LG Rumor Review

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Software:

The Rumor runs a Java-based UI similar to other Sprint phones. From the home screen the user can launch Messaging with the left softkey and contacts with the right. Unfortunately there is no Favorites shortcut found on other Sprint models, which means the user cannot set quick shortcuts to frequently used programs. We were also disappointed to find that there is no voice command system on this phone, meaning calls cannot be initiated from the Bluetooth headset.


The phonebook can hold up to 500 entries, with five phone numbers and three email addresses per entry. The user can also set a personalized ringer, photo id, URL and a memo for each contact. To our surprise we found that the Rumor allows the user to set a personalized text alert in addition to the regular ringtone, a feature that we loved on older Verizon LG models but to our dismay has been noticeably absent since the VX8600.

The embedded Bluetooth 2.0 chipset supports the HSP, HFP 1.5, DUN, FTP, OPP, PBA and BPP profiles, but no A2DP. For the first time that we’ve noticed the web browser is not Obgio, but rather Infraware’s Polaris browser. We didn’t see any notable differences in the two, and the user will still be greeted by the same Sprint homepage which allows for quick WAP access to news, sports, weather, downloads and more.

LG’s native media player takes care of audio and video files. It is a fairly bare-bones player, displaying track information but no album art. It reads ID3 tags, and will display artist and album information, but not display album art. It does support subfolders; however tracks are still displayed all in a bunch which means they must be named in the “Artist – Album - Track Number – Track Title” format for files to be sorted properly. With no search function finding songs can be cumbersome. The Rumor has generous codec support and can handle MP3, AAC, AAC+, M4A, MID, AMR, QCP, 3GPP, MP4, 3G2, 3GPP, M4V and PMD files.


The main focus of the device is obviously messaging, and the Rumor has many options on board. The user can compose messages using either keypad, which we were happy to see given that we prefer T9 for short messages. This is of course our personal opinion, and we bet that most users will utilize the QWERTY keypad for their messaging needs. Sliding the keypad out opens the messaging menu, and from there the user can create or check text, picture or video messages, as well as launch AOL Instant Messaging or go directly to Facebook. Given the target audience of this phone we really like the inclusion of all these messaging and social networking features on the Rumor.