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saldroid

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I'm getting the Optimus V soon and I just wanted some info! (i.e...Battery, Service, Apps, etc.) and also some pros, cons? problems? THANKS:D
 
Speaking just for myself, the pros are definitely the price of the plan and the fun you can have with the phone. I also really like being able to check things when the power is off (we've had lots of storms lately). Over all the phone is great, and I have played with the more expensive phones of others and do not see any difference that would justify paying for the "better" phones.

The con would be that there is no roaming, so if there is a problem with the Sprint tower closest to me, I have no phone till it is resolved, while a Sprint customer would not even notice, because they would just be switched to a Verizon (I think it is Verizon) tower. It does not happen often, and it does not bother me enough to pay for an expensive contract, but it is a con.

Lots of people complain about customer service. I have not had a problem with them. It may just be that the time I contacted them they were able to quickly help me, or it may be that others have not taken into account that other cultures do not react well to demanding or whining and do react well to good manners and the words "please" and "thank you"--I dunno, but it is something to consider.
 
I've had mine just over a month. Switched from a Virgin dumb phone to their $25/month plan, since I don't talk much. I do check the web often so unlimited data was important. The few annoyances I've come upon are my unfamiliarity with operating the phone. Some research here and on the 'net took care of those. I live in a metropolitan area. While I have just a bar or two in my home it's still enough for phone calls and the 'net. I have wi-fi available nearly everywhere I spend much time and have been pleased with the ease with which the phone finds connections. I'm happy with the battery life. It lasts me all day and I recharge it overnight. Love Swype for text entry. Being able to speak commands has been very handy. Haven't had to contact customer service but my previous experience with 'live advisors' has been pretty good. Their voice mails system is poor, imo, so I just keep telling the system 'live advisor' and eventually I get a real person. Check the forums for favorite apps. Check Amazon's Android Market for a free one every day---double check their permissions and if they're ad supported or not. One I just discovered and can't believe isn't standard is Gesture Search from Google. Makes finding things on the phone so much quicker and easier. Hope you're as pleased as I am.
 
It is a great phone. I have had it for 3 months now. I haven't had any problems with it yet except some freezing issues but that was user error. Make sure to get a battery saver like JuiceDefender if you want to save battery life because it dies pretty quickly if used a lot.
 
Have been using this phone for 3 months now and it is one of my best purchases ever. Went from Tmobile $40 plan with 1000 minutes+unlimited nights weekends to Virgin's $40 plan, so I basically traded nights+weekends with unlimited data, which is perfect for me since I typically use 200 min/month. I got the $40 plan instead of the $25 for the off chance I need to talk more.

I am happy with the performance of the phone overall (even though the UI is slightly slower than the top of the line phones like the iphone 4). The 3G drops that I experienced at first almost never happen anymore, and if it does it is always fixed by toggling airplane mode and back. I live in a small town about 2 hours from LA and the call reception and signal is better than with tmobile.

As far as battery life is concerned, I try to install apps one by one and then monitor the battery usage over the next day so that I know when I am installing an app that uses a lot of power. I also installed juice defender like other users to help with it, and now I can easily make it through the day with moderate use (1 hour of streaming music, 1 hour of gaming and 1 hour of browsing typically leaves me with about 35% battery left after 12 hours). If I don't touch the phone at all it can last for 2-3 days between recharge. One key thing is to make sure if you install an antivirus is that you do not enable real-time monitoring, as it depletes the battery quickly.

On my wishlist is more internal memory to store apps (as I don't want to root the phone), and a slightly larger screen (3.5-3.8 inch instead of 3.2 would be perfect for me). Otherwise I have nothing to envy from other Android phones.
 
saldroid said:
just mainly texting and facebook! and maybe some angry birds here and there!;p
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Oh, you're gonna want to so much more than that, lol! I'm quite happy overall with the phone and the plan; haven't had any major problems to speak of since the 3G drops and outages have abated for the most part. I have also (mostly, with one glaring exception) not had issues calling customer service; you just have to be patient and keep in mind that there is another human being on the other end who get paid crap to listen to whiny Americans all day. My only ongoing problem is with the VM payment system. I have yet to start a new month without an issue (mostly the redirect of death). That is not universal, though, and easily remedied.
 
Pros: Works as well as phones that are supposedly higher end, easily rooted and customized with some amazing ROMs, cheap service, small enough to fit in any pocket with room to spare

Cons: Poor battery life, small screen, conflicting corporate statements on customization

As mentioned, you can use apps like juice defender to help with battery life. Only use task killers like atk if you are not rooting your phone, if you are staying stock, only use task killers to keep the bloatware from running in the background. Don't use them to kill everything running, as that can be bad for the system, and actually cause you to use more battery than otherwise (research task killers on android for details). You can also buy extra batteries very cheaply from china, I've been using two extra batteries and a charger I bought on ebay for $10, haven't used the stock battery for a while, and I always have a spare charged and ready to go, so battery life isn't a big concern of mine.

If you want to ever use your phone as a wifi hotspot, there are several apps which will let you do it without rooting your phone. There are tons of customization options, rooted or no-rooted, that allow you to make your phone look/act the way you want, launchers, widgets, themes, and other tools. Most mid-high level games will work fine, but there are limits with 3d intensive games, all gaming benefits from rooting and overclocking your phone.

Before installing any app, read the permissions requirements, but don't let some of them scare you off. The way android is currently set up, accessing the phone is one of the ways apps check what kind of phone you are on. This doesn't mean the app is accessing your contacts list or other risky stuff, but it does mean the app can. Check the reviews and lists of other apps the developer has made to decide if your trust is warranted. Google does a pretty good job of policing the market, though zero-day exploits still make it thru before being removed.

To get the most out of your phone, you will want to root it, and consider installing a custom ROM. Rooting allows you the same permissions you have over your computer, allowing you to install whatever you want, and to customize it however you like. Rooting does void your warranty, and while rooting is not risky to your phone, the ROM installations and customizations you do later all come with a possibility of bricking your phone with no warranty support. But it is worth it! ;)
 
i kinda wanted to make it like the WP7 Launcher! I really like the set-up. any help? and YES! THANKS! I might root it and overclock it! but what if it bricks?:(
 
saldroid said:
i kinda wanted to make it like the WP7 Launcher! I really like the set-up. any help? and YES! THANKS! I might root it and overclock it! but what if it bricks?:(
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Just rooting it will not cause it to brick,remember what others have said don't be drawn in by some of the advice you were given,the phone i a great entry level phone,but what you deiced to do with it can come with issues and bugs,some Apps are more hurt then help,remember also you get what you pay for,don't listen to the bs you will hear about how this phones hardware can compete with the big dog smartphones,i have even heard some say it outperforms the iphone,and some of the high end android phones,this is because the service is a great value, and most users are cheap or have limited funds,if you can wait VM will be realizing the Motorola Truimph,which by the specs should put the V to shame.but it may not be in your price range,and like i have said the phone is worth the 150 tag,but it is an entry level phone,not comparable to the high end phones.
 
Finally activated three phones to VM today for me and the family. Optimus V for me and I have to say that so far so good. I called the "Alex" thing 888 number talked to a lady that was really cool and one by one we went through the porting process and activated the phones. It took around a half hour for all of us to get a text from Virgin that said welcome.(Meaning old carrier released our numbers) Lady told me to wait an hour after I got the welcome text to add top up cards because they wanted time to get our account together and things worked out with old carrier. Waited an hour and called old carrier to make sure account was closed even though our numbers had been ported, better safe than sorry. Went on VM website and clicked on top up and one by one entered in each phone number and the number from the back of top up card. Got text message saying money was added to each phone. Texting is working great on all of our phones( 1 optimus V and 2 Lg Rumor touch ) 3g is working great so far. I just cannot believe that you can text and surf unlimited for the price that VM has. So far things have went smoothly with activating and service. I do live in an area that has great coverage according to the coverage map. I know a lot of you already know all this because you have been there and done that but I just thought I would put my experience out there for soon to be VM and Optimus V customers. Thanks
 
jp3515 said:
Finally activated three phones to VM today for me and the family. Optimus V for me and I have to say that so far so good. I called the "Alex" thing 888 number talked to a lady that was really cool and one by one we went through the porting process and activated the phones. It took around a half hour for all of us to get a text from Virgin that said welcome.(Meaning old carrier released our numbers) Lady told me to wait an hour after I got the welcome text to add top up cards because they wanted time to get our account together and things worked out with old carrier. Waited an hour and called old carrier to make sure account was closed even though our numbers had been ported, better safe than sorry. Went on VM website and clicked on top up and one by one entered in each phone number and the number from the back of top up card. Got text message saying money was added to each phone. Texting is working great on all of our phones( 1 optimus V and 2 Lg Rumor touch ) 3g is working great so far. I just cannot believe that you can text and surf unlimited for the price that VM has. So far things have went smoothly with activating and service. I do live in an area that has great coverage according to the coverage map. I know a lot of you already know all this because you have been there and done that but I just thought I would put my experience out there for soon to be VM and Optimus V customers. Thanks
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OMG, The Rumor Touch is the WORST PHONE EVER MADE! Please try to exchange them for ANYTHING else! The phone is soo touchy--you literally CANNOT answer phone calls! It is slow, has a mind of its own and is JUST PLAIN LOUSY!

It seems cool at first, but the longer you have it, the more it begins to annoy you. Me and my sister both had one and we had the same issues. We were the first in line to get the Optimus V.

Before you are out of window to return-- PLEASE take those phones back!!!
 
You can get rid of your home internet and tether with the OV either wireless or with usb.
Having the OV has saved me $60 a month in internet fees for the last 3 months.
 
Saldroid, I don't live in Michigan, but I am sure the coverage there is better than the coverage where I am, and I do really well with the service.

There is a Sprint tower within a mile of my house, but it is blocked by hills. Unless I am upstairs I have one bar at home, but that has not really affected my service. I can call, text and go online. When I am away from home, granted, the 3G is a lot faster, but I don't use the 3G at home, I use wireless, so that isn't an issue.

Before I had VM, I had Alltel, and I had one bar, too, so I think it is more my location than the service.
 
And if you are porting in a number from another carrier, wait until the middle of the night, if you can. I got the sweetest lady and since it wasn't a busy time of day, there was no rush or stress at all. Insomnia definitely helps with calling really late.

They say it can take a few days for the other company to release the number, but mine did within two hours.

Do everything else online.
 
Saldroid,
I don't live in Michigan but not to far away from Michigan. I live in Toledo, OH and service has been great so far with texting,calling and surfing. Good luck
 
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