I acquired this phone, the LG GR 500 Xenon when my husband and I started a family plan on AT&T. He has been a customer for years, and was always satisfied with their service, so we just decided to add a line. The phone was one of the cheapest after rebate. So we decided between two models: the LG and another one. We opt for the LG because of the QWERTY keyboard, and the overall look of the phone, wich is really great. I never had any particular preference for LGs, but my previous phone was an LG, and it worked perfectly fine, and I still have if in case of emergencies (like my actual phone breaking), and it still works - after 4 years. So I know that their products should be at least durable. As of fancy features, I consider myself to be kind of a "dinosaur" when it comes to phones: I use them for calling / receiving calls / texting / receiving text messages. I don't use internet on my phone (I can always wait until I get somewhere, as I believe nothing is so urgent that you need to go online every single minute), so I don't know how those features work on it, but for texting (which we have illimited on this AT&T plan), it works great. Having the keyboard really makes it easier and faster. The touch screen is ok. Not always works perfectly, as you will try to touch a spot and it will click another, but it works fine overall. Also have a nice 2.0 Megapixel camera, and even a software that can edit pictures. It's easy to use. If you just want to communicate, this phone is great for the price, and it looks nice. Battery Life I've had it for 2 years now, and the battery is dying really fast. Display/Screen Quality After some time the screen colors started to change. It still works, but the colors are wrong. Ease of Use Sometimes you can pause a call by accident, with your ears. Durability After two years of use, it's falling apart.

tropicalbear

Boise, ID

I just love my phone. There are no contracts or bills with this little prepaid phone. Minutes are cheap, and it saves me money because I do not have to buy a home phonel now, which you cannot take with you.

chelseabugz

Abbeville, LA

I decided to upgrade to a phone with a full QWERTY keyboard as I couldn't stand texting with the number pad - this phone is great for that. Sometimes I do find the keys are too close together for me and I end up getting kicked out of the text screen and sent to the internet so I'm learning to be careful around those keys. Also, I had to send my first phone back because it stopped switching orientation when I opened the keyboard. I've received a new one and so far so good.

harrisle

Mount Laurel, NJ

This phone works fine for the casual user once I started needing to use it all of the time due to starting my own business and working full time and being a wife and mom it became not as user friendly.  The phone gets hot if it is used for along time.  My kids like it because they can see pictures of themselves when we are out and about and they often ask to have their pictures taken.

JoanneW

Dassel, MN

Unfortunately, my old AT&T phone got wet, and I had to purchase another one before it was time to do so.  But having paid good money for my LG Xenon, it is well worth it!  This is my first qwerty keypad phone for texting, and since it's in keyboard order, it's much easier to text.  This is also my first touch screen phone, so I'm still trying to get used to it. All in all, it was defintely worth the money I had to spend for it.  I definitely give this phone a "thumbs up"!!!

janthommen

Reisterstown, MD

the lg xenon is simply the best mobile phone i have ever owned. it has made texting so much easier and the touch screen is responsive enough that it won't make you made at the lag like the quickfire did. the custom homes screen feature and small size also adds to the phone's already good qualities. i love my xenon and i have had the opportunity to trade it for an iphone. but the xenon is such a great phone and it has a good mobile internet so there was no need to get the iphone. i recommend this phone for even the people who aren't phone savvy because it is extremely easy to pick up and use.  the  combination of the touch screen and the slide out qwerty keyboard makes the xenon amazing. it allows texting by the traditional t9 with the touch screen or one could slide the keyboard out and have the quickness of typing with a full keyboard. also the ability to jump back and forth between the keyboard and the touch screen also adds to greatness

slacker36

Winder, GA

This is our second phone that we have used with our Virgin Mobile account. We like it better than the other flip phone but it does leave a lot to be desired. Games: Well, there are two "games" on this phone but both are "demos". There are no full version games and you have to buy them separately. The ringtones are all geared towards a much younger generation, say the teens and twenties! Fortunately, we were able to download a couple of ringtones we like better. The screen saver and wallpaper suck too. Again, geared towards a younger crowd. You can download others but you have to pay for them also. I have yet to be able to figure out how to use the speakerphone but I can tell you that the buttons on the side make it very inconvenient for us. We tend to hit a button while in a call and it interferes with our call. This is definitely not a good phone for the "older" generation. The ringtones are not loud enough and my husband has a hard time hearing people on this phone. As for reception, it is as bad if not worse than our previous phone. Virgin Mobile really needs to work on that. We get a lot of dropped calls and a lot of calls that go straight to voicemail, never ringing on our end. I have had the phone in my hand, waiting for a call, and the only way I knew they had called was because they left voicemail. It never rang on my end. If I could afford a better phone, I sure would do it but I have to say we do like the unlimited calling payment plan!

MrsMac14fan

Summerville, SC

I admit, I'm a newbie when it comes to texting. Before this phone, I have never texted before. I used to always cost me money to text, so I never did it. I recently switched to a new plan with unlimited texting. I also got this phone at the same time. As a texting newbie, I find this phone very easy to use. I text my friends and family with no trouble. I key type on the computer keyboard, and it's nice to have a matching qwerty keyboard on this phone. I am surprised at how fast I can type a complete sentence with this phone. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I can type as fast on this phone as a regular keyboard! The keys are big enough that I rarely type a letter that I did not intend. Get this phone if you will be doing a lot of texting. It worked out very nicely for me.

Ann6577

Minneapolis, MN

I originally got this phone because I thought it looked really cool, and it has a lot of feature like a touchscreen, camera, video recorder, etc. But it just doesn't compare to smartphones like the iPhone in terms of functionality and convenience. For example, I have to constantly lock/unlock the screen or else I will accidentally press something and change my phone's settings. Sometimes when I'm answering a call I accidentally hit reject when I pick the phone up, leading to a lot of awkward redials. Using a phone shouldn't be like some complicated game of skill, right? Plus, I tend to drop my electronics a lot and usually they withstand the impact pretty well but after hitting the pavement a couple of times my phone's touchscreen is starting to get a little fuzzy. All in all, this phone leaves something to be desired for in terms of functionality and ease of usage.

elitebanana2

San Jose, CA

Great little phone one of the amazing features of this phone is that it has a flash camera for me that was great I always forget to bring along my regualr camera and I never want to miss a moment of my sons life!! My husband had the LG Vu and I didn't care for it I could never seem to get the touch screen to work for me plus I don't like not having a slider keyboard. This phone is greatly update from the Vu. I got this phone as a replace me after damaging my cell phone and when I ended up getting a different one my hubby took this one over and was uncertain at first but loves it now he also likes using the keyboard over the touchscreen texting on the Vu. It also has many extra features and a cool widget bar so you can keep your favorite apps at hand!

ljleclain

Nelsonville, OH