The bottom line:

This is a cute phone that is decently functional when it comes to text messaging, though. as a feature phone it has a lot of problems.
It's compact, it's SQUARE, it's well-built, and has a great keyboard and decent camera.


It is not a smartphone:

Even as a featurephone the Lotus falls short: a limited selection of java-based apps, sluggish browser and UI*, clunky media player, and the wrong sized headphone jack. Another major problem with the phone is that it is not currently (July 25, 2009) supported by BitPim. This makes adding custom ringtones to your phone difficult*.


Great for anyone more concerned with aesthetics and text messaging than apps or web browsing:

It's beautiful (especially in purple and red), it has a fantastic keyboard, and a large, threaded inbox. Its screen is slightly larger than most other flips phones (though its landscape orientation makes it look much larger), and it displays photos beautifully.

If you have a data plan, but don't want a smartphone, its email application is solid, too, and you'll be able to check and update Facebook and visit any other WEP enabled site with no problem. The Youtube app even works, though not perfectly.


My favorite features:

I love the clamshell form factor. I like folding up my phone and sticking it neatly into my pocket. I like hanging up by closing the phone. I like having the main screen protected from wear and tear while it's in my pocket.

I don't mind that it isn't a touch screen. I hate having to look at my iTouch whenever I want to adjust the volume or open an app. I know my Lotus well enough that I can call up my favorite apps by touch with a series of key presses.

I like the Lotus because of its compact design and funky aesthetics. I wish it came in blue, because I found the purple too immasculating and the red too flashy. I just got it in black and plan on purchasing a skin for it soon to spice it up a bit.

I don't want a smartphone. They don't save me time or make me more productive, and my iTouch is perfectly good for just dicking around.


Tips and warnings for power users:

Ringtones:
I found a way to assign mp3 ringtones to specific contacts by converting them to 3g2 files using WinFF and placing them on my memory card so they show up under My Albums, but the only way to assign custom tones to alerts and the alarm clock that I could find was to use Rumkin, which requires a data plan.

Sprint OneClick vs the LG Theme:
The phone comes with Sprint's OneClick user interface enabled. It has a handy carosel with some nice features, but it's laggy and covers up nearly half of the screen.
The user interface that LG designed is sleeker and gives you much quicker access to your phone's features. It is locked by default, and you need to get the 6-digit MSL number from Sprint to unlock it.
If you're activating your handset over the phone, the service tech will tell you at one point to punch in a 6 digit number. Write it down! There are instructions on message boards for using it to unlock the LG Theme. Even if you find you prefer OneClick, it's nice to have a choice.

Opera Mini:
I was so excited to have a java phone because I could finally run Opera Mini. I installed it, but its fast scrolling and zoom features don't work properly because Opera Mini (currently version 4.2) was designed for phones with numeric keypads. Hopefully they will address this issue in future versions.