Having to pay your own cell phone bill is a double-edged sword. Finally I can get whichever phone I want on any network I choose. Oh darn, all the good phones are on the Big 4 carriers with plans starting at an organ donation per month. So what did I do? I chose option three. Virgin Mobile. For only $25 dollars a month, yes that says $25 a month, I get unlimited text and data along with 300 minutes. Did I mention that it's only 25 dollars per month?
"Surely a prepaid carrier can only have the bottom bin of crap phones" was something I used to think all the time. I was wrong. Finally catching up into the 21st century, VM is offering two Android phones on their network. I selected the LG Optimus V to be my new phone for two reasons: Price and usability. Firstly, the Optimus V was cheaper than the alternate Samsung phone offered on VM by at least 50 dollars. Second, the LG Optimus received much better reviews for usablility than the Samsung phone.
A quick search revealed the best price to be at a store none other than Best Buy. For 129 dollars, I had myself an Android phone. Unfortunately, Best Buy was not shipping the phone, so I had to drive over an hour to pick it up in store. It was worth the drive however. Immediately after purchasing my phone, I drove to the nearest Starbucks, ordered a grande Pike Place coffee, and sat down at the table nearest the power outlets. I called up VM and began the activation process. It took them less than three hours to transfer my number over from my previous carrier. By the time I got home from my trip, my phone was fully functional.
I based my phone decision on some YouTube research, videos in which reviewers compared both of the VM Android phones side by side. There was no comparison. The Samsung phone looked like a pile of crap sitting next to the LG Optimus. It performed like poo too. While I don't intend to give a full rundown of the hardware or the software, I will say that so far I am very pleased with the phone. The only complaint that I have about the phone is the battery life. The battery drains quickly even at idle, so airplane mode is necessary if you plan on keeping your phone alive for a long day. The other gripe that I have is the network. Virgin's network is actually Sprint, and is therefore spotty at best. I can't really complain about this one a whole lot, since I'm not paying full rip-off price to utilize Sprint's network.
Do I think that this phone is great for everbody? Nope. If your an iPhone user, you definitely won't like this phone because it's not made by Apple. If you pick hundred dollar bill boogers out of your nose, and really enjoy spending money on exorbitantly priced phones and plans, this phone and this carrier are also not for you. But, if you are a young person like myself that wants to have money for retirement, you would be wise to get this phone. Then take the money you save by switching plans and invest it.
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