TracFone LG 231c Review
The LG 231c is yet another budget-priced flip phone offered by TracFone. But, unlike the Motorola V170, this device actually has some nice features that make it worth taking a look at. This phone is aesthetically typical when compared to today's flip phones. It has a 1.5 inch LCD display, a numeric physical keypad, and all the rest of the typical flip phone features. But what really makes this phone standout in TracFone's basic phone lineup is the 0.3 MP camera and 1 inch external display. *Note: I also reviewed the LG 220c, which is the same as the LG 231c, but with a different color scheme and without a camera.
Hardware:
The LG 231c is a chubby phone, measuring in at 19 mm thick (for comparison, the Huawei Ascend P1 is only 7.7 mm thick). Despite its thickness, the 231c is quite light at about 3 oz. Its form factor is Flip (of course) and its very similar looking to other phones of the same form factor. it sports a glossy black finish that has a gray plastic bezel surrounding the camera lens and external display. There is something satisfying about opening and closing the phone, due to its nice hinge. Now for a look around the phone: on the left side there is the volume rocker and 2.5mm headset jack (which is protected by a plastic flap). On the right is the dedicated camera button. On the bottom is the micro-usb charging port, which is also covered by a thin plastic flap. When the phone is closed, the 1 inch external display and 0.3 MP camera are on the front. When the phone is open, there is the 1.5 inch main display, earpiece, and LG/TracFone logos. Below this is the numeric keypad which is back-lit. All of the buttons on this device have decent tactile feedback, but the volume rocker and camera button feel a bit shallow. The phone has a 800mah battery rated at 2.5 hours of talk time and 10 days of standby.
What's in the box:
- LG 231c
- Wall charger
- 800mah battery
- Back cover
- Services Guide
- Activation Card
Software:
The LG 231c runs the usual TracFone proprietary software. When you turn the phone on, you are greeted by the home screen. The home screen displays a picture of your choice as the background, connectivity icons at the top of the screen, the time and date, and shortcuts to the main menu and browser functions Clicking on the menu shortcut brings you to a list of 9 icons. 1.Prepaid: Your airtime and phone information. 2.Contacts: Your list of contacts and speed dials. 3. Messages: Where you can view or create SMS and MMS Messages. 4.Recent Calls: View your call logs. 5.Multimedia: Access the camera and voice recorder. 6.Browser: Browse the web. 7.My Folder: Access your photos and audio recordings 8.Tools: Consists of your basic tools, such as calculator, calendar, alarm, and voice command. 9.Settings: Change/ access phone functions and information. Most menus look similar, with a scrollable list of headings. Text messaging with the LG 231c is sub-par, due to the keypad. You can either use T9 or Abc methods to input text; both ways are time consuming using the numeric keypad. Call quality is superb on the 231c; our callers sounded crisp and they said we sounded the same on their end. This device is also water resistant (Sort-of). Lets say you drop it in the pool for a minute or so, it will most likely still turn on after being dried off. To test this I did a water test video.
Camera:
The LG 231c has a 0.3 MP fixed-focus camera (VGA Resolution). It does not have the ability to shot video. Photos taken with the camera are grainy and lack detail. Low-light performance is terrible, but brightness levels are decent given that the lighting is good. In the settings you can change the resolution from VGA all the way down to QCIF. You can also change the quality (fine, normal, and economy) and the white balance. You can turn on night mode, self-timer, and Multishot as well. Overall, the camera is about what I would expect from a 0.3 MP shooter.
Conclusion:
The TracFone LG 231c is a decent phone for the price and will be fine for someone who just need to call, send a few text messages, and take the occasional photo. If you want more functionality than that, you may want to look elsewhere. The camera does set the LG 231c apart from its flip-phone siblings at TracFone, but is still not a very impressive feature. One word I would use to describe this device: average. It doesn't preform badly, but it doesn't preform well either. Its a mixed bag.
*It is always possible that some specifications or facts may be incorrect. We try our best at MobileTechnology Reviews to provide accurate information, but we occasionally make mistakes. If you notice that something is wrong or incorrect, shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll fix it!
Hardware:
The LG 231c is a chubby phone, measuring in at 19 mm thick (for comparison, the Huawei Ascend P1 is only 7.7 mm thick). Despite its thickness, the 231c is quite light at about 3 oz. Its form factor is Flip (of course) and its very similar looking to other phones of the same form factor. it sports a glossy black finish that has a gray plastic bezel surrounding the camera lens and external display. There is something satisfying about opening and closing the phone, due to its nice hinge. Now for a look around the phone: on the left side there is the volume rocker and 2.5mm headset jack (which is protected by a plastic flap). On the right is the dedicated camera button. On the bottom is the micro-usb charging port, which is also covered by a thin plastic flap. When the phone is closed, the 1 inch external display and 0.3 MP camera are on the front. When the phone is open, there is the 1.5 inch main display, earpiece, and LG/TracFone logos. Below this is the numeric keypad which is back-lit. All of the buttons on this device have decent tactile feedback, but the volume rocker and camera button feel a bit shallow. The phone has a 800mah battery rated at 2.5 hours of talk time and 10 days of standby.
What's in the box:
- LG 231c
- Wall charger
- 800mah battery
- Back cover
- Services Guide
- Activation Card
Software:
The LG 231c runs the usual TracFone proprietary software. When you turn the phone on, you are greeted by the home screen. The home screen displays a picture of your choice as the background, connectivity icons at the top of the screen, the time and date, and shortcuts to the main menu and browser functions Clicking on the menu shortcut brings you to a list of 9 icons. 1.Prepaid: Your airtime and phone information. 2.Contacts: Your list of contacts and speed dials. 3. Messages: Where you can view or create SMS and MMS Messages. 4.Recent Calls: View your call logs. 5.Multimedia: Access the camera and voice recorder. 6.Browser: Browse the web. 7.My Folder: Access your photos and audio recordings 8.Tools: Consists of your basic tools, such as calculator, calendar, alarm, and voice command. 9.Settings: Change/ access phone functions and information. Most menus look similar, with a scrollable list of headings. Text messaging with the LG 231c is sub-par, due to the keypad. You can either use T9 or Abc methods to input text; both ways are time consuming using the numeric keypad. Call quality is superb on the 231c; our callers sounded crisp and they said we sounded the same on their end. This device is also water resistant (Sort-of). Lets say you drop it in the pool for a minute or so, it will most likely still turn on after being dried off. To test this I did a water test video.
Camera:
The LG 231c has a 0.3 MP fixed-focus camera (VGA Resolution). It does not have the ability to shot video. Photos taken with the camera are grainy and lack detail. Low-light performance is terrible, but brightness levels are decent given that the lighting is good. In the settings you can change the resolution from VGA all the way down to QCIF. You can also change the quality (fine, normal, and economy) and the white balance. You can turn on night mode, self-timer, and Multishot as well. Overall, the camera is about what I would expect from a 0.3 MP shooter.
Conclusion:
The TracFone LG 231c is a decent phone for the price and will be fine for someone who just need to call, send a few text messages, and take the occasional photo. If you want more functionality than that, you may want to look elsewhere. The camera does set the LG 231c apart from its flip-phone siblings at TracFone, but is still not a very impressive feature. One word I would use to describe this device: average. It doesn't preform badly, but it doesn't preform well either. Its a mixed bag.
*It is always possible that some specifications or facts may be incorrect. We try our best at MobileTechnology Reviews to provide accurate information, but we occasionally make mistakes. If you notice that something is wrong or incorrect, shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll fix it!
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