LG Spirit 4G (MetroPCS)

Save for one handset (the LG Motion 4G), all of MetroPCS' LG handsets have been stuck on Gingerbread.

So when the LG Spirit 4G was released on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (yes, it's not the latest Jelly Bean version, but I'll take what I can get), I was pleased. Not only was the update refreshing, the phone will also be the only other LG device to feature LG's Optimus 3.0 user interface.

On top of that, its current $199 price tag renders it oddly less expensive than some of MetroPCS' midrange Gingerbread phones (like the $349 LG Connect 4G or the $379 LG Esteem), making the Spirit a smart and economical choice for MetroPCS.

Design
Compared to other mid-range LG devices, the Spirit 4G's look is more deliberate and thought out. Its frosty silver construction gives the handset a more luxurious feel, and its matte plastic back plate keeps off fingerprints.

The phone measures 5.08 inches tall, 2.61 inches wide, and is 0.37 inch thick, so expect a snug fit inside your pockets. It feels dense to hold, but at 4.3 ounces, it retains a relatively light weight. On the left edge is a small, narrow volume rocker. A 3.5mm headphone jack sits up top, and a sleep/power button is located on the right edge. You'll find a Micro-USB port for charging on the bottom.

The handset has a vibrant 4.5-inch touch screen and features LG's Optimus 3.0 user interface.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The back houses a 5-megapixel camera with flash. Below those are two small slits for an audio speaker. Using a small indentation on the left, you can pry the back plate off and get access to the 2,150mAh battery, microSD card slot that's expandable up to 32GB, and the SIM card slot.

The 4.5-inch Gorilla Glass IPS display has a 960x540-pixel resolution. This is slightly higher than your standard 800x480, though it's hard to discern with the naked eye. The touch screen is very bright and responsive, text and app icons are crisp, and whites are true to life. Above the display is a 1.3-megapixel camera, and below it are three hot keys (back, home, and menu) that light up when in use.

Software and OS
The LG Spirit 4G ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and comes with a bunch of Google goodies: Gmail; Search; Plus; portals to Play, Books, Magazines, Movies and TV, Music, and Store; Messenger, Maps with Navigation and Latitude, Talk, and YouTube. Other preloaded content from Google includes Chrome (in addition to a native browser, MetroWeb), Car Home, which lets users access phone features while driving, and Local, which scans the nearby area for popular restaurants and attractions.

Also included is a handful of MetroPCS apps, such as its 4G hot-spot app; an app portal; M Studio, which stores media files such as ringtones; a privacy app called Metro Block-it; MetroPCS Easy Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi hot-spot app; Metro411, which searches for and locates nearby businesses and restaurants; MyExtras, an entertainment and media app; and MyMetro, which lets you check your account balance and plan.

In addition, the device is equipped with several basics like a clock with alarm features, a calculator, Bluetooth, a calendar, a memo pad, text messaging (with Swype), a native e-mail client, music, and movie players, two video editors, a to-do list, a voice recorder, a voice dialer, and a news and weather app.

Uncommon apps include Yahoo Sportacular for sport news; Yahoo movies; Facebook; two file sharing apps (FileShare and SmartShare); Twitter; a mobile media suite called Pocket Express; LG Smartworld, which lets you download LG apps and ringtones; and the mobile office suite, Polaris Office.

On the back of the device is a 5-megapixel camera, which features numerous photo editing options.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

The handset comes preloaded with Rhapsody's music subscription service. For an extra $5 a month, you can search through and download thousands of albums and artists on major U.S. record labels. Despite the fact that you can't play songs offline unless you add them to a playlist, the service is intuitive and easy to use.

It's also equipped with LG's user interface, the Optimus UI 3.0, which isn't as stylishly simplistic as the vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich skin. The default icons are boxy (but are thankfully customizable through four different themes), and the widgets look clunky, especially the unattractive weather widget. Still, there are some things I'm fond of. For example, I like that you can access up to four apps of your choosing from the lock screen by simply swiping over their icons, and you can preview what your phone will open up to after unlocking.

Camera and video
The 5-megapixel camera offers a variety of options: touch focus, a flash, a 15x digital zoom, face tracking, geotagging, and a timer, as well as continuous, HDR, and panoramic shooting. It also has a brightness meter (-2 to +2); five image sizes (ranging from 2,560x1,920 pixels to 1,536x864 pixels); seven scene modes; four ISO options; five white balances; and four color effects. Two novel features are the "Time catch" shot mode that lets users choose and save the best shot from before the shutter was pressed, and a voice command feature called Cheese Shot.

The front-facing camera offers the same brightness meter, white balances, color effects, timer, and geotagging feature, but only two scene modes as well as the Cheese Shot command and three photo sizes (from 1,280x960 to 640x480p). There's also a "beauty shot" meter that lets you adjust the brightness and blurriness of an image. This comes in handy when you're taking self-portraits and want to soften the photo.

Recording options consist of the same digital zoom, flash, brightness meter, geotagging, color effects, and white balance. In addition, there's audio muting and you can choose from five video sizes (ranging from full HD 1080p to MMS). Two more features are the "silly faces" mode, which will distort your face while the video records, and a background module, so you can change your background to outer space, a sunset, a disco, or your own custom image.

Though front-facing video recording has fewer options, it still retains a good number of features. There are still the brightness meter, silly faces and background options, white balances, color effects, geotagging, and audio muting feature. There are also five video sizes (ranging from 720p to MMS).