LG Optimus Elite Review

Introduction:

Back when we reviewed the LG Optimus S a year and a half ago we came away amazed that such a low-end device could perform so well. At that point even mid-range Android devices often left a bad taste in your mouth, and to see such a cheap device delivering performance was something completely foreign to the market. While no one would ever confuse the Optimus with a top-end device, LG really showed us that you don’t need to spend $200 to get a well-performing smartphone. Now LG is back with the Optimus Elite for Sprint. The follow-up improves on the original by adding a bigger display, better camera and NFC connectivity. Can this new low-end Optimus live up to its predecessor’s pedigree? Read on to find out…

Design:

The LG Optimus Elite immediately grabs your attention with its good design. The thin body and quality materials feel nice in the hand, and the build quality is again top notch. The battery door isn’t soft touch, but it is textured so it doesn’t feel slippery. The two-tone silver trim gives the Optimus Elite a bit more sophisticated look than your typical entry level device.



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

The buttons along the side are all easily pressed and offer good feedback. Externally you’ll find a microUSB port and 3.5mm headphone jack; removing the battery door exposes the microSD slot (unlike most Sprint devices, the Optimus Elite does not come bundled with an SD card.) The 5 megapixel camera sits prominently on the back, alongside the LED flash and a self-shot mirror.

As with the Optimus S, LG has managed to make the Optimus Elite feel much more expensive than its price tag. By combining good materials with good design, the Optimus Elite manages to impress again.



Display:

The Optimus Elite’s display has been upgraded to 3.5”, but retains the same 320x480 resolution of the Optimus S. At just 165ppi the display leaves some to be desired, but then again the Optimus Elite is an entry-level phone so we don’t expect too much. The bigger display is noticeable and easier to work with than the Optimus S, which could be cramped at times. It does not have an ambient light sensor, and so cannot auto-adjust display brightness, but at its max setting the screen is plenty bright and readable in harsh lighting conditions.

Interface:

The LG Optimus Elite is powered by Android 2.3.7. We don’t imagine there will be an upgrade to Android 4.0 which is disappointing. As a SprintID device the Optimus Elite runs a mostly vanilla version of Android with a few Sprint tweaks. This can be customized by downloading SprintID packs if the user wishes. You’ll find the usual collection of Sprint apps, including NASCAR, NBA and TeleNav Navigator, but thankfully nearly all of them are uninstallable. You’ll also find the suite of Google apps, which are not uninstallable.



Processor and Memory:

The LG Optimus Elite runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S2 clocked at 800 MHz, a modest bump from the Optimus S’s 600MHz. It features a very respectable 4GB of internal memory, 1GB of which is available to the user, as well as 512MB of RAM. While the processor may be downright antiquated by today’s standards (we can’t think of the last time a number was followed by MHz), it actually performs quite well in benchmark testing when compared to models like the ZTE Fury and Samsung Transform Ultra.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
LG Optimus Elite	2126	2915	35
LG Viper 4G LTE	3002	5528	55,9
Motorola Defy Mini	951	2391	15,6
LG Optimus L3	1271	2559	13,2

Overall the user experience was smooth with the LG Optimus Elite. While it won’t blow you away with speed, we didn’t run into any hiccups and the average user will be satisfied with the phone’s performance.

Connectivity:

The Optimus Elite is a 3G phone running on Sprint’s EVDO Rev. A network, but also features GPS, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0 with support for the 2DP, AVRCP, GAVDP, HFP 1.5, PBAP, HSP, FTP, GOEP, SDAP/SDP, OPP, SPP, A2DP, AVDTP, and OBEX profiles. The Optimus Elite also has an NFC chip, which makes it compatible with Google Wallet among other things. It is nice to see this tech filtering down the pipeline to non-flagship devices.

The stock browser is utilized in the Optimus Elite and ran as we’d expect it to. We were able to load Flash content just fine, and overall performance was smooth.



Camera:

Images taken with the Optimus Elite’s 5MP camera turned out OK. They are not great, but at the same time they are not awful. Indoor images are soft and grain is noticeable, but outdoor images turned out a bit better. Color reproduction is overall pretty good and detail is acceptable, though the camera at times had issues focusing on the proper subject. Videos can be recorded at a maximum resolution of 720x480; not great but passable for a low end device.
Multimedia


The LG Optimus Elite was unable to play DivX files out of the box, as well as any file encoded at 720p or higher. There are of course apps in the Google Play Store that will remedy that, and on the whole the media experience is what you would expect from a mostly stock Android device. There is some music player redundancy with the Google Play Music app, the stock Music Player app and the Sprint Music Plus virtual app, but choice is a good thing!

Performance:

Callers said there was a very slight muffling, but overall the phone was very clear and good. Overall they rated us an 8.5/10. To us the speaker sounded harsh and plenty loud, almost as if it was inside our ear. Voice reproduction was fairly natural. The battery has been ever-so-slightly bumped from 1500 to 1520mAh, but thanks to software optimization the Optimus Elite is able to squeeze out 7.3 hours of talk time, up from 5 hours on the Optimus S.

Conclusion:

The Optimus One line of phones set the bar for entry-level Android devices, and the Optimus Elite is a worthy successor to the Optimus S. It improves on the winning formula in just about every category, and while it may have shortcomings it is still the entry level phone to beat in our opinion. It is not going to stand up to a heavy graphics load, produce images like the HTC One series or deliver the speed of a quad core processor, but for those on a budget looking to run some basic apps and browse the web the Optimus Elite will not disappoint.

SW: LS696ZV9
Build: ZV9.GWK74
Android 2.3.7

LG Optimus Elite Review: