LG LX 150 (Sprint)

If you're one of the many consumers who shun complicated cell phones in favor of simple cell phones that make and receive calls, the new LG LX150 from Sprint should serve you well. Sporting a minimalist yet attractive design and basic features, the LX150 concentrates on what a cell phone should do best. And in that regard, it succeeds; we're pleased that LG added Bluetooth to such a functional handset. You can get it for a very reasonable $29 with service rebates, but the LX150 will cost you $179 if you pay full price.

If you're bored (like we are) with basic phones in black and silver, you'll be pleased to know that the LX150 comes in an attractive blue finish. Distinctive without being ostentatious, the LX150 is pleasing to the eye, not only for its color scheme but also for its curved lines. At 3.46x1.85x0.82 inches and 3.17 ounces, the compact LX150 may be too small for bigger hands, but we found it had a comfortable feel. The front and back covers are composed of a slightly cheap-feeling plastic, but the hinge mechanism was solid. There's also no external antenna.

Flip phones are pointless without an external display, but fortunately the LX150 doesn't fall into that camp. Though it's no bigger than a postage stamp (96x64 pixels), the LX150's four-line external screen shows the date, time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID. What's more, because it's monochrome, it remains visible even when the backlighting is off. You can reactivate the backlighting with a flick of the volume rocker, but you should be careful about doing this too often as it could affect the overall battery life.

A small blinking LED light sits above the display, but you can turn it off. The aforementioned volume rocker sits on the left spine just above a voice dialing control, while a covered headset jack and a covered charger port sit on the right spine.

The LX150's internal display measures 1.75 inches (128x160 pixels) and shows 10 lines of text. Color resolution is 262,000 hues, which is above average for a phone of this caliber. You can change the backlight time and the font size, but not the brightness. Also, we recommend the list menu style; the grid option is rather busy for our tastes.

Below the display is a traditional navigation array consisting of a four-way toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, the Talk and End/Power controls and a Back button. There's also a dedicated speakerphone button (nice) and a unique Text key that serves as a shortcut to the messaging menu. And speaking of shortcuts, the toggle can be set to give one-touch access to four user-defined functions.