Ever since 2013 when it changed its device naming system and presented the LG G2 with its unique "rear key" volume rocker and power button, LG Electronics has been making a critical comeback with great devices like the Nexus 5 (for Google), the LG G Pad 8.3, and the LG G3.

A mid-tier version of the latest G3 flagship, the LG G3 Vigor (also known as the G3s or G3 Beat) is designed to sell, not to compete with top-of-the-line premium phones. But as the mobile computing revolution continues to expand beyond power users, climbing its way down the socio-economic ladder to the rest of us, smartphone manufacturers have increasingly learned that the mid-tier matters.

With that caveat out of the way (TL;DR: this is not a flagship phone), let's dive into what LG has to offer the typical smartphone user in the pared-down, priced-down LG G3 Vigor (or G3v, for short).

Hardware Specs

First, and most importantly for 2015, the G3v has LTE 4G data connectivity. This isn't particularly special compared to similar mid-tier devices from 2014, but it's worth pointing out since there still are some cheap smartphones out there that only go to 3G. With the G3v, you'll be connected with the same speeds as the top smartphones out there.

How much you can do with that connectivity is a little more limited though, as the G3v comes with a Snapdragon 400 with 1GB of RAM.

That's not blazing fast in this day, but for common tasks on the device such as checking email, browsing the web, playing music, or flipping through social media, I didn't notice any slowdowns or problems. But obviously if you intend to use this for any mobile gaming more taxing than your average Angry Birds-type game, you'll find the edges of the G3v's capabilities quickly.

Playing YouTube videos on the device (which was fine, performance wise) led me to a pleasant surprise: The single front-facing speaker on the G3v is quite capable of producing audio clearly and loudly, with less of the tinny effect when pushed to top volume than I expected. It reminded me of the Moto X's speaker, which is a good thing.

Speaking of video, the G3v comes with a 5.0-inch IPS display with 720p resolution. Overall, the screen is bright and clear, with nice colors and fine viewing angles, and 5.0-inches is plenty for most average video viewing. Watching a movie, the lower HD resolution didn't bother me, but some of the colors seemed a little too pale and oversaturated. This is likely due to incorrect brightness levels, because the G3v doesn't comes with an ambient light sensor and doesn't compensate with decent quick settings, but more on the G3v's brightness problems later.

The phone's camera is not the same as the LG G3's. That's another way of saying that it's a mid-range camera phone, capable of 8MP photos, LED flash, and 1080p video at 30 frames per second -- and not much more. It comes with decent, simple-to-use camera software and laser autofocus, one nice carry-over from the G3, but the pictures you take won't be worth framing on any walls, besides those on Facebook.

The G3v comes with only 8GB of internal storage, but for extra media, there's a microSD slot that takes up to 64GB more. (Google unfortunately now limits how much you can do with microSD beyond storing media, though.) The G3v's 2450mAh battery is enough to run the lower-resolution screen, the Snapdragon 400 SoC, GPS, Bluetooth, NFC, LTE, and Android KitKat through their paces on typical use without having any problems.

Software

The G3v runs an LG-customized version of Android KitKat 4.4.2 (unfortunately, it's not looking good for a Lollipop upgrade for the G3v), which contains lots of visual gewgaws you don't need, but it doesn't seem to slow down the phone much, if at all. In fact, the interface was quite snappy, and comparable to the 2014 flagships I've reviewed.

LG and AT&T also stuff the phone with far too many preinstalled apps, and with that, system software, and preloaded Google apps put together, the G3v only had a little more than 4GB left already at setup.

Seriously -- two full screens of preinstalled apps, plus a folder with half a page's worth of Google apps, is too much for a starting size of only 8GB.

On the plus side, LG has succeeded where others fail often with its remote control app (and IR sensor), which I was delighted to see auto-paired with my TV in under a minute and three button presses. If only there were smaller, useful apps like that and fewer pieces of never-used, can't-uninstall bloatware.

But without much of a prospect of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the G3v's lack of auto-brightness is quite annoying, and I'm not one to rely on auto-brightness very much. However, when there's no easy, sliding brightness adjuster in the notifications' quick settings -- as stock Lollipop finally added and Samsung's TouchWiz has had for a few years now -- you're left with a dumb brightness button to press four or five times every time you want the slightest change to the screen's brightness.

I understand the need to cut manufacturing costs on mid-tier devices, but it is dumb choices like not finding an easy, fast way through software to compensate for the lack of a piece of hardware that's extra frustrating.

Design

With that peeve out of the way, the overall physical design of the LG G3 Vigor is one of the strongest points of the phone. We were using AT&T's white model which has a nice touch of unobtrusive, cut granite-like stripes which are only visible in good lighting and give the device a refined look.

The back of the phone features the same type of natural curve as the Moto X, which again, is great (I chose the Moto X as the smartphone of the year for 2014). Such curved designs make it so the phone just fits your hand, feels unlikely to slip, makes the phone feel slimmer than it actually is, and should become the industry standard.

At the center-top of the G3v's curved back is LG's unique "rear key" buttons -- the only physical buttons on the phone. People either seem to love the rear key design or hate it, but if you're like me, you know it's just another thing you'll get used to after a week or two. But the headphone port is at the bottom of the phone, next to the microUSB port, which is the one design choice that I do happen to dislike quite a lot.

Availability and Price

The model we got, from AT&T, is available for about $50 on contract, while Sprint offers it for $30 with a contract. On its own, the device originally came with a price around $350 when all's said and done, but you can now find it for anywhere between $250 and $300.

So is the LG G3 Vigor worth it? If you're planning on renewing a wireless contract and want a decent phone for next to nothing with industry standard connectivity, a decently quick but overall unimpressive camera, and you don't plan on using lots of storage space, go for it. But if you're getting a phone on contract, you might as well think about the LG G3, which can run as low as $100 with carriers.

Unfortunately, the LG G3 Vigor's shortcomings, especially in storage space, Android upgradeability, and a less future-proof SoC than it could have had, means I cannot recommend it for the full, unlocked price. The sleek design and rear key is just not worth it, compared to other outstanding mid-tier and older devices.

You're better off with a Moto E, G, X, or even the LG's Nexus 5, depending on which specs you want and how much you can stretch the price point.

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