Verizon Wireless has added the affordable LG K8 V to its lineup, offering the handset at just $144 as a prepaid option.
Not too long ago, Tech Times reported that the midrange LG K8, dubbed "Aristo," was headed to T-Mobile and its prepaid unit, MetroPCS. The news sparked plenty of interest thanks to the affordable price of the device, and the wider availability now makes it more appealing.
Verizon is the latest carrier to add the smartphone to its prepaid portfolio, launching the LG K8 V at $144 and waiving the activation fee, which normally costs another $30. The fee is waived with online purchase and activation.
LG K8 V Specs
For those unfamiliar with the smartphone, the LG K8 V features a 5-inch HD display (720p), a 32-bit quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, and 1.5 GB of RAM.
Other specs include 16 GB of internal storage space, but only 9.3 GB are left for the user. The rest is occupied with preinstalled software, but the smartphone also supports microSD for additional storage of up to 128 GB.
The LG K8 V further sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front shooter with selfie features such as Gesture Shot and Selfie Light. Gesture Shot means the device can recognize when the user makes a gesture and starts a three-second timer to take the selfie. The Selfie Light feature, meanwhile, is designed to take high-quality self-shots even in low-light conditions.
The smartphone features rear-mounted lock and volume keys, a 2,125 mAh battery that lasts for up to 22 hours of usage, and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow on board out of the box, with LG's custom user interface on top. The LG K8 V is also the first Verizon prepaid smartphone to support HD Voice, although it doesn't come enabled by default. Users will have to activate HD Voice manually.
The main difference between the LG K8 that hit other carriers and the LG K8 V that's now available from Verizon is that the latter packs a Qualcomm chipset instead of the MediaTek processor powering the original version. Another notable difference is that the Qualcomm processor supports larger microSD cards of up to 128 GB, whereas the MediaTek chip only supported up to 32 GB of expandable storage.
Verizon Prepaid
Verizon's prepaid plans start at $45 per month and go all the way up to $70 per month. The cheapest option includes 2 GB of data, while the most expensive one comes with 10 GB of data and Verizon's "Carryover Data" scheme that rolls any unused data over to the next month.
Verizon started taking preorders for the LG K8 V back in June 2016, but it just now started offering the smartphone as a prepaid option. For those looking to purchase an affordable device with decent specs without having to commit to a lengthy carrier contract or monthly installments, the $144 prepaid LG K8 V could be a good fit. Don't expect any high-end performance, but the handset should be good enough for various tasks.
