After almost two months of anticipation and advertising blitzes following the surprise confirmation in late January, the saga of the LG Optimus 2X on Straight Talk and Net 10 has come to an end with no release on either service provider, as Tracfone has pulled all online advertising and references for the model and has pulled the dedicated reservation page for the phone, replacing it with the sales page for the LG Optimus Q.
Calls to several local Wal-Mart stores have also confirmed that the phone is no longer listed in the chain’s inventory system for sale and any inventory that was received was returned to the distributor as recently as two weeks ago after the planned February 20th launch date passed with no official launch.
The http://www.reserve.straighttalkandroid.com/ domain now redirects to the generic Straight Talk Android page featuring the Sprint-powered LG Optimus Q and all traces of the LG Optimus 2X have been scrubbed from Straight Talk’s online presence save for a couple of announcements and images on its Facebook page. As it stands currently, Straight Talk’s online advertising campaigns are currently focused on free shipping for all Android smartphones as well as the recently launched BYOD SIM program.
The LG Optimus 2X was intended to be the first high-end Android smartphone on Straight Talk and the first high-end smartphone powered by the T-Mobile network with access to the carrier’s HSPA+ network, as the previous T-Mobile phones offered on Straight Talk and Tracfone as a whole were basic phones with rudimentary data access. The phone was quietly announced by Straight Talk on its Facebook page after the the reserve.straighttalkandroid.com domain was repopulated with the first references to the phone in January, which initially erroneously referred to the phone as having support for LTE.
For awhile it seemed that the phone would be released between January and February until a sudden turn of events meant that the phone may have met its end not long after it was announced, following the sudden launch of the Bring Your Own Device program on the virtual operator last month, whereby Tracfone is offering full-size and microSIMs through Net10 and StraightTalk online.
With the launch of the program last month, Tracfone may have considered that offering the Optimus 2X and the BYOD SIM program at the same time would have been seen as redundant, especially as the BYOD program was developed in response to the practice of buying the now discontinued Nokia E71, activating it, then taking the SIM card and using it in another phone since the SIM wasn’t bound to the device as is common with other Tracfone phones and sprung up a cottage community of SIM hacking and modding whereby activated SIMs were also used on all versions of the iPhone with few issues, as the Nokia E71 and 6790/Surge SIMs are already programmed for use on AT&T.
Another issue with the LG Optimus 2X was pricing. As Straight Talk never officially revealed the MSRP on the phone, it was expected that the phone would have been the most expensive in the lineup, with pricing estimated to be between $249-$299.99, similar to T-Mobile’s pricing on the phone post-agreement. As the Samsung Precedent is priced at $149.99 and the LG Optimus Q $179.99, the LG Optimus 2X would have been positioned as the high-end Android option with the specifications to match.
As specified by Straight Talk, the phone was to feature a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 at 1GHz, an 800×480 resolution touch display, front-facing 1.3 megapixel VGA camera and 8.0 megapixel rear camera with 1080p video capture along with a Wi-Fi N radio, Bluetooth, microSDHC slot with pre-installed 4GB card, 3.5mm jack and mini HDMI out.
Now that Tracfone has quietly cancelled the LG Optimus 2X in favor of its BYOD SIM program, this may mark Tracfone’s shift away from subsidizing expensive high-end devices to draw a minority of customers in favor of low-end and mid-range models for direct purchase and activation, while now offering the BYOD SIM program for those that want to pay full-price for their own unlocked devices or bring devices from AT&T and T-Mobile without much trouble.
While it would have been nice to see the Optimus 2X on the prepaid service, Tracfone may have decided that the same audience that would have purchased the Optimus 2X would be better served buying a SIM and buying the phone from T-Mobile or unlocked, since cursory checks on ebay show that the T-Mobile branded version of the phone can be purchsaed for $299.99 while the unlocked, unbranded version goes for $349.99.
[…] Bad news guys. Looks like straight talk screwed us. Apparently they cancelled the launch of the Optimus 2X. Tracfone Quietly Cancels LG Optimus 2X Launch | PhoneNews.com […]
[…] Bad news guys. Looks like straight talk screwed us. Apparently they cancelled the launch of the Optimus 2X. Tracfone Quietly Cancels LG Optimus 2X Launch | PhoneNews.com […]
Wow straight talk disappointing us again -.-
Wow straight talk disappointing us once again -.-
Disappointing? Not for me, I’ve been using an E71 sim in iPhone 4 for ~ 6 months, got 2 3 month UL cards for $140 total by reselling 2 bundled phones and my service is classified as at&t postpaid. $45/mo not disappointing to me at all.
Why would it be disappointing? Instead of a ST Android(which have had a lot of hardware issues previously) now we get to pick from the entire lineup of GSM Androids and iPhones past and present from AT&T, T-Mobile, which don’t have to be unlocked, and the international GSM phones, which do have to be unlocked. Sounds like they gave us a lot more choices. This will work for any GSM phone that you can change the APN on BTW. I got a Samsung Focus Flash (Windows7) working on it for a friend. I would only recommend the newest Windows 7 phones from Samsung at this point. They came out with a Wireless Manager that you can download and use to change the entire APN…for MMS as well. I am an Nokia E71 SIM swapper too. iPhone 3GS, Samsung Captivate, HTC Inspire 4G, and now a Samsung Infuse 4G…..those are the phones I’ve used with this for the past year and a half.
Yea your right, I’m gonna save up money to buy an iPhone 4 which will be a lot better of the phone I have
[…] … Read the full article . […]
could this work with a samsung galaxy s 2?
If your a tech person who knows how to switch chips and whatnot you probably don’t care. But if your a normal consumer who, like an idiot, waited two months after giving away his contact info to Smarttalk for a turnkey 4G amartphone, yeah it’s a big disappointment. If Tracphone/Smarttalk want to be considered more than a cheap ass ghetto phone company from Mexico, then they should start offering higher end 4G handsets. This loss of the 2X is a big mistake. What, they couldn’t get it to work? If I bring my own 4G handset and stick a SIM chip in it, it will run 4G off ATT or T-Mo on Straighttalk? The straight talk phone operators couldnt seem to confirm whether it’s correct or not. What they did make very clear was that if the chip doesnt work in your phone, they will NOT refund the money paid for the chip or the 1 month of service you must also pay for the minutes card you need to check if the chip will work in your phone…. Class action anyone?
Spekto – In response to your 4G question: I purchased a used ATT Atrix 2 on e-Bay, then the SIM card from ST. According to the status bar, yes…I am getting 4G coverage. If the phone is capable of receiving 4G, and you’re in an area that has 4G, I believe you receive 4G – at least in the case of an ATT phone. I might also add that I’m not that much of a tech person, but – with a little on-line research on the “how to change your APN” (not very tricky at all) – the process was pretty quick & painless.
OK I live in a city served by both T-Mobile and ATT and we have LTE here. I just ordered the chip from Straight Talk to use in my old WinMo TP2. This should work on ATT for 3G. But if I now go buy an unlocked 4G handset and use the Straight Talk SIM chip, and change the APN etc, will that new handset then run on ATT or T-Mobile’s 4G system (specifically LTE for ATT and HSPA+ for TMo.)? So if I buy an unlocked 4G LTE phone and use the Straight Talk SIM chip will it get ATT’s 4G LTE or conversely will a new HSPA+ handset use TMo’s ‘4G’ system? Does each GSM carrier (ATT or TMo) use a different SIM chip from Straight Talk? Basically is it the phone that matters, or the chip, or both? Any help is greatly appreciated.
@Spekto The StraightTalk SIM will not help you access LTE on AT&T because a SIM has to be specifically activated by AT&T in order to access the network. The SIM you chose when you ordered determines which service provider you can use. If you chose an “Unlocked” SIM you’re given a SIM from the carrier that has the most coverage in your area.
Why not? Isn’t Straight Talk buying the phone + data service for us? We’re not hacking into the system after all, we are paying for it. So if you have an LTE phone why would you not be entitled to use LTE 4G under Straight Talk’s deal with ATT. Or the same for HSPA+ 4G from TMo?
Because it’s AT&T’s choice whether or not to lease access to its LTE network to a virtual operator. Right now, AT&T is focused on upselling LTE to contract customers. They might sell access to virtual operators at some point, but that may be years down the road.
So, again, let’s be perfectly clear here about the 4G issue — do you, does anyone, have hard proof on whether or not ATT will allow access to its 4G LTE system via Straight Talk’s BYO SIM chip program or do they ONLY allow their slower HSPA “4G” access. Likewise does TMo allow HSPA+ access if you use a TMo SIM chip with a compatible phone like the Optimus 2X? Or are you just simply assuming ATT’s LTE will not work on Straight Talk?
ST has really F’d things up if its potential customers have to play guessing games like this over what their services offer, or do not.
You’re confusing the issue here, perhaps because the marketing works so well, so let me say this once. AT&T does not allow virtual operators access to its LTE network. At all.
The Tracfone SIM cards do allow access to both AT&T and T-Mobile’s misleadingly labeled “4G” HSPA+ networks by purchasing a compatible phone either from the carrier or an unlocked phone with the correct frequency support for “4G” HSPA+ service, which would require manual programming of the phone.
The programming information allows the phones to access the faster data networks with no issue, though the monthly data transfer limits of 2GB need to be kept into account.
Thank you the explanation – very well stated.Disappointing that LTE is not available this way, but compared to 3g HSPA is still a step up. And the part about the 2Gb limit I was also ignorant of. The marketing is very deceptive – I always thought it was unlimited.
Having blasted past the 2GB limit myself in previous months and getting phone calls from customer service telling me not to do it again is a great way of getting the point across, though I can’t help but think that the issues would solve themselves by offering 5GB of monthly access per month.
Humberto — one big question I would have then is given the choice between the two carriers in my city, if we cant access LTE under Straight Talk, would it be better to buy a “4G” HSPA+ phone running on ATT’s system via a Smart Talk SIM, or one running HSPA+ on TMo? Does ATT’s HSPA+ work better/faster than TMo’s or vice versa?
Living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area, my preference is for AT&T since I’m able to get HSPA+ service in fringe coverage areas, but since this is AT&T’s home market, coverage is always going to be better than anywhere else in AT&T’s service area if you’re not using an iPhone (I’m using a Nokia E71 on Straight Talk as my primary phone). I’d go with T-Mobile’s network otherwise, but only if you’re buying a T-Mobile 4G compatible phone.
As far as outright speed goes, I’ve had better speeds with T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network than AT&T locally, but I’ve had more consistent access to AT&T service without jumping between GSM and HSPA+ in my local area.
Thanks Humberto — I spent pretty much the entire day yesterday trying to get my U.S. Cellular CDMA/GSM Touch Pro 2 to work with the new BYO SIM from Straight Talk. After hours with Straight Talk’s tech people (clueless) and HTC’s tech people (slightly less clueless) I spent several Euros downloading unock software and new ROMS, and ‘radios’ for the device. So now the TP2 does log on to AT&T under GSM and can make calls, however, it only displays EDGE internet access, but in reality the net is not functional. Sooooooo today I will have to get on the phone with HTC and see if they can fix this web problem. Because this phone uses Windows Mobile 6.5, the instructions from Straight Talk re changing settings may not work. Also some people on the net have stated that the TP 2 can get 3G in Europe, but not in the US because of the antennas and frequencies used. If it can’t get 3G I’ll have to sell the phone on E-bay and buy a new 4G/3G compatible phone. Ughhhhhhh! What a first class mess. I soooooooo wanted that Optimus 2X — because I feared just this kind of situation.
They still have one advertizement up on their website…
http://www.straighttalk.com/shopphones
That ad was created months ago. It doesn’t mean that it’s still planned for launch. My advice, go on ebay and buy one and the T-Mobile SIM if you really want the phone.