The ONE, the ONLY LG Viper Ice Cream Sandwich Thread

[MacinJosh]

As some wait for the update to ICS on their LG Viper's, and we now join the rest of the Sprint's smartphones on Android 4, I figured I would write my simple summary review of the device.

 

1) First of all, ICS on this phone is MUCH, much faster & more responsive than Gingerbread! I couldn't believe how much better ICS is. The screen is more responsive than before.

 

2) Load time: After the boot animation is complete, the time the phone takes to load from there has improved by a lot. It even connects to phone service faster than before.

 

3) Modems: At home, where phone service is miniscule, my phone seems to have a more stable connection to Sprint.

 

4) ICS Features: ICS is much more pleasant to the eyes, however, that brightness control needs to be tamed. If turned up too high, it sure is bright. And the fact that I can customize my lock screen with a built in calendar will sure save me battery life. Shortcut buttons on the lock screen are awesome too! It will take some time for me to get used to the System Settings menu, as everything is arranged differently than on Gingerbread, but it is a welcome change. I also like the customizable system fonts. If finally gives me some extra level of control on how I want my user interface to look like.

 

5) Voicemail App: Sprint waited until this release to upgrade the Voicemail app to bring it inline with the rest of their LTE smartphones. I'm glad for that, I hated the yellow background on the old icon.

 

6) Battery life: I can't really say I've seen too much difference here yet as I have problems with my battery, but so far there has been a small drop in battery life on my phone alone as my current battery keeps dying anyway.

 

7) LG QuickMemo: In July, LG introduced QuickMemo. A useful feature, it gave Viper users the ability to take screenshots natively on our phones. It received an upgrade on ICS, and it seems to be better optimized with the new OS.

 

Overall, this device has been given a well needed upgrade, and performs much better on ICS than it did with Gingerbread.

 

This phone was announced January 9th at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, released April 22nd alongside the Galaxy Nexus, and received ICS on November 1st.

 

Here's hoping that we will also receive Jelly Bean, preferably 4.2

 

 

 

Note: For those that own a Mac and the Viper, you need a MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) app in order to transfer information from your phone to your Mac. Google has one located here, called Android File Transfer. Apparently, all versions of Android from 3.0 up need this program to work with a Mac, or a similar program that supports MTP tech. I will definitely miss the days I could just mount as a USB drive.

[MacinJosh]

Another new feature on the Viper is the video camera now supports Full HD recording at 1920x1080 resolution. On Gingerbread the phone could only record up to HD 1280x720 resolution. The camera has a new feature too, it gives you the ability to say certain words, "Whisky, Cheese, Smile, LG, or Kimchi", and the phone will automatically take the picture.

[BenChase7]

The last thing I want to do is combine Whisky and Photographs

[MacinJosh]

The last thing I want to do is combine Whisky and Photographs

 

[S4GRU]

Wow. Mine worked on the first try too, even after an almost 2 hour download.

 

It finally worked after I reflashed the last factory version of Gingerbread, and then rebooted. When I went back in after reflashing, I received notification of the ICS update automatically. I just let it do its thing. All good now.

 

Robert

[S4GRU]

 

I'm really liking ICS on the Viper. It makes this cute little phone much more usable.

 

Robert via LG Viper with ICS using Tapatalk

 

 

[MacinJosh]

For those that want to turn off the LG QuickMemo watermark, when you go into QuickMemo, press the menu key, and tap the signature off item.

 

Sent from my LG Viper 4G LTE LG-LS840 using Forum Runner

[MacinJosh]

I have a problem with my phone not working properly with eHRPD data since i updated to ICS. Anyone have any ideas to help me? I have already done a few resets with the ##72786# command.

 

Sent from my LG Viper 4G LTE LS840 using Forum Runner

[WiWavelength]

Five LG Viper ICS threads merged. Please do not start another -- unless the discussion is distinct and truly warrants its own thread.

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

This really should have been a part of the existing Viper ICS thread. That bing said, I haven't had any eHRPD issues with the Viper yet since upgrading to ICS.

 

Robert via LG Viper with ICS using Forum Runner

[MacinJosh]

This really should have been a part of the existing Viper ICS thread. That bing said' date=' I haven't had any eHRPD issues with the Viper yet since upgrading to ICS.

 

Robert via LG Viper with ICS using Forum Runner[/quote']

 

Really? I can't get eHRPD to upload on speedtest, easytether won't access the network on my phone. And it all worked on gingerbread.

 

Sent from my LG Viper 4G LTE LS840 using Forum Runner

[MacinJosh]

Five LG Viper ICS threads merged. Please do not start another -- unless the discussion is distinct and truly warrants its own thread.

 

AJ

 

Sorry AJ.

 

Sent from my LG Viper 4G LTE LS840 using Forum Runner

[diablo94]

How can I update my version

[pyroscott]

Five LG Viper ICS threads merged. Please do not start another -- unless the discussion is distinct and truly warrants its own thread.

 

AJ

 

It was a momentus occasion, deserving of 5 threads lol

[WiWavelength]

It was a momentus occasion, deserving of 5 threads lol

 

Oh yeah, the release of a new LG handset is almost as exciting as the arrival of the cheesecake boats...

 

http://www.comedycen...meaney--big-tan

 

AJ

[MacinJosh]

How can I update my version

 

You can either do it manually, through this link: http://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-viper-4g-lte/221242-manually-install-ics-direction.html, or wait for Sprint to push it to your phone.

[MacinJosh]

So apparently the Viper got it's LTE-Available file with it's upgrade to ICS. However, I'm trying to figure out what the numbers mean.

 

I know the 4145 is the SID and the 4 NID. But is the last number, like 419 or 446, is that the BSID for the tower?

[rwhittaker13]

Just to let you guys know, there seems to be a semi big glitch in the software update to the phone. It seems when i first installed ICS on my viper, ive got faster boot times, but whatever any of you do, do NOT enable "Force 2D GPU rendering" in the developer options. When i did that, my phone would not boot past the 4G LTE logo, and i had to do a hard reset to get my phone to boot again.. Im guessing its just a feature that wasnt meant to be used on this phone, so users BEWARE of the dreaded bootloop. Anyone else have this problem?

[S4GRU]

Just to let you guys know' date=' there seems to be a semi big glitch in the software update to the phone. It seems when i first installed ICS on my viper, ive got faster boot times, but whatever any of you do, do NOT enable "Force 2D GPU rendering" in the developer options. When i did that, my phone would not boot past the 4G LTE logo, and i had to do a hard reset to get my phone to boot again.. Im guessing its just a feature that wasnt meant to be used on this phone, so users BEWARE of the dreaded bootloop. Anyone else have this problem?[/quote']

 

It's not a feature I mess with on any of my devices. So I have not experienced any issues in my Viper with it before.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 using Forum Runner

[S4GRU]

Battery life has improved dramatically with light usage. Although it seems the same with moderate and heavy usage.

 

After 24 hours of light usage. Just checking Forum Runner twice, responding to a couple of emails, a couple of texts and two 5 minute phone calls, I'm still at 47%. Not bad at all.

 

 

 

 

Ignore the red mark. That was a LG Quick Memo oops.

 

Robert via LG Viper with ICS using Tapatalk

 

 

[rwhittaker13]

I agree, the ICS update does miracles for such an eco-friendly device. For 49.99, this phones definetely worth the money! Lets just hope sprint kicks things into high gear so we can get out of the post primitive era of dial-up like 3G speeds. lol

[MacinJosh]

I agree' date=' the ICS update does miracles for such an eco-friendly device. For 49.99, this phones definetely worth the money! Lets just hope sprint kicks things into high gear so we can get out of the post primitive era of dial-up like 3G speeds. lol[/quote']

 

I bought my phone from Amazon in May for $20. But yes it is worth it for the lower price.

 

Sent from my LG-LS840 Viper 4G LTE using Forum Runner

[jarm]

im having problems when conected to ehrpd data dosent work this hapens since ics update

[MacinJosh]

im having problems when conected to ehrpd data dosent work this hapens since ics update

 

You are now the 3rd person to mention it. 1 person over on Android Central complained about that problem too.

 

Sent from my LG-LS840 Viper 4G LTE using Forum Runner

[Rickie546]

Wife got the update tonight, even though I first wrote on the device...she doesn't like the lay out, but think its because its new.