TracFone LG 225 Review - Part One
Though I’ve tried out other camera phones before for the purpose of reviewing them on my TracFone blog, this is the first camera phone that I’ve used as my “main” phone. I was finally forced to give up my Nokia 1100, and it’s free incoming text messages, when the keypad stopped working after 4 years of use. I purchased the phone as part of a package deal from TracFone, and actually got a pretty good bargain, I thought. To find same deal I got, click here.
Here’s a summary of my experiences with the LG 225:
TracFone LG 225
Phone Call Quality
Especially compared to some of the newer models offered by TracFone, I’m not very impressed with the LG 225. It may be an unfair comparison considering that I’m reviewing this phone several years after it was released, but the newer phones, especially the Motorolas available for TracFone, really outshine the LG 225 on voice quality. Now if you’re comparing it against an older TracFone model such as one of the Nokias or Motorola V170 or C139, I think you’ll find this one to be at least on par with those handsets in terms of voice quality.
My evaluation of the reception was similar; the 225 compares favorably to some of the older phones in that it pulled a signal everywhere that I’ve ever known a network to be available. However, most of the newer phones that I’ve reviewed also excel at pulling in the necessary signal, so the 225 didn’t necessarily differentiate itself there.
Text Messaging
For texting, I actually liked this model pretty well. I found the keypad easy to use and the phone felt balanced in my hand for one-handed texting. The T9 predictive text editor is also a big positive, in my opinion. If you’re comparing this against one of the Motorola W series, which has Moto’s iTap text editor, I strongly suspect that you’ll prefer the T9 offered on the 225.
However, a major drawback of the texting capabilities of this LG is that, when you receive a new text message, the “inbox” view does NOT show who the message is from. Instead, you’ll see only the first few characters of the message itself. In order to see who the text is from, you’ll need to open the message and, of course, have .3 units deducted from your balance. This might not be a problem for most users, but I know that some users like to see who a message is from before opening. For example, rather than opening a text message and paying to read it, you might prefer to simply call the person that sent the message. With the LG 225, this shortcut is impossible. All of the newer Motorolas will allow you to see who sent the message prior to opening it.
Camera
I have to admit that, though I never thought I’d care for a camera phone, the camera has come in handy on a number of occasions. The pictures, as with most camera phones, aren’t something that you’d want to print and hang on your wall, but they can be helpful for capturing specific pieces of information. So I have enjoyed that aspect of this phone.
I thought the picture quality was adequate for a camera phone and enjoyed having the option of two size settings. I also was able to easily send pictures to both my email address and another phone. In either case, it cost one unit of airtime to send a picture message.
Obviously this isn’t as handy as being able to download the pics to your computer by either USB cable or bluetooth, but it works if you’ve captured an image you really want to save, edit, or view in greater detail. One minor complaint that I did have was that it seemed to take longer with this phone to scroll through the photo album as compared to the Motorola w376g or LG 600g.
To continue reading about this phone, please move on to my LG 225 Review Part 2, here.
To find a great deal on this phone, click here.