LG Optimus 2X review: Double the potential

Final words

Year 2010 wasn’t particularly good for the LG mobile department. The Korean company entered it as one of the fastest growing in business and the announcements of the GT540 Optimus and GW990 in January made things seem rosy, but it was mostly downhill from there. A series of devices that failed to achieve their sales targets and the cancellation of the GW990 almost got us worried that LG will be relegated to the role of a runner up in the mobile phone industry.

And yet here comes the Optimus 2X to prove that the company still has it. The most powerful hardware we have seen, combined with a decent display and a nicely customized interface. Okay the camera is not quite perfect (we’re looking at you FullHD recording), but its still one of the good snappers in the Android world.

The device is definitely the smartphone to get right now and will most certainly remain so for at least another month or two. Of course, when the slew of dual-core droids that will imminently be announced at the MWC in a week hits the shelves, things might change, but the Optimus 2X is the benchmark against which they will all be measured.

That is unless LG forgets that it has done half the required work so far. Getting a really potent smartphone to the market is all great, but you need to provide adequate tech support and regular updates or it will never manage to live up to its full potential.

Especially given the fact that Android 2.2 Froyo is hardly the best polished operating system as far as dual-core CPU management is concerned.

Past record is somewhat controversial - the GT540 Optimus eventually did get updated to 2.1 Eclair, but the GW620 remained stuck on v.1.6 Cupcake and the Optimus One upgrade slip-up was hardly too good for LG’s reputation. Which makes the need to get things right this time all the greater.

The Optimus 2X is a really high-end device, which means that it will get way with more sins than any other LG droids.

And now for the competition:

On one side you get the chance to save a few bucks and experience the deep blacks of the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S Super AMOLED. There’re no 8 MP stills or full HD there and chances for many future updates are slim. Plus the I9003 Galaxy SL is about to replace it, so you should probably act quickly if you want to get the original flavor.

Samsung I9000 Galaxy S • Samsung I9003 Galaxy SL

If getting the latest version of Android is more important to you, the Nexus S seems the obvious choice. It’s not certain though if you will be able to get a Super AMOLED equipped unit and pricing is not quite so attractive. At least rumors have it that Samsung will compensate the swapping of the display with the added bonus of 720p video recording.

Google Nexus S

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc offers a Bravia Mobile engine LCD of larger size and higher resolution plus Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The list of pros ends here though and you will need to wait another month or two to get that one.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc

But then, none of those has the pure calculating prowess of the Optimus 2X and the future-proofing that goes along with it. So the LG latest droid is the handset to get if you aren’t in the mood for waiting for the MWC announcements or, say, the Motorola Atrix. Having a head start means a lot in this business!