LG Optimus Exceed 2 with Android 4.4 KitKat via Verizon (LG L70 re-branded)

The LG L70 was announced and showcased a couple of months back, at the Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, and although the phone is being sold directly via MetroPCS in US with the same brand and model, one of the big networks Verizon Wireless is selling this one with a new name, and it gets the Optimus tag with the name LG Optimus Exceed 2, and this is going to be a prepaid phone through Verizon.

Keeping the specs beside, the only major reason why we were impressed with the L series phones from LG was the inclusion of Android 4.4 KitKat, giving a flavor of the latest OS to the users who would want to keep up with the latest in any budget or mid-range devices, and that doesn’t really happen these days. The Optimus Exceed 2 has got the latest OS, and along with that, some excellent features which the LG’s high-end smartphones, even including the LG G Pro 2 has got. One of them is the well mentioned Knock Code feature for the extra authentication and security for unlocking the screen of the device.

LG has gone the Samsung way (we can boldly say this) by including a physical home key in the bottom, between the back and the menu key in the front bottom, and the design of the LG Optimus Exceed 2 looks quite neat. The phone comes with a 4.5-inch touchscreen with the WVGA display at 480×800 pixels screen resolution, and at this size, this is larger than the original Exceed, which is already a part of the Verizon’s prepaid phone lineup.

Internally the Optimus Exceed 2 is powered by a Dual-core processor, the MSM8610 chipset from Qualcomm clocking at 1.2 GHz, and there is a support by 1GB RAM, while the storage is 4GB internally. LG has given a MicroSD card slot for the storage expansion to a maximum of 32GB. The battery in the Exceed 2 has a capacity of 2100 mAh (with the company claiming that the talktime would be 12 hours, on 3G network).

The original Exceed had the support for the LTE network, but the Exceed 2 loses that support and thus, the phone has only the 3G connectivity, alongside the plethora of other connectivity options including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth etc. The camera on the rear side is a 5MP shooter with the Autofocus and LED flash, while the video recording is quite a disappointment, as one cannot capture videos in a quality better than the WVGA resolution. The volume keys can be configured to capture photos or record videos, and there are voice commands too for photo capturing. Just like in the other LG phones with Android KitKat, there are photo modes, Live Shot for taking photos while recording a video and Live Effects while recording the videos.

The software part is the best about the LG Optimus Exceed 2, where one would be able to do quite a lot with the options available, as well as with the pre-installed apps. The features include Knock On, Knock Code, QSlide, Clip Tray, Quick Memo, Vu: Talk, Privacy Keeper and Quiet Mode while one of the important apps for the professionals is the Polaris Viewer 5 which is for viewing the MS Office documents and files. There’s also the Smart LED feature for the LED notifications for any alters from apps.

LG Optimus Exceed 2 Price & Availability

The LG Optimus Exceed 2 is available immediately from the Verizon network, and the price of the phone is as follows:

• Full retail price: $249.99
• On Prepaid plans: $79.99

There is an $45 ALLSET plan for $45 per month where you get unlimited local calling minutes, unlimited text messaging and free data of 500MB per month, but you can always choose any other plan too. With the prepaid plan or for the full retail purchase, there is no activation cost charged by Verizon.

Head over to Verizon for more details – Link