Alltel Starts Selling LG Banter

Alltel has announced that it has added to its offering a new mobile phone, the LG Banter, which will replace the carrier's LG Scoop. What the new device actually seems to be is the LG Rumor2 that Sprint announced would become available on its airwaves starting March 15, especially given the fact that Alltel had the former LG Rumor in its lineup as LG Scoop.

A quick look at the new LG Banter, as well as at its specification list, shows that the device is indeed said LG Rumor2, only that it comes dressed in other colors. This means that Alltel will have the new handset available for purchase a little sooner than Sprint.

Given the fact that we're talking about the very same phone, Alltel users will be able to enjoy the same features brought by the LG Rumor2 on Sprint, namely the attractive 4-row sliding QWERTY keyboard meant to allow for easy and speedy messaging actions, as well as the 2-inch QVGA display we reported about.

Moreover, the new LG Banter also delivers GPS capabilities and stereo Bluetooth, as well as a 1.3-megapixel photo snapper and a MicroSDHC memory card slot for up to 16GB of additional storage space. The device also offers users changeable face and back plates (blue and silver), as well as a nice range of tools and gadgets meant to leverage the user experience.

According to Alltel, the LG Banter comes with Alltel Email, Yahoo! and AOL IM preloaded, while sporting a chat-style messaging interface as well. The new mobile phone is already listed on the operator's official website, which also states that it is available for purchase, though no price info on the handset is available at the moment. For what it's worth, Sprint announced that it planned to retail LG Rumor2 for about $50 with a two-year contract agreement.