LG Ultimate 2 L41C Android Prepaid Phone with Triple Minutes (Tracfone)

THE PAST: I previously had a ZTE Valet Tracfone. It was underpowered and funky -- God did I ** hate ** that phone! The Valet was too small for my fingers, and it would do this slow, pulsed "screen blank" when I needed to hang up on calls, etc.THE PRESENT: So... I bought this LG on the good reviews and it's NIGHT & DAY a better product! It's got more processing power (more responsive), bigger screen (but thinner), better camera but it's not so big that it's not pocketable. Most importantly - the buttons are now big enough for my hands to dial and navigate the phone reliably.It took me 10 or less minutes to convert my number over to my new phone -- and I did it myself through prompts, I didn't need to wait on hold for an operator. The only hassle was I had to pull the battery on my old phone to view it's Serial number (UMEI number) for the cutover process. No big.Handset AUDIO QUALITY and SPEAKER PHONE audio quality are both very good to excellent.For my moderate-to-low cell phone usage pattern, with this triple minutes for life / pay-as-you-go plan, I feel like I have escaped the Cell phone industry's "indentured servitude" business model. I feel it even beats T-Mobile and Cricket's bottom tier pricing. I * OWN * my phone, a decent usable phone, with ** no ** contract hassles!! I LOVE it!Now if you are an avid web surfer and need to check email and facebook often, this may not be your ticket. For those who want a phone that can be occasionally pressed into service a Web device, this is affordable and great.My only minor complaint of the LG Ultimate 2: This phone should have (built into firmware) the onscreen display notice about your remaining minutes. I shouldn't have to go out to Google Play to get an app for that. NOTE: While I have a Gmail account, I couldn't give a rat's patootie about joining the Google ecosystem. I just view it as pushy and intrusive. I just wanted a good looking phone that * works * , that I use AS A PHONE, and... in a pinch, I could websurf on it. This phone fills the bill nicely. I intend to keep it a long time.NOTE: I have yet to test this phone for mp3 audio sound play. I did put a minimal 4GB micro-SD card in it for starters. Once I test it, will report back on music/headphones audio quality.

This was my first experience with a smartphone. It seemed like almost everyone in the world had one except me. I saw the ad on Amazon for TracFone, a prepaid cellphone carrier, offering smartphones now instead of (or in addition to) the single-purpose phone-call-only cellphones that I had been using since 2008. Amazon’s price for an Android TracFone smartphone called LG Ultimate 2 was $99, and they made it seem like the world’s best bargain because it does indeed have many smartphone features. This includes an expansion SD card slot (up to 32GB), a dual camera setup, so that you can use the screen as a viewfinder, with video, zoom, and flash, and it’s all great as long as you don’t expect miracles. A bunch of Android apps were included, including a GPS, a calculator, Contacts List, Calendar, Photo Gallery, Video Player, and other doo-dads, plus the usual suspects available from the Google Play Store. Tracfone also had a very appealing feature called “Triple Minutes”, where you can buy airtime for a 90 day period at a minimal price, and have these minutes automatically tripled – for life, without contracts or other entanglements.Thus, since this was my first foray into the world of smartphones, I succumbed to the touted goodies, and stepped gingerly – and inexpensively – into this low-end smartphone realm. Remember the dictum, “You get what you pay for”? It sounded too good to be true… and it was. For some unknown reason, I actually expected champagne, but I got beer for the beer price. But…it’s good beer.Oh, everything works….unless you press the wrong keys at the wrong time, like I did. I then had to go through a tricky “factory reset” procedure to get the phone working again. And when I tried to follow the manual to perform some task or other, the manual was less than lucid, and things just didn’t seem to do what they were supposed to do. This is not the most user-friendly machine in the world, and I think it will take some practice before I’m comfortable with all its voluminous but arcane (to me, at least) features.What I’m saying is, I’m sure this machine does what it’s supposed to do, but sometimes it seems to have a mind of its own. And when you do get the results you want, it will not be nearly as fast, nor will the pictures be as sharp and bright and clear as you’d hoped. But like I said, it works. The problem is, you’re only getting your money’s worth. Well….maybe a little bit more..Obviously, if you’re reading this, you’re not in the market for a Samsung S6 Edge cellphone, reputedly the best out there today, with contracted service from the leading carriers for a boatload of money. I made the mistake of looking at a series of that Samsung’s commercials, and I couldn’t believe the features on that sucker. No, I’m in a different place, and the LG Ultimate 2 is right for my needs and my pocketbook. I’m happy with it, and I’ll stick with it….for now.