LG Rumor 2

Aesthetically speaking, the LG Rumor 2 looks like a shiner version of the original Rumor and is just slightly longer and wider than the Rumor. It certainly looks more attractive in the new casing and the back plate is now interchangeable with designer plates. Thankfully the back plate doesn’t have a shiny surface so it’s not slippery. When the slider is closed, the LG Rumor 2 looks like a candy bar phone and feels comfy in hand. The front numbers are large and easy to use, but the 4-way directional ring is slippery and narrow. Slide open the phone to reveal the QWERTY keyboard which is one of the best keyboards we’ve used on a phone. The added row of number keys is very handy when dialing, texting and navigating menus. This is definitely a big improvement over the original Rumor which often required too many clicks to perform functions. The QWERTY keyboard has a normal layout and offers a dedicated “smiley face” key.

Mobile users who covet QVGA displays didn’t get their wish with several messaging phones including the LG Rumor, Samsung Gravity and the Samsung Propel. The LG Rumor 2 ups the resolution and offers a 2” QVGA display that rotates when you open the slider. The screen looks reasonably bright and color saturated and is good for viewing photos and videos. Outdoor viewing however isn’t as good as indoor viewing. Phone Features and Applications
Like the original Rumor, the LG Rumor 2 is a digital dual band CDMA phone and has only 1xRTT for data and no EV-DO support. The phone gets great reception but the voice quality can’t compete with the original Rumor. Incoming voice sounds muffled and outgoing voice sounds digitized. We tested the phone with Bluetooth headsets which didn’t help the voice quality much either. Through the Plantronics Voyager 835, incoming voice was better than the phone’s own earpiece, but outgoing voice was very garbled. When working with the Cobra CBTH2 Bluetooth headset, the Rumor had decent outgoing voice but incoming voice was not clear and had low volume.

The LG Rumor 2 has support for most calling management services including caller ID, Call forwarding, call waiting and three-way calling. The Rumor 2’s contacts database can store up to 600 contacts and 7 numbers for each contact entry. You can assign 98 speed dialing numbers as well as special ringers and picture ID. The Rumor 2 has a great voice command application that does an excellent job at not only voice dialing but also searching for names, numbers and web site bookmarks. The voice controls worked well over Bluetooth headsets in our tests. Other applications and tools include Calendar, World Clock, Calculator, Voice Memo, Notepad, D-day counter and Unit converter.

Due to the lack of EV-DO, Sprint TV fans will have to look elsewhere-- the Samsung Rant is a good candidate if you like this form factor. The LG Rumor 2 does have a music player but it doesn’t have access to the Sprint Music Store (again that requires EV-DO). The phone has a microSD card slot that’s easy to access and you can load all your tracks onto a card to play on the phone. The Rumor 2’s music player can play music files in MP3, WAV, MID, AMR and QCP formats. Sorry no iTunes format support here. Music sounds decent through phone’s speaker but the volume is relatively low. Thankfully the Rumor 2 supports Bluetooth A2DP stereo and music playback through Bluetooth stereo headsets sounds quite good though not superb.

Without Sprint TV support, the LG Rumor 2 is left with Sprint’s NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile. These free services give you real time NFL scores, drafts and NASCAR leaderboard and driver stats, and more related info. You can also download games, ringers, screen savers and other content to the My Stuff folder.

Like the original Rumor, the LG Rumor 2 has a 1.3 megapixel camera that takes decent pictures, but it really needs a 2 megapixel camera to make it a better camera phone. The still images taken with the Rumor 2 aren’t bad by 1.3 megapixel camera phone standards and have good color balance. Indoor shots look reasonably sharp given the noise level. The camera phone does have settings for color tone, resolution and quality level, and it has a self-timer and fun frames as well. Unlike the original Rumor, the LG Rumor 2 can’t shoot video.
Battery Life
The LG Rumor 2 has a standard Li-Polymer battery that’s 950 mAh, which is the same as the original Rumor. Oddly the original Rumor had great battery runtimes while the new Rumor 2 does not. The talk time is less than 4 hours and standby time is no longer than 3 days. We charged the phone’s battery quite a few times to condition it, but the battery life didn’t improve.
Conclusion
The LG Rumor 2 feels like the original Rumor in sleeker clothing. While we dig the roomier keyboard with its added number row and the higher resolution screen, we find the phone largely remains similar to the original Rumor. For budget-minded texting addicts, the LG Rumor 2 is a good choice at an affordable price. But for existing LG Rumor users and those who want EV-DO for faster web browsing, tethering, Sprint TV, Sprint Music Store support; there’s little reason to get the Rumor 2.

Pro: Sleeker and cooler looking than the original Rumor. Awesome keyboard and very good reception.

Good messaging support and reasonable GPS performance.

Con: Not much change from the original Rumor. Voice quality isn’t very good. No EVDO.

Battery life has decreased from the original. Can’t record video. No AAC support for music playback.

Price: $49.99 with 2-year contract after mail-in rebate and discount. $249.99 without contract.