Cheap Android phone: yay/nay?

[rei]

Pay as you go Quad-band LG Optimus one with 2.2 (yeah it's only 600mhz) here in Walmart Canada is $150 and then they throw in a $100 Walmart card.

Once rooted and unlocked, is it good as a quad-band backup phone you figure?

[Boojum]

Not sure what the differences between the Optimus One and the Optimus V are, but that's what I have and I've been very happy with it for the price. Obviously not as flashy as the high-end options, but just having Internet/email/GPS/books/music/games/etc. all on one device that I always have with me is great.

[Coca Cola Zero]

I use the Optimus V (the Virgin Mobile/USA version of that phone) as my primary phone. I really like it a lot, especially since (here in the US) the service is $25 a month with no contract for unlimited text/data/300 minutes (the unlimited data makes the number of minutes somewhat irrelevant if you GoogleVoice/GrooveIP or flash the phone with GB and use the built-in SIP).

I can't speak directly to the Optimus One variant, but on the V I highly recommend flashing Cynanogenmod7/Gingerbread on the device, it is a nice bump over Froyo and gives you some nice built in overclocking options (some of these phones can reach 800+mhz, 768 mhz is pretty reliable across the board, it seems).

[Murph]

I've heard the Optimus One is pretty capable for the price/CPU speed, and I believe it's moddable to get a little more "oomph" out of it. If you just want it for the basics, it should be okay.

Tip (and really, this goes for all Android phones): if it feels clunky switching between homescreens, download LauncherPro, at least the free version. It's ridiculously fast, even on the lower-end phones. YMMV, and you might not even need it with an Optimus phone (I think they're pretty "clean,") but I recommend that to anyone who feels like their phone is clunky. It's amazing the difference it makes.

[rei]

It's quite good for $50. If I weren't giving it away to my dad, this looks like a great 'Android iPod Touch' type device for me. No contract it's $150 ($100 gift card on activation) --though I suppose I could do up another activation for an Android device for myself.

[rei]

Using it on $10/month 2G data unlimited, prepaid 365-day airtime with 7-11: http://www.speakout7eleven.ca/

Bah, nevermind. It's not really unlimited data but firewalled browsing and email only.

[rei]

Apps purchased on one device don't transfer to other android devices like itunes purchases do they?

[Armando Penblade]

They're tied to your Google account; sign in with the account on a new device, and poof! All your stuff transfers.

Not sure how this works with alternative markets or direct-purchased-and-activated APKs or License-download schemes, but market apps are a breeze to transfer.

[rei]

Not transfer, I meant do I have to purchase them a second time if I own 2 Android devices...?

[Armando Penblade]

It was a poor word to use on my part.

You can download them on any device with that Google account registered to it. I made the exceptions for weirder licensing schemes since at least some of them probably fiddle with IMEI stuff, but plain old Market apps show up wherever your Google account is.

[rei]

I bought a 2nd one and unlocked it for my own personal use even though I have 5 iOS devices. At $100 and with spare 8GB/16GB MicroSD cards lying around, it's a cheap iPod Touch type MP3 player device for me to "know my enemy."

[rei]

Aaaagh banner ads everywhere

[rei]

WTF...I can't go crazy buying apps because I'm limited by the 256mb of internal storage before I have to start juggling apps over to external memory? What a pain in the ass--having flashbacks to PalmOS.

[ARogan]

I use the Optimus V (the Virgin Mobile/USA version of that phone) as my primary phone. I really like it a lot, especially since (here in the US) the service is $25 a month with no contract for unlimited text/data/300 minutes (the unlimited data makes the number of minutes somewhat irrelevant if you GoogleVoice/GrooveIP or flash the phone with GB and use the built-in SIP).

I can't speak directly to the Optimus One variant, but on the V I highly recommend flashing Cynanogenmod7/Gingerbread on the device, it is a nice bump over Froyo and gives you some nice built in overclocking options (some of these phones can reach 800+mhz, 768 mhz is pretty reliable across the board, it seems).

Since there is no contract what happens if you only pay for every other month? On the months it's deactivated do you lose your phone # or do you keep it when you re-up the next month?

[Aleck]

Can you flash a custom ROM?

[rei]

Yes, you can on mine, it's rootable with Gingerbreak. No technical know-how needed. I don't know how to do any of that once it's rooted though.

You can easily screw up and brick it if you're not careful like my friend did last night.

Cyanogenmod7 or whatever doesn't support it directly yet and I see no need to go to custom ROM. Just using 2.2 with Launcher Pro.

[Coca Cola Zero]

Since there is no contract what happens if you only pay for every other month? On the months it's deactivated do you lose your phone # or do you keep it when you re-up the next month?

You can just decide to not pay for months, yeah. You keep the same number as long as you do pay for at least one month within a one year span, IIRC.



Cyanogenmod7 or whatever doesn't support it directly yet and I see no need to go to custom ROM. Just using 2.2 with Launcher Pro.


Cyanogenmod7 works fine on the Optimus One, I run it on my Optimus V, and IIRC the Optimus V version is just an Optimus One version with the hardware buttons remapped.

CM7 doesn't "officially" support any of the Optimus phones AFAIK, but there are tons of devices that CM7 doesn't officially support that it runs just fine on due to device-specific developers making their own ports.




WTF...I can't go crazy buying apps because I'm limited by the 256mb of internal storage before I have to start juggling apps over to external memory? What a pain in the ass--having flashbacks to PalmOS.


This is one of the things a custom rom can easily save you from having to deal with.


Not sure how this works with alternative markets or direct-purchased-and-activated APKs or License-download schemes, but market apps are a breeze to transfer.


FWIW, Amazon Market apps are the same way except tied to your Amazon account. Just install the Amazon market on all your Android devices, sign into each of them using the same Amazon account and everything you buy (or get for free via their app-a-day-free thing) on one device can be installed on any other device tied to the same account.

[rei]

Is this (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=946354) it?

[Coca Cola Zero]

There are probably several. I use asopCMod for the Optimus V, but there are at least 3 different CMod ports for the Optimus V, I'd assume a similar situation for the One. Usually by looking at xda and/or androidcentral you can get a consensus as to what the majority of modders are using and go with that.