LG Rumor Phone, Black (Sprint)

Catch up on gossip when you're on the go with the LG Rumor, which offers a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and easy connectivity to popular IM networks and even Facebook.

Sprint offers a variety of messaging options beyond text including Voice SMS, which allows you to record a voice message and send it to any mobile phone, email address, or landline phone just like a text message, and Text to Landline, which allows Sprint subscribers to send a text message to a landline phone where it is automatically converted to a voice message.

Preloaded with Sprint Navigation, this phone provides full-feature GPS navigation including voice and on screen turn-by-turn driving directions and more than 10 million business listings.

And with the optional Wireless Backup service from Sprint, you can automatically store your phonebook contacts on the Sprint network, allowing them to be instantly updated in the event your phone is lost, stolen, or replaced. It also allows you to manage your phonebook contacts through a Sprint web page.

Phone Features
The Rumor offers one touch access to messaging through a softkey from the idle screen and it automatically populates the messaging menu when the slider is opened. You'll enjoy easy access to Sprint Mobile eMail to check and send mail from multiple accounts through familiar providers including Yahoo! AOL, Gmail and Microsoft Live. It also provides quick access to instant messaging services including AIM, MSN and Yahoo! as well as several popular social networking communities, including Facebook and Xanga. To personalize the text messaging experience, the Rumor offers the ability to assign "text tones" to address book entries for audible identification of text message senders.

The Rumor's face has a 176 x 220-pixel LCD (262K colors), five-way navigation toggle, soft keys, and numeric keypad, and it smoothly slides open to the left to reveal the QWERTY keyboard (which automatically switches the screen to landscape mode). The internal phonebook has a 500 contact capacity, each with space for five phone numbers, email and Web addresses, and a memo. You can also assign a photo ID to a contact entry, as well as assign it to a group as well as to a specific ringtone.

The 1.3-megapixel camera provides three resolution options (1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixels), and features up to a 15x digital zoom, brightness and white balance controls, self-timer, and in-phone image enhancement. It also provides support for PictBridge technology so you can print your photos without the need of a PC (either using USB or Bluetooth). You can record video at two resolutions--176 x 144 and 128 x 96 pixels--at up to 2 hours for saving to memory card or in 10- or 20-second lengths for sending via messaging or email. Videos can be used as ringers and screen savers

Because the Rumor is Bluetooth enabled (version 2.0), wireless communication headsets can be configured with the phone for total hands-free operation. It also provides profiles for hands-free (v1.5), dial-up networking, object push, basic printing, file transfer, and phone book access. You can save up to 20 Bluetooth pairings.

Other features include:

• Media player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, M4A, MID, AMR, QCP, 3GPP, MP4, 3G2, 3GPP, M4V, and PMD formats
• Speed dial (98 entries + 1 voicemail default)
• Tools: Alarm clock, calculator, scheduler, notepad, world clock, EZ tip calculator, D-Day counter, unit converter
• USB wired connectivity to your PC, with mass storage capability
• One-touch speakerphone
• Voice Memos (up to 10 minutes; can be set as ringers)
• 34 unique ringtones plus vibrate and silent modes
• TTY/TDD support; M3/T3 hearing aid rating
• Web browser: Infraware Polaris 5.01
• Flight mode enables you to listen to music with cell radio turned off
• T9 predictive text entry

Vital Statistics
The LG Rumor weighs 4.1 ounces and measures 4.3 x 2 x 0.7 inches. Its 950 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4.5 hours of talk time. It runs on the 850/1900 CDMA frequencies.

Spotlight Reviews
This phone is outrageous. (2008-11-18)
Customer Review : 5
Texting keyboard, nice colors (I have a royal blue), it's a camera, it's a camcorder, it's an mp3 player, it has video options, you can get ringtones from http://www.myxer.com for cheap (you only pay for the minutes you use on the internet downloading the songs/wallpapers, whatever), after a a few seconds of inactivity, it locks so you don't waste the battery as much (just unlock/lock it by pressing and holding the back button for about 2 seconds), you can surf on the internet (it's free/or isn't free depending on the plan you get), tons of settings and tools to fool around with and much more.

This is the first phone that was an mp3 player, a camera and a camcorder all in one (for me) so I'm enjoying taking pictures and listening to music very much.

There is only one super-small issue that shouldn't be a big deal and might happen with other phones too - when someone texts you, and you don't reply but you DO see the message that was sent, the phone acts like you never saw the message and counts it as a missed message.

Very minor like I've said but I just thought I'd mention it. The pictures that it takes are pretty good as long as there is good lighting.

4.5 stars.

end note: Get the LG Rumor. It's a great phone, and although I've only owned two cell phones in my lifetime I think that's saying something. My first phone was a Virgin Oystr and you couldn't go to myxer.com because it wasn't compatible. If you get this phone I promise you won't regret it. Plus, it's a phone that not many people go for, I think. Most everyone is going after the iPhone or Blackberries which are too expensive/and aren't worth it from what I hear.
I posted the rating as a 5 because this phone is that good.

Best Texting Phone That Sprint has to Offer (2008-10-07)
Customer Review : 5
This is one of the best phones sprint has to offer. It is easy to text with and is really fast. It is a good size phone and I love it. If you need a texting phone and your on the sprint network here it is The LG Rumor.

Two phones died in less than a year (2008-09-02)
Customer Review : 1
We have two LG Rumor phones in the family. One has been OK. The other developed a software problem within 45 days. It kept turning itself off and wouldn't accept a memory card. It was replaced at a Sprint store at a cost of $35. The replacement is now a few months old and has a charging jack problem, in that the charging port has come loose from the main board inside. Sprint said send it back to the manufacurer, which we did. LG says it is physical damage and is not covered under warranty. I will never buy another LG phone as long as I live.
Signed,
Not happy in Illinois.

Total crap! (2008-08-03)
Customer Review : 1
When I first got this phone I was in love with it,good size and very easy to text with.The only thing I hated was the picture quality,not so good and not so easy to change the coloring.After having the phone about a month I started having problems,for no reason the screen would get all fuzzy,not letting me text or call anyone.Thank god I had insurance on it.Within three day I had a new one,worked fine.Exactly one month later I started having the same problems,this was quite annoying.I went to sprint to have them order a new one,five days later I just picked it up.and the same day its already shot! I slide it open to find that half the letters dont light up,and half of them dont work.I plan on complaining,I'd love to have a phone that actually works longer than three months! I'll give the Rumor one more chance,hopefully it'll work,if not I wont waste my time on another.I'd think twice about getting a Rumor,it may look like a well put together phone but it's very far from it!

Sprint Customer Service is the WORST (2008-07-15)
Customer Review : 1
A word about Sprint: They used to be the best, and they are now the worst. The absolute worst.

If you call them today, July 15'th 2008, you will get through the prompts until you are given a wait-time and then the systems tells you to call back later and hangs up on you. I'm not surprised at all. They got rid of 80 % of their customer service workforce.

Things have appeared on my bill for a year that shouldn't be there. I have made 5 attempts to fix this and finally gave up. Plan on a two-hour call to get something accomplished and then prepare yourself to be utterly crazed with anger when you see that nothing was actually done several times. A lady from Sprint called me trying to sell something and extend my contract, I laughed so hard, that she actually tried to fix my problems. She said she did and of course, it's still on my bill.

I'm turning off my phone today...