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Battery life is, unquestionably, the biggest issue with the LG Optimus Slider. The two other major problems are nothing to sneeze at. But a sluggish UI and poor data speeds are two issues that can, ultimately, be gotten used to. But the device's inability to hold a charge for a halfway reasonable amount of time is a major issue.
Even during standby mode, when the phone is not in use, with no applications running in the background (except for essential Android processes), the Slider will not last more than 24 hours. And doing almost anything will kill the battery life even faster.
For testing purposes, the Slider underwent light usage for just a single hour on a full charge. This included a 15 minute long voice call, a 15 minute session with a downloaded game, and another 15 minutes spent surfing the web with the WiFi enabled, the end result was a decrease of battery life of almost 50 percent.
In the end, battery life results, along with its data performance, is unacceptable.
Often when a budget phone is evaluated, it's easy to be either too kind or too harsh with a particular device's shortcomings. But not in the instance of the Slider; its issues are undeniable, no matter how one views them.
We liked
Sadly, there is not much to actually like about this device. The idea of it being a musically driven device is one that we wished we could have gotten into. Along with the surprisingly tasteful audio trimmings, in the form of notifications and ringtones that are actually enjoyable, is the means to discover new musical acts. Too bad it doesn't work nearly as well as it could.
We didn't like
The unavoidable truth is how the Slider is an absolute mess. The visually unappealing aesthetics is just the tip of the iceberg, one that at least has zero impact on its performance. Even the subpar resolution of the touchscreen and low megapixel count are hardly worth mentioning, in light of the legitimate issues that plague the device.
The absurdly slow speed of the phone is its first major red flag. The overall experience is not nearly as silky smooth as it could be, especially considering how it's an older version of Android, one that has no needless eye-candy getting in the way. Another major issue is its ridiculously inconsistent and across the boards slow data.
Given the issues we had downloading just a modest amount of content in a major city, one has to wonder how it would fare in other parts of the country. But without a doubt the most serious issue is the nonexistent battery life. If a phone can't be on standby mode for a full day of doing nothing, without completely dying, there is a serious problem.
Final verdict
There really is no nice way of putting it: the LG Optimus Slider is not a very good phone, and should be avoided at all costs. No matter what price point you're looking at, and no matter what your views are towards carriers, contracts, and everything in-between, there are most definitely better options out there.
