Review: LG Lucid 3 for Verizon Wireless
Screen
LG tackled the bigger-is-better ideal by increasing the size of the Lucid's screen. The original had a 4-inch panel and the Lucid 2 had a 4.3-inch panel. The Lucid 3's panel measures 4.7 inches, but keeps the same qHD (960 x 540) resolution from last year's phone. That means the pixel density is actually a bit less. The Lucid 3 sticks with LCD technology. Colors look quite good on the screen, and I find it to be plenty bright indoors. I'm not sold on the number of pixels, though. Icons, text, and other elements of the user interface had a slight hazy effect to them. I had trouble using the Lucid 3 outdoors under a sunny sky. The screen was often obscured by glare (thanks to fingerprints!) and it was difficult to read some portions of the UI.
Signal
Verizon's network was no match for the Lucid 3, which connected to it tightly. I drove around the metro NYC region with the Lucid 3 and it always remained attached to Verizon's network, even in known weak spots. The Lucid 3 connected all calls on the first dial and never dropped or missed any during my review period. 4G LTE data speeds were good, but not the fastest I've seen. I certainly have no complaints about how quickly the Lucid 3 was able to update my Twitter and Facebook feeds, but uploading photos sometimes took longer than I had the patience for.
Sound
Call quality was a little bit of a mixed bag. The earpiece produces sharp voices that sound like they're being passed through tinfoil. I didn't have trouble understanding people, but the sound was a bit jarring to my ears. Volume is good, but a hair's breadth short of excellent. I could hear calls in most environments without too much trouble, but the loudest spaces - busy coffee shops, the car, city streets - sometimes made conversations difficult to hold.
The speakerphone had the same harsh tone as the earpiece. It wasn't very pleasant to use for calls, but the solid volume meant I could hear callers via the speakerphone with ease.
People with whom I spoke through the Lucid 3 said I sounded very good.
Ringers and alert tones always got my attention, even when set fairly low. The vibrate alert is quite good.
Battery
The Lucid 3's battery actually holds 20mAh less capacity than its predecessor, but as far as I can tell this doesn't impact battery life at all. Thanks to the somewhat low-resolution screen and moderate processor, the Lucid 3 holds its own when it comes to keeping a charge. I found the device easily lasted an entire day, despite heavy testing. Using the device throughout the day for email, Twittering, Facebooking, shooting some pictures, downloading app updates, and listening to music posed no threat to the Lucid 3's energy reserves.
The Lucid 3 includes a rudimentary battery saver tool. It lets you adjust the phone's behavior once the battery level reaches 30%. For example, battery saver mode can turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, turn off vibration feedback, as well as adjust screen brightness to a predetermined setting, shorten the amount of time before the screen goes to sleep, and control the notification lights.
I can comfortably say most users should expect to only charge the device once per day.
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LG Lucid 3
