We got our hands on the new LG Optimus Black last week, which is LG’s latest Android smartphone, and we have been testing it out over the weekend, so we thought it was about time to let you guys know what we thought of the LG Optimus Black.
The LG Optimus Black is an Android 2.2
device, it comes with Android 2.2.2 out of the box, although LG have
said that they intend to updated it to 2.3 shortly after release. The
Optimus Black is due to launch in the UK and Europe later this month
and it is scheduled to launch in the US next month.
Specifications
The LG Optimus
Black features a 4 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display with a
resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, there is also a 5 megapixel camera on
the back, which has a range of features that include a dual LED flash,
autofocus and Geo-tagging.
The camera is capable of recording HD video in 720p at 30 frames per second, and you also get a 2 megapixel up front for video chat. processing is provided by a 1GHz TI IMAP 3630 processor.
Other features on the LG Optimus Black
include a built in FM Radio, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, DNLA, and the Optimus
Black can be used as a mobile hotspot.
Design, Display, UI
The
Optimus Black measures 4.8 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide, and it is
pretty thin measuring just 0.23 inches at its thinnest part, it is also
very light weighing in at just 3.84 ounces, it does fell like a wall
made and well designed device.
The Display on the Optimus Black is
excellent, it uses NOVA technology which is designed to provide you
with a much brighter display, without using up your battery, and
everything looks sharp and crystal clear on the Optimus Black display.
The Optimus Black Display is
designed to give you a much brighter screen for outdoor use, and this
works pretty well, and it is definitely a lot easier to use outdoors
than some of the other devices available on the market.
The User Interface on the
Optimus Black is very good, LG have kept things to a minimum and
haven’t added a lot extra widgets, and it makes the UI very nice to use
and easily customizable to suit your needs.
Hopefully this should ensure
that LG will be able to upgrade the Optimus Black to future versions of
Android without too much trouble.
Processor And Camera
The
Optimus Black features a single core 1GHz OMAP 3630 processor, and it
seems pretty snappy, there we no delays or lag when launching apps,
watching videos, browsing the web, and the processor seemed to handle
the majority of tasks very well.
The main camera on the Optimus Black
is a 5 megapixel one on the back, it features a dual LED flash, and
ge0-tagging, there is also built in autofocus, and the camera does a
good job, exactly what you would expect from a five megapixel camera on
a smartphone.
The rear camera is capable of
recording HD video, in 720p at 30 frames per second, and just like with
the still photos the Optimus Black gives you exactly what you would
expect from a decent smartphone camera.
You also get a two megapixel
camera up front for video chat, which is a lot better than some of the
other smartphones available that come with a VGA camera on the front.
Battery Life
The Optimus Black
features a 1500mAh battery, and with the bright 4 inch display I was
expecting the battery life to suffer a little on the Optimus Black, I
was quite surprised with the results. LG’s NOVA technology, obviously
does exactly what it was designed too, give you a bright and crisp
display without sacrificing battery life.
Conclusion
Overall I was quite
impressed with the LG Optimus Black, it has an excellent display, and I
really like the user interface, it is good too see a manufacturer just
adding the bare minimum to Android, although we would have liked to
see the Optimus Black come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread out of the box.
It does a good job with videos
and gaming, and it well designed and light, and has a number of cool
features, plus a decent camera, I would definitely recommend you take a
look at the LG Optimus Black if you are in the market for a new
smartphone.