Hey. I have an HTC Incredible but played with an Ally for a minute in a Verizon store and dug it. How do you Ally owners like yours?
LG usually always makes pretty good durable phones. Here are some reviews on the phone-->Cnet Ally Reviews
I'm loving mine so far, most every issue I've had with it so far has just been operator error.
I like it but I'm not in love. The keyboard is awesome. Using it leaves the full screen available for viewing and it feels great. It's not the most smoothly responding phone, but I'm not sure if I'm not swiping the screen right, etc. My problem right now is that the battery seems to be acting up...after using it in the car dock for probably about five hours yesterday with the car charger, I haven't been able to get it to charge more than 25%. Toasted battery? Who knows, but I've only had it since Wednesday and I'm using all VZW hardware, so we'll see what is what.
It's possible that it overheated in the car dock if it's a window or dash mount. The droid has the same issue with overheating after extended time of using navigation in the car dock and will quit charging once it reaches a certain temp. I'd look into a vent mount if you intend to use it a lot especially on hot days. Download a widget like BatteryLife and set it to show the battery temp. I've hit 120F on the battery and 150F+ on the CPU after 30min of nav on an 80F day. Bought a vent mount and never exceeded 75F after 2.5 hrs of nav.
Thanks for the tips. I've got a vent mount (well, it's a dash mount w/ a vent right behind it) in our other car but not in the family truckster. I guess the car cradle is going back to the store. The adhesive disc that's supposed to let you put it on the dash doesn't handle heat well either, for that matter.
I've had my Ally for a few days now. First venture into the Android OS and it's been a good time so far. As for the phone itself, it's seemingly well built. I had a Dare before this and it lasted quite well over a couple years.
Keyboard on the Ally is great. Wasn't sure if I'd actually use it alot, but end up sliding it open most of the time. Easy to type on and better for longer email replies that I do on it. I think it will hold up over time. Slide is nice as well. Nice spring action and feels solid after repeated use.
I'm still not sold on the weight of it. I remember my first though about the Moto Droid was "wow, this thing is heavy". The Ally may be about the same weight! I'm sold on LG's durability and I hope this phone will not let me down in this respect. It really does feel like a solidly build phone to me.
Screen response is good and I love the "hard" buttons on the bottom rather than having all touch buttons.
I have found it to be a bit sluggish from time to time. Can't really pinpoint what the cause might be - perhaps when some kind of syncing task is running. Definitely not a show-stopper for me though. I've had some random app crashes as well: Slacker Radio was one, and what appeared to be a process related to the home screen. I work in IT all day long and I've enjoyed using this phone in general. I've been sticking with the stock Android interface and am hoping updates will come a little quicker than on phones like the HTC's with the Sense interface.
Still trying to get a fix on battery life as well. I've been playing around alot with it, so I've burned the battery down easily within less than a day a couple times now, but today with an overnight charge and light-moderate use, I managed to get to about an hour ago (13 hours) with a 15% battery charge left. I've done about 4 complete cycles thus far.
Camera is average. I think it might be a bit better than the Dare, but no major improvements with it.
Reception has been pretty good. I've been in a couple dead spots (friends house and girlfriends house) and while unable to place calls reliably, I was able to do data and check email and browse.
Call quality is good. Ear is loud enough and the speakerphone is ample loud for me. Friend has stated that I do sound better via this phone compared with my Dare. Call quality in general seems better now.
Got the Verizon case with holster, and it's a nice combo. Phone is protected and it fits very nicely. Slide works great and is in no way affected by snap-on case.
Just some random thoughts thrown down here. Hope it may help a bit.
Warren
wgbeatty wrote: Got the Verizon case with holster, and it's a nice combo. Phone is protected and it fits very nicely. Slide works great and is in no way affected by snap-on case.
This may be a silly question, but I also have the Verizon snap-on case with holster. How do you remove the snap on case if you need to access the battery? I tried to pry it off with no luck. I don't want to force it and destroy the case.
It's nice but yours is nicer!!
a lot of nice phones are on the horizon
isn't technology wonderful..
I have had a lot of issues with my Ally. I have tried to play nice with the Verizon tech people but they don't seem to know much about this phone either. I have decided I will not use Wifi on the phone because it will not switch in and out of Wifi/3G networks without having to turn the Wifi on and off. Verified that with 3 tech support people. I think they are trying to make us use Wifi more and more so they can limit our data plans -- but, I am paying for a data plan so I want to use my data plan.
I have a "black out" on screen when I am trying to do a customer service phone tree -- like when you call Verizon, push whatever. No matter what they tell me to do, it doesn't work. Using the regular keyboard for this function has not worked for me.
I have set my keypad not to vibrate when I push the buttons, they vibrate.
The battery is sucked dry incredibly fast, I normally have to recharge it at least once-twice a day and I turn it off at night completely.
I have had/or are having other issues.
I really really want this phone to work correctly. It is relatively new and tech support with Verizon and LG have not been very helpful. I have talked to them about dropping the phone and Verizon service altogether and they have promised they are going to get me some answers but I am not holding my breath. I have become more and more upset with Verizon to the point I am afraid to set foot in another store, that I may go ballistic. Seriously.
Love mine. I've had the LG enV, Voyager, and Touch. Typically, LG is a good, solid phone. The Ally is a bit heaver; however, I like that. The battery does drain pretty quickly, but it does seem to get better...they rep at the store told me that it would get better over time as the droid "system" learned how I used it, etc.
I use Pandora during the day alot and I've not had any "crashing" problems as described with Slacker. I did see on the Slacker app install screen where crashing is a known issue. I have had occasions where the phone didn't recognize the touch, but I think it's more of an issue of how I was touching (not using the pad of my finger) and it didn't detect enough heat to sense the touch. It is a HEAT sensitive screen - you cannot use your nail or stylus or anything of that nature. I've also notice a few times where it didn't register the touch when I know I touched it correctly and squarely...it was on an alarm I downloaded; therefore, I think it was the app not the phone.
I think you will be pleased if you were to purchase it. I went into the store wanting the Incredible, but I really like a qwerty keyboard - I have a hard time with on screen keyboards sometimes because I type quicker than it can register.
i've been reading these forums for a while, and i can't decide what phone to go with. we are upgrading in a couple weeks and can't decide between the ally or the droid. any suggestions as to why to get one over the other?
machinehed wrote: i've been reading these forums for a while, and i can't decide what phone to go with. we are upgrading in a couple weeks and can't decide between the ally or the droid. any suggestions as to why to get one over the other?
You should really consider the Droid X. That'll be a wonderful phone I am sure.
Most, if not all, car chargers by default will have a tendency to overheat a battery because (by default) they are a "quick charger". Using them will also shorten the life of a battery because of the quick charge feature. Therefore, you shouldn't use them except in emergencies. I'm in the habit of putting my phone on the wall charger every night when I go to bed. That way, I'm sure to have a fresh battery every day.
great review thanks for the insight. mine arrives tomorrow. fingers crossed it will be "as advertised"
bamagirl92 wrote: Love mine. I've had the LG enV, Voyager, and Touch. Typically, LG is a good, solid phone. The Ally is a bit heaver; however, I like that. The battery does drain pretty quickly, but it does seem to get better...they rep at the store told me that it would get better over time as the droid "system" learned how I used it, etc. ... I have had occasions where the phone didn't recognize the touch, but I think it's more of an issue of how I was touching (not using the pad of my finger) and it didn't detect enough heat to sense the touch. It is a HEAT sensitive screen - you cannot use your nail or stylus or anything of that nature. I think you will be pleased if you were to purchase it. I went into the store wanting the Incredible, but I really like a qwerty keyboard - I have a hard time with on screen keyboards sometimes because I type quicker than it can register.
... I have had occasions where the phone didn't recognize the touch, but I think it's more of an issue of how I was touching (not using the pad of my finger) and it didn't detect enough heat to sense the touch. It is a HEAT sensitive screen - you cannot use your nail or stylus or anything of that nature.
Hi there bamagirl!!
I'm considering moving to a smartphone around the holidays when prices ocme down....maybe even Januasry when I get more $$ off for my NE2. Anyway, been looking at the Droid or new Droid 2 - because it's similar to my Voyager, which I love. And now looking at the Ally, which is even closer to the Voyager/Touch! Glad to see you like it, and have had the same lineup of phones that I am familiar with....
And a minor correction (I think, based on what I've read) on a capacitive touchscreen - it's not HEAT sensitive, it's electrical in nature, and your skin in contact with the screen changes the electrical fields so the screen knows where it's been touched. I may have difficulty with that....Ilike to use a pencil eraser or pen cap on my Voyager rather than my finger, and that won't work on the Ally. A minor annoyance, I suppose!
Waiting to see how the Droid 2 fares....and I'm still considering a Blackberry. It'll take me till Christmas to figure this out!
SuzyQ I really don't picture you as an android user at all. Not even a blackberry person. More like a....Env3 type of person. Maybe because you rarely ever post messages in the android sections.{please keep your posts courteous}. Even that SydneyK lady ditched her Ally & went back to a blackberry. Plus in another post you mentioned that you were considering a Bold phone. I say get that phone or another type of BB phone.
I am over 70 and enjoying my first smartypants phone. Tried Blackberry first, but could not handle the tiny keys, and returned it after a week. Ally keyboard is much better. Had to attend 2 free tutorials to gain confidence and get started on experimenting on my own.
Many good free apps -- too many. Love reading free ebooks from Aldiko, news on TIME, USA Today, and NPR. Discovered I have an addictive personality, having downloaded several word games, including one similar to SCRABBLE that finds opponents to play against. Here I am at midnite waiting for my opponent to respond. Maybe I need 3 or 4 more opponents.
My complaint is the same as that of others -- battery runs down after several hours. Probably because of all the free apps running. Also, often frustrating, my touch does not always connect. Service says I need to warm my hands.Doesn't help much.
Spend the extra money and get a better phone. I seriously HATE my Ally with a passion since this new update ruined what was a perfectly good phone. If I could go back I would get the Incredible, Droid or Droid 2 probably even the Droid X. Im so disappointed in this phone and the lack of service there is to fix what is wrong with it Im slowly losing my faith in Verizon....
Is it July yet because I really am ready to get rid of this phone and Ive only had it since August!
don't get one they are crap!!!! Touch screen very poor and locks up to the point you have to pull the battery out to reboot.
I wouldn't recommond an Ally either. After the last update, they really messed up some aspects of the phone (some apps stop working, and you have to constantly reinstall them - after reboots or turning phone off). LG knows about the problem, but the promised update is forever coming (like their 2.2 Froyo update).
LG really goofed on this, and it may hurt their rep some. A shame, because it was a terrific and inexpensive driod option at first, and seemed to have a lot of promise.
Hurrah! They finally got the FIX update out (VZC). Strange that it came out Thanksgiving morning. What happens if a lot of problems on a holiday ... but no complaints here. They were slow getting it out, but I'm so GLAD they did it!
Now ... for 2.2 ...
is 2.2 out now?? im only 2.1. the guy at verizon said he has seen 2.2 on ally's for a couple months now
This site still lacks critical infromation for Ally, but surely it is coming especially as more people buy them - and they should.
Ally was recommended by VZW employees who know what equipment users complain about and return.
Everyone I know who has a Droid complains about battery longevity. The Ally was supposed to be the lesser of evils. No way to know without evaluating all.
I can say that by turning off everything I don't need to run on startup, and pressing the off button when complete (not turning off, just imposing sleep mode) makes my battery last all day.
Battery needs to last at least three days to be what we want (because of travel and not having to be a slave to a dog-gone phone).
Overall, so far so good. Though I think I'd just assume go back to having "just a phone", which is what I had and it didn't cause me more work or stress.
Obviously, Droid has a really long way to go still. Shaking sense into the troll-for-personal-data guys will help. Their software running in the background all the time slows the system up andd wears out the battery too.
The Ally is the better of the alternatives though.
Suffice to say that in the week I've had it, and my trolling the Internet, my complaints are the same as everyone elses.
1. Battery consumption and Pre-Loaded Apps:
X Pre-loaded apps diminish the benefit of the service,
X Pre-loaded apps cannot be removed.
X Pre-loaded apps run down your battery whether you like it or not –
X unless you download apps that stop the junk apps -and thus consume resources in your tiny system even more.
X Nobody is offering ways to remove the junk apps likely because of contracts with the goofy companies who apparently can’t get customers through less oppressive ways.
X {edit for TOS violation}, but that sounds like something that can mess up your Droid and likely invalidate your warranty. If not true, then it’s a great scare tactic.
Hint: When done with the phone, hit the off button and it goes to sleep - until you slide-finger it back to life - saves lots of battery and keeps your phone from inadvertently doing things without your direction (first night my phone dialed my wife and she listened to my talking to my sin while driving between XMas chopping stops).
Questions:
X Didn’t we go through this with PC’s and all the junk that gets pre-loaded in them, and how we then needed huge hard drives and insane quanitites of memory just to perform basic functions?
X Isn’t this why we needed huge monitors – because all of the junk that runs in competition with what we try to do on PC’s?
Kind of reminds me of PC's needing huge resources for simple functions, because they are always under attack - often by the very people we buy them from, and then have to buy software to filter or stop the attacks, so then need more resources, and then slows th ecomputer down, and then need more resources to speed up.....It's just stupid. No way can't they make computers virus, trojan, spam, addware, spyware, etc. proof. They just don't want to.
2. Volume Controls:
X Can't adjust the ringer volume beyond its low limit (so count on being in quiet rooms or using vibrate).
X Many users have trouble with Phone vs. Notifications ringtones. Surprisingly, I didn’t, but I don’t want the dang thing going off every time I get an email (like 50-80/day). Thanks for not making them connected.
3. Screen Time-Out:
X The user screen times out exceedingly too fast, like two seconds, and can't be adjusted - only adjustment is for app screen time. So apparently they don’t want us to use them as phones.
Huge Problem discovered: These days nobody wants to answer the phone, so you have to press 1 for this and 3 for that. You can’t do this with this phone – the screen turns off so fast that you can’t press follow-up buttons. You have to touch the screen to reactivate it, and in doing so you are sure to press a location of a number and select the wrong thing. Heaven help you if you are entering a SSN or credit car #. It took me five calls to reach the manager of the Worst Buy because I had to press 3 to get a sales person – who would then page the manager (who was expecting my call).
Hint: Don't plan to use password unlock unless you are really fast at it - the screen will turn off on you prematurely - but the slide-your-fingers-across-the-tiny-balls unlock is pretty cool.
Question: Wonder if time-out is a few seconds as the software-writers solution toward battery life issues. If so, duh! Allow us to control and remove apps. ALL apps. That will allow the battery to last for days.
4. User Interface/Screen:
X Screen UI is not kind to people with adult-size fingers.
X Often has a mind of its own.
X Actual buttons on Ally are its saving grace.
5. Voice Dial:
X Ha! Not! Software that comes with is a practical joke. Say "Home" and it thinks you said 927-990-whatever. Say any phone number and it comes up with something completely different. Say your seven digit numebr and it just inserts three other numbers (it doesn't like seven number dial, it likes ten - and it's going to teach you a lesson! You will conform!)
X VZW customer service at store downloaded Vlingo for me. It works great. I can say "Home" - one of my contacts - and it actually pulls up Home.
I do not recommend it. I have one I have hald for almost a year and do not like it. I tis however pretty durable. As i have a toddler who likes to hit it and throw it like a ball. It seemed to with stand all of that without trouble. but recently he slid on it and it shattered the screen. As for the phone itself tho, I hate it. I would def. recommend a droid. The ally is much slower and it will tell you your momory is full a lot and it wont even be half way. It also will block my text messages saying it is full even after it is emptied completely and I have had to rebute it completely many times. But if you do choose this may you have better luck than I.
