by roughly aiming to pass through the letters of the word. A key advantage to Swype is that there is no need to be very accurate, enabling very rapid text entry.

Google Android OS with Thousands of Applications

The Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V runs on the Android 2.2 operating system (OS) from Google, and is a Google Experience Device. The Android 2.2 OS is designed specifically for touch screen devices, and makes Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Vnavigation and operation intuitive and enjoyable. You’ll have integrated access to all your favorite Google services and applications, including Google Search by Voice, Picasa, Google Talk, and more. You’ll also have access to both personal and corporate email, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail. Also included is Google Maps Navigation, which provides GPS-based turn-by-turn voice guidance to get you where you need to go. Useful tools such as an alarm clock, calculator, and stopwatch are all included, and you can head over to the Android Market where there are thousands of applications available for download.

The Android OS lets you multitask so you can listen to music, browse the web, receive email, and more–all at the same time. If someone calls you, you can take the call and then resume what you were doing without interruption.

Software

Overall, the Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V is a very speedy handset with its stock vanilla version of Froyo (2.2.1). There were very few customizations of the OS itself, one of the only things I actually found that was different Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Vthan a fully stock version of Froyo is that in the “About Phone” area they had an “Activate Phone” option. This does nothing but register the handset with Virgin Mobiles servers. This is a settings option I’ve never seen in another CDMA handset, not even the Sprint ones I’ve used.

Like I said the stock OS runs awesome on the 600MHz MSM7627 with Adreno 200 GPU. Everything was super snappy and never really lagged. One thing I found very surprising is when using Advanced Task Manager, it would clear up to having 350MB of RAM on a regular basis, and upwards of 430MB when first booted. I’ve not seen those amounts of RAM freed up since my 768MB myTouch 4G. The Optimus V has only 512MB of RAM so the fact that it can free up so much RAM is nice for running third party apps and shows you how much less overhead is needed on a vanilla build. Virgin Mobile did package along some third party apps that are not removable. The only apps I could find that weren’t stock were; the “Activate” shortcut, airG chat, Virgin Mobile Downloads, “My Account” shortcut, Poynt, SCVNGR, Twidroyd, Virgin Mobile Live, and Where. But I didn’t see any of these running in the background becuase I didn’t set them up. So they’re taking up space but not slowing down the phone at all.

I was surprised to see that the handset was able to run Live Wallpapers, and very surprised to see no hiccups at all in their animation, even while running a bunch of apps in the background. This is thanks to the dedicated Adreno 200 GPU I’m sure.

Key Features

  • FM radio
  • Onscreen keyboard
  • Text (SMS) and picture/video (MMS) messaging
  • 3.5mm headset/headphone jack
  • Fast 3G connectivity via Sprint’s 3G network
  • Virgin Mobile LG Optimus VHTML Web browser
  • Access to popular instant messaging services
  • Access to personal and work e-mail (supports Microsoft Exchange corporate e-mail)
  • Powered by the Android 2.2 operating system with deep integration of Google services and access to thousands of apps to customize your phone via the Android Market
  • Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go
  • Wi-Fi and mobile calling enables you to send and receive calls and messages over any Wi-Fi network, whether at home or on the road with Wi-Fi and Mobile Calling–even in areas that have little or no network coverage
  • Preloaded Voice Actions from Google allow you to send texts and e-mails, navigate to local restaurants, search the web, or play music–all simply by speaking
  • Built-in GPS for real-time location on maps, driving directions, and more (additional charges may apply)
  • Google Maps Navigation (Beta) provides free, pre-loaded turn-by-turn voice guidance. Powered by Google and requiring an Internet connection, it enables you to simply say “Navigate to [your destination]” to get on your way. See live traffic, use Street View or satellite imagery to view your route, and get access to the most recent maps and business information from Google Maps without ever needing to update your device
  • Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V3.2-inch touchscreen display (480 x 320 pixels, 16 million color depth)
  • Swype input system allows you to input text faster and easier by gliding your finger around the keyboard, moving from letter to letter in one continuous motion. The Swype technology then calculates what word you’re intending to type
  • 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera/camcorder
  • Digital media player compatible with MP3, WMA, and AAC music files plus MPEG4 video formats
  • Bluetooth connectivity (version 2.1) includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, and the A2DP Bluetooth profile–enabling you to wirelessly stream your music to a pair of compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones or speaker dock
  • 2 GB microSD card with support for optional cards up to 32 GB
  • Organizer tools including calendar, voice memo, calculator, and alarm
  • Airplane mode allows you to listen to music while the cellular connectivity is turned off
  • USB connectivity with mass storage and charging capabilities

LG Optimus V Virgin Mobile Customer’s Review

Below is Alessandro Geminiani (New York, USA) comment about his LG Optimus V Virgin Mobile

I was tired of paying $80 a month to AT&T for the iPhone, so I looked for an alternative smart-phone. In this review I’ll discuss how the Optimus V compares to the iPhone 4.
What do I do: I’m not a big talker (<300minutes a month), but I like to get my emails in real time and I also make quite a few international calls. I’m a big Pandora user.

How does the Optimus V compare to iPhone 4
Call quality: no difference.
User Interface: iOS is more polished than Android, but I’m getting used to it. Android is not bad at all, but iOS is simply a great OS, very hard to beat.
Apps: I’ve the exact same app that I had on the iPhone with the same functionality. Actually, the google integration is better, if you are a google user.
Battery life: I’ve heard many people complaining about poor battery life, honestly I go one day and 1/2 with no problem. I’ve a usb cable at home and one at work (I bought the extra one on Amazon for less than $2). I was getting a similar battery life with my iPhone 4.
Camera: the camera sucks. I’ve printed (15×20) photos taken with the iPhone that looks great. The camera of the Optimus sucks. The photos are good for email and web album but nothing more.
Email integration: It works great with Gmail, it works great with Exchange servers, plus it works fine with any imap service.
Display: It’s very bright, colors are vivid and no reflection, however the space is limited. Coming from the retina of the iPhone 4 everything looks smaller.
Virgin service vs ATT: Customer service of Virgin is not the best, actually they are kind of useless. You must be a self-sufficient. When I’ve doubt I just go on one of the numerous Android community and seek for help. ATT customer service was better. So far I don’t have any problem with reception, definitely the signal is not as strong as ATT but I’ve coverage everywhere I go. You can’t beat the $25 plan, it simply great. If I need more than 300 minutes, I use skype (works on wifi and 3g), I’ve subscribed to the $3/month unlimited US and CANADA calls. You can setup skype (you have to do this from a desktop or on the skype website) so that when you call using skype out, people sees your virgin phone number as incoming call.

I would definitely do it again. Final suggestion: before activating the phone check it out. You can do anything you want beside calling, I know it sounds stupid, but just turn it on, walk around your home and see if you have reception, go to work and see if you have reception. You can even connect to internet (using wifi) and check out the app from the market. If you like it, go ahead and port your number. I did it and I was ready to go in 30 minutes (even if they tell you it might take 3 days).
If you activate consider to use the referral code pDL6Fou0 (it gives you and me 60 extra minutes).

Plus, now it’s so boring… everybody is going around with an iphone. When people sees my Optimus they ask questions and when I tell them that I pay $25 a month they do not believe it. It’s ok, you can keep your iphone, maybe you are not yet ready for the next step.

EDIT 6/3/11:
Thanks for using the referral code! I hope you will enjoy the extra 60 minutes.
Just a quick update:
Skype is going strong and the $3 a month plan is totally worth it. I’ve found good 3g everywhere I’ve been and call with skype is quick and easy.
I’ve installed an app that I want to share with you:
It’s Juicedefender (to extend battery life). It works well, and now I can go 2 days with one charge. The basic version (the one I have) is free.

Below is J. Haggard (Nashville, TN) comment about his LG Optimus V Virgin Mobile

I’ve been an apple user since the iPhone 3G came out. Loved that thing and in fact I still do. But over the years it’s gotten slower and I’m not ready to re-commit to a 2 year contract. I wanted a smart phone with no contract and a reasonable monthly rate. After a lot of checking I opted for the Virgin Mobile prepaid, and the LG Optimus.

From a value standpoint, I purchased this phone for $100 at bestbuy on sale. And the monthly plan is a mere $25 instead of the $50-$90 I was spending on the iphone 3G. You can’t beat a $25 a month phone bill for unlimited data, text and 300 minutes. If you need more minutes you can switch to a $40 or $60 plan but for me $25 is enough.

The phone itself is pretty darn fast compared to my iPhone 3G. Some people say you can’t do angry birds on it, I haven’t had any trouble. It does take a minute to load the game, but it’s not an unreasonable amount of time.

The animations on the phone are smooth and the call quality isn’t great but is acceptable.

The GPS is incredible. When using Google maps on my iphone (and ipad 3g) I am juust a little blue dot. When running the same app on this phone I’m an arrow and it knows what direction I’m facing, something iOS doesn’t do. Plus I am loving Google Goggles and barcode scanner. The camera is decent quality and it’s just really well done.

The only downside to this phone is Virgin installs some crapware that you can’t remove unless you root the device. I’m not going to do that but I will download pro launcher or something that will allow me to hide the extra apps I don’t want.

Oh and one more con, itunes sync on a mac. Pretty much non-existent. You can use an app called doubletwist and it does an ok job at syncing playlists, but unless your media is in a playlist it won’t sync up. I’m still looking for an alternative tool.

Overall I am just as happy with this entry level android phone running 2.2 as I was with my iPhone 3g running the latest apple iOS. In fact this phone is able to do MORE then my iphone 3G even after jailbreaking it.

And I’m really loving VirginMobiles $25 a month plan, so much in fact that I don’t think I would EVER go back to a 2 year contract apple phone with minimum plan price points upwards of $40-$90 or whatever it is these days.

Here’s a promo code when you sign up with Virgin Mobile, you can get 60 MINUTES FREE by entering RYnDPLOU in the kickbacks box when you activate your phone. Minimum of $20 is required. Note: Enter this code when you active NOT when you buy the phone

–UPDATE–
I am now using an app called iSyncr to sync my iTunes and Android phone. It does a MUCH better job in my opinion then DoubleTwist because it doesn’t make it’s own library of music. It instead syncs directly from your itunes library folders. I also paid the $0.99 for the WIFI addon which now lets me sync my music, tv shows, podcasts, etc without being connected to my computer. Now because the battery isn’t all that wonderful I leave it plugged in on my nightstand when I sync wireless. But this means now when I go to bed I hit the wifi sync and go to sleep. When I wake up all my latest podcasts, etc are ready to go with me. Pretty nice and works very well!

If anyone else has any recommendations please feel free to share!

We already done the research and spend a lot of time for you. CLICK HERE to find out where to get the best deal on Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V.