LG Optimus G review: Grand Slam

Introduction

Designed to a flagship standard and powered by the latest in handheld computing, the Optimus G cannot hope for a warm welcome from rivals but is due every bit of their respect. LG is not asking for it - it's getting ready to earn it.

Early on this season, LG was looked upon to put the missing piece in the Android quad-core puzzle. It delivered that alright with the Optimus 4X HD, but were far from done. Their Optimus G completes what's nothing short of a grand slam, and does so with a flourish.

LG Optimus G official pictures

The Optimus G is the first phone to market globally with an S4 Pro chipset. Four Krait cores and next-gen Adreno 320 graphics are getting a scary snap out of Snapdragon. Kraits have better per-core performance and have demonstrated it in numerous benchmark tests. And having four of them in one place is a promise of a major speed boost.

But there's more than sheer horsepower to a true flagship and LG have given the design, display and camera their best too. You can safely say the Optimus G has every piece of top-notch technology currently available. The 13MP camera is a first for LG and the screen boasts some impressive credentials as well.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• 3G with HSPA; LTE
• 4.7" 16M-color WXGA True HD IPS Plus (768 x 1280 pixels) capacitive touchscreen, Gorilla Glass
• Android OS v4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, planned upgrade to 4.1 Jelly Bean, LG Optimus UI 3.0
• Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset
• 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, image stabilization, Time catch shot, smart shutter
• 1080p video recording @ 30fps with continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 32GB of built-in storage
• MHL-enabled microUSB port, USB host support
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Voice dialing
• Two app overlay mode for multi-tasking (Q Slide)
• Independent content output through MHL (Dual Screen Dual Play)
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Main disadvantages

• No microSD card slot
• No Jelly Bean at launch
• Mediocre sunlight legibility
• Non user-replaceable battery
• 13MP camera hardly any better than competitors' 8MP units

There is little LG could've done better, apart from pushing ahead with Jelly Bean perhaps. The non-expandable storage is a slight disappointment but if that's the price to pay for the beautifully slim body, we'd take it.

LG Optimus G live pictures

Having already gotten a feel for the Optimus G, we cannot wait to take it out for a proper spin. There's plenty to test and explore, so let's get busy.

The new processor architecture is matched on the outside by a bold and assertive, though not exactly brand new, design. There're novelties in screen and battery technology, as well as imaging and media. But the first things on our list are, as usual, the design and build. So, who's up for a ride?