Mobile Review: LG Optimus GT540
Price: Rs 10,999
Summary
The LG Optimus is the second LG phone that uses Google's Android mobile OS.
Pros:
* Wi-Fi, 3G & GPS Support
* Very Good Music Playback
* Efficient Browser
* Looks Cool
* Google Mobile Services
Cons:
* Resistive Touchscreen
* Spotty Touch Sensitivity
* Sluggish Operation
Intro; Features; Design & Usability
Unlike its namesake in the Transformers (the great Optimus Prime), the LG Optimus GT540 isn’t a leader of Android phones (that distinction probably goes to the excellent Samsung Galaxy S). Instead, it’s more content being a Bumblebee kind of phone (and that’s the final Transformers reference), that doesn’t want to be known for flashy performance but value for money quotient.
The LG Optimus GT540 is a smartphone that runs on the 1.6 version of Google’s Android mobile OS. As a result, the Optimus offers fantastic integration with Google’s mobile services including dedicated apps for Gmail and GTalk. The Optimus also lets you sync and integrate your Google contacts on your phonebook. Plus, you can use Google Maps in conjunction with the pre-installed NDrive GPS application for voice guided navigation. Along with GPS, the Optimus also supports Wi-Fi and 3G.
Apart from the Google apps, the Optimus offers plenty of other pre-installed applications. Like I mentioned in my hands-on preview a couple of days back, Foursquare is present on the Optimus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t crowned the mayor of any place as the service is only enabled for Mumbai. Another one is the augmented reality app, Layar that uses the camera and GPS to show you places of interest near your location as marked by other users. For productivity purposes, the Optimus comes with QuickOffice that lets you view and edit Word docs and Excel sheets. Like any other Android phone, you can always download more apps and games from the Android Market.
The Optimus has a 3.0 inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 320x480, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus, 130MB of internal storage expandable to 32GB using microSD cards.
The LG Optimus GT540 is a smartphone that runs on the 1.6 version of Google’s Android mobile OS. As a result, the Optimus offers fantastic integration with Google’s mobile services including dedicated apps for Gmail and GTalk. The Optimus also lets you sync and integrate your Google contacts on your phonebook. Plus, you can use Google Maps in conjunction with the pre-installed NDrive GPS application for voice guided navigation. Along with GPS, the Optimus also supports Wi-Fi and 3G.
Apart from the Google apps, the Optimus offers plenty of other pre-installed applications. Like I mentioned in my hands-on preview a couple of days back, Foursquare is present on the Optimus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t crowned the mayor of any place as the service is only enabled for Mumbai. Another one is the augmented reality app, Layar that uses the camera and GPS to show you places of interest near your location as marked by other users. For productivity purposes, the Optimus comes with QuickOffice that lets you view and edit Word docs and Excel sheets. Like any other Android phone, you can always download more apps and games from the Android Market.
The Optimus has a 3.0 inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 320x480, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus, 130MB of internal storage expandable to 32GB using microSD cards.
Design & Usability
While the LG Optimus has an all plastic body, the review model had a steel grey metallic finish which made it look very cool. There are a lot of subtle design elements in the phone’s construction including a curved top and bottom (that reminded me of the way Japanese roofs look).
When it comes to usability, the Optimus is let down by its resistive touchscreen. The touch accuracy is way off and I even had major problems sliding down the notifications bar. The problem was finally solved by calibrating the touchscreen three times and even then it took at least two swipes to get the notifications bar to slide down. The UI is also unusually slow and is especially noticeable when accessing the call logs. The phone often forced me to stare at a blank screen for a couple of seconds before displaying the call logs. The virtual QWERTY keyboard is also far from perfect and although the landscape keyboard is much better than the one in portrait mode, it didn’t prevent me from often pressing the wrong key.
The LG Optimus isn’t a complete mess but I really wanted and was expecting a more accurate and more usable UI from LG.
Price: Rs 10,999
Summary
The LG Optimus is the second LG phone that uses Google's Android mobile OS.
Pros:
* Wi-Fi, 3G & GPS Support
* Very Good Music Playback
* Efficient Browser
* Looks Cool
* Google Mobile Services
Cons:
* Resistive Touchscreen
* Spotty Touch Sensitivity
* Sluggish Operation
Intro; Features; Design & Usability
Unlike its namesake in the Transformers (the great Optimus Prime), the LG Optimus GT540 isn’t a leader of Android phones (that distinction probably goes to the excellent Samsung Galaxy S). Instead, it’s more content being a Bumblebee kind of phone (and that’s the final Transformers reference), that doesn’t want to be known for flashy performance but value for money quotient.
The LG Optimus GT540 is a smartphone that runs on the 1.6 version of Google’s Android mobile OS. As a result, the Optimus offers fantastic integration with Google’s mobile services including dedicated apps for Gmail and GTalk. The Optimus also lets you sync and integrate your Google contacts on your phonebook. Plus, you can use Google Maps in conjunction with the pre-installed NDrive GPS application for voice guided navigation. Along with GPS, the Optimus also supports Wi-Fi and 3G.
Apart from the Google apps, the Optimus offers plenty of other pre-installed applications. Like I mentioned in my hands-on preview a couple of days back, Foursquare is present on the Optimus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t crowned the mayor of any place as the service is only enabled for Mumbai. Another one is the augmented reality app, Layar that uses the camera and GPS to show you places of interest near your location as marked by other users. For productivity purposes, the Optimus comes with QuickOffice that lets you view and edit Word docs and Excel sheets. Like any other Android phone, you can always download more apps and games from the Android Market.
The Optimus has a 3.0 inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 320x480, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus, 130MB of internal storage expandable to 32GB using microSD cards.
The LG Optimus GT540 is a smartphone that runs on the 1.6 version of Google’s Android mobile OS. As a result, the Optimus offers fantastic integration with Google’s mobile services including dedicated apps for Gmail and GTalk. The Optimus also lets you sync and integrate your Google contacts on your phonebook. Plus, you can use Google Maps in conjunction with the pre-installed NDrive GPS application for voice guided navigation. Along with GPS, the Optimus also supports Wi-Fi and 3G.
Apart from the Google apps, the Optimus offers plenty of other pre-installed applications. Like I mentioned in my hands-on preview a couple of days back, Foursquare is present on the Optimus. Unfortunately, I wasn’t crowned the mayor of any place as the service is only enabled for Mumbai. Another one is the augmented reality app, Layar that uses the camera and GPS to show you places of interest near your location as marked by other users. For productivity purposes, the Optimus comes with QuickOffice that lets you view and edit Word docs and Excel sheets. Like any other Android phone, you can always download more apps and games from the Android Market.
The Optimus has a 3.0 inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 320x480, a 3.15MP camera with autofocus, 130MB of internal storage expandable to 32GB using microSD cards.
Design & Usability
While the LG Optimus has an all plastic body, the review model had a steel grey metallic finish which made it look very cool. There are a lot of subtle design elements in the phone’s construction including a curved top and bottom (that reminded me of the way Japanese roofs look).
When it comes to usability, the Optimus is let down by its resistive touchscreen. The touch accuracy is way off and I even had major problems sliding down the notifications bar. The problem was finally solved by calibrating the touchscreen three times and even then it took at least two swipes to get the notifications bar to slide down. The UI is also unusually slow and is especially noticeable when accessing the call logs. The phone often forced me to stare at a blank screen for a couple of seconds before displaying the call logs. The virtual QWERTY keyboard is also far from perfect and although the landscape keyboard is much better than the one in portrait mode, it didn’t prevent me from often pressing the wrong key.
The LG Optimus isn’t a complete mess but I really wanted and was expecting a more accurate and more usable UI from LG.
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