LG Optimus

The LG Optimus (LG GT540) is Android smartphone and the choice for first-timers to the Android world. The phone is priced fairly and fully touch enabled with multimedia capability.

Physical Outlook

The handset may not be the top-end device in the market but it's an Android smartphone which fits snugly in your hand with a brushed metal finish predominating. The phone feels solid. The search button is on the side, as is the MicroUSB connector on the right side. The Optimus has a resistive touchscreen an so no multi-touch gestures apply. The screen is a comfortable 76mm (3 inches) in size and fairly sensitive enough. There is a magnifying tool on-screen on the bright and clear 320x480 pixel resolution screen. At the core is the 600MHz Qualcomm processor with 256MB of RAM. It has just 130MB internal memory but can support microSD cards of up to 32GB for enhanced memory. It's enough to get the job done. The Optimus LG GT540 supports both HSDPA and WiFi for fast browsing, as well as Bluetooth and GPS.

The Android OS inside

The Optimus has the Android 1.6 version preloaded and not the 2.1 , thus lacking the new user-interface enhancements and the updated browser. Access to the Android Market is the advantage. You can download new applications, get instructions on Google Maps and use the customised Android UI of LG on this phone. The company's skin option has been tweaked for easy customisation, has added themes, short-cuts and some widgets besides giving seven home screens. LG has grouped applications in the main menu. If a few apps run simultaneously it could slow down the phone.

The intuitive touch screen displays has unique dedicated social networking client. So one can manage all social contacts like Twitter and Facebook and others with ease. A wide range of mobile apps can be used such as Shazam, Wikitude, Layar, Google Maps and many more. Transfer data to your PC through the net. Type text with Predictive Text Input. Or use the virtual keyboard.

Multimedia Optimisation

This Optimus smartphone gives you a good multimedia experience. It delivers full-fledged sound through the 3.5mm headphone jack, allowing you the choice of headphones and heard from the standard Android music player. You can also catch up with radio on the FM tuner with autoscan found on it. The buttons are grouped differently in a single line layout, whereas the Back and Option buttons are right under the screen.

The 3MP camera captures natural colours fine and does its shooting job dutifully. It supports face detection but has no flash. So taking pictures under poor light is inadvisable. Upload pictures straight to websites. The Optimus plays comfortably standard definition Xvid and DivX video files in AV format.

Thw LG Optimus GT540 caomes with a 1500mAh battery, which gives good back-up. Normal usage with wverything tested yeilds one and a half days and standby yields two days of power

Although it's an Android phone, the relatively dated version and a resistive touch screen are not enough to impress in presence of more updated handsets.