lg optimus black - any good?

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:19

been plugging away at orange retention guys for a few weeks to see what they'll give me, so got my line rental down where i want it, and they've offered a lg optimus black - anyone got one and think it's cack?!

Streeteh · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:21

Depends entirely on how much you're paying your provider tbh. It's not a great phone, but if you're getting it for a tenner a month then it becomes worth it.

So, how much are you paying?

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:29

got them at 9.50 (undercutting giffgaff who i said i was going to)... can always sell the phone and buy one i suppose if it's that bad (upgrading from a htc hero so surely an improvement?!)

Streeteh · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:32

At that price i'd get the phone and sell it and buy something slightly nicer tbh. I'm sure people more knowledgeable than myself will be here soon to give you phone recommendations

The Xperia Arc can be had relatively cheap second hand iirc, that's what i'd go for if i was buying on a budget.

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 11:34

yeah, it's cheaper than sim only so seems too good to turn down!

bifday2k · 29 Jul 2011 at 12:21

You could always see what the retention lot will offer you on a phone u want, its what i often do with t-mobile, as over the past 5 years iv had the same contract, but tweaked so much to how i like it for peanuts basically, so i generally try and get money off phones i want.

Last time i upgraded nearly year and a half ago, i wanted the HTC HD2, but on my monthly contract they wanted £250 of me for the phone, so i plugged away, and managed to get that cost down to £90, so still had to pay for the phone granted, but no where near as much as a new customer in my contract price bracket (£10-15).

Im due for an upgrade this Dec, so im planning on trying my cheek again, and gonna see if i can get the sensation or S II for far far less money lol.

Basically if you don't try, you will never know, worse they can say is, sorry sir we can't do that.

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 12:27

yeah, i tried with an sII but they wanted money for the phone and 15 or 17 quid for line rental!
the only phone i've ever actually wanted was the one i have at the moment, but it's struggling now, might just try a factory reset and see how it copes!!

Streeteh · 29 Jul 2011 at 12:46

the_r_sole said:
yeah, i tried with an sII but they wanted money for the phone and 15 or 17 quid for line rental!
the only phone i've ever actually wanted was the one i have at the moment, but it's struggling now, might just try a factory reset and see how it copes!!

How long is the contract? Because even if it's 24 months you'll only effectively be paying £180 extra for the SGSII which is a bargain for arguably the best mobile phone on the market.

{EDIT] Whoops, didn't see they wanted money for the phone too, ignore me.

bifday2k · 29 Jul 2011 at 12:58

Ouch that sucks, yeh when i come to upgrade im expecting them to want money for the SII which im fine with, but if they try and change my contract structure id be walking lol.

Yeh a factory reset may help your current phone.

Did a quick google search to see if i could find a comparison between the 2, best i could find was this.

http://www.thephonedatabase.com/HTC_Hero_189_vs_LG_Optimus_Black_580_Compare_Phones

If they are offering you the black for free, and you have the contract how u like it without switching providers, its not to bad a phone, especially for free.

On the bay, orange version of those phones are going for £150+, so even if u did'nt like it, u could flog it.

Robbo · 29 Jul 2011 at 13:00

It's not bad, it's basically a single core Optimus 2X with a better screen I think.

Far from the best phone out though.

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 13:19

cheers folks - i know it's not the best, just wanted to see if it was the worst!!
I hardly use the phone for anything other than email/text/calls these days anyway, stand in front of a pc all day and have the laptop when i'm out so the phone gets off lightly!
think i'll just go for it (managed to get my data allowance up to 1.5gb from 500mb on the contract too)

Chillimonster · 29 Jul 2011 at 14:12

Quite a few people over at MoDaCo like em and nice and east to root / mod etc.

http://android.modaco.com/forum/525-lg-optimus-black-blackmodacocom/

the_r_sole · 29 Jul 2011 at 14:46

cheers chillimonster, not been on there before, but i think my phone rooting days are past now, actually need a reliable phone for work stuff!! i ran a few custom roms on my hero until the official updates came out, but found them too buggy to rely on!
if the texting and email was better on my sony t303 i'd still be using that!!

the_r_sole · 3 Aug 2011 at 14:59

got the phone today, it's actually not bad at all for what i need, certainly seems faster than my current phone anyway (and liking the lg osp feature!)

thanks again