The Review
We haven't had a chance to fully test this product yet, but we've assembled this helpful overview of relevant information on it.
The LG Revolution 4G has a 4.3-inch touchscreen display that's great with the preloaded Netflix app.
The options for communication are vast with the LG Revolution 4G, a new smartphone with carrier Verizon that allows for video chat thanks to its front-facing camera. The other, rear-facing camera produces sharp, vivid pictures while the HD video recording allows the user to make moving images that look great. The large, 4.3-inch touchscreen display will come in handy when you access your Netflix account, since the Revolution 4G has an app preloaded in to its hard drive.
Features List:
-4.3 inch touch screen
-Android 2.2 platform
-video chat with front facing camera
-Wi-fi
-HD video recording
Press Release:
05/25/2011
BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and SAN DIEGO, CA — Verizon Wireless and LG Mobile Phones today announced Revolution™ by LG will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on May 26.
An entertainment powerhouse, Revolution by LG is the first Android™ smartphone preloaded with the Neflix application, allowing Netflix subscribers access to movies and television shows. Revolution customers can capture and share HD images or videos on a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen. Built-in HDMI output and SmartShare capability allow customers to share multimedia content with HDMI capable displays, creating an exceptional entertainment experience.
Key features:
4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas 1 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon® processor
Android™ 2.2 platform
Access to more than 200,000 apps available to download from Android Market™
Bing® Search and Maps
Adobe® Flash® Player
Rear-facing 5.0-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash
1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat
720p HD video recording and playback
Wi-Fi connectivity 802.11 b/g/n
Mobile Hotspot capability allows customers to share 4G LTE with up to 8 Wi-Fi-enabled devices or a 3G connection with up to 5 devices
Bluetooth® Version 3.0 Support Profiles: headset, hands-free, object push, advanced audio distribution (stereo), audio/video remote control, file transfer, phone book access
Additional features:
V CAST Apps
Virtual QWERTY keyboard with SWYPE technology
Equipped with Dolby® Mobile for rich listening experience
Extensive image editor includes: crop, rotate, resize, apply filters, image adjustments, draw, write, erase and add stamps
16 GB preinstalled microSD card™
Pricing and availability:
Revolution by LG will be available in Verizon Wireless Communication Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $249.99 with a new two-year customer agreement.
Revolution customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and a data package. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 for monthly access. An unlimited data package is available for $29.99 for monthly access. The Mobile Hotspot feature will be included for a limited time at no additional charge.
The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network, launched in December 2010, is the fastest, most advanced 4G network in the United States, providing speeds up to 10 times faster than Verizon Wireless’ 3G network. Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE Mobile Broadband network currently reaches one-third of all Americans, with plans to expand the network to the company’s entire 3G coverage area over the next three years.
For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Media can access high-resolution images of Revolution by LG in the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.)
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing more than 93,000 people working in over 120 operations around the world. With 2010 global sales of 55.8 trillion Korean won (USD 48.2 billion), LG comprises four business units – Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions. LG is one of the world’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators. LG has signed a long-term agreement to become both a Global Partner and a Technology Partner of Formula 1™. As part of this top-level association, LG acquires exclusive designations and marketing rights as the official consumer electronics, mobile phone and data processor of this global sporting event. For more information, please visit www.lg.com.
About LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company
The LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company is a leading global mobile communications and information company. With its cutting-edge technology and innovative design capabilities, LG creates handsets that provide an optimized mobile experience to customers around the world. LG is pursuing convergence technology and mobile computing products, while continuing its leadership role in mobile communication with stylish designs and smart technology. For more information, please visit www.lgmobilephones.com.
Digital Trends’ Cell Phone Buying Tips:
Best time to buy cell phones
With all major U.S. carriers announcing new phones around the clock and a dozen manufacturers all working overtime to produce the next killer device, keeping track of all the different models in circulation at any given time can seem like a Herculian task. But this frantic pace works to your advantage: Any time is a good time to buy a cell phone, as long as you keep your eyes open.
Jamie Lendino, a contributing editor at PC Magazine, recommends spotting three or four phones that suit your needs, then jumping on whichever one dives in price first. With the rapid pace of cell phones, you shouldn’t have to rest on your laurels for long. “Remember that ‘old’ in the tech world could mean just a few months from now,” says Lendino. Even the original iPhone, a high-demand handset which originally sold for $600, dropped a whopping $200 a little over two months after launch.
Of course, to take advantage of the most attractive phone deals, you’ll need to agree to a two-year service contract with a carrier like AT&T or Verizon. For potential buyers locked into existing contracts, this could mean riding it out with an older phone for a few more months in order to grab the massive rebates available upon renewal. Always call your provider to see if you might be eligible for an upgrade prior to an existing contract expiring. AT&T, for instance, allows customers with monthly bills over $99 to upgrade after just one year – as long as they’re willing to lock into another two years of service.
Apps
If a building is only as good as its foundation, then a smartphone is only as good as its app store. Even as manufacturers continue to stack their handsets with YouTube support, instant messaging, and other essentials right out of the box, the features just don’t add up to the amount of capability a phone can take on in the hands of the right developers: You name it, a good smartphone can do it.
The app store you buy into will have a longstanding effect on the way you use your phone – perhaps more than any other feature. But it’s tough to get a feel for every smartphone app store when you don’t get to push a cart down the aisles until you have a carrier contract in your filing cabinet and there’s no turning back.
Apple’s App Store has been leading the market in sheer numbers of apps since the original iPhone was release. Android is catching up in total numbers and offers a higher ratio of free apps in the Android Market than Apple does. Nokia’s Ovi Store, RIM’s BlackBerry App World and Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace all offer quality apps but currently lag far behind Apple and Android.
Different form factors
Even after choosing between a smartphone or feature phone, you have a lot of choices to make to decide what your phone will actually look like.
A full touch layout like the iPhone has become popular for smartphones, but you’ll usually forgo a hard keyboard as a result. Some smartphones like the Droid 2 or the BlackBerry Torch offer a slide-out keyboard as a compromise, but get thicker as a result, too. Many smartphones also dupe the popular BlackBerry design: small screen on top, small keyboard below.
In feature phones, the flip or “clamshell” form factor has proven especially popular because of its small size and the fact that it protects the screen and keys when closed. Phones with both the screen and keypad on a fixed rectangular slab are typically called “candybar” phones. As with smartphones, you’ll many feature phones with dedicated QWERTY keyboards, which can be handy for frequent text messagers.
Whichever you decide to go with, make sure to physically handle the phone at a kiosk or store prior to buying. Pictures can often drastically misrepresent the size of phones.
Six Steps to Start Your Unlimited Cell Phone Plan Search
- Determine which service providers are available in your area and make a list of the services you want and how much you can afford.
- Check with your current wireless service provider—if you have one—and see what unlimited plans they provide and if one matches up to your needs. If not, then continue to search.
- Compare special offers and plans of the key players of cellphone providers: Verizon Wireless, AT &T, US Cellular, T-Mobile, Sprint, Cricket, and etc.
- If you’re prone to changing cell phone providers, choose a plan with least amount of commitment to avoid expensive cancellation fees.
- Do you actually need true unlimited minutes? Or would you only need unlimited just on weekends or to your most frequently called and received numbers?
- Determine which cell phone service company excels in the areas you need for the price you want, but also look at the provider’s connectivity and coverage ratings. We’ll give you a hint—Sprint may offer a great price and with great unlimited minutes, but Verizon is still takes the cake for coverage and call clarity.
Notable Features
The list of features to look for in a phone could fill an anthology, so we’ll run down some of the most important ones.
Cameras appear on nearly every phone these days. Although a quality camera can be great for quick snapshots, few phone cameras are ready to replace a trusty point-and-shoot. The few with variable focus far outperform fixed-focus cameras, which you’ll find on the majority.
When considering a display, pay attention to size and brightness, which will both come in handy when trying to read it in difficult conditions like outdoors in the sun. LCD displays are still the most common, but OLED displays have been cropping up lately as well. They use slightly less power and produce extremely vibrant color, but suffer from poor outdoor visibility.
Battery life often gets buried at the end of buyers’ wishlists, only to lead to disappointment when they realize they can barely go a whole day without recharging. Be particularly careful with smartphones, which can get particularly thirsty.
If you plan to use your phone for playing music or watching video, be sure to check for internal and external storage. If the phone has a microSD slot you should be able to add up to 32GB of additional storage.
