LG Viper 4G LTE – First Impressions

I’ve been fooling around with my new phone for a few days, and it is the LG Viper 4G LTE.  So far, it’s been great – very much like the Optimus S I am giving up, just better in most every way.  Larger screen (4in) but not obnoxious, 1.2ghz dual core processor, tons of room for my apps (I had been out of space on my Optimus since forever despite rooting and installing a custom ROM that freed up space), front facing camera, 5mp rear camera with flash and a better response time to picture taking.  No ICS or Jellybean for it yet, nor any custom ROMs that I’ve found, though it has been rooted.  I haven’t bothered yet, though.

I’ve found the Viper to be plenty responsive in screen scrolling and just about any game.  Angry Birds have been unleashed, Ropes have been Cut, and Fruit has been sliced, all smooth as could be.  Pictures look good enough for me, and the flash is welcome.  The power button is on top, but just a bit further over compared to the Optimus – just far enough that I have to get used to it again.  The home/settings/back/search buttons are now the touch buttons built into the screen.  I prefer them the old way, but I can live with it.  I do miss a dedicated camera button though.  One other quirk – the power cord plugs in on the left side, an odd choice that gets in the way if you use the phone while it charges, especially for games.  I suppose no spot is perfect, though.

The newest thing is the ‘Near Field Communication’.  A chip is built into the phone which allows short-range communication between it and other devices, most notably the ‘Paypass’ readers on most modern checkouts at the store.  Store your credit card (and as stores roll it out, gift cards and loyalty cards) on your phone wave it over the reader instead of your bank card, and make your purchase.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s an interesting thing to look into.

I’ll report back as things develop here, as well as when it (finally) gets Android 4.x.  If you have any questions about the device, let me know!