The LG Spectrum 2 takes high end specs down to a mid-level price. At $99 with contract, it has many of the same specs and features as $199 Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III. The OS version is the only true disappointment for Android enthusiasts since it runs 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich rather than 4.1 Jelly Bean and LG's track record for timely OS updates hasn't been stellar.

The smartphone has a lovely 4.7" IPS display running at 1280 x 720 that's protected by Gorilla Glass. That's the same resolution as other current high end Android smartphone on the market except the full 1080p HTC Droid DNA. It runs on the usual 1.5GHz dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus CPU with a gig of RAM and 16 gigs of internal storage with ~11.6 gigs available for your use. Yes, there's an SDHC microSD card slot under the back cover and the 2150 mAh Lithium Ion battery is removable.

The Spectrum 2 has gotten dinged for it's bland looks, and it's not the most exciting looking phone. The front is a basic rectangle and the rubbery plastic back cover doesn't really fit the rest of the phone's design. Still, we've seen worse and at 0.36", it's not all that thick. The phone has a capable 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a fron 1.3MP video chat camera. It has 4G LTE on Verizon's network, 3G EV-DO Rev. A and GSM roaming capabilities.

Dual band WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC and Qi wireless charging round out this capable phone's features. LG adds extra video playback support and the smartphone can handle WMV and DivX playback out of the box. Call quality and reception are above average and the phone pulled in very impressive upload and download speeds on Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network in our area.