LG Flare LX175 (black, Virgin Mobile)

Virgin Mobile is known for its simple entry-level phones, and the new LG Flare, or LX175, is no exception. The second such LG phone with the carrier--the Aloha was the first--the Flare boils it down to the basics and even lacks a VGA camera. However, it does step it up a notch from the Aloha with a colorful external display as well as Bluetooth support. It's also cheaper; the Flare is available for only $29.99, with no contract required.

Design
Despite its fancy nickname, the Flare isn't exactly colorful or eye-catching. Its all-black exterior is more on the staid side, though it does have a sleek minimalist appearance. It's slightly curved on the sides, which contributes to a nice feel in the hand. Measuring 3.54 inches by 1.85 inches by 0.78 inch and weighing 2.72 ounces, the Flare is fairly lightweight and fits easily in a pocket or purse. The phone construction did feel a bit cheap, though.

The LG Flare is a slim and compact clamshell.

We're glad to see an external display on a basic phone like this, and we especially like that it supports 65,000 colors. It only measures 1-inch across, but that's good enough for displaying the standard date, time, battery, and signal-strength information. It also shows incoming caller ID. Rounding out the exterior of the phone are a voice dial/voice memo key, a volume rocker, and a headset jack on the left spine, while the charger jack sits on the right.

Flip open the phone and you'll find a nice 262,000-color 1.75-inch diagonal internal display. It's fairly good for a phone this size, though it's too bad that Virgin Mobile's default menu interface doesn't show it off quite as well as we would like. You can adjust the font size for the messaging, browser, and notepad applications. You can also change the backlight time, the foreground (clock/calendar or a greeting), the menu styles (list or grid), plus the incoming call screen.

The LG Flare has dedicated speakerphone and Web browser keys.