Tracfone LG Optimus Fuel Prepaid Phone (Tracfone)

UPDATE March 25, 2015: I have upgraded my review to 4 stars, as the phone finally activated itself after 24 hours and is working fine. It is obvious that the Tracfone rep (mentioned below) did NOT know what she was talking about or doing when trying to guide me through the activation process. Not surprising, as i have never had stellar service from the reps the few times I've had to call for their assistance over the years.So ... even with only 2-3 bars within the walls of my home, this phone CAN and will work.**The bottom line is to just WAIT for the activation to happen if you get a "success" message that the activation is in process, as is noted on the activation screen if doing this online.**The phone works well. If you have large finger-tips, you might have a problem tapping certain icons as the screen is small-ish on this phone. If you're not familiar with android devices, like me, there will be a learning curve for sure. I'm still trying to figure out where to find things.OH! Androids also do NOT have the feature where you can quickly see your remaining minutes and service end-date! Found that out yesterday after searching online to find out where it was hidden within the phone. You have to either check online, which isn't a quick process, or you can download a Tracfone app for that feature. I'm sure as time goes on I'll discover a few more things that***************************************My original review: I have given this phone 2-stars right now as I CANNOT get it activated due to only 2-3 signal bars within my home. I was on the phone with a Tracfone rep for over 30-minutes this morning trying to activate it. I activated it online last night, but when it still wasn't working this morning, I called them for assistance. I have been informed that an Android does not use a SIM card like my "old" LG Tracfone, thus is using different towers for phone service. (Who would have known?)I will have to get in my car (really?) and drive around until I get 5 bars and then try to activate it. I NEVER had an issue making or receiving calls in my home on my previous non-android Tracfone.Here's where you need to be careful - "BUYER BEWARE": I asked the rep that if this new LG Fuel will not activate, then could I have them reactivate my old Tracfone? She said yes, but the COMPANY POLICY!! is that the minutes will be LOST! I told her that was pretty unbelievable, as I have 389 minutes available that I have already paid for!! She said sorry, and I quote "it is company policy on Android phones that the minutes are not retrievable." Really??? :-0I've used and have liked Tracfone's service for many years, but this non-retrievable minutes issue is unconscionable! It's a rip-off, to say the least.I'm keeping my fingers crossed, as I hope I can activate this android phone, or else I'm not going to be a happy camper!So ... I will update this review after I attempt to activate from some other spot in town.

LG is progressing nicely with its assortment of Smartphones it supplies for Tracfone. Discovering the 800 early on, I updated to each new phone as they were made available, and now notice there are even more models with a variety of differences to select from, big or small. The L34C strays from the original LG Tracfone series a bit, but since it has all the Android abilities, I now prefer using it over the 305C/306G that replaced the 840G. This L34C is pint sized in comparison to the latest top of the line Behemoths from the Big Four, so it's a welcomed alternative that allows one-handed operation and will do all the things the cool kids do. Say "Cheese" and it will even snap a Selfie.Just remember it is a CDMA phone using Verizon antennas and not the AT&T channels. Except for the new LTE phones, Tracfones are limited to 3G abilities so there will most certainly need to be further development while Tracfone remains competitive in an ever improving industry. LG already provides a more expensive LG Tracfone with 4G LTE abilities, so this Optimus Fuel makes a nice reliable and inexpensive compromise for now at just $25. A downer is the limited amount of memory for adding new apps, so use discretion in keeping it all very simple, and avoid using Google Play on this phone because for some reason, everything, including the apps that are normally free, are listed with a price. Don't fall for this crooked money making scheme because free apps can still be easily installed to your phone using the Windows version of Google Play.One of Optimus Fuel's best features is that the Settings are much easier to specify than on the full sized Androids. Activate Settings and you will see a list of components that can be turned on/off, including: Airplane Mode, WiFi, Bluetooth, Mobile Data, and more. If you already have WiFi, then be sure to turn the WiFi switch on and turn off Mobile Data. This allows you to visit the Internet using the L34C without eating up any of your remaining phone time.Face it, the big high dollar phones are getting so big and complex that all the ease that was once in mobility is getting lost while the main intention is to convince everyone their phone is a pocket computer. There are lots of us who don't want all that expensive extra stuff and just want to keep things simple, so let the Optimus Fuel take a step back into the simplicity that once was the norm. Updating this phone with a new Airtime PIN card will always triple the minutes specified on the card. If it is a 60 minute card, you will actually get 180 minutes and your phone will stay active for 90 days, all at an expense of about $7 per month.The Optimus Fuel also drops the old provision of showing days and minutes remaining that once scrolled across the main screen on older phones. LG replaced that with an app called "My Account", and it shows all that info on whatever screen you choose to place the Widget. Even though Tracfone found its niche in the cell phone world by providing cheap minutes without any Internet access or any need for digital data at all, it continues to change with all the advancements at a safe step behind. As such, the new My Account app lists Talk, Text, and Data separately just like all the other more expensive prepaid services, and this may be a hint of some future change.This phone might not be the best that is available, but it does everything I want in a phone and does so at the lowest possible cost - exactly what Tracfone has always represented.