When searching for smartphones on contract, you rarely seek out US Cellular. Last year, though, the carrier beefed up its smartphone lineup, bringing a number of Android-running hardware into the fold. The LG Apex is one of them.
Physically, it's not the most striking design from LG. It has solid construction, though, with a nice soft-touch finish and a sturdy feel in hand. Display is a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen (800 x 480 resolution), with a narrow profile. It's crisp and bright, with good touch responsiveness. While the QWERTY keyboard looks odd with the D-pad on the side, it surprisingly works. In fact, this is one of the better keyboards out there among budget Android handsets.
As a phone, the LG Apex makes for usable calls. Voices went through clear with no background noise, but sound quality isn't the best. Those on the other end appeared to have a better experience. Battery is rated at 7.5 hours, but it seems to drain faster than we expected (could be a bum battery, though).
You get the usual smartphone favors here -- a variety of voice calling options, basic messaging, Bluetooth, 3G with HSPA, aGPS and WiFi. Email and IM are also supported, along with a bunch of apps for social networking.
Hardware is strictly midrange. It has a 600MHz CPU running Android 2.1, so it can get sluggish once you have a lot of programs open. Keep it to a moderate amount, however, and the speed is actually pretty good.
Media playback uses Android's default player, so it's nothing exciting. The 3.0 megapixel camera offers the standard editing options and takes rather average shots.
Overall, the LG Apex has two main strengths: a great keyboard and an attractive $49.99 price on contract with US Cellular. Entry-level Android users hankering for a physical keyboard should find it a very good choice.
