LG Optimus Pro Review

Introduction:

There is always a niche market for phones with portrait physical QWERTY, and the  LG Optimus Pro banks on that fact, trying to lure some of the BlackBerry fans by mimicking their favorite keyboard style, but slapping Android and a 2.8” touchscreen on the phone.

The screen size is larger than on most phones with this form factor, which might make you think the keyboard is a bit redundant. Is it so? Read on our review to find out…


Design:

The LG Optimus Pro seems chubby and hefty, but it’s actually rather light at 129g. Chubby it is indeed with, but doesn’t feel overly so when you hold the tapered back covered in soft-touch plastic in your palm.



You can compare the LG Optimus Pro with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The handset is fairly compact in terms of length and width, and the generous for this form factor 2.8” LCD touchscreen makes it very easy to operate with one hand during the times you don’t need the keyboard. The display is with the low 240x320 pixels of resolution, which rings in ~142ppi density - pretty bad, whichever way you look at it. Viewing angles are average, and the screen doesn’t really shine outdoors in broad daylight.

The four physical Android keys below it are a bit stiff, but the portrait QWERTY layout is very usable because of its chiclet style and the reverse slant of the left and right parts. The key travel is very distinct, and the size is enough that even our meaty digits were dancing around hitting the right key most times after a bit of getting used to.


Since the LG Optimus Pro doesn’t really shine in terms of design, screen or with its basic 3MP camera without a flash, the portrait keyboard is the best thing going for it, as it should be with this form factor.