Optimal edge

LG’s Optimus L7 keeps it simple, yet interesting

The lucky new product to christen HD in wknd.’s revamped edition is from our good friends over at LG. If I remember correctly, the last time we reviewed something from LG was almost a year ago. I was impressed with that product, and expected to be so again.

Say marhaba to the LG Optimus L7. Seriously, it’s a top-of-the-line offering from LG, packed with features, for a really affordable price. Playing around with it is as good as using it for its given purpose. Allow yours truly to take you through with a little tour.

FORM

Okay, we basically have a bar, cornered up on top, dashed with some curves below. Fairly light at 122g, its 4.3” Corning Gorilla screen is encased in a 4.9”x2.6” frame, and is only 0.34” thin. 
Seriously, would you really care about these varying dimensions when this size is regular in today’s smartphone jungle?

You’ve got the usual power/lock key on top and volume controls on the left, and — with the omnipresent audio cable and micro-USB jacks — that’s about it. Which means there’s no dedicated key for some thingamajig you may want to do in a jiffy.

SOFTWARE, HARDWARE

You’ll be happy to learn that the L7 comes with Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich OS, meaning you will be pretty up to date. Of course, LG too has its own arsenal of apps within the L7: there’s SmartWorld, its own version of the Google Play Store —SmartShare —giving you the ability to play and share media files with DLNA-certified devices, and RemoteCall Service, allowing a representative from LG to diagnose and support your handset remotely.

On the other hand, at the heart of all the crunching is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor and 4GB of memory, that is expandable up to 32GB with the microSD slot inside.

PERFORMANCE

I noticed that speeding through apps and functions is a shade slower than other phones I’ve tried, but this hardly matters. We reviewers can get a bit sensitive when we do this over and over. Anyway, as I’ve said, you won’t really notice this, and you can 
still get the functionality you’re looking for in a phone.

As for battery life, I was able to squeeze out power for almost 
two-and-a-half days with heavy usage, thanks to a 1,700mAh Li-Ion battery, though I’ve heard that this type of power provider can last up to three days.

And as for its 5MP camera, there are two key features in L7’s shooter: panorama and burst modes, with the latter allowing you six shots in one go. Unfortunately, since it is only 5MP, no HD here. You also have a front VGA camera, which I always like to use — on any phone — to check my hair.

ALL SAID AND DONE...

Good phone, though a tad below today’s biggies. I always preach that if something works for you, forget everything else. The L7 will do the stuff, and serve your needs, and it comes at a better price. We’re quite sure LG can build up on this; after all, it’s good to start from something that’s already good. And it does live up to its tagline — a “Pleasure to View”.

alvin@khaleejtimes.com

THE LOWDOWN

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz

Memory: 4GB, expandable up to 32GB

Camera: 5MP rear, VGA front

Battery: 1,700mAh Li-Ion, 2-1/2 days as per testing

OS: Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

PROS

Bright screen;

Camera’s panorama, burst modes;

Good photo, video viewing

CONS

Bit slow in responding;

No dedicated customisable button

EDITOR’S RATING

7.5 / 10 stars

THE LAUNCHPAD

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