LG Optimus L3 Review

Introduction:

While we're all going crazy about the upcoming quad-core beasts this year, but we shouldn't forget about those sweet little entry-level handsets that, believe it or not, are conquering peaks of their own. For example, we've already started seeing budget Android smartphones arrive with competitive price tags, rivaling those of feature phones.

We now have one such handset on our hands – the LG Optimus L3. As you probably know, the new L-line by LG is style-conscious, so the L3 is actually a very interesting product, as it should be both inexpensive and good-looking at the same time. Yeah, we've seen dirt-cheap Android smartphones alright, but what about dirt-cheap AND good-looking Android smartphones? The L3 will now show us if such kind of concoction is possible or not.

Design:

This is where the Optimus L3 has to strike the hardest. The handset has the typical rectangular shape for a device of the L-series, and overall, it looks better than your average entry-level Android. There's a more elegant white version, and has a cool metallic design around the rear camera. As a whole, it shows that LG has paid attention to the design here. However, we do think that the bottom back part should have mirrored the upper back part, similarly to the Prada 3.0, and not be shaped in such a generic way. That would have allowed the device score even higher in the appearance category.



You can compare the LG Optimus L3 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

In terms of materials, the L3 is nothing special. It doesn't feel so cheap, but the simple plastic that's used by LG won't hide the device's low-end nature in any way. Still, we do like the fact that all physical buttons on the device react well when pressed.


Display:

The LG Optimus L3 has a decently-sized 3.2” screen with the ridiculous resolution of 240x320 pixels. Apparently, one of the most significant compromises that LG had to make is the screen, because not only does it lack in terms of resolution, resulting in a paltry 125 ppi, but this is actually one of the ugliest TFT displays we've seen. This would have looked good about a decade ago.

Probably because the screen looks so bad when used indoors, we didn't notice so much quality degradation when taking it outdoors. No, seriously, it's usable when you're outside.

Interface:

Ugly screen or not, the Optimus L3 is still a capable smartphone, as it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread, skinned with LG's Optimus UI. This version of the Optimus UI isn't too deep (thankfully, and mostly changes some graphical elements for a more customized look. Well, there are a few added shortcuts like the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/etc. switches at the top of the notification area, which is OK. Most of the standard Android functionality is left unchanged and functions the way you expect it to.


We actually don't like the fact that the main menu is a vertically-scrolling list, rather than horizontally arranged pages, because it makes it a bit more difficult to determine exactly where you are and where the app you need is, especially if you have a lot of stuff installed. While we're on the topic of installing stuff, it's good to mention that the phone has 1GB of built-in memory, so it won't be a problem to have many apps and games installed.



Processor:

Thankfully, LG hasn't made a compromise when it comes to the SoC powering the L3. It's an 800MHz single-core ARM Cortex-A5, and we're happy to report that it manages to guarantee a perfectly fluid interface. We could even play some games like Temple Run, Angry Birds Space and Fruit Ninja without a problem, experiencing a stable and relatively high FPS.

	Quadrant Standard	AnTuTu	NenaMark 2
LG Optimus L3	1271	2559	13.2
Motorola DEFY MINI	951	2391	15.6
Samsung Galaxy S II	3113	6076	51
Samsung Galaxy Nexus	2000	5503	24

Messaging:

The Optimus UI keyboard works decently on the 3.2” screen of the L3. We did not expect wonders from it, and didn't get any. However, it does take advantage of the full width of the screen, and when in landscape mode does allow for a pretty decent typing experience.



Internet and Connectivity:

Due to the extremely low screen resolution, the browser of the Optimus L3 performs relatively smoothly. It's fast and capable enough to get the job done, however, the L3 is not a good phone to browse the web with, since everything is so crude-looking and hard to read. We guarantee that your eyes won't feel very comfortable if you attempt to read long articles on this display, so don't you dare to think about it.


Since the handset has an 800 MHz processor, it supports the Adobe Flash Player browser plug-in. You may not believe it, but Flash animations are running smoothly, even though they look terrible, as everything else on this screen.

Besides Wi-Fi, the Optimus L3 also has 3G, theoretically reaching 3.6 Mbit/s on the downlink.

We didn't have any problems with the built-in GPS. It located our position on a clear day in a couple of minutes, without using assistance from nearby wireless networks.

Camera:

The Optimus L3 doesn't feature a dedicated camera button, but its camera app is straightforward and easy to use. Although you can take up to 3MP images, which isn't so impressive considering today's standards, there's a plethora of settings for the camera. You can change focusing modes, ISO, white balance, add a color effect... the usual suspects.


The 3-megapixel images taken with the L3 aren't disastrous. Details seem to be on the softer side, a bit too soft for our taste, but the bigger problem here are the colors, which are incredibly dull and lifeless. The same goes for the indoor pictures. The lack of flash makes the phone even more inappropriate for practicing photography. Overall, we've seen worse images, but that doesn't mean that we'd ever consider the L3 for its camera again.


We like the fact that the phone records video at 30 FPS, which means it's quite smooth, but its 640x480 pixel resolution and poor quality make it unpleasant to look at.

LG Optimus L3 Sample Video:



Multimedia:

The music player is your standard Gingerbread affair. In case you're wondering, this means it go enough to play your music, maybe even display some album art, and that's it. However, if you'd like to have some more options to play with, you can always download any third-party music player from the Google Play store.

Due to the not so big and downright ugly screen, the LG Optimus L3 won't be of much use to those of you who enjoy watching a lot of video on their mobile devices. Otherwise, it's powerful enough to play up to 800x480 pixel videos out of the box.

Performance:

We'd not recommend the Optimus L3 if you want to enjoy great good sound during phone calls. Its earpiece is very poor, and so is its mic. In addition, there's some nasty noise heard on the other end of the line, which further ruins the phone call quality.

There's one good thing to having a small screen and an overall basic feature set, and it's called above average battery life. Indeed, the L3 should deliver up to 10 hours of 3G talk-time  (12.5 hours for 2G) and 25 days of stand-by, which is a good achievement by today's standards.

Conclusion:

All in all, there's no doubt that the LG Optimus L3 is one perfectly usable handset, with no serious issues to cause problems with its operation. We do like the fact that it looks better than your average low-end affair, and it actually outperforms it due to its smooth UI and ability to play 3D games and Flash content in the browser. Unfortunately, the low-quality, low-resolution screen kind of ruins the whole experience. Well, what can we say - obviously such major compromise was needed in order to keep the price low enough for the L3 to be competitive.

In the end, if you want to buy a smartphone and enjoy it, we'd recommend saving some more money and going for something that's better spec'd, like the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, for example. Still, if you can't really afford such a purchase, the L3 is not a bad low-end offering, considering its appealing looks.

Software version of the reviewed unit: Android 2.3.6, Build GRK39F, SW Version V10d-MAR-30-2012

LG Optimus L3 Video Review: