LG Banter Touch

LG Banter Touch

As the tech world gradually moves to smartphones, there's still a need for inexpensive regular cell phones. If they can play music, access the Web, and excel at messaging, so much the better. So goes the LG Banter Touch ($149), a solid phone that gives MetroPCS customers plenty to play with at a reasonable price. It's our new Editors' Choice for MetroPCS feature phones. The LG Banter Touch measures 4.2 by 2.2 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.7 ounces. MetroPCS calls the phone silver on its Web site, but the Banter Touch is mostly black, although there's a thick chrome accent band around the side. It feels pretty small in the hand, mainly because it's not that wide. The 3-inch touch screen offers 240-by-400-pixel resolution, which is adequate for basic media tasks, and enough to keep fonts and photos looking sharp. The five-row QWERTY keyboard features raised, rectangular plastic keys that are a bit stiff, but respond well to fast typing after a period of acclimation. Dialing numbers was simple using the on-screen numeric keypad. The LG Banter Touch is a tri-band 2G 1xRTT (850/1700/1900 MHz) CDMA phone with no Wi-Fi.