Multimedia, Browsing Etc.; Bottomline

Multimedia, Browsing etc.

The LG’s 3MP camera performs surprisingly well. Outdoor shots looked sharp with very little noise and the color levels also looked good even under cloudy skies. On the other hand, indoor shots looked washed out and had color issues, making the images look very dull and not vibrant at all. However, noise levels were consistently low. Low light shooting was predictably poor since there is no flash. The Optimus records videos in VGA resolution and it records them pretty well. The videos were somewhat choppy but they looked fine even on a computer screen, albeit with washed out colors.

Images shot indoors and outdoors with the LG Optimus' camera (click on the images to enlarge).

The Optimus plays a number of video formats and even DivX/XviD but that only looks good on paper. In reality, the phone was dropping frames when playing a couple of our test DivX videos. We tried to use the LG PC Suite IV to transfer videos but it refused to recognize the phone a number of times before I gave up. However, I tried playing a couple of MP4 files on the phone and they played properly without hesitation.

The LG Optimus is pretty good for playing tunes. Although there were no EQ presets or settings to tweak the overall sound, at default the sound is more or less balanced with a tiny preference for boomy bass. My disappointment was reserved for the external speaker which although loud was not very clear. The bundled headphones were also average.

The Optimus uses the default Android browser which is efficient and usable. Browsing feels a little restricted thanks to the 3.0-inch screen but the browser compensates with features such as multi-tab/ window support and a good bookmarks manager. The browser doesn’t support Flash but clicking a video on the YouTube site will launch the YouTube app to let you watch videos.

While testing the Optimus’ call and reception quality I noticed that there were a few drops in reception as I moved between my office floors. Also, voices over the line sounded sharp but also quite thin. Finally, the Optimus’ battery should last you a day of usage provided you moderate your application usage along with keeping an eye on your GPS and Wi-Fi connections.

Bottom Line

At Rs. 10,999, the LG Optimus has great potential to be an absolute steal. After all, it is an Android smartphone with full connectivity features and a great price-tag. However, the resistive touchscreen plays a pretty big spoilsport keeping the LG Optimus from attaining the status of a very good product. At its current price the Optimus gets tough competition from the Samsung Galaxy 3, which with its 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen and Android v2.1 OS (at Rs. 1,000 more) looks like a better option. The HTC Wildfire, at Rs. 15,199, is another good option and the similarly priced Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini might have a smaller screen but has a much better camera.

At the end of the day, it looks like the LG Optimus’ chances of survival success seem very dependent on an Android v2.1 update and a drop in price.