Hands-on with Sprint's LG Rumor handset
by Sean Cooper 
posted Oct 24th 2007 at 8:28AM
Sprint's low-cost QWERTY-enabled slider was on display for all to see this eve and we dodged crowds and brutal lighting conditions to bring you some pics. As a refresher, the LG Rumor is a Sprint foray into feature packed-ish handset for little or no money down, in this case $79 doesn't get you EV-DO, but does get QWERTY, Bluetooth, Sprint Navigation, and a 1.3 megapixel shooter thrown in for good measure. Sure, we agree that it lacking EV-DO may be a deal breaker for some, we're pretty confident that this is likely gonna be a winner for those just looking for a useful small handset.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Frank Shang @ Mar 29th 2008 3:10AM
I just bought this phone today and i love it. It has all the bells and whistles that i need in a phone, mostly just nice speakers to play a funny ringtone or two. Texts are super easy and the interface is clear as well. I upgraded from a really crappy free phone that was 2 years old and altogether i'm very happy.
Colin @ Oct 24th 2007 8:46AM
Dear god,
I was wondering why LG would make the keyboard blue?
Thanks,
Colin
Herman Manfred @ Oct 24th 2007 8:53AM
Gee - competing with itself again; didn't Sprint JUST introduce the $99 Centro?
Chris Przybycien @ Oct 24th 2007 9:14AM
The Rumor has a tiny screen and 1xRTT (DO NOT WANT). Clearly it's targeted at kids who just want text crap like "ZOMG veronica mars is on heroes 2nite!" to their idiot high school friends at all hours of the day.
The Centro has a nice 320x320 screen, EV-DO and competent groupware apps. This is more for people who actually have important things to do like use push email to send "ZOMG Mark Zuckerberg has a meeting with Google 2nite!!" to their idiot startup friends at all hours of the day.
scott @ Oct 24th 2007 10:21AM
FAIL.
impaler @ Oct 25th 2007 8:38PM
Wow, bitter are we?
JunkNugget @ Oct 24th 2007 12:57PM
The Centro is also a PDA device geared towards those who need a full PDA device, while the Rumor is not. I would much rather buy my daughter this handset, which costs $20 less, then a full PDA phone which she does not need. She could care less about a full 320x320 display, EV-DO and other "competent groupware apps." Plus the Rumor is a lot smaller then your Centro!
Just because you do not like it, does not mean the phone is a terrible phone. It is not geared to you.
Also, do not forget that at one time you were one of those stupid teens who got excited because Micheal Night was jamming it in KIT's trunk. But now you're an adult to who thinks they are better then everyone else, just because they think differently.
Please note: Not all phones were designed with you in mind. This is one of them. Which does not make it a bad phone, but one kids and/or teens would love. And I bet this handset will sell a hell of a lot more then your Centro handset.
So bitch all you want. I just know my daughter wants this phone. Could care less about the Centro, and happens to love Veronica Mars. And also, grow up!
Chris Przybycien @ Oct 24th 2007 1:47PM
@JunkNugget
First, thanks for proving my point that the Rumor is for teenage girls. Second, hey, relax there chief! I was just trying to provide an accurate rendering of the target demographics so that Mr. Manfred could see why releasing the Centro and the Rumor in the same month is not necessarily a bad move by Sprint.
JunkNugget @ Oct 24th 2007 3:28PM
Again, it's not targeted towards teenage girls. It is targeted for those who do not need a full PDA device, but still want to check their E-mail, IM, do Facebook, want an MP3 Player, TeleNav, Camera, QWERTY Keypad and so much more. Just because it is not EV-DO does not mean it's automatically targeted to teens.
Besides, say it were targeted towards that demographic. Is that really a bad thing? This phone will make a killing, and it'll make Sprint and LG very happy, along with the customers who actually like this phone.
tc1uscg @ Oct 29th 2007 8:09AM
Guess that's why you don't work in marketing. My 13 year old sent over 4k txt msg's this billing cycle and I doubt any of them said "ZOMG Mark Zuckerberg has a meeting with Google 2nite!!" But I guess she could want a Treo so she could look like an idiot stabing away at the screen and looking important around the water cooler. ;-) Rumor, PDA.. 2 different ends of the candle. Those without 12-17 year olds just don't have a clue.
Chris Przybycien @ Oct 29th 2007 10:50AM
I keep forgetting people who comment on engadget sites don't understand sarcasm and have very low reading comprehension...
CGreenFL @ Oct 24th 2007 2:22PM
Looks like Sprint realized they needed a phone with the same form factor as the Ocean... Of course they still make money off of any Helio (MVNO) customer but not as much. Cool looking phone. But I prefer my ocean and i'm not a 14 yr old girl. Google Maps with GPS (puter doesn't even have that)...Microsoft Exchange (with a sep. contact list)...Ultimate Inbox...2GB music player (with dedicated buttons)..2 button youtube uploads. I don't care who you are thats a phone!
hitjim @ Oct 24th 2007 2:32PM
The lack of EV-DO is a bit disappointing. The off-center screen kinda weirds me out. The size definitely makes it a little friendlier for younger people who don't really care about much more than text.
But I have been wondering when Sprint would start carrying an entry level qwerty phone. I'd consider it if I didn't use data so much, especially with the Pearl on the horizon.
Man... some of you guys just need to relax a bit.
dixonij @ Oct 24th 2007 2:38PM
Heh, Gotta love how form factors are recycled. I'm planning on getting rid of my old Cingular LG F9200( for the new Pantech Duo) which looks almost exactly the same as this. Yeah the internals are upgraded but still..
Oh and not that I don't like the F9200, its a solid phone (i've dropped mine god knows how many times and it keeps on going...built like a tank) that 1 1/2 years ago made my text happy teen heart go nuts. If you are on Sprint and have a text-happy teen, I'd highly recommend a phone of this form factor.
RoseGold @ Oct 24th 2007 3:18PM
meh ill pass on this crap...
elgee02 @ Oct 24th 2007 3:33PM
This thing can't even hold the enV's jock strap.
daniel @ Oct 24th 2007 8:36PM
ENV(and soon voyager) WANNABE!!!, even though it's made by LG
daniel @ Oct 24th 2007 8:36PM
ENV(and soon voyager) WANNABE!!!, even though it's made by LG
ekimagem @ Oct 24th 2007 10:17PM
Ill be honest. Tihs is a neat lil Phone. Its nowhere near a sidekick, but its the best Sprint can do. And ill agree not just teenage girls but teenagers period would be the main people getting this phone And its prolly gonna sell more than the Centro but not more than the Touch & Definitley Not the Pearl
At the price it is, if i wasnt so Torn between the Touch & The Pearl, theres a high chance that this would be the phone i would get. Camera, Bluetooth, Nav, some other things plus the Keyboard, id be pretty happy....
KenNashua @ Oct 25th 2007 10:29PM
@JunkNugget...Michael Knight, not Night. Get your 80's trivia right...
tykobird @ Oct 27th 2007 3:40PM
Well I got this phone yesterday and it rocks. I love the fact it is simple and nice looking to boot. I also love the fact it does not have the bells and whistles t others have, it does what a phone is suppose to do. I love it. I was a avid flip phone person and I was a little Leary about getting the rumor and now I am glad, like I said it rocks. The only thing I do not like and it is very basic, is that I can not put a strap on it and that I can not find a decent case for it, other than that it is a great phone. IT ROCKS. I am not a teenager, I am a middle aged women and I love gadgets. I feel that if you want a pda or mp3 player, you should have them separately like I do. I have a IPAQ and IPOD and when you add to a phone you lose something. This phone rocks.
Marioku @ Dec 1st 2007 4:26PM
I just got the phone a week ago and this guy took the words right out of my head. WHY NO STRAP LOOP??? sprint, you have just lost hundreds of japanese customers. Also still a great phone very well built. LG is known for their great slider phones. Someone posted a comment about how the Rumor is not a sidekick, and that is so true, the browser and AIM applications.....my point proven, they are applications. You can't back out without exiting the application and having people IM you without the company sending you text that you are being IMed. If you want an Instant Messanging phone, the Rumor is not as great of course as the Sidekick but if you want a Sidekick, get a Sidekick. Same goes for the web browser, other then that, the Rumor is a great mobile to mobile call or texting phone.
marcus w. @ Oct 28th 2007 6:02AM
I also just recently baught this phone and absolutely agree.Its a good phone and i love it. Sprint navigation, mp3 player, qwerty keyboard, videomail, clear display, sprint mobile email, and a little more. The phone actaully suprised me i just wanted to upgrade from the very basic and boring m300, but i got more than i thought. I work for Sprint as a tech support specialist, have played with both the centro and the rumor which i own and the phones fall into two totally different categories. I like both but i perfer my rumor
Confused @ Dec 25th 2007 8:45PM
Can you delete the contacts in from Recent List of people you text messaged to? With other sprint phones I could "erase" the recent text contacts...
bdragonmsl @ Oct 28th 2007 3:16PM
My reason for wanting this phone is that I'm tired of having features that I don't need. Of course I like a good calendar system like anyone that works a lot, but I don't use it. The only thing I ever put in it is what my work schedule is. The same goes with web browsing and editing files. I just don't have the need to use those features. If my job ever changes then yeah I'll get another phone. I have a Moto Q and it sucks. It has the worst interface I've ever used on a phone. Not to mention that I've had to have it replaced once for dead pixels and now this one has keys that won't work half the time while typing and a few of them don't light up either. Not to mention that it also loses my emails on occasion. In my opinion this phone is going to be a good seller due to the fact that it's a phone nearly everyone could use. I myself do a fair amount of texting with my family and friends. I can't wait to get this phone.
tc1uscg @ Oct 29th 2007 8:10AM
Hey.. my wife wants to trade in her Razor for one of these. She could care less about TV or EVDO.. This txt msg thing is what she's looking at it for. With all the problems Plam has been having, Centro.. your not even a distant thought. Keyboard, MP3 player.. what more could most people NEED..
hwhitesi @ Nov 11th 2007 4:04AM
I just got this phone about a week ago, and so far I love it. The only problem I am having is with the mp3 player. Where in the heck am I suppose to find a USB cord that fits the phone to my comp?!?!? The tech people said I should be able to find one anywhere, and I have had no luck. Anyone out there help me out on this?!? I got this phone for the keyboard and mp3 player. I want to be totally happy and right now I'm not :(
tykobird @ Dec 1st 2007 4:37PM
Ebay has the cable for the Rumor to the PC and it is very cheap,
Ted @ Apr 1st 2008 5:41PM
use a memory card , there are tons of wires for those
Bela @ Nov 13th 2007 8:35PM
I have this phone and it is perfect! I could not have asked for a better phone! It is perfect for someone on the go who does not like to talk on the phone alot!