LG Flare LX175 - black (Virgin Mobile)
Manufacturer: LG Electronics U.S.A. Part number: VML165LGKITFLN
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Virgin Mobile Flare is a simple, easy-to-use, affordable phone from Virgin Mobile.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy |  | See Site | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
| eBay | | In stock | as of 12/07/2009 |
CNET editors' review
LG Flare LX175 - black (Virgin Mobile) price range: $24.99
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Reviewed on: 04/09/2008
- Released on: 03/17/2008
The good: The Virgin Mobile Flare is a basic entry-level flip phone with a speakerphone, Bluetooth, and voice dialing.
The bad: The Virgin Mobile Flare feels a bit cheap, and its speakerphone call quality was so-so.
The bottom line: The Virgin Mobile Flare is a simple, easy-to-use, affordable phone from Virgin Mobile.
Virgin Mobile is known for its simple entry-level phones, and the new LG Flare, or LX175, is no exception. The second such LG phone with the carrier--the Aloha was the first--the Flare boils it down to the basics and even lacks a VGA camera. However, it does step it up a notch from the Aloha with a colorful external display as well as Bluetooth support. It's also cheaper; the Flare is available for only $29.99, with no contract required.
Design
Despite its fancy nickname, the Flare isn't exactly colorful or eye-catching. Its all-black exterior is more on the staid side, though it does have a sleek minimalist appearance. It's slightly curved on the sides, which contributes to a nice feel in the hand. Measuring 3.54 inches by 1.85 inches by 0.78 inch and weighing 2.72 ounces, the Flare is fairly lightweight and fits easily in a pocket or purse. The phone construction did feel a bit cheap, though.
We're glad to see an external display on a basic phone like this, and we especially like that it supports 65,000 colors. It only measures 1-inch across, but that's good enough for displaying the standard date, time, battery, and signal-strength information. It also shows incoming caller ID. Rounding out the exterior of the phone are a voice dial/voice memo key, a volume rocker, and a headset jack on the left spine, while the charger jack sits on the right.
Flip open the phone and you'll find a nice 262,000-color 1.75-inch diagonal internal display. It's fairly good for a phone this size, though it's too bad that Virgin Mobile's default menu interface doesn't show it off quite as well as we would like. You can adjust the font size for the messaging, browser, and notepad applications. You can also change the backlight time, the foreground (clock/calendar or a greeting), the menu styles (list or grid), plus the incoming call screen.
The navigation keypad consists of a four-way toggle, a middle OK key, two soft keys, a dedicated speakerphone key, a dedicated Web browser key, talk and end/power keys, plus a back key. The toggle doubles as shortcuts to Virgin's My Account feature, a new text message, the recent calls list, as well as Virgin's VXL Web page that lets you download ringtones, games, and other personalization options. Though the keys felt tactile enough, the keypad felt a bit crowded, especially the two soft keys and the number dial pad. Also, the keys don't have a lot of give and need a bit more push than most.
Features
As an entry-level phone, the Flare doesn't have a lot of features to begin with. It has a decent-size phone book, with room for 500 contacts. Each contact can hold up to five numbers, three e-mail addresses, a Web address, and notes. You can save callers to groups and pair them with one of four animations for caller ID. You can also pair them with one of 11 polyphonic ringtones. Other basic features include text messaging, a speakerphone, a vibrate mode, a notepad, a scheduler, an alarm clock, a tip calculator, a regular calculator, a world clock, a voice memo recorder, and a notepad. We're happy to see the Flare also has voice dialing and Bluetooth support.
As part of Virgin Mobile, you can customize the Flare via downloads from Virgin's VXL portal. Options include wallpaper and screensaver graphics and animations, clock styles, alert sounds, and ringtones. Demo versions of three games are included--Sexy Poker, Pac-Man/Ms. Pac-Man, and Tetris, and you can always download more. Just be careful, there's only 8MB of internal memory.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 850/1900) LG Flare in San Francisco via the Virgin Mobile service. We were impressed with the call quality--volume was loud enough, and callers were able to hear us quite clearly. There was little static or interference as well. Speakerphone quality didn't fare so well though; callers thought we sounded muffled and we had to speak up. Similarly, callers didn't sound so good via the phone's speakers. We paired the Flare with the Plantronics Discovery 925 without a problem.
The Flare has a rated battery life of 3.5 hours talk time and 7.1 days standby time. It has a tested talk time of 3.75 hours talk time. According to FCC radiation tests, the Flare has a digital SAR rating of 1.23 watts per kilogram.
User reviews
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This phone's the BEST!
by EPRad on June 17, 2008
Pros: Sleek, stylish, awesome external screen, great features: speakerphone, real music ringtones, tons of useful tools, great user interface
Cons: No camera. But other than that, in my opinion, no cons!
Summary: This phone, I can say, is the best VM phone I've ever had. The reaction time is great- it's a speedy little phone! Very sleek- it fits smoothly ...
Summary: This phone, I can say, is the best VM phone I've ever had. The reaction time is great- it's a speedy little phone! Very sleek- it fits smoothly in your pocket. The external screen is very bright and colorful. A+++
4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Cheap piece of crap
by 8394147 on May 12, 2008
Pros: Compact flip, bold color display
Cons: Cheap squeaky plastic, intermittent external display
Summary: Virgin Mobile has a serious lack of cool, affordable phones. They either have phones that are too expensive and do too much (like the Slider or the Wild Card) or ...
Summary: Virgin Mobile has a serious lack of cool, affordable phones. They either have phones that are too expensive and do too much (like the Slider or the Wild Card) or they have cheap, ugly phones. I thought maybe the Flare was going to finally be what Virgin Mobile was missing. Turns out, it's not.
This is lightweight, cheap plastic. The buttons actually squeak when you press them because they are all plastic. Furthermore, that external display is only on when you press a button on the side of the phone or the phone is ringing. The rest of the time, the outside is dark. I don't know about you, but I like being able to use my phone as a watch just by looking at it.
It is nice that the external display is in bold, large text and a color display. And the phone is sleek and black, unlike all those ugly-as-hell white and red phones Virgin Mobile keeps selling, but this thing just isn't priced right.
Wait a few months for this thing to drop down to $10 and it will be worth it. Paying $30 is completely unreasonable. In the meantime, here's hoping Virgin Mobile comes out with some nice study phones that look cool too and are functional. This Flare just looks wait better on the website than it feels in your hand.
I give it 5/10 at the $30 price tag.4 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Well-built little flip phone does the job for me
by MsIrisMG on June 8, 2008
Pros: Handsome, alarm clock, inexpensive to switch phones, blue backlighting, big keys
Cons: Battery life, address book, inappropriate demo games
Summary: I am a long time Virgin Mobile user, and an adult. I wanted to upgrade to a phone with Bluetooth so that I could start using a wireless headset. Other ...
Summary: I am a long time Virgin Mobile user, and an adult. I wanted to upgrade to a phone with Bluetooth so that I could start using a wireless headset. Other than that, the only thing I really expect from my phones is that it can ring, that it can wake me up in the morning, and that I can talk a good while to my relatives on Sunday morning on a charge. This is my first flip phone and my first LG product, with my other phones being reliable Kyocera phones. A 55-minute call from the relatives on Sunday morning used up two bars on the phone, but charging it up again only took about 15 minutes. Seems as if my Kyocera lasted longer than that, but I'm not sure. The speakerphone is LOUD and I find the loudness distorts the sound some, so I find it best to keep it on two bars, which helps sound quality as well as battery life. To check your balance is a little different now - rather than just requesting balance. The alarm clock is GREAT, to the point where I no longer use my table clock. I miss my 21 game that I had on my V5. This phone has something called "Sex Poker" that's a demo, it's obscene and not worth it at any price. I'm going to see if i can get rid of it and find something else. I didn't like that I had to manually re-enter my address book when I switched phones, and I don't like that I don't have a quick key to my contacts like I did with my V5 Slider. I know that some users are disappointed with it being plastic, but I've never had anything but plastic phones with VM, and all of mine have held up well. Even my cordless phone is plastic. My V5 is two years old, and while a little scruffy, it still makes calls, which is of course the point of a telephone. I've only had the LG for a month, and I've dropped it (not that I make a habit of it, I'm careful with my electronics) with no ill effects. There is no external antenna stub to break off, which I like. It's got kind of a neat ringtone (which is rap music in nature but I can live with it). The rings are customizable, and there is one that is fairly plain that I prefer to use with my favorite people. All-in-all, there's a lot to learn with this phone, and there's a fairly thick manual, but given what this phone has as far as features, I don't believe $30 is too much to pay for it at all, given that if I want to change my mind about it, I don't have to sign another two-year contract or buy a subsidized $200 phone. For what I need a phone to do, I'm happy!
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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the best inexpensive phone I've ever gotten.
by Nae83 on June 24, 2008
Pros: easy to use, small and cute
Cons: no camera(but I don't need a camera at the moment)
Summary: I got this phone as a temporary phone until I can get my sidekick back on. I didn't want anything extravagant I just needed something and I'm glad ...
Summary: I got this phone as a temporary phone until I can get my sidekick back on. I didn't want anything extravagant I just needed something and I'm glad I got this one. I've gotten prepaid package phones before and this is the best one yet. If you just need a simple phone this is by far the best.
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.
by xosparkle16 on December 31, 2008
Pros: Its in-expensive, the cover is shiny, you dont need a contract, it works with bluetooth
Cons: its lightweight and feels cheap in the hand, texting always lags, speakerphone sucks, its very basic
Summary: if your looking for an extremely basic phone with little features, this phones for you
this phone has its ups and downs, but i highly ...
Updated on Dec 31, 2008Summary: if your looking for an extremely basic phone with little features, this phones for you
this phone has its ups and downs, but i highly wouldnt reccomend it. only if your looking for something verryyyyy basic.
Updated on Dec 31, 20081 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not recommended!
by Right_Wild on July 23, 2008
Pros: Cheap, thin.
Cons: Annoying charger plug (flat plug, not a nice pin plug). Wouldn't pair up with my 2008 Impreza's hands-free BT. No camera.
Summary: Slick and easy to drop. Not recommended, when 20 bucks more will get you the Arc.
Summary: Slick and easy to drop. Not recommended, when 20 bucks more will get you the Arc.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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**** **** **** !
by DerrickScreams4U on December 6, 2009
Pros: Ive Had This Phone And It Sucks. There Are No Pros.
Cons: Cons Couldn't Even Be Considered.
Summary: This Phone Is A Waste Of Plastic. It Turns On And Off All By Itself. The Buttons Make A Lot Of Noise. Never Try And Text In School With This ...
Summary: This Phone Is A Waste Of Plastic. It Turns On And Off All By Itself. The Buttons Make A Lot Of Noise. Never Try And Text In School With This Thing. And Virgin Mobile Has The WORST Reception Out Of Any Company. Horrible Phone Here. Oh And Customer Service Is The Rudest ***** I Have Ever Meant. Some Don't Even Speak English. GET VERIZON PREPAID. $20 Unlimited Text ! And Virgin Has Some Ugly Ass Phones !
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It does the job (sorta)
by Evan115 on October 25, 2009
Pros: Tiny, durable, sexy
Cons: No camera, low-end features, freezes/crashes occasionaly
Summary: There could be more to it and LG could have worked harder on it
Summary: There could be more to it and LG could have worked harder on it
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Simple, Efficient, and LG quality
by Spectrewriter on October 18, 2009
Pros: External LCD, simple operation, good signal strength, ample features
Cons: Sucks battery life when using the bluetooth, no low battery warning, on rare occasion, this particular phone locks up on me.
Summary: Put it this way: I found it bundled with a bluetooth headset for $24.xx at Walmart. I don't like the battery life, and my car's cig lighter ...
Summary: Put it this way: I found it bundled with a bluetooth headset for $24.xx at Walmart. I don't like the battery life, and my car's cig lighter had gone out, so I couldn't recharge when it died while talking with a client. Not good. So I bought the Slash (on close-out from Best Buys, $30) with a LOT more features, etc. After 3 days of using the Slash, being annoyed by the lack of simplicity in its features, and realizing that the Google Maps was nigh unto useless in a phone screen that small, I took the Slash back, and ordered an OEM backup battery off of eBay for $5.95 including shipping.
I'd add that the ONLY phone on Virgin's lineup that I may try is the Rumor II, but even it has a pretty small screen. For $100 less, I'll probably stick with this one... and give it another half a star.:)
THe phone is VERY good. The issues are minimal... and even though I put it in my pocket regularly, for some reason the LG phones don't seem to get marred up the way that Nokia and Motorola and Qualcomm phones do.
Updated on Oct 18, 2009 -
Ok phone, suckish bluetooth, demo games only, no camera
by Petpenguin on September 1, 2009
Pros: Small Phone, Lightweight, nice colors, cheap (it was free for me, it can be free for you if you keep reading)
Cons: Demo Games (Which I hate, rather have full versions)
No Camera
Suckish Bluetooth
Loud buttons
No Micro SD Card SlotSummary: It is my first phone, still have it. If you want it to be free like I got it, buy the package that comes with the 40 dollar value for ...
Summary: It is my first phone, still have it. If you want it to be free like I got it, buy the package that comes with the 40 dollar value for free hands-free bluetooth and sell it. (unless you want it.) The phone was $25 so it will practically pay me back when I sell the hands-free earpiece. I will use the money to buy minutes and maybe even a game. I might like it better after i get the game because it only has demos (which i hate). The bluetooth sucks, its buttons are loud, there's no micro sd slot, and no camera. Bottom-line if you want a simple phone, get this one, if you have money for games but don't need a camera, this is an ok phone, and if you need a camera and full version games like me, DON'T GET IT!
Specifications
- Manufacturer: LG Electronics U.S.A.
- Part number: VML165LGKITFLN
- Description: Ignite the night with this fiery flip phone. Features an illuminating external LCD screen, Bluetooth , Ringback Tones, and more.
General
- Product Type Cellular phone
- Service Provider Virgin Mobile
- Width 1.9 in
- Depth 0.8 in
- Height 3.5 in
- Weight 2.7 oz
- Body Color Black
Cellular
- Technology CDMA2000 1X
- Band CDMA2000 1X 1900
- Phone Design Folder type phone - Active
- Antenna Internal
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Voice Dialing Yes
- Voice Recorder Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Additional Features World clock, TTY compatible, Intelligent typing (T9)
Phone Memory
- Phone Book Capacity 500 names & numbers
- Missed Calls Memory 50
- Dialed Calls Memory 50
- Received Calls Memory 50
Messaging & Data Services
- Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
- Internet Browser Yes
- Included Services gpsOne
- Messaging / Data Features Text messages
Ring Tones
- Ring Tone Formats MP3
Multimedia Features
- Downloadable Content Games, Themes, Ring tones, Wallpapers, Screensavers
Organizer
- Alarm Clock Yes
- Alarm Clock Modes Daily, Weekly, Yearly, Monthly
- Calendar Yes
- Reminder Yes
- Calculator Basic
Display
- Type LCD display
- Line Qty 7
- Color Support Color
- Display Indicators Battery meter, Signal strength
- Multi-language Menu Yes
- Display Languages English, Spanish
- Features Backlit, Wallpaper, Screensaver
Display (2nd)
- Type LCD display - Color
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Headset jack
Security Features
- Phone Lock Yes
Miscellaneous
- Hearing Aid Compatible Yes
- Included Accessories desktop charger, Battery
Power
- Type Power adapter
Battery
- Talk Time Up to 210 min
- Standby Time Up to 170 h
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support Details 1 year limited warranty
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- LG Electronics U.S.A.
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse LG Electronics U.S.A. products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://us.lge.com/
- Address:
1000 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
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