So is this the way to go if I just want an android for data?
It appears to be. Where else can you get unlimited data so cheap that supports smartphones (and doesn't even charge taxes and fees for a plan, apparently!).
The is a possible catch- I've heard a rumor that Virgin's data might be throttled down a bit on busy towers to keep priority for full paying Sprint customers. I haven't seen any data that proves this one way or the other, but it would seem like an acceptable compromise for such a great deal. Probably wouldn't make much of a difference unless you intend this to just be a wireless modem connection.
Is the Optimus better than the Intercept? Doesn't look like it has a physical keyboard?
YES- it is ABSOLUTELY BETTER than the Intercept. Do not use the intercept if you don't enjoy pain.
The intercept, transform, zio and Optimus were all part of a new breed of low-budget Android phones. Sort of like netbooks, they cut corners on hardware for a cheaper alternative to a full sized device. While this concept works for netbooks, for a phone it doesn't work so much. Pair a low end laggy GPU with a graphic intensive operating system, and suddenly you user experience slows to a crawl.
The tranform and Zio, for example, were so slow when I tested them out that I felt like I was using a remote desktop connection. It was awful and an embarrassment to Android, IMO.
LG did something right with the Optimus. LG realized that the most important spec for a smooth android experience is the GPU, so they used
THE SAME ADRENO 200 GPU found in the EVO while keeping relatively modest specs on everything else (screen size, camera resolution, etc... all are nothing fancy). That means that at least graphics performance is on par with flagship devices, screen scroll smoothly and everything responds quickly. In fact, since the Optimus has half the pixel resolution of the EVO, the chip only has to work half as hard to pump out graphics. That means in my openGL 3D graphics test, the Optimus actually outperformed the flagship EVO by nearly 10fps. 3D games, etc, work great on it.
Its honestly the only budget Android phone worth considering, IMO.
Ok, the keyboard thing really bugs me too- I've been spoiled by some of the BEST keyboards on the mobile market (HTC Touch Pro 2, etc), and I definitely miss having it. But, the device is pretty small and Android offers dozens of text entry alternatives, including... wait for it... DICTATION. More on that below.
And it's still $150 for the phone...
Yes. $150 for a modern smartphone off-contract brand new is an ABSOLUTE STEAL! Remember, you're not locked into a contract. You can buy the phone just to have as a tiny Android tablet over wifi if you wanted. Considering the Optimus S is $350 without contract on Sprint, and is still closer to $200 used on ebay (
http://completed.shop.ebay.com/Cell-Phones-Smartphones-/3312/i.html?MA2ShowItems&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283&_rdc=1&rt=nc&_fln=1&_nkw=optimus+s&_dmpt=Cell_Phones&_catref=1&LH_Complete=1&guest=1 ), I'd say $150 is more than a fair price.
It doesn't have a physical keyboard. it does have swype though.
Edit: That's assuming it's the same as the Optimus on Sprint...
Yes, the Optimus S and the Optimus V differ only in preloaded software.
Now, it does come with Swype, which is interesting, but not my cup of highly caffeinated beverage, personally. There are things I like about Swype, but I really found it faster and easier to type quickly and correct mistakes while typing with the stock android keyboard. If I type a wrong letter, Android's spell checker is pretty smart about suggesting what I meant after the word. Swype assumes I'm trying to type a completely different word, and error correction is frustrating (usually I have to try to re-swype the entire word).
However, the saving grace for me has been Google's voice recognition system.
Froyo introduced the standard mic on the keyboard, which means you can dictate what you want to type anywhere that the keyboard is open, from searching youtube to replying to a text.
I wouldn't type out a whole email via voice as there are bound to be a few mistakes, but for basic text entry situations, it works. I'm not sure why people haven't made a bigger deal about this- it works SURPRISINGLY well, especially if I'm driving and can't exactly type a response to a text. One or two sentence responses are usually pretty accurate.
BTW- this is one of those features that only Google can offer, because they they already have their powerful Goog-411 voice recognition servers to do the heavy lifting. In other words, this feature only works where you have data connection because it actually records your voice and sends it to the server to get decoded. There's no way a wimpy little cell phone processor can decode a spoken sentence with any kind of accuracy, and why HPalm, RIM, and others can't offer this anytime soon.
Bottom line- if you want a top of the line phone, high res camera and display, keyboard, etc, you need to pay a premium with a standard carrier. But if want a cheap phone and plan, with a user experience that doesn't... how do I put this lightly... well, doesn't SUCK, I very highly recommend the Optimus with Virgin. How's that?
