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If Sprint’s recent announcement of the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro are intended to broaden the smartphone choice on its network, then the LG Lotus is very much in the name of giving even more niche options. Seemingly a love-it-or-hate-it design when showed at CTIA this week, the clamshell’s unusual proportions and powder-compact stylings seem destined to pigeon-hole it as a more female handset; however a surprisingly good keyboard and clear display mean it could have appeal beyond mere fashion.
A 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth with support for the A2DP wireless stereo profile, and video recording are pretty standard features. However the Lotus is one of the first handsets on Sprint to offer One Click, the carrier’s new GUI that allows customizable access to texting, internet, email, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV, the Sprint Music Store and other features.
In the hand, the Lotus feels solid and surprisingly expensive. The textured purple casing is an acquired taste, with the satin black being perhaps more palatable to a greater number of people. The QWERTY keyboard is responsive and easy to use, while the broad width of the handset permits a wide screen that makes composing longer messages more straightforward.
The LG Lotus will be available from Sprint in October, priced at $149.99 with a new two-year contract. It provoked arguments among us here at SlashGear, mainly over the design; we’d be interested to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Any idea how much (ballpark) it will cost someone who already has a plan and wants to buy the phone to replace their current one? I love this phone, and I will be getting it in purple - that is, after all, the color of the season! ;)
i cant wait for the lotus to come out iam going to get one in purple because the black one is just a little to plain if anyone want to know how much the lotus cost or when its avalible here is your answer the lg lotus cost 149.99 and it comes out on october 19!!!
I have been waiting for a flip phone that has qwerty- this is not just for women= hate my current smart phone since I cannot “close it”…when in my pocket - if I forget to lock it- I call people by mistake when fishing for it- the buttons are exposed. will by this right way.
About time someone came out with this design….Only the geeks have been designing these things- I need a phone that close and has the curve of a clamshell so buttons aren’t pressed on my face when making calls.
I love this phone!! I cannot wait for it to be released. I too just want to upgrade my phone since I am already in a contract. I am upgrading from the LG Fusic and was so happy to see that once again LG has given us a sylish but great phone. I am really happy it flips shut as I have my phone in my pocket a lot. Thanks for the info!!
I currently own the LG Fusic, and I absolutely love this phone. For the MP3 aspect, It holds my whole musical library on a 4GB memory card, and I use it everyday to plug into my cars music jack. I have no CD’s in my car. For the Internet aspect, I love the “Opera-Mini” download (which lets my phone interpret websites in a PC View, as opposed to a Mobile View). I travel out of town alot and its great to check your hotmail, myspace, or any other website of interest and for it to look just as it does when you’re on a computer, there for making it easy to navigate a website in which you already know. Now the time has come to retire my phone (the power jack has become sloppy, battery life is short, keys/buttons dont light up anymore - clearly from my daily heavy, HEAVY usage) and im afraid to get something else. Fortunately, I have read all of the litature regarding the LG LOTUS, and it seems to be the answer. Aside from the new QWERTY keyboard layout (which is awesome!), the LOTUS is a direct replacement for the Fusic & Musiq, except now, the LOTUS has a larger/wider screen, which was much needed. The operating system/menu interface is still the same, and im sure will be just as user-friendly. I am sooo thankful that LG has delivered such a perfect little phone. I am very critical, yet open-minded when it comes to products, and this new phone will for sure have my approval!! I just wish I didnt have to wait 10 more days until its arrival.
-Chris Roland-
is the phone gonna be 149.99 even if you get a new 2 year plan??
i really want it
but thats too expensive…
my husband and i just went and upgraded our phones today…we had the palm centros before, and my husband got the lotus, while i got the samsung rant. he loves the keypad, the buttons are a good size, even for a guy. plus it has a lot of cool features that even our palms didnt have
where can i get the brown color? at this time sprint only shows/has the black and purple. need to put out in more colors with designs.
I got mine for the full QWERTY/Clamshell combination, which as such, stands alone in the industry. As an IT infrastructure support guy, I’m hoping that it will someday support SSH, which is what I want the keyboard for (with messaging as a distant second consideration.) I’m also hoping it will support ActiveSync with Exchange, a necessary evil where I work. The question is whether or not this elegant physical architecture will ever be made available to develop tools against which will enable the phone to step into the world of coporate/IT functionality. It will be a shame if this doesn’t happen! I don’t want to be condemned to walking around with a shoebox in my pocket or on my belt forever…
Al