LG's Rumor 2 escapes rumor phase, goes live on Sprint
Tough luck, guys -- the secret's out. LG's long rumored Rumor 2 has finally launched exclusively on Sprint, bringing with it a slide-out QWERTY keypad, QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, a removable backplate and your choice of Black Titanium and Vibrant Blue shells. As for availability, you can find the Black Titanium at Sprint's website on March 15th, while the Vibrant Blue edition won't hit until March 29th. If you're web-averse, you'll have to wait until April 19th for it to filter out to all Sprint retail channels before dropping your $49.99 (on contract).
[Via phoneArena]
[Via phoneArena]

























What is with this anemic screen?
Just make the entire front a screen, and while you are at it just make it a touch screen, that way you can do away with the stupid num pad.
You know when you introduce the second version there should be an improvement... Not the same shitty teenie bopper crap prepaid phone from last time that sells for $50 at virgin mobile and is free after credits.
LG is crap.
AHAHAHAHHA!
MEGADOUCHE ALERT.
You make Paul A Chapel seem like a patron saint. Get bent, asshole...
AHAHAHAH!
You know that LG cut corners here...
They could have easily had a slide out keyboard with the entire front a screen. Instead they chose to use valuable real estate on a dial num pad. LAME!
And on top of this it is a shitty CDMA phone.
CDMA > GSM
Obvious troll is right akshuly. Pretty sure it's meant to be a teenie bopper phone. And spot on for what it is I might add. My dumbphone friends love this thing.
While LG is very cheap - it is usually reasonably good bang for the buck if you want to go low end.
I'd really like to get a big honkin' screen and would be willing to pay the outrageous HTC prices if Sprint offered something better than HTC such as the Samsung TG01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePEPO751b1M
Reasons I want it -
1. Twice the processing power of the HTC Diamond or Touch Pro
2. Much thinner than the HTC Diamond
3. Much bigger screen - easier to use without a stylus and browse the web and read documents
4. Not made by HTC so chances are the BT works on it without static or other issues that plague all the HTC WM phones yet don't seem to occur with phones most carriers give away for free.
5. Not made by HTC so chances are the battery will last more than a few hours.
It is a texting monster machine for teens.... why all the fail in your post?
ok, quickly answer this, how many buttons are there?
i love the high contrast black/white printing on the keys, the highlighted function button and the distinct yellow on the numbers. to hell with minimalist design and grey on silver or whatever. just let me be able to see what i'm pressing. thumbs up, here.
Rumor is it will tank, $49??or iPhone 3g as low as $99?????hmhhh wonder what to get??????
Yeah that is an easy one, $49.99 for a phone that comes on a cheaper, reliable network. Or $99.99 for a gimmick phone that comes on a crappy network where 3G is sparse, and has to have a "special" plan, give me a rumor II
^^ Ill agree to that^^
Have fun paying more with that "Special Plan".
More Bars in less places
The QWERTY keypad was especially difficult to type on because the buttons were of a very hard plastic; the buttons on the numeric keypad were much, much better.
I hope that's one thing they've changed.
Hopefully they'll fix some of the BS form the original rumor:
1> Can't put your own ringtones on it. Have to buy them. (Not holding my breath)
2> Cann't put custom java apps on it (Ditto)
3> Seperate volume for headphone and earpiece
4> Better keyboard response... Even (GASP) Polytouch keyboard!
5> Voice Dialing with Bluetooth
Oh well, at least the phone works decently and sounds halfway ok. And yes, I know the phone is intentionally crippled by Sprint to make you buy their shit (Ringtones, wallpaper, apps, etc...) But it just plain sucks.
Your first point is totally false. My friend has the Rumor(Sprint not Alltel) and he puts on a lot of custom ringtones. Though another friend has the Scoop from Alltel and he can't put on custom ringtones without buying from Alltel.
Someone has never heard of PhoneZoo.com. Make your own ringtones and put them on almost any phone that supports downloadable ringtones for free.
I've been playing with a rumor2 for over 24hours now. I've managed to get my own Mp3 (yes actual mp3) ringtones on it using funformobile.com's upload system (just got a 2meg filesize restriction). Not sure on the java apps using the same method yet. The keyboard, IMO, does function better than the original rumor.. much better response. It does have an array of voice commands you can use via bluetooth;
1. Call [name] [type] / [number]
2. Send Message to [name] [type] / [number]
3. Find [name] [type]
4. Missed Alerts
5. Voice Guide
6. Phone Status
7. Training
8. Bookmark
9. Help
0. Exit Voice Control
As for the seperate volume controls, I only have the motorola s9 stereo headset so I don't have an alternate headset to test with currently.
my kid is an add a phone on our family plan. Her line costs us $10 per month plus $5 for unlimited text and unlimited 1x data. We already have airave unlimited from home, so she uses no minutes at home and has been running 100 billable minutes per month our of our 1250 plan.
Not only is this perfect for her, and free from sprint with a re up of her line, but I bet way more are sold of these than are sold of these than all the handsets you guys salivate over.
From reading and looking at the "ambassador" model in the sprint store, LG doubled the resolution on the screen from the old rumor (ad double that of the rant), made some improvements on slider mechanics, and on keyboard mechanics while keeping price the same.
total cost of a rumor 2 phone and plan for us over the next two years: $15x24 months = $360. Estimated replacement used one on ebay from reputable seller if she busts or loses it $100
Oh my goodness. These are the worst comments I've ever seen. WTF has Engadget become?
I just don't understand why this has to exist when the Rant exists. They're on the same network and look the same and do the same thing. Wtf is the difference.
You know why you're comment is stupid, so I'm not going to even bother.
I will say you ARE correct. I actually had plans for lunch but probably would have came
out to $60. $60 for lunch date or $99 iPhone hmmmhhh wonder what to get????
Hurray for Engadgets god awful comment system, that was to Shank.
Oh, if you're willing to trick the phone into thinking a ringtone is a movie, after transforming your mp3 into 2 different formats to do so, and spending a good amount of time perusing the web to learn how to do it, I guess you could say you're right. But you miss the point: It should be just as simple as picking an MP3 off of your Mini SD, just like my AT&T Blackberry curve.
Looks like they just made the buttons on the keyboard smaller to fit the #'s in. I hope this one doesn't have the software problems like the other; I just got mine replaced b/c of that...
I think the 1st one looks better...looks uglier and more like the Rant...
Wonder how this thing compares to Samsung's Rumor clone the Rant. Was thinking about getting one since I probably won't be able to afford a Pre and an iPod Touch.
Still doesn't have EVDO.
Fail.
first off, hate smasung and sprint but the phone is shitty, and i especially hate how it slides open the opposite way of what were used to, it looks liek this would be used for the leftys, i dont know i would want the screen on my left instead the right, looks weird
I almost got one of the original Rumour phones instead of my Samsung m510 (typical fliphone). Ultimately I chose not to get the Rumour because the original had a low-res screen (same as my flip phone).
The new phone bumps that up to 320x240, so that'd make Opera Mini quite a bit nicer... Only concern is that, at least on my phone, Opera Mini takes an enormous performance hit when rotating the screen. Hopefully the Rumour 2 won't suffer from that.
I'm hoping that Virgin Mobile Canada gets in on this. Smartphones still cost way to much per-month, while a dumbphone can get unlimited web for just $7/mth.
to FILA you said, "...i especially hate how it slides open the opposite way of what we are used to..." I'm very much use to the way the Rumor 2 slides since I've been using the original Rumor since it was released. So what way does your Rumor slide? Or don't you have one and are just being a hater?
All in all I'm trying to figure out why I'd want to "upgrade" to the Rumor 2. 4x the MiniSD capability, .1 ounce heavier, .11 inches bigger, and an hour more talk time. Not much to much of an upgrade on first glance. I'd like to have seen a larger screen, not a full front like someone else mentioned because all in all, I like that I have a standard keypad on the face of the phone. It makes for easier dialing. They could have pulled the screen out a bit more on the top half where it currently resides.
All in all, we'll see. I'm not in need of a new phone, my current Rumor (first and only one) hasn't given me any issues and works fine, so yeah.
Way to go LG. The Rant still has a 2 MP camera and 3G! Way to really *crush* the competition! //sarcasm
Man, this looks like a great phone. I can't believe there are so many iPhone junkies out there, with money to waste on overpriced gaudy crap they don't need. Give me a good deal on a decent phone with a great new plan, and I'll be all over it. This is my chance to upgrade my ancient, but decent, low-end LX150V14 LG flip phone, to something I can actually use to text my text-addicted wife with. I do agree with several of the comments regarding the skimpy screen. LG could have wasted less space on the oversized LG/Sprint logos. The key do look very easy to read, but do they glow in the dark? Also, how do they feel? I think I will wait until this phone shows up at the Sprint stores, just to get a hands-on experience, before commiting to a two-year contract.
Hey , so do the keys light up ? like in the dark if you want to type ?
I like my new Rumor2 over the original except that there isn't video mail?? I do like how when texts come in they don't just appear on the screen like the original version. My boss doesn't need to see my phone sitting on my desk with a text coming in about some rager of party that night. I also like the softer screen and that the keys won't wear out and rub off. I'm really rough on my phones and constantly have to replace them so I hope this one can withstand being dropped. It has the hard plastic outside versus the rubber on the old one. Heard a lot about the Rant being better. I will have to check it out. Sprint has a policy that if you don't like the phone you have you can trade it in if it's within 30 days.