LG Optimus 2X Review
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Introduction:
Very often it turns out that it’s more important to be first than be the best. The LG Optimus 2X is the first commercially available smartphone with a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipset, and this feat alone makes it special.
There are other, and more interesting phones coming up with two CPU cores, as much as there are other, more powerful dual-core chipsets than Tegra 2, but none of those you can take for a spin or buy yet. Their loss.
Back in last summer we wrote that due to sinking market share LG is plotting the creation of an Optimus line of handsets, and on top of its food chain will be a powerful phone with a dual-core chipset from NVIDIA, which at the time was selling its Tegra 2 platform to anybody willing to listen.
Both were considered underdogs then - LG due to the never-ending supply of uninspiring feature phones, and NVIDIA due to the fact that Qualcomm, Samsung and TI all had dual-core chipsets in the works, which were more powerful and efficient than its already done Tegra 2.
Both LG and NVIDIA bet heavily on the first-to-market slogan, and we have the end result of NVIDIA trying to get a foothold in the cell phone business, using LG’s urging need to stand out somehow. The LG Optimus 2X is supposed to be the most powerful Android phone to date, but what can dual-core do for you in reality? Read on to find out...
Design:
The phone feels very solid when held, with its 4.9 ounces (140 grams), and is borderline large, but its decent 0.43” (11 mm) thickness comes somewhat to the rescue. Still, there is too much empty space below the screen for the phone to be considered normal size.
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The LG Optimus 2X feels very solid when held | ||
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You can compare the LG Optimus 2X with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
The large 4” screen has 480x800 pixels of resolution, and is bright, with wide viewing angles, and punchy colors - most probably an IPS-LCD, which currently is one of the best LCD technologies. LG is making the Retina Display for the iPhone 4, and the screens on its latest high-end phones, like the Optimus 2X and the LG Optimus Black, can attest to its display manufacturing prowess. There are four capacitive Android buttons below the screen, which are quite responsive.
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There are four capacitive Android buttons below the screen | |
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Viewing angles of the LG Optimus 2X (right) and the Apple iPhone 4 (left) | |||
The elevated square module on the back hosts the 8MP camera sensor with LED flash, which transitions nicely into a chromed strip running along the middle of the back cover, which carries etched Google branding. The same strip we are seeing on LG's upcoming G-Slate tablet, so it might be the mark of a product line now. There is also a front-facing camera for video chat above the display, but no LED notification light.
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The elevated square module on the back hosts the 8MP camera | ||
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Front-facing camera |
The sides don’t have much going on for them – there are separate volume buttons on the right, and a power/lock button at the top, all of which are easy to press, with a nice feedback. On the top are also the standard audio jack, and an HDMI port with a protective cap, which is very easy to pry open. The bottom hosts the microUSB port and two stereo speakers, making the phone a multimedia delight, among its other virtues.
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The sides of the LG Optimus 2X | |||
We liked the spartan, streamlined industrial design on the LG Optimus 2X. There is just the right amount of quality materials, like the soft-touch plastic and the metal strip on the back, which prevent the handset from looking plain.
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27 Comments
2. Prodigy (unregistered) posted on 01 Feb 2011, 11:01 2 2
Well, it seems that Atrix will eat this one at breakfast.
You should compare the LG screen with an Samsung Galaxy or a Nexus S. Not an iPhone...
10. jroc74 posted on 02 Feb 2011, 03:55 2 0
I dont think so. If anything they are gonna be neck n neck. The UI, stock software on this seems better than what Moto offers.
.
If you mean the docking features.....no phone can even come close to the Atrix for that.
.
But overall, I would put in this order: Atrix .....LG 2X and Bionic tied probably for next.
11. jroc74 posted on 02 Feb 2011, 04:08 0 0
Oh and I forgot, those low light pics for this phone....very nice.
3. kasha (unregistered) posted on 01 Feb 2011, 11:31 0 0
Is the rim made of metal? Or is it plastic painted in silver?
Please also show the cover flow music player when holding the 2X horizontally. Its the slickest interface I've seen, as I saw it on Youtube.
Also please try to take photos under low light environment. Again on Youtube and other sites I saw the camera takes pretty good photos and videos with dim lighting
4. kasha (unregistered) posted on 01 Feb 2011, 11:33 0 0
Thanks for the review. Its a nice early review but don't feel very thorough.
5. iwebdroidberry7 posted on 01 Feb 2011, 14:18 4 0
The keyboard and messaging reminds me of the iPhone.
6. surethom posted on 01 Feb 2011, 15:30 2 1
Having NO Led Notification light is the silly mistake & the no 1 reason LG has stopped me from giving them my money I will have to give my £ to Motorola or HTC then.
7. cheetah2k posted on 01 Feb 2011, 18:47 0 0
Reading this review was like an "anti-climax" to what early reviews called the LG 2X - "a revolutionary handset"..
Now that its here, it might be worth while waiting for the Moto Atrix to arrive in 900/2100Mhz HSDPA flavours, and then compare the two again. Hopefully the other makers have their dual core handsets out by then too.
The most disappointing thing for me is that I just wish LG released it with Gingerbread, but I guess we have to consider where LG 2X has been borne, and the fact that it hasn't come from a long line of decent handsets.
So, looks like I'll be hanging onto my Nexus S for a few more months then :-p
8. kasha (unregistered) posted on 01 Feb 2011, 19:57 2 1
Just for your info, LG promised to upgrade to 2.3 for 2X later, and this review misses quite some details. The review seemed rather rushed and didn't tested thoroughly (e.g. horizontal Cover Flow music player, photo under low light condition, etc.)
However, LG do not much good history of high end phone.
Moto has a very bad reputation of future OS update outside US so this time I won't consider Moto again. Their customer service is near non-existence
Nexus S is very nice and I considered it too! But its too plasticky for me when I tried in the shop
I'll wait for others to review the phone more thoroughly to give a better picture of LG 2X
12. guest (unregistered) posted on 02 Feb 2011, 19:33 0 1
AMOLED should be the standard for screen comparison and not the IPS LCD of iPhone. Too bad, it's what they got in their pockets.
14. lol (unregistered) posted on 03 Feb 2011, 09:35 0 0
It's a nice phone but camera not that good and by the way the IPS LCD screen better than super AMOLED in terms of reality color and brigtness that's why samsung wave 2 it's super IPS LCD and the good things about LG the call quality better than any Andriod phone even than samsung galaxy s
23. guest (unregistered) posted on 27 Feb 2011, 19:16 0 0
Get your facts straight. Samsung Wave II is Super Clear LCD and not IPS LCD. It's not Super AMOLED because of shortage.
Also,
http://www.gsmarena.com/display_shootout-review-541p7.php
SAMOLED>IPS LCD in terms of contrast and color rendition. PA should not have compared two IPS LCD's, there's just not point.
15. surethom posted on 04 Feb 2011, 03:09 2 2
NO LED notification light, that is stupid, well LG, I will give my £ to HTC or Motorola, silly mistake DONT follow Silly Samsung.
17. babara (unregistered) posted on 05 Feb 2011, 23:43 3 1
Why do you keep targeting on the issue of the missing notification lights? Are you a three year old who is fascinated by some blinking light? Grow up! One comment is enough!
Most of the users do not need some irritating light that announces to the whole world that we have incoming messages or emails. It might be a cool feature but absolutely not critical in smart phones.
If you are looking out for something like this in a smart phone, I'm glad that you will not be carrying a 2X, because you are a disgrace to the smart phone users.
16. AlonShtrafun posted on 04 Feb 2011, 14:28 0 0
Looks like a no brainer to me. It's fast, it records full HD, and the stills aren't that horrible either. LG didn't customize Android or the phone design too much, keeping it all simple. Looks like a really well-balanced phone. And balanced is good.
Sure the Atrix is great as well, but all those docking stations cost money, and I already have a laptop thank you. HDMI out is good enough for me. Altough the fingerprint reader on the Atrix is a truly great idea, too bad LG or anybod else for that matter won't take it on-board.
18. Eingild (unregistered) posted on 06 Feb 2011, 01:04 0 0
I hope Joven was the one who reviewed this phone. He would probably do more justice on the handset rather than the one speaking on this video. No offense.
20. KitPogi (unregistered) posted on 09 Feb 2011, 23:01 0 0
WoW! and to think this device would be another Iphone Killer! it is exactly like the FREAK'N IPHONE! Failed! Big time failure....
21. Eingild (unregistered) posted on 12 Feb 2011, 23:04 0 0
A great handset like this should be reviewed by Joven. I don't quite get it.
