VIRGIN MOBILE TEXTING PHONE BATTLE: LG RUMOR 2 VS KYOCERA X-TC
Submitted by Matt on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 16:53.Bookmark/Search this post with:
For those of you who are seduced by the more affordable pre paid plans offered by Virgin Mobile and want to rock a stylish texting feature phone, you have two options: The LG Rumor 2 and the Kyocera X-tc, each for $99.99. Both of these texting phones share a similar feature set, including a form factor that has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Let’s take a closer look at both models to determine if one has your name on it.
Design/Form Factor:
LG Rumor 2: If you’ve seen Lady Gaga’s latest music video “Telephone,” then you know this phone is all about texting with style. It features a full QWERTY keyboard and a 2” red backlit color screen (Virgin Mobile’s trademark color) and a surprisingly roomy 4 row QWERTY keypad. It also includes a loud speakerphone. You also have the added convenience of making calls without extending the slide-out keyboard. A big downer was the 2.5 mm headset jack, requiring an adaptor to use a standard 3.5mm headset.
Kyocera X-tc: While also sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, the Kyocera X-tc included some nice touches, such as dedicated music control buttons (including volume) and a speakerphone with an on/off button. The handset also has a separate camera button. The navigation buttons, however, seemed a bit cramped. The QWERTY keyboard was only 3 rows, but it was still quite comfortable to type. The X-tc also had a 2.5 mm headset jack… Once again, defying rationalization.
Display
Both of these handsets sport a full color display, although the Kyocera X-tc is a bit larger. The LG’s display offers 62,144 colors (240 x 320 pixels). The Kyocera display offers a 262,000-color output and (240x320-pixels). Personally, we preferred Kyocera’s larger display, especially when texting. The Kyocera also sports an accelerometer, automatically switching between portrait and landscape mode.
Camera
Both of these 1.3 megapixel camera phones take blurry and washed-out photographs and neither offer flash support. These handsets will suffice when in dire need of an impromptu snapshot, but save your serious photography for a proper camera.
User Interface
Since these are text messaging phones, neither handset offer flashy user interfaces. Both display only basic icons and a somewhat clunky navigation. Of course, both handsets can be customized with wallpaper and screen savers.
Phone Features and Virgin Mobile Services:
Both Virgin Mobile texting phones offer the same features, including Bluetooth. For some reason, however, the X-tc only offered AIM and Yahoo for IM options. Also, the LG Rumor 2 offered more GPS/location capabilities.
LG Rumor 2: Text messaging, Picture messaging, My Pics, Email and Instant Messaging, Contact Backup, Web Access, Opera Mini Browser, connection to social networking sites, Google Maps, Buddy Beacon, Virgin Mobile Navigator. Ringtones, ringbacktones, Games, and Studio V.
Kyocera X-tc: Text messaging, Picture messaging, My Pics, Email and Instant Messaging, Contact Backup, Web Access, Opera Mini Browser, connection to social networking sites, Buddy Beacon, Ringtones, ringbacktones, Games, and Studio V.
(Note the additional GPS/Location features on the LG Rumor)
Memory Storage and Expansion
Both handsets offer microSD memory card slots. The LG Rumor 2 can accept cards up to 16GB, where as the Kyocera X-tc can only accept cards only up to 8GB. Advantage... LG.
Power/Battery Capacity
LG Rumor 2: Up to 5.5 hours of continuous talk time
Kyocera X-tc: Up to 250 minutes of continuous talk time
Conclusion
Frankly, we liked both phones because each delivered on their core functions: Text messaging and basic email. There were, however, a few features that separated the two handsets. Any of those features could be a deciding factor, depending one’s personal preference.
For the LG Rumor 2, we liked the longer talk-time (battery life), roomier keyboard and GPS/location capabilities.
As for the Kyocera X-tc, we preferred the larger screen size, dedicated music buttons and accelerometer.
What do YOU think?
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LG Rumor 2 sucks
i have had the LG Rumor 2 alot. for some reason it keeps breaking. one of mine wouldnt charge, as soon as you take it off the charger it would cut off. the i had it 3 more time and it wouldnt cut on it just kept saying hello and wouldnt cut on, so im saying good-bye to the rumor 2 and, and getting the kyocerta X-tc and im sure its going to be better than the Rumor 2 anything has to be better!
Im getting the LG...
Im getting the LG Rumor 2 for Christmas. i did a BUNCHHH of research and watched lots of reviews and the LG Rumor 2 is wayyy better than the XTC.CANT WAIT TO GET MY NEW LG RUMOR 2
i wanna get the rumro 2
hey ppl plz somebody tell me is the rumor 2s screen sensitive bcuz im gonna ge the rumor 2 and i weanna know this plz soomebody tell me!!!
Kyocera the best
i think kyocera have a long time battery, so this product is more better especially when you are vacation.
about lg rumor 2
i just recently purchased an lg rumor 2. does it last a long while without breaking or anything? also, i would just some more reviews. the future of my new phone is already looking promising.
getting the rumor 2(:
i have the x-tc right now. it's horrible. it's the seventh replacement i've had in the last two years. but i'm getting a new replacement, the rumor 2! i'm so excited; the x-tc breaks sooo easily, if you're a big texter, like me, the buttons wear off really quickly, buttons have stopped working! and i'm just tired of having this same phone! soooo excited to be getting my RUMOR TWO.(:
XTC is a bad choice.
I had owned an XTC, and it was horrible. It broke within the first three months, so I called Virgin Mobile and they sent me an LG Rumor 2 for a replacement because the XTC was out of stock. I was so happy, until my LG Rumor 2 broke also. It was a great phone, and broke because of my own fault. I dropped if on accident, and the screen cracked. So then last week I went to Best Buy to buy another LG Rumor 2, and saw the LG Rumor TOUCH for Virgin Mobile and was only $50 more! I bought that and I've been so so happy! The LG Rumor 2 is definitely better than the XTC, but the LG Rumor TOUCH is definitely better than the LG Rumor 2!
Love my LG Rumor 2
Haha... funny you mentioned Lady Gaga. My LG Rumor is perfect for quick texting. I thought about the X-tc, but heard it has some reliability issues.