LG Optimus G Preview

Note: This preview is based on our experience with the Korean version of the LG Optimus G. However, it is expected to be almost identical to the international version of the handset.

Introduction

Ever since we've had LTE and quad-core processors, we've dreamt of one thing – to have both of these amazing features in a single device! Thanks to LG and their latest flagship smartphone, the Optimus G, this is now no longer a dream, but reality. The LG Optimus G will be the first handset to take advantage of the super-powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, which makes having all of this technology in a single device possible.

As a matter of fact, the Optimus G (in case you're wondering, the “G“ doesn't stand for anything specific) has been announced since a couple of weeks now, but today LG held an official introduction in South Korea, so we actually got a chance to play with it on the company's own turf. And boy is this thing fast! The Optimus G might as well be the fastest phone we've used to date.

But we have a lot more to tell you about it. Read on to learn all the details surrounding this fresh and promising smartphone!

Design

It's easy to recognize the characteristic L-style design language in the LG Optimus G. Ever since the L phones and the Prada 3.0 came around, the manufacturer has been using this specific styling for its higher-tier devices, and we have to admit that we kind of like it. The mostly rectangular shape of the Optimus G, together with the overall simplistic nature of its exterior all lead to a classy and eye-catching appearance that's not that easy to find in the Android world.



Although “simplistic” is the name of the game for the Optimus G, that doesn't mean that LG hasn't paid attention to the subtle details. Pretty much all the elements like the keys and the camera lens have been decorated with a stylish chrome-like trim, while a couple of screws at the bottom add a little sense of sophistication.

Probably the most intriguing part of the LG Optimus G's design, though, is its non-removable back cover. With the G, LG has tried to escape from its usual plastic designs, and has instead relied on something a little bit more premium – glass. We say “a little bit”, because the exact implementation in this case isn't anything mind-blowing, but it's still much-appreciated. What's equally interesting about it is the specific finish, or pattern, that LG has used. The company is calling it Crystal Reflection, and has even patented it. The idea behind it is that it gives an interesting and different look to the back of your phone, depending on the angle at which light falls on it. In our opinion, the specific look of Crystal Reflection certainly isn't for everyone. It does make the phone appear somewhat fresh and eye-catching, but it isn't something we'd really care for.



Overall, LG has designed the Optimus G very well. Even though it sports a very large 4.7” display, it sits relatively comfortably in the hand, thanks to LG trying to shrink the bezel as much as possible. And the company's designers have really done a good job, seeing that they've managed to make it slightly shorter, narrower and even thinner than the HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy S III.

Display

The Optimus G features a gorgeous 4.7” display with an ultra-high resolution of 768x1280 pixels. All of this makes for a beautiful pixel density of 318 ppi, which is slightly higher than that of its rivals.

As we said, the screen is gorgeous. It uses the in-cell touch technology (also present in the iPhone 5), which allows for even more saturated IPS-LCD display. We really like these colors, because they are very vivid and lively, but also quite natural. Color temperature seems to come extremely close to the real deal, but it should be noted that the display obviously isn't the brightest one around. Not that it lacks in brightness, but it's not dazzling either.

The viewing angles of the screen are also quite impressive. What we didn't like about it, however, is that it seems to lack any sort of fingerprint-resistant coating. Once we started using it, it was immediately covered in nasty fingerprints, kind of marring the device's pristine look. It's worth noting that we've been using a pre-production unit for this preview, so with a little bit of luck, things might stand differently in the final unit.

When it comes to toughness, though, LG has made sure to include Corning's Gorilla Glass 2 for extra sturdiness and scratch-resistance.



Interface

The software that's going to be pre-loaded on the LG Optimus G is Android 4.0. It would have been cooler if LG had 4.1 right from the start, but we can live with this, since 4.0 is still a wonderful OS. Still, we really hope that LG will manage to surprise us with a quick update early on.

As usual, on top of the stock OS we have LG's own custom UI overlay, which alters the software's appearance and adds a number of new features.

As far as the UI look goes, you shouldn't expect any wonders from LG. They still have their cartoony icons, which don't really measure up to the level of artistry found in the stock version of the OS.



The new features we mentioned, on the other hand, are quite intriguing, though we're far from believing that all of them will end up being heavily used. Here are some of the more important ones:

- Live Zooming: This feature allows you to zoom in a video while you're watching it. It's a rather interesting concept, and one that kind of makes sense to us in the context of smartphones.

- Time Catch Shot: Now this one is really nifty and we can already see ourselves using it. It's like “Burst Shot” mode, but seems to be even better. With Time Catch Shot, the Optimus G starts taking pictures before you've even pressed the shutter key, and it continues to do so after you've released it. This way you are sure to have the exact picture you wanted even if you didn't really hit the shutter at the appropriate moment.

- Dual Screen / Dual Rendering: With this, your life is going to change forever! No, not really, we still find it cool. It lets you stream some content to a TV, while viewing other stuff on the phone. For example, you can stream a video, while typing a text.

- Quick Memo / QMemo 2.0: This feature lets you take a screen shot of the screen and then add a hand-written note to it. After that, you can easily share the result with whoever you want.

- Cheese Shutter: Basically, Cheese Shutter allows you to take a picture using a voice command rather than having to press the camera shutter, which is always a good thing to have.

Messaging

As you can guess, typing on the LG Optimus G's specious virtual QWERTY keyboard is a joy, especially when using the landscape one. LG has even added a nice customization feature called Conversation Skin, which allows you to add a wallpaper of your liking to the Messaging app.

Since this is an ICS phone, Gmail users will be able to experience what is probably the most advanced and profound application for using the service.

Connectivity

Having in mind that the phone runs on Ice Cream Sandwich and features such a powerful processor, it's not a surprise that web-browsing is a wonderful experience. And with LTE on board, it goes without saying that those pages will load in an instant, waiting for you to do some super-smooth scrolling and zooming action on them. And, when you consider the very high pixel density of the screen, you can rest assured that everything, down to the smallest of text, will be extremely fine and easy to read.



Processor

This is probably the signature feature of the LG Optimus G – the outstanding chipset. As said in the beginning, it uses the Snapdragon S4 Pro – a very serious quad-core chip that can easily run stuff like Windows RT. It's clocked at 1.5 GHz, and as you can imagine, delivers an ultra-fast and smooth experience. We encountered no lag or other delay whatsoever while using our pre-production unit, which proves the excellence of this piece of silicon.

Accompanying it, however, is the equally impressive Adreno 320 GPU. This powerful graphics chip can be employed by various applications to provide the necessary computing horsepower, and it will simply destroy every 3D game or benchmark found in the Play Store... in the good sense of the word, that is.

Memory

Equipped with 2 gigabytes of DDR RAM, the Optimus G doesn't play around in this area as well. This much memory can easily guarantee you seamless multitasking and snappy application response even if you are a really heavy user and want to almost replace your computer with this.

As far as internal memory goes, the Optimus G seems to come only in a 32GB flavor, which we're OK with. Unfortunately, there is not microSD card slot, so those who need more space are out of luck.

Camera

The camera is an interesting aspect of the Optimus G. In most places you'll see that it'll be a 13MP one, but the phone will actually come in two choices – 8MP and 13MP, with the 8MP model having a slightly lower price. The size of the camera sensor is 1/3.2”, and overall, we wouldn't expect wonders from it, no matter how many megapixels LG has managed to stuff inside. As we said, however, the company has worked hard to introduce some very cool features like Time Catch Shot, which is similar to Burst Shot, but better, seeing that it starts capturing photos before you've pressed the shutter, and continues for a bit after you've released it, allowing you to choose the absolute best moment of all.



Since this is just a pre-production unit we're dealing with, and the camera is such an important feature of a phone, we aren't willing to draw any conclusions about it just yet. *update* we have removed the samples taken with the prototype, as they do not indicate the camera quality of the final retail units. 

Battery

There's a 2100mAh battery inside the Optimus G, which, according to the manufacturer, should be enough for 15 hours of talk-time, or 14 days of stand-by on a 2G network. Official details about battery life on 3G or 4G have not been revealed yet.

Since the battery is non-removable, LG has made sure to increase its full-capacity life-cycles. A typical cell phone battery should usually keep its full capacity until you've recharged it about 500 times. Of course, it doesn't just die afterwards, but it just doesn't have the same capacity it once had. The battery inside the Optimus G should allow for about 800 such recharge cycles, which substantially increases the period of its most-useful state.

Expectations:

It goes without saying that we're pretty excited about the LG Optimus G. LG has been doing a very good job recently with strong devices like the Optimus 4X HD, and now, with an even more innovative offering in the form of the Optimus G, the manufacturer is on its way to regaining its status as a major player on the market.

We're especially glad that the G isn't just a phone for specs maniacs. LG has paid attention to the quality of the screen, the little details of the exterior, the materials, the camera and pretty much everything that could have an impact on the whole package. As a result, we are now looking forward to seeing this promising handset on store shelves around the world. Speaking of store shelves, the Optimus G will first launch in South Korea this month, but it will take some time until it reaches international markets. While there is no specific launch date given, we're almost sure that this will happen in about two or three months at most.