Our friends over at LG have sent us the Lucid2 for us to review! This is the successor to the original Lucid and is exclusive to Verizon Wireless. This is joining the carrier as a free with a 2-year contract device and this puts it into an interesting spot in the lineup. It features an easy to use mode, that makes it perfect for first time smartphones. LG offers some great accessories for the device as well and we will dive into those down below in the full review. It is running on Verizon’s insanely fast 4G LTE network. Will the Lucid2 by LG be your next smartphone? We will find out in the full review, which begins right now!
Design
The original Verizon Lucid has an incredible design and the Lucid2 continues this great path. Similar to the original lucid on the top hand sides of the device you have the aluminum siding. While the main color of the device is a nice black. The pops of color on the Lucid2 are the sides and the logos. The back of the device has some grip to it, this is felt on the back plastic cover. While the siding in its entirety is smooth. The device is thin at 0.39-inches and weighs in at just 4.4-ounces, so while it’s not the thinnest or lightest device on the market it has a nice design. The device does feel nice in the hand, it is not super big like the Galaxy Note II. For the first time smartphone user, it looks very friendly. If you do opt to get the Wireless Charging Cover(WCC-870), it does add some extra thickness to the device, but it does not increase the weight too much.
Above the display on the Lucid2 you get the earpiece, a Verizon logo, a LG logo, and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera. Below the display you have 4(four) touch capacitive buttons. Those buttons being the back, home, multitasking, and menu buttons. It is nice to see a physical menu button on the Lucid2, as many other smartphones have been getting rid of them. On the bottom of the device you have the standard micro USB port and the main microphone. Your secondary microphone is located on the top and is also with the headphone jack. Unfortunately, LG did not give the Lucid2 a dedicated camera shutter button. The right hand side houses the power/sleep button, while the volume rocker lives on the left hand side. On the back of the device you will find the 5 megapixel back camera with an LED flash, a LG logo, a speaker, and a 4G LTE logo.
Accessories
LG was kind enough to send over a plethora of accessories with Luicd2. Let’s being with the LG Wireless Charging Pad(WCP-300) and you may recall that this was announced at the 2013 Mobile World Congress. In fact this is the world smallest wireless charging pad at 6.9-centimeters in diameter. The best part is that it is super compact, this means you can take it with you. You can throw it in to your bag and use it when you need to charge. It has an LG logo in the middle and it chargers quite fast. It is sold separately from the Luicd2 for the price of $39.99 .
With the LG Wireless Charging Pad(WCP-300) you will get a power adapter, a usb cable, and some manuals. The LG Wireless Charging Cover for the Lucid2(WCC-870) comes in at the price point of $39.99 as well. This allows you to use the Lucid2 with a wireless charging pad like the WCP-300. While this cover does add some thickness to the device, it really does not add that much weight to the device itself.
The LG Media Charging Dock SDT-250 retails for $59.99 and comes with a micro USB cable, a power plug, and some manuals. This is by far my favorite accessory for the Lucid2. This can turn your phone into an alarm clock or an easy way to stand you phone so you can watch some videos. If you have an extra battery you can pop it into the battery charging port on the back and it will charge that as well. You plug the Lucid2 in and it can sit in the little holder as well. It has an LED notification light on it, so you can tell when it is done charging. The micro USB port is located on the back as well and it has a simple design as well.
LG offers many other accessories for the Luicd2 as well, some of those being the navigation dock, batteries, micro USB cables, and more!
Hardware
The LG Optimus G was one of the best smartphones that I have tested and there was some great hardware in that high-end device, but LG also gifted the Luicd2 with some nice hardware. Let’s start off with the 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 Krait dual core processor with 1GB of RAM. This does the keep the device moving along and it does show at a pretty nice pace. While this is not the fastest smartphone on the market, it certainly does get the job done. Whether I was recording a video, opening or closing an application, or swiping between screen the Lucid2 kept it moving. If I kept many large applications open all at once, it tended to slow down a little bit. For a first time smartphone user the 1.2GHz dual core processor will be fine.
As I mentioned before the Lucid2 by LG is running on Verizon’s insanely fast 4G LTE network. Verizon’s latest and greatest network covers most of the United States and does provide some of the fastest speeds out there. Keep in mind that network coverage depends on your specific location. In terms of the download speeds we got during testing out highest was 13.59Mbps while our lowest was 12.06Mbps. On the other hand our highest upload was 9.34Mbps and our lowest was 3.53Mbps. I was quite impressed with Verizon’s 4G LTE network!
The Verizon Lucid2 by LG features 4.3” qHD AH–IPS TFT Display with 960 x 540 Pixels. Streaming videos over 4G LTE and WiFi looked great, you can really see the detail in the videos. Viewing images is great as well and colors look very vibrant. The only issue with the display would be the brightness, while the display can go up to 100% brightness it just is not as bright as the original Lucid or other comparable smartphones. Images and text look very clear on the display and do not get to blurry as your zoom in. When you take the device outside and if you are using it in direct sunlight, the image may appear blurry. While viewing angles are okay, I would have to like seen better. This is comparable to other first time smartphones.
You get 8GB of internal storage on the Lucid2, but this can be expanded thanks to a micro SD card slot. There are also many could storage services available like DropBox or Google Drive. The 2460mAh battery is great and will last the full day with above normal use. If needed LG and Verizon do sell extra batteries or bring a long the super compact LG Wireless Charging Pad(WCP-300) with you.
On the front of the device you get a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera is great for taking selfies or video chatting on the go. The back 5 megapixel camera with LED flash performs quite well. There are many great features in the camera application on the Lucid2. You can take a photo by simply saying “Cheese” and HDR(High Dynamic Range) mode will get you some beautiful images. If you want to take a Panorama, you can do that on the Lucid2 as well. It does have a continuous shot mode as well, this way you can get the perfect shot. You can check out a full gallery of photos below. The Lucid2 also records video 1080pHD and colors looked very vibrant as well. You can see the video camera test below as well.
Software
The Verizon Lucid2 by LG is running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with an LG user interface. I am a big fan of LG’s user interface, as it makes the operating system very easy to use and has some great features. For instance you get LG QuickMemo, this great and easy way to take screenshots. QuickMemo will let you take it to the next level, you can write a memo on the image, draw on it, and much more! You can share the image directly from the application and it automatically gets saved into your gallery. Let’s say you are meeting a friends for lunch and you want to show them on a map where to meet you, well with LG QuickMemo simply pull up the location in maps and then take a screenshot. From there write a quick message and send it your friend via a text message! It is a simple way to let them know and is much more creative than just a simple text message. LG gives you an option to use either Starter or Standard modes on the Lucid2. This is why the Luicd2 is perfect for first time smartphone users, as Starter mode makes Android very simple and user-friendly. From your home screen you can easily access your settings, contacts, favorite applications all with the tap of a button. It simplifies making calls, accepting one, and declining one. The icons and text are larger, more of the home screens come pre-setup with an easy to use system. LG’s Starter mode is perfect for the first time smartphone user.
LG and Verizon did pre-load the Lucid2 with some nice applications. From LG you will get a Media Home launcher, that will automatically open when it is plugged into a dock. This is perfect if you want to use your phone as an alarm clock. Plus you can easily access your videos, photos, music, and YouTube. Other pre-loaded applications on the Lucid2 are Alarm/Clock, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Amazon MP3, Appstore(Amazon), Audible, Google Chrome, Google App Suite, File Manager, File Suite, Help?, Polaris Office 4, SmartShare, Richnote, Google Play App Suite, Task Manager, Video Wiz, Video Editor, Video Player, Zappos, IMDB, and more! From Verizon Wireless you will get VZ Navigator, Verizon Tones, Voicemail, VZ Security, Mobile Hotspot, and My Verizon Mobile.
You can see a gallery below of screenshots from the Verizon Lucid2 by LG taken with LG QuickMemo.
Gallery
Bottom Line
The Verizon Wireless Lucid2 by LG is a great smartphone. In fact it is the best smartphone on Verizon Wireless for the first time smartphone user. It features a very nice design that is quite simple and it feels great in the hand. LG did a great job with the software, with Starter mode it makes Android super easy to learn and understand. LG QuickMemo will let you customize your message and photos. It has a great 5 megapixel back with LED flash that takes great photos. The front facing camera is perfect for taking selfies with your friends. The 4.3-inch qHD display could be improved, as its brightness and viewing angles could be improved. It’s running on Verizon’s insanely fast 4G LTE network, this way you can get some of the fastest speeds out there! Lastly, LG has made some amazing accessories for this device. Overall, the Verizon Lucid2 by LG is a great smartphone and is perfect for the first time smartphone user. It’s price sweetens the deal even more as it is free with a 2-year contract or $349.99 with no contract. For More Information On The Verizon Wireless Lucid2 By LG, Please Click Here. We would like to thank LG Mobile USA for providing us with a copy of the “Verizon Wireless Lucid2 by LG And Several Accessories”.
