LG Flare LX175 user reviews (black, Virgin Mobile)

Pros Compact flip, bold color display

Cons Cheap squeaky plastic, intermittent external display

Summary Virgin Mobile has a serious lack of cool, affordable phones. They either have phones that are too expensive and do too much (like the Slider or the Wild Card) or they have cheap, ugly phones. I thought maybe the Flare was going to finally be what Virgin Mobile was missing. Turns out, it's not.

This is lightweight, cheap plastic. The buttons actually squeak when you press them because they are all plastic. Furthermore, that external display is only on when you press a button on the side of the phone or the phone is ringing. The rest of the time, the outside is dark. I don't know about you, but I like being able to use my phone as a watch just by looking at it.

It is nice that the external display is in bold, large text and a color display. And the phone is sleek and black, unlike all those ugly-as-hell white and red phones Virgin Mobile keeps selling, but this thing just isn't priced right.

Wait a few months for this thing to drop down to $10 and it will be worth it. Paying $30 is completely unreasonable. In the meantime, here's hoping Virgin Mobile comes out with some nice study phones that look cool too and are functional. This Flare just looks wait better on the website than it feels in your hand.

I give it 5/10 at the $30 price tag.

Pros Handsome, alarm clock, inexpensive to switch phones, blue backlighting, big keys

Cons Battery life, address book, inappropriate demo games

Summary I am a long time Virgin Mobile user, and an adult. I wanted to upgrade to a phone with Bluetooth so that I could start using a wireless headset. Other than that, the only thing I really expect from my phones is that it can ring, that it can wake me up in the morning, and that I can talk a good while to my relatives on Sunday morning on a charge. This is my first flip phone and my first LG product, with my other phones being reliable Kyocera phones. A 55-minute call from the relatives on Sunday morning used up two bars on the phone, but charging it up again only took about 15 minutes. Seems as if my Kyocera lasted longer than that, but I'm not sure. The speakerphone is LOUD and I find the loudness distorts the sound some, so I find it best to keep it on two bars, which helps sound quality as well as battery life. To check your balance is a little different now - rather than just requesting balance. The alarm clock is GREAT, to the point where I no longer use my table clock. I miss my 21 game that I had on my V5. This phone has something called "Sex Poker" that's a demo, it's obscene and not worth it at any price. I'm going to see if i can get rid of it and find something else. I didn't like that I had to manually re-enter my address book when I switched phones, and I don't like that I don't have a quick key to my contacts like I did with my V5 Slider. I know that some users are disappointed with it being plastic, but I've never had anything but plastic phones with VM, and all of mine have held up well. Even my cordless phone is plastic. My V5 is two years old, and while a little scruffy, it still makes calls, which is of course the point of a telephone. I've only had the LG for a month, and I've dropped it (not that I make a habit of it, I'm careful with my electronics) with no ill effects. There is no external antenna stub to break off, which I like. It's got kind of a neat ringtone (which is rap music in nature but I can live with it). The rings are customizable, and there is one that is fairly plain that I prefer to use with my favorite people. All-in-all, there's a lot to learn with this phone, and there's a fairly thick manual, but given what this phone has as far as features, I don't believe $30 is too much to pay for it at all, given that if I want to change my mind about it, I don't have to sign another two-year contract or buy a subsidized $200 phone. For what I need a phone to do, I'm happy!

Pros Its in-expensive, the cover is shiny, you dont need a contract, it works with bluetooth

Cons its lightweight and feels cheap in the hand, texting always lags, speakerphone sucks, its very basic

Summary if your looking for an extremely basic phone with little features, this phones for you

Updated on Dec 31, 2008

this phone has its ups and downs, but i highly wouldnt reccomend it. only if your looking for something verryyyyy basic.

Pros easy to use, small and cute

Cons no camera(but I don't need a camera at the moment)

Summary I got this phone as a temporary phone until I can get my sidekick back on. I didn't want anything extravagant I just needed something and I'm glad I got this one. I've gotten prepaid package phones before and this is the best one yet. If you just need a simple phone this is by far the best.