LG Lucid 2 for Verizon is sort of exciting

 

Remember the LG Optimus F5, Well it will be called the LG Lucid 2 for Verizon and apparently going to be released within the next month. The F series was first announced and MWC and will be the successor to the Lucid that was launched last year.

The Verizon branded LG Lucid 2 is sort of exciting because not only does it comes with specs such as a 4.3-inch qHD display, it also comes featuring a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1080p video recording capabilities, it also boasts a nice 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon Krait CPU processor.Not only that it will come with a nice affordable rice tag to boot, it will come running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system as well.

If you visit Verizon Wireless right now you can bag the first LG Lucid for free on a new 2-year activation contract, wonder what the price will be on the new LG Lucid 2 when it releases on Verizon.There is not much else we can give you at the moment, but as soon as we hear about the release date and pricing we will notify our readers.

The Verizon LG Lucid was a solid budget smartphone  that sold like gangbusters. Now, a year later, LG brings us the Lucid 2, which is bigger and better than the original in every way. It's even free this time around. But the times are a-changin', and with lots of solid, well-priced options to choose from, the LG Lucid 2 isn't quite as killer a deal this time around.

There are some budget phones where you'd barely be able to tell the difference next to a phone that costs hundreds of dollars more. The LG Lucid 2 is not one of them. It doesn't feel shoddy or poorly made, but the textured plastic finish gives off an unmistakably bargain bin vibe. The phone is predominantly black, with silver accents around the buttons on the sides and a glass front panel. The front feels slightly off balance, with extra bezel space at the top to make room for the pronounced Verizon and LG logos.

The phone measures 4.82 by 2.51 by 0.39 inches and weighs 4.55 ounces, which makes it light and comfortable to hold. The 4.3-inch, 960-by-540 LCD is a step up in terms of size and resolution from the original, but not in terms of overall quality. Some details, like text, can look a little jagged compared with much of the ultra-high-res competition, and there's a faint vertical pattern that runs through the screen, which is particularly visible in lighter areas. There's plenty of room for typing, which feels comfortable on the Swype-enabled onscreen keyboard.

The Lucid 2 taps into Verizon's 4G LTE network where it's available, and 3G everywhere else. Verizon LTE is very fast, and received top honors in our Fastest Mobile Networks tests last year. The phone can also be used as a mobile hotspot to connect up to 10 devices simultaneously with the proper service plan. The Lucid 2 has good reception, but sometimes had trouble pulling in a 4G signal. You can also connect the phone to 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networks.


 

Call quality is mixed. Voices are understandable in the phone's earpiece, but volume is a problem. Even at the halfway mark the phone's case begins to rattle; at higher volumes it can be painful to listen to. Calls made with the phone sound clear but a little muted, with decent noise cancellation. And calls sounded fine through a Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset, though I had a lot of trouble using the standard Android voice dialer over Bluetooth; it often took multiple attempts before getting it right. The phone's very large 2,460mAh battery was good for an impressive 13 hours and 43 minutes of talk time. The phone also supports wireless charging, but requires you to buy a special battery cover and a wireless charging pad.

User Interface, Hardware, and Apps
The Lucid 2 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Quaclomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor, which makes for speedy, responsive performance. It's not as fast as any of the new quad-core chips, or even the 1.5GHz processor in the Samsung Galaxy S III, but it turned in solid benchmarks scores, and is fast enough to run any of the 800,000+ apps in the Google Play store without a problem.

The Lucid 2 runs Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), along with LG's Optimus UI 3.0 customizations. There's no word on an update to Android 4.2.2 (the most recent version of Jelly Bean), but 4.1.2 is close enough. Optimus UI is a very heavy layer over Android that won't please purists, but will look appealing to newbies.

Speaking of newbies, LG has created a Starter mode for first-time users. It places all of your important apps on the main home screen, like your Web browser, email, and Google Play store. There's another screen to add eight quick contacts, then another screen for your settings. It's not a radical change from your standard Android layout, but it's helpful to have all the important stuff up front.

Back in Standard mode, you get five customizable home screens to swipe between that come preloaded with a few apps and widgets. LG has added four themes to the phone that change your wallpaper and icons. In addition to Optimus, which is what you get out of the box, there's Adventure, Fancy, and my favorite, the particularly weird Monsterland. Verizon has loaded the Lucid 2 with a good amount bloatware, none of which can be deleted.

You get all the usual Android goodies, like a fast Chrome Web browser, excellent email support, and voice-enabled, turn-by-turn GPS directions via Google Maps. You also get QuickMemo, which is LG's system-wide note taking service that lets you annotate screenshots with handwritten notes and sketches, which you can then share. And SmartShare lets you display music, photos, and video on your HDTV or monitor via DLNA.