how is the marquee for typing?

[snoutmeat]

I am another Sero guy looking for a step up from his Optimus S, hopefully without the $10 bump for 4G. Honestly, I am pretty happy with the Optimus S, with one exception....I can't type on the Optimus screen very well. I don't know what the problem is...I can type on my wife's iPhone without a problem, but typing on my Optimus is just a big mess, even with Swype. Maybe it is the difference between a 3.2 and 3.5 inch screen? I have a screen protector on the Optimus because the screen seems scratch-prone, and maybe that is the problem? We use the iPhone without a screeen protector because the glass seems hard enough, and replacing an iPhone screen is cheap and easy. The Optimus screen feels like it is plastic (I think I saw it called "fiber-glass", whatever that is). Anyway, I would love to hear how well the Marquee screen works for typing, especially if there is someone else out there who has a tough time with the Optimus.

 

[goducks3620]

The screen can be a little unresponsive at times. The size is pretty decent though. And as far as replacing screens goes, I have dropped this phone a number of times already, on tile, and it has come through just fine. Swype works fine, I just prefer the regular one.

 

[nosajsam]

The iPhone uses Gorilla Glass so yes it is a different feel. The screen size of the Marquee should definitely help you vs. the Optimus S. I keep a screen protector on my Marquee & between swipe, the voice command to text option & the habit of texting in landscape mode, I don't have any problems with texting on this phone. I came from a Touch Pro 2 that had a physical keyboard & although it was quicker for me to type on, I don't miss it that much at all.

 

[SERO wireless]

Your Optimus has a glass-reinforced plastic display. See this thread for details. The LG Marquee uses Gorilla Glass, just like your wife's iPhone. Capacitive touchscreens made of glass are much more responsive than plastic ones.

 

[nosajsam]

The LG Marquee uses Gorilla Glass, just like your wife's iPhone.

Although the Marquee it is listed HERE as having it, I am pretty sure the Sprint LG Marquee DOES NOT have gorilla glass.

(originally posted by HOOVHARTID)
I was told this by an LG Rep at an event for the Esteem (the metro pcs version). He claimed that Sprint presents them (LG) with a list of components and a price that they want to pay for a phone, then LG counters with the components they will include for the price Sprint wants to pay. In the end, Sprint didn't want to pay the extra $12 for the gorilla glass & opted not to use it.

there has been a lot of back & forth and nothing confirmed 100%

 

[C17chief]

to piggy back on nosajam....I think all the random mentions of dropping the phone and being just fine, especially on stuff like tile as mentioned in this thread, also clues you in to plastic screen. I dont think so many people would be that lucky if it was a glass screen as with other phones.


Anyhow, I picked this phone up for the same reason...to get a decent current phone and stay on the cheaper side of SERO . Coming from a slider, I still dont find typing near as quick and effortless on this thing, but it is bearable. I have tried the standard keyboard, swype, now swiftkey X. The normal keyboard was a pain. Swype is much better but still not as fast and effortless as I would like. Swiftkey has been a little bit better still, but not really any faster and still really have to pay attention.

 

[SERO wireless]

When I upgraded from a phone with a high-end plastic screen to a Gorilla Glass phone I noticed a dramatic improvement in the responsiveness of the display. I suspected that may be why the OP noticed such a difference between his Optimus S and his wife's iPhone.

I have typed on the Marquee and it was very responsive. It could be that improvements in plastic displays have narrowed the gap in responsiveness with glass displays. It could be that LG went with alkali-aluminosilicate glass from Asahi or Nippon Electric Glass instead.

While HOOVHARTID's tale of Sprint getting strange with the change on their phone budget rings true I wonder why Corning would claim that it has Gorilla Glass when it doesn't? Corning would have nothing to gain and could open the doors to a lawsuit.

I attempted to answer the question by shopping for replacement parts. Didn't help.

Glass Touch Screen

Plastic Touch Screen

 

[Mes3]

Coring would know whether it supplies screens for the Marquee, so I would take their word over a forumer. No offense.

Also, the screen is definitely glass. The reflections in the screen are mirror like and not dull like a plastic screen.

 

[hoovhartid]

Coring would know whether it supplies screens for the Marquee, so I would take their word over a forumer. No offense.

Also, the screen is definitely glass. The reflections in the screen are mirror like and not dull like a plastic screen.

Just to put it out there. Maybe it would help to have the whole story. I am a DJ. I happen to have a SERO plan on Sprint. I don't work for a phone company or blog site. I'm just a geek into phones. I happened to be working a gig for metroPCS and LG. It was the info session designed for all the metro ppl to learn about the specs and info on the LG esteem. Being the geek that i am, I took some time to chat up the LG reps that were walking around at the time. I was introduced to the rep who handles all the sprint phones. He had the marquee as well as the optimus slider that sprint ultimately decided not to use. He was the one who told me that sprint decided not to use gorilla glass on the marquee to keep costs down. it is glass, but according to him...not gorilla.

i notice on cornings site, they mention the marquee...so maybe this rep doesnt know? but who knows...

lg shows that the esteem has gorilla glass as if its a feature;
LG Esteem MS910: Android Smartphone with HD Video Recorder | LG USA

but when looking at the marquee, there is no such mention about gorilla glass;
LG Marquee LG855 | LG USA

but getting back to the OP's question...

I have the optimus s, my brother has the marquee. He doesnt seem to have the typing issues i have. I too, feel the optimus leaves something to be desired in the typing dept. i also came from the touch pro 2, so i miss my keyboard.

my suggestion? go to a store and check one out. no one else will have anything to say that will matter more than your own opinion ;o)

good luck!

 

[snoutmeat]

Thanks for all the replies. Interesting debate...looks like some people are arguing whether the Marquee screen is glass or plastic...as far as I can tell, it's pretty clear (no pun intended) from both the documentation and my personal experience that the screen is glass. It's my old Optimus S that has the plastic screen. The two look, feel, and sound different. I think the issue is whether the Marquee has Gorilla Glass or some other variety of glass.

If the "Sprint cheaped out and didn't go with Gorilla Glass" story is true...I wonder if the international variety of the phone (Optimus Black) uses Gorilla Glass. Optimus Black replacement screens are available on Ebay -- I'm assuming that the part is interchangeable with the Sprint version of the phone. Of course, Corning doesn't list the Optimus Black as a Gorilla Glass phone either, so maybe they're all "ordinary" glass.

As for the suggestion that I go try one in the store.....nice suggestion, but the local Sprint store I visited didn't even carry the phone. I found a phone on Craigslist that was used, but in perfect condition, for $120. Looking at Ebay prices, I figured that I could just resell it if I didn't like the phone.

So, to answer my own question: for me, it's much better to type on than the Optimus S was...maybe because the screen is bigger, or maybe because it's glass (I'm not using a screen protector on this one -- glass is hard enough for me to not feel like I need one. I still think it's easier to type on my wife's iPhone (both her old original iPhone and now her 3GS). I don't know why, but I still make more typos on the Marquee. However, if I use Swype, I'm as accurate as I am on the Iphone, and faster too. I'm typing this reply on an old-fashioned computer with a keyboard, but I could have done it from my phone.

 

[nosajsam]

Thanks for all the replies. Interesting debate...looks like some people are arguing whether the Marquee screen is glass or plastic...as far as I can tell, it's pretty clear (no pun intended) from both the documentation and my personal experience that the screen is glass. It's my old Optimus S that has the plastic screen. The two look, feel, and sound different. I think the issue is whether the Marquee has Gorilla Glass or some other variety of glass.

If the "Sprint cheaped out and didn't go with Gorilla Glass" story is true...I wonder if the international variety of the phone (Optimus Black) uses Gorilla Glass. Optimus Black replacement screens are available on Ebay -- I'm assuming that the part is interchangeable with the Sprint version of the phone. Of course, Corning doesn't list the Optimus Black as a Gorilla Glass phone either, so maybe they're all "ordinary" glass.

As for the suggestion that I go try one in the store.....nice suggestion, but the local Sprint store I visited didn't even carry the phone. I found a phone on Craigslist that was used, but in perfect condition, for $120. Looking at Ebay prices, I figured that I could just resell it if I didn't like the phone.

So, to answer my own question: for me, it's much better to type on than the Optimus S was...maybe because the screen is bigger, or maybe because it's glass (I'm not using a screen protector on this one -- glass is hard enough for me to not feel like I need one. I still think it's easier to type on my wife's iPhone (both her old original iPhone and now her 3GS). I don't know why, but I still make more typos on the Marquee. However, if I use Swype, I'm as accurate as I am on the Iphone, and faster too. I'm typing this reply on an old-fashioned computer with a keyboard, but I could have done it from my phone.

I don't think there is any question or debate whether it is plastic or glass. I am pretty sure we all agree that it IS glass. Just not 100% confirmed to be Gorilla glass.

btw, glad you like the phone!

 

[C17chief]

So if it is glass but not gorrilla...what exactly does that mean? Just as less scratch prone, just more prone to cracking if dropped? I have a protector on the face since it is a large open area but I never like using them. They always seem much more dust and fingerprint prone and usually dont feel quite as good scrolling around. I usually do without em even on plastic phones once i'm down to several months left on using it. I want to take the one off this phone now if it isnt doing much for me.