Stop me if you've heard this one, but I'm going to tell you about my experiences using an LG Optimus phone. All right, I know that's a bit snarky, but it's difficult not to make a joke when you've seen so manymembers of the Optimus family (more than a dozen when you factor in the various carrier versions). The new LG Optimus Elite has more in common with its Optimus S granddaddy than it does with the high-endLG Optimus 3D Max that LG unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this year. Behind a very simple design and a 3.5-inch display is a midrange feature set that runs on Android Gingerbread and an 800MHz processor. Outside of the Google Wallet support, there's not much to get excited about, but not all phones have to be exciting. Call quality is fine, but it could be better.
The Optimus Elite is available with Sprint in titan silver and white for $29.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate. I reviewed the titan silver version, but the features are the same for both models. You also can buy it with Sprint's prepaid subsidiary, Virgin Mobile. There it will cost you $149.99, but you won't sign a contract.