CES 2012: Various brands overview

LG Spectrum hands-on

LG brought their latest super droid for Verizon to CES under the name Spectrum, a version of the South Korean Optimus LTE and the LG Nitro HD for AT&T. That means the Spectrum packs a 4.5" AH-IPS LCD display of 720p resolution, a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and LTE connectivity.

Design-wise, the LG Spectrum is nearly identical to Optimus LTE LU6200, whereas AT&T's version takes after Optimus LTE SU640. We noticed that the back has changed though - it's now glossy and gets smudged all over with fingerprints very quickly.

Still, the important bits are all unchanged - the high-quality, high-resolution display is one of the best on the market (or soon to be on the market), the Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon chipset (1.5GHz dual-core Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB of RAM), 8MP camera with 1080p video and, of course, the LTE connectivity.

LG Spectrum for Verizon

The microUSB port on top of the LG Spectrum is an MHL-enabled port, so you can hook up the phone to an HDTV. There's 4GB of built-in storage and a preinstalled 16GB microSD card, so there's plenty of room for videos.

We tried out the LTE connectivity very quickly and our site loaded very fast. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time with the LG Spectrum to run a proper speed test and see how it handles on Verizon's 4G network.

Loading GSMArena.com over LTE

The fast LTE connection enables painless video streaming. The Spectrum comes preloaded with Netflix HD and ESPN apps that give you access to movies and sports on the go.

We went back for more shots that offer a better look at the device. Check out the carbon fiberish look of the back - sadly, the glossy finish of it has a heavy case of "fingerprint magnet". We're also not big fans of the capacitive home button (what can we say, we like hardware keys).

Another round of photos of the LG Spectrum

We also spend a little more time with the browser. Text is rendered beautifully on the screen thanks to the 326ppi pixel density. Viewing angles are great - among the best we've seen on LCD.

Beautiful 4.5" 720p screen

To see how the Snapdragon chipset fares, we tried out a quick game and it ran smoothly. By the way, the videos looked great, too.

Also, check out the car and desk modes.

Playing a game on the LG Spectrum

LG also had a snazzy accessory for the Spectrum - the Smart Pouch. They are available in several styles and offer protection for the device, but with a twist - there's a window at the center, which displays a clock face (6 different faces are available) and will also show any notifications. The phone will automatically detect the pouch too, you don't have to activate this functionality manually.

Several Smart Pouches by LG