The LG Optimus 4X HD can brag to be the first phone announced with a quad-core chipset, although the HTC One X beat it as first to market. LG has loaded the full monty with it - a quad-core processor, large “True HD” display fit in a fairly compact for it body, and the latest Android version out of the box.
As if top of the line specs were not enough, it also addresses some complaints we have with some new flagships, namely their closed nature. LG's finest has a removable battery, microSD card slot and a plain regular SIM card slot - that combination you can’t find in any of this season’s flagships.
Will these merits be enough for the LG Optimus 4X HD to stand against its formidable opponents like the Galaxy S III or the One X? Read on our review to find out...
Design:
The LG Optimus 4X HD lies pretty well in the hand for a slab with a 4.7” screen, thanks to the very narrow side bezel, and the compact chassis. In fact, it is as thin and light as the polycarbonate HTC One X with the same size screen, but is shorter and less wide, making it more suited for one-hand operation. The same goes if we size the Optimus 4X HD with the Galaxy S III, which is only marginally thinner, but much taller and wider.
The LG Optimus 4X HD lies pretty well in the hand for a slab with a 4.7” screen, thanks to the very narrow side bezel, and the compact chassis. In fact, it is as thin and light as the polycarbonate HTC One X with the same size screen, but is shorter and less wide, making it more suited for one-hand operation. The same goes if we size the Optimus 4X HD with the Galaxy S III, which is only marginally thinner, but much taller and wider.
Display:
LG makes some of the best mobile screens around, and the 4.7-incher on the Optimus 4X HD is no exception. It is an IPS-LCD HD display with 1280x720 pixels of resolution, good viewing angles and eye-pleasing colors. Outside visibility is above average, too, if you rev up brightness to the max when battling direct sunlight.
Unfortunately automatic brightness only works from the percentage you’ve put it on in Settings up/down a preset range, so if you start from 0% it won’t go all the way up under direct sunlight, or if you set it at 50%, the screen will still be too bright when it’s dark around - hopefully LG will fix that with an update.
It is also a “True HD” display, as LG categorizes its high-def screens with a regular RGB pixel matrix arrangement, to set them apart from the PenTile AMOLED displays Samsung uses. With 313ppi pixel density, text appears crisp and HD media is a joy to watch.
Unfortunately automatic brightness only works from the percentage you’ve put it on in Settings up/down a preset range, so if you start from 0% it won’t go all the way up under direct sunlight, or if you set it at 50%, the screen will still be too bright when it’s dark around - hopefully LG will fix that with an update.
It is also a “True HD” display, as LG categorizes its high-def screens with a regular RGB pixel matrix arrangement, to set them apart from the PenTile AMOLED displays Samsung uses. With 313ppi pixel density, text appears crisp and HD media is a joy to watch.
Processor and memory:
Four cores humming along at 1.5GHz and a fifth “companion” core that kicks in for the mundane tasks like standby, music playback or interface navigation - you guessed it, it’s the 4-Plus-1 architecture of NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor.
The chip powers LG Optimus 4X HD pretty well, there is no lagging or hiccups, plus you get to play the specially optimized for this silicon games from Tegra Zone, a few of which like Shadowgun come preinstalled. The handset sports the usual 1GB of RAM, and is loaded with 12GB of user-accessible internal memory (16GB total), plus a microSD slot for storage expansion, which takes card up to 64GB in size.
Conclusion:
The LG Optimus 4X HD is undoubtedly the best Android smartphone that the company has produced to date. It covers the geeky ground with a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, large and vivid HD display and the latest Android 4.0 out of the box.
The design is simple and pleasant, with a few welcome twists that make the phone a looker from the prism-shaped sides and easier to grip. The handset is more compact than its main rivals this Android season, despite being crammed with the same high-end innards, making it easier to operate with one hand. The only complaints are its preset screen brightness management and the funky camera focus, so hopefully these will be addressed with the first software update.
The new LG Optimus 3.0 UI is an improvement over its predecessor with a number of new features like Quick Memo and a very functional lock screen. Video playback is vastly improved with the new Media Plex features like live video zoom, and the camera module has been given new abilities like the Time Machine precapture. Nothing groundbreaking, but coupled with the light and quick ICS, the UI overlay feels sufficiently enhanced.
Whether or not LG’s best Android effort to date succeeds will be the market’s decision, as it stand against some pretty hefty opposition. The HTC One X has very similar components, but more stylish unibody design, yet all is for the sake of expandability, as it has a sealed battery compartment and no memory card slot.
The Samsung Galaxy S III also sports powerful silicon, but is with a more distinctive design and a slightly larger Super AMOLED HD display, not to mention the better camera. Yet the LG Optimus 4X HD offers the most flexibility out of the three flagships in this price range with its regular SIM slot, removable battery and expandable memory, so if that’s your thing it’s an easy pick.
The LG Optimus 4X HD is undoubtedly the best Android smartphone that the company has produced to date. It covers the geeky ground with a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, large and vivid HD display and the latest Android 4.0 out of the box.
The design is simple and pleasant, with a few welcome twists that make the phone a looker from the prism-shaped sides and easier to grip. The handset is more compact than its main rivals this Android season, despite being crammed with the same high-end innards, making it easier to operate with one hand. The only complaints are its preset screen brightness management and the funky camera focus, so hopefully these will be addressed with the first software update.
The new LG Optimus 3.0 UI is an improvement over its predecessor with a number of new features like Quick Memo and a very functional lock screen. Video playback is vastly improved with the new Media Plex features like live video zoom, and the camera module has been given new abilities like the Time Machine precapture. Nothing groundbreaking, but coupled with the light and quick ICS, the UI overlay feels sufficiently enhanced.
Whether or not LG’s best Android effort to date succeeds will be the market’s decision, as it stand against some pretty hefty opposition. The HTC One X has very similar components, but more stylish unibody design, yet all is for the sake of expandability, as it has a sealed battery compartment and no memory card slot.
The Samsung Galaxy S III also sports powerful silicon, but is with a more distinctive design and a slightly larger Super AMOLED HD display, not to mention the better camera. Yet the LG Optimus 4X HD offers the most flexibility out of the three flagships in this price range with its regular SIM slot, removable battery and expandable memory, so if that’s your thing it’s an easy pick.
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