LG Spectrum 2 Review

Review index

Posted: 19 Nov 2012, 08:01, by FAUguy

Categories: Verizon Verizon LG LG Android Android

Discuss9

Call Quality and Battery:

Call quality on the LG Spectrum 2 is good, as voices on our end were natural sounding and lacked any distortion, even at high call volumes, though there was some distortion while using the rear speakerphone. People that we called also said that we sounded good on their end, but at times was a bit hollow sounding, and they could tell we were using a mobile phone. Signal reception was adequate, since we didn’t drop any calls, but as with most other Verizon 4G phones, we had issue maintaining a 4G connection while indoors – as it would drop down to 3G EVDO.

With the included 2150mAh battery, we were able to get up to 10 hours of continuous talk time on a full charge, or about two days of mixed usage, which is better than most other smartphones in this category.

Conclusion:

We feel that the $100 contract price of the LG Spectrum 2 is a bargain, as the original Spectrum was twice that when it was released earlier this year. This newest model not only includes a larger 4.7” True HD IPS display, but has a faster 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 16GB internal memory for storage. Combine that with the easy to use Optimus UI interface, good call quality and battery life, the LG Spectrum 2 is hard to beat in this price point.

Software version on the reviewed unit:

Android version 4.0.4

Kernel version 3.0.8

Build number IMM76I

Software version VS93010E

LG Spectrum 2 Video Review:

Pros

Attractive price
4.7” True HD IPS display
Good call quality

Cons

Camera quality is lacking
Notification LED is part of the power button
Device feels larger than it should be

PhoneArena rating:

User rating:

9.8 4 Reviews

How we rate

Check prices

Carrier	New Contract	Contract Extension	Add a Line	Phone Only
	$49.99	$49.99	$49.99	$534.99	Buy

Discuss9

Google Nexus 4 Review 19 Nov
Prev review

Google Nexus 10 Review 21 Nov
Next review

Related phones

LG Spectrum 2

Specifications
News (8)
Review 8/10
User Reviews (4) 9.8/10

Discussions (0)
Photos
Size it
360°
Manual

9 Comments
Follow Following

Options

Want to comment? Please login or register.

1. Nathan_ingx posted on 19 Nov 2012, 09:17 1 4

Kind of boring going through the review on this one!
And the set of four capacitive buttons now looks cramped since we've seen phones donning the lesser 3 buttons...

2. KingKurogiii posted on 19 Nov 2012, 13:57 0 0

nice phone, well designed although it's a little too large. i love the Thor theme that it comes loaded with. o:

3. OptimusOne posted on 19 Nov 2012, 14:21 1 0

is it me, or does this seem on par with the galaxy s III minus the camera.
I know the UI's are different but you could easily get it in a custom rom.

personally, I would prefer the droid DNA even for the extra 100 dollars
I wish LG would add a stock ics theme with stock ics icons and other stuff. that would be pretty awesome. it would be like stock aosp without the aosp custom rom

4. NOLEFTHERE posted on 19 Nov 2012, 14:43 0 0

The Spec 2 DOES support MHL

5. FAUguy posted on 19 Nov 2012, 18:53 0 0

The specs listed on the LG site and their PDF does not list MHL for the Spectrum 2, but they do list it for the original Spectrum. Have you been able to try the Spectrum 2 with a MHL HDMI cable?

6. NOLEFTHERE posted on 20 Nov 2012, 09:17 0 0

Yes, I tested my Spec 2 and MHL works perfectly. Why its not listed, I dont know. But i do wish the reviewer tried it out instead of just stating that it does not have the featurell

7. FAUguy posted on 20 Nov 2012, 13:34 0 0

We have corrected that section, thank you.

I asked LG about it last week, but never heard back. Since I don't have an MHL adapter or cable here, I wasn't able to test that part, but relied on the specs that LG had posted, which doesn't list MHL.

8. NOLEFTHERE posted on 20 Nov 2012, 23:01 0 0

Not sure why myself, but I got curious and plugged it up anyway to see that it works. :)

Thanks!

9. AplhaMale posted on 11 Dec 2012, 05:42 1 0

Why are these clowns still making phones? LG should stick to tv's and fridges!

Want to comment? Please login or register.

Samsung Galaxy S4
- Announced: 14 Mar 2013
- OS: Android 4.2.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1900 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Apple iPhone 5
- Announced: 12 Sep 2012
- OS: iOS
- Hardware: Dual core, 1300 MHz, Apple Swift, 1016 MB RAM
- Display: 4.0 inches, 640 x 1136 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1700/2100 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS EV-DO Rev.A EV-DO Rev.B
Samsung GALAXY Note II
- Announced: 29 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.1.1
- Hardware: Quad core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 35 hours of Talk Time, 980 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
HTC One
- Announced: 19 Feb 2013
- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1700 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 4 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Sony Xperia Z
- Announced: 07 Jan 2013
- OS: Android 4.1.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13.1 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 11 hours of Talk Time, 550 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Google Nexus 4
- Announced: 29 Oct 2012
- OS: Android 4.2.2 4.2.1 4.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15.3 hours of Talk Time, 390 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
LG Optimus G
- Announced: 28 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.0.4
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15 hours of Talk Time, 335 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Nokia Lumia 920
- Announced: 05 Sep 2012
- OS: Windows Phone 8
- Hardware: Dual core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 1024 MB RAM
- Display: 4.5 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8.7 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 17 hours of Talk Time, 400 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS