Verizon recycling the original Lucid as the LG Optimus Exceed for prepaid

There’s a good reason I mistakenly referred to the upcoming LG Optimus Exceed as the Lucid Exceed in a recent tweet: the handset really is little more than a prepaid version of the original LG Lucid, whose sequel is now going for free on contract as part of a Mother’s Day promotion at Verizon. Along with the Optimus Zone (a.k.a. last year’s Optimus L3), Optimus Exceed will hit Big Red as a prepaid-only option, even carrying nearly the same model number (VS840PP) as its forebear. Even though the Lucid is currently retired, it still holds some value as an off-contract device, so expect to shell out not more than $100 for the aging handset.