First Impressions of the LG Optimus F3 4g LTE by Virgin Mobile!

Specifications:

Display: 4.0-inches (Gorilla Glass)
Camera: 5-MP Processor 3-MP Front
Speed: 1.2 GHz OS:
Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Wifi
Blue tooth
NFC (Near Field Communications)
CDMA, 4G (EVDO+HSPA), 3G

Since getting my ZTE phone wet the last few weeks ago, I decided I would jump up and try a new phone out.  So this weekend I went to Walmart to see what they had and I was surprised that they were out of the ZTE’s, I liked that phone because the screen size.   Even though they both say 4.0 screen size, I could swear the ZTE is slightly bigger probably more closer to 4.1 but that is just me.   You can read my full review of the ZTE AWE and decide for yourself.

First Impression:

I have done this in past with the ZTE Awe and I’ll talk about my first impressions of this phone and go into more detail later.   First off, it has no way to do the Wifi Hotspot like the ZTE but you do have the option of Blue tooth Tethering your phone and I can also do a hard tethering from the phone to Windows/Mac laptop.   So you can still use the 4G speed for surfing the net.  I will look into finding out how to get complete wifi tethering later on.   I know I will have to circumvent Virgin Mobile but that seems to be the only way to have true wifi tethering enable with them.   They seem to try to frustrate the customers who do want true unlimited service.   I haven’t really had the chance to see if they consider 4g as true unlimited, or if it is still bound by the reduce in speed of 3g after 2.5 GB of bandwidth.

Comparing it to the ZTE AWE!

After using the ZTE Awe, I thought I should oa quick comparison of the two phones.   Each has unique properties and have reasons why you will want to use that particular phone.   So I’m going to tell you my experience in hopes this will help you make a choice of the two.   It won’t be an in depth comparison but it will be a quick overview.

ZTE awe is a little lighter and lest thicker than the LG Optimus.   It depends on on what your looking for with weight and thickness but I honestly think the LG Optimus is slightly thicker and heavier to either to make you believe it is stronger or it is stronger.  The LG Optimus has better camera properties, even though they both have 5 Mega pixel cameras, it looks like the Awe uses software to make it get to 5mp.  You can tell when I used the camera on the LG Optimus, it actually looks better and much more responsive.  The Awe only comes with a 1mp front camera and the LG Optimus comes with a 3mp front camera.  If your going to be doing video chats on a phone, I think you will want to be much more details.  

The Touch screen on the AWE doesn’t feel anywhere like the Gorilla glass that comes with the LG Optimus F3.   I do not know how to describe this but I do enjoy the touch screen on the LG Optimus better than I do with the ZTE Awe.   If feels much more sturdier and less breakable.   Although I have dropped the AWE several times, and the phone has yet to shatter.   So I know the AWE will not break as much as it looks.  

Finally, The LG Optimus F3 is a good buy for those who want to have a better experience with photos, and even the speed.   I have been able to pick up data signal’s in places I usually had a hard time getting signals.  So that is also another plus.   The Zte AWE is good for those who need a cheap phone for games and watching movies on it.  So I’ll let you decide which on you want to buy.  

My ZTE Awe got dumped in a water hole!

The experience that I know!

I have done this many times with phones just like the HTC Inspire, it was another one that got wet!  You just have to know what to do as soon as it gets wet to prevent any damage!  It isn’t anything new but someone people just do not think about this until it is too late.   As for me, I learned that if you can take the power source out of the phone, it stands a much better chance of surviving then when you do nothing and then the wiring gets fried.

What to do if it does get soaked!

I will be glad to lead you through how I saved my ZTE Awe phone and kept it from getting fried.   How I dried it and how you can do it without using Rice.   

1. Once your phone gets wet, your first response is to always pull the battery, if you can!   I am sure not everyone thinks about these kinds of things but once you remove electricity from the equation, you stand a much greater chance at saving the electronic device!
2. After that, you should get as much of the water off the phone as necessary without breaking the phone.  I just flung it around with my hand a few times.   
3. I also took the back off and left the back uncovered.   This will help the phone dry quicker and easier.   You may see water spots in the screen if you leave the back on.   It has to be able to dry the inside of the phone also.
4. I used a Hair dryer, If you used this technique remember the phone should not get to hot.   You best bet is to keep it in your hand as you blow air any place on or in the phone you can without causing damage.   If the phone get hot in your hands it is time to let the phone cool off.   This way you will not damage the phone.   BATTERY MUST BE REMOVED before doing this and after this for an hour!
5. I then would use the hair dryer every day over the next week to help dry the screen off and get those water droplets to go away from the screen.   You can continue to do this as long as you like as long as you do not get the phone extremely hot and you do not have the battery in the phone as you use the hair dryer on the phone!

Now since I got the phone dry I no longer have WIFI or Blue tooth capabilities, and I am seriously thinking about buying a new phone but something that will allow me to make a portable hotspot with laptop and tablet.  The only one that looks to be promising for Virgin Mobile, is the Samsung Galaxy S2 (Amazon Affiliate Link).   Which I might just buy that myself and use that for my internet at home.

I am sure it was the phone getting wet that caused the wifi and blue tooth to be broken, at least it seems to be the problem.   So I want to hear from the community about the Samasung Galaxy S2 and how has it been with Virgin Mobile US?  Let me know by leaving a comment,

How to Root a ZTE AWE phone! (Virgin Mobile)

Cydia Impactor rules!

After getting my ZTE AWE,  I’ve been looking for a way to use the tethering feature that can be useful where I am currently located at!   The only problem is that Virgin Mobile (VM) does not let me pay the 15 dollar tethering charge for using it has a wifi hotspotl  According to them, there is no way to enable this.   So I went searching for ways to enable it.  I have gotten closer to making that happen by BREAKING MY WARRANTY.   According to VM, if I root the device, it voids the warranty of the device.   I kind of think this a small ridiculous rule so it is up to you!

The way I did it was a very easy way to download Cydia Impactor to root your device!  It puts the Super USER binaries on your device and allows them to have any thing on it that you want.   

Steps to root phone:

• Install the ZTE AWE software from phone!  You can do this simply by System Settings —> Connect to PC and selecting Install driver!  (Only needs to be done on Windows or Mac OS!)
• Put the Phone on USB Debug :  System Settings —> Developer Options — > USB Debugging
• You will need to click on the USB menu on Cydia Impactor and select the N800 driver.
• Once your do that you can simply drop the SuperSU Binaries
• Install the SuperSU from ChainFire

Once your have done all this you will have ROOT access.   It is up to you what you want to do but I have found that you have several things that can help monitor your phone and speed it up.   In the coming weeks I will tell you about a few of my favorite apps that work to help keep your phone running smooth!

Even More Tips and Tricks for the ZTE AWE!

It’s that Time again!

I’ve had several people say they liked some of my tips for the Zte AWE and asked me for more.   So I thought we should do another quick segment for those who just can’t wait to long!  Some of these tips are great for people who use Virgin Mobile so it will probably work for most to all Virgin Mobile US smart phones!

Tip #4  Airplane Mode is your Friend!

Unlock Phone —> PRESS and HOLD power button for 2 seconds —> Airplane Mode

Or

On Main Screen —> Press the Three Bars —> System Settings —> Airplane Mode

I’ve had those time when You need to just turn on airplane mode to help conserve battery power.   You really don’t know how much battery power is used when your cell phone gets very little signal in an area.   It uses more battery power to keep that connection with the cell tower.   So it is best just to turn off the signal, until you get to a better reception area.   It might be important for your to keep it on but it isn’t life threatening for me! It is also quite useful to turn on airplane mode when your charging your phone.   I found this tip out somewhere else on the internet but it is a really good tip.   It charges my phone faster.   So it works really well when your in a hurry to quickly charge your phone.

Tip #5 Turn off Connections Optimizer

Main Screen —> Three Bars —> System Settings —> Mobile Networks —>   Connections Optimizer —>  Uncheck Connections Optimizer

I’ve had so much bad experiences with this little Virgin Mobile US and Sprint Network extra that I suspect this is a way for them to have to worry about us using to much of their data networks and hoping we use our own way to keep from using theirs.   I also have noticed this will speed up the reduction of my battery power a little and thus I just disable it from the get go.   I don’t even worry about it because it just worries me about privacy issues and I will not tolerate my privacy be abused.

Tip #6  Tell Google to Do Not Track you!

When you setup your phone this seems to be something Google does to help make the ads more likely to be clicked by you and it is what they call interest-based ads, but are being tracked by Google and 3rd party partner apps.   So I always turn this off when ever I get a Phone with Ice Cream Sandwich or Above (4.0 +).   It is a new feature that they have been adding to their operating systems that I just do not like and thus I turn it off.

Main Screen —> Three Bars —> Google —> Ads

 

You will need to Opt out of the Interested-Based Ads by checking the little check mark.   I do not understand why this should be an opt instead of a opt out.   I am not pleased with Google over this little idea of opting everyone in instead of being automatically being opted out.   This should be the first thing that comes up when you start using your new phone.     You should also generate a new random ID that way the advertisers can’t keep tracking your old id and you privacy is being protected.

Main Screen —> Three Bars —> Google —> Search —> Accounts & Privacy

Another area where I protect my privacy is by turning off commute sharing, Web History and also tell Google to do not keep my web history in their system.  I also turn of personal Results because they have to keep track of your information to make it relevant to you and thus somewhere some how, something is keeping records and thus I tell Google I do not want to be recorded.

On a side note, If your using Google Now this will not affect you but if your not then you can Turn off Google Now easily by going to the search settings and turning it off.   It is the first thing you see when you get into the search menu and this will help you protect your privacy.   I use Google Now but I use it with limits that I set by doing those two things whenever I get a new phone.

Best Tips and Tricks for your ZTE AWE!

Common questions!

I’ve been getting a few common questions and thought this was a good time to discuss a few of them and help you increase your productivity on your ZTE AWE phone.   Each one of these tips is good to use for your phone to help you make it easier to get what you need to get done with your phone.  This phone is 4.1.2 Android (Jelly Bean).   

TIP 1: Keep your Phone updated

If you haven’t already, you should check to make sure you ZTE AWE is updated in several areas.   You can easily do this by hitting the 3 dashes on the phone that look like a small bar graph.   Then select “System Settings” and scrolling all the way to the bottom of the screen.   You will select “System Updates”.  Once your their you will find 4 options: 

• Update PRL
• Update Profile
• Update ZTE Software
• Update Firmware

Each one these can help you in several areas.  First question people ask me is what is a PRL it is “Preferred Roaming List” and can be very useful to keep your signal strength at highest possible strength for your location.   You should do this from time to time or when you have done a hard reset to get put keep your phone updated to any new cell towers in your area.  

Updating your Profile basically helps you keep your phone validated with the network.   You should occasionally keep it updated to make sure you have the latest codes for your phone to be able to communicate with the cell towers and for you to be able to use their services.   This can be quite useful if your experiences some problems with connectivity problems with your 3g service.

Update ZTE Software is a form of drivers that you need to use to have your phone work with Jelly Bean.   I am sure there are some Cyangen Mods out there that can get around this but I am not really concerned with using a mod right now.  As you know it is another layer to the Android community for them to have some for of ownership of their phones.   Nothing you can do about it but you should keep that updated just in case there is something new you can use with your phone.

Update Firmware can be very useful if your just bought your phone and you wanted the latest version of Android on your phone.   You will get updates from the provider if there is an OTA (Over The Air) update that is available for your device but those aren’t very reliable and thus you can check manually.  Who knows you might someday be able to use the Android 4.3 or 4.4 the Kit Kat Versions!

Tip 2: Multiple Folders and Groups

The nice thing about Jelly Bean and above on the android devices is that you can now have folders on your  home screen and any other menu area you are wanting to put it.   On the ZTE you have 4 spots that you can have a permanent folder.  The Home bar as I call it can be easily used to keep those folders of apps that help you on your phone.   I’ve got a Social Folder with Facebook, Twitter, and any other social app that I want.   I also have several different phone apps that allow me to do stuff like Google Voice.   I even have a games folder so I do have to go back to the home screen to play games that I use offten on my device like Words With Friends.

If you would like to add or remove icons on the bottom bar, just press on the icon shortcut and hold for a second or two and then move it to where ever you wanted to move it to.   If you happen to delete an important shortcut just find them in the apps menu.   That is the Circle with 4 small squares in it!  

TIP 3: Adding a VPN

If your are worried about people spy on you on public or when you use your phone.   You can have a VPN on the phone.   You can use something like VPN4ALL but if your wondering what a VPN is, check out my article on the subject.   If you value your privacy you will want to read both articles to better understand how to use a VPN.   

Adding a VPN is easy, just hit the menu key (3 Bars) and then select:

System Settings  —-> More —-> VPN —-> Add VPN

There are sever different options to setting up a VPN on the ZTE AWE but I recommend the L2TP/IPSec PSK or the IPSec Xauth PSK ones.   They may not be NSA backdoor but I can’t be 100% sure about that.   I do not recommend at all to use the PTPP for VPN because that is not the best idea for keeping people out!

More to Come!

It seems this will be a good one to come back to in the coming weeks.   I will post even more tips and tricks in the coming weeks and if you haven’t subscribed to my RSS Feed or my Email list.  If you don’t you might miss a valuable tip or trick for your ZTE AWE or some other device that I’ve talked about in the past!

Codes you will need for the ZTE AWE!

Codes you should know!

From time to time, I occasionally like to look up codes for new phones like the ZTE AWE and keep them handy. I found some really good codes tha tyou may need in the future.   I also like to know which codes are used for certain purposes.   In this article I will tell you which codes you will need to use with Virgin Mobile USA and this will hopefully help you before you call Virgin Mobile with your phone problems.   You never know when these codes will be useful but it should at least help you get what you want from your phone!

Codes

Before I begin, I will remind all readers that you use these codes at your own risk and I can’t be held responsible for any thing you aciddently delete!

Factory Reset — *983*57#  (Will delete all you personal files and information off the phone.  Do not use unless you need to!)

IMSI (international sematech manufacturing initiative) — *983*36401*01#  Sometimes Virgin Mobile will need this to help solve your problem and thus you should either know the code or have your IMSI written down to make it quicker for them to help you!

IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) —*#06#  Good for the same purpose as the IMSI but it mostly what is requested by Virgin Mobile.   

Mutliple Menus and Information — *97*0#  This is very good code for finding out the Wifi MAC Address for those wifi networks that are limited by which mac address are allowed on that wifi network.   So you may need this information from time to time.   It also shows your batter information and how good the health of your battery!

Phone Device Information — *983*5182# very good to know you model number and which android OS your are using with what Kernel are being used currently on your phone!.   You may need thise for Virgin Mobile USA but that depends on how much information they need!

In order to use these codes you will need to go to phone dialer to use these codes. 

Another good TIP:

If you are wanting to send a file or photo to your phone you can easy do this by emailing the phone.   This is also very useful for those times when you need to know what is going on very quickly with maybe your bank account activity or something really serious.   Just send an email to: [10-digit phone number]@vmobl.com.   Just a reminder it comes over a text message(SMS) and thus you only get the first 180 characters or so.   It however can be quite useful for sending files to your phone by attachment or when you need to keep on top of a service or server and keep it from going down.   This is one of the mostly used tips in my library for my business or other such problems.  Can be quite useful when you need to keep on top of important things!

Well this pretty much does it for what you might need for Virgin Mobile USA customer support.   I am sure I have missed something but this will at least get you a head start when you call them.   You can be ready to tell them all this information and not have to wait.   

Reviewing the ZTE Awe from Virgin Mobile!

The Virgin Mobile ZTE AWE comes with a 1.2 ghz processor and the screen is really nice. I did switch from the Kyocera Rise to this because of a flaw that would just make the screws come off and break apart. I have had over a week to play around with the ZTE phone and I am quite impressed with the service. I thought it would be good to at least talk about some of the obstacles you will need to overcome to switching and that way you could be ready when the time comes!

Click to read more ...

First Look: The ZTE Awe from Virgin Mobile!

I recently Switched!

With the Kyocera Rise that kept on fall apart, I decided I needed to invest in a better phone.   This seemed perfect for me.  5 MP camera and tethering capabilities if you add 15$ more.  I got this from Walmart but wanted to talk about the ZTE AWE just a few minutes and let people know I’ll be talking about this in more details.   I am quite impressed with screen size and other things.   The weight of the phone is less bulky and doesn’t weigh as much.   

I just got tired of having to tighten those darn screws into the phone on the Kyocera Rise even though this was a cheap phone to begin with, I didn’t want to have to have to worry about it.   So I opted for a little bit more money to get the Virgin Mobile US ZTE Awe (Virgin Mobile is one of the sponsors to my website, because I like their service and want others to know about them).   In the coming weeks I will be talking about it even more but wanted to show you what I gotten the last few days and give you something to look at and possibly get yourself.   

Display : Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) 

Resolution: 480 x 800 pixels,  4”   diagonal 

Processor: 1.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8630

Micro SD Card Size : 32 Gb capacity

Camera: 5 Mega Pixel with LED Flash 

Modes:    panorama, burst mode, interval mode, face detection, blink detection, smile detection, red-eye reduction

Front Facing: 1 Mega Pixel resolution

Video Capture : 720 HD