LG Optimus Elite (Sprint)

For $29.99, the LG Optimus Elite gets you a reasonable amount of smartphone?power in an earth-friendly package. It isn't a bad choice, but it's running on specs from over a year ago. It faces stiff competition from more powerful phones at equally affordable prices. The Optimus Elite is okay if you want to go green, but there are better options available.

Sprint Differences, Green Cred, and Conclusions
This is the same phone as the LG Optimus Elite?($149.99, 3.5 stars) we reviewed over on Virgin Mobile. It loses half a star here because it doesn't stand out as much among the low-cost smartphones in Sprint's lineup.

For a closer look at the phone, read our review and check out the slideshow below of the phone on Virgin. It's the same exact device here, except here it comes loaded with some additional Sprint-branded apps.

The Elite's standout feature is its eco-cred, which earns it PCMag's GreenTech Approval. The handset's casing is made of 50 percent recycled plastic, and is RoHS compliant, which means it is free from many potentially hazardous materials such as halogens, mercury, phthalates, and PVC. The phone is ULE Platinum Certified, and?comes with a charger that exceeds the EC Code of Conduct on energy efficiency when it comes to no-load consumption. Unlike many other chargers, the Optimus Elite's charger only consumes 0.03 watts of power when plugged into a wall socket without being connected to the phone. Additionally, the Elite comes in fully recyclable packaging that is printed with soy inks, contains up to 87 percent post-consumer paper, and was engineered with a glueless construction.?

So if you're more concerned with earth-friendliness than top-of-the-line specs, the LG Optimus Elite is a fine choice for first-time smartphone users. But Sprint's lineup contains other low-cost phones that give you more power for your dollar. The ZTE Fury?($19.99, 3.5 stars) costs ten dollars less than the Optimus Elite and gets you a faster 1GHz processor. So does the Samsung Transform Ultra, and that phone is free with a two-year contract and comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. We haven't reviewed it on Sprint yet, but you can take a look at our review of the phone on?Boost.

Like the Elite, the LG Viper 4G LTE?($79.99, 4 stars) is eco-friendly, but it also has a brighter, sharper display, a faster dual-core processor, and supports Sprint's upcoming 4G LTE network. If you don't mind spending the extra money, it's your best bet for going green on Sprint.

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