We take a look at the LG Optimus 2X – the first smartphone with a speedy dual core processor.
Look and feel
The LG Optimus 2X has a very sturdy black casing, with a silver strip under the camera which includes the Google logo, denoting that it’s an Android phone.
It’s quite a slim phone, with a long 4 inch screen which offers sharp 1080p video playback and recording. There’s a 1.3 megapixel camera at the front and an 8 megapixel camera at the back and at the top, there is a 3.5mm jack and a HDMI port.
Speed
Its biggest feature is its 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual core processor – the first smartphone to have one. As a result, the phone is quite fast and responsive, showing no struggle running games, browsing the web or multitasking.
While I think that many light smartphone users may not notice the difference, the processor will be a huge benefit for those who use their phones for media-heavy activities, such as playing videos or 3D games or for those who multitask extensively. And, as more phones start to implement this technology, there will be more powerful apps catered for this speed range, putting the Optimus 2X in a good position for the future.
It’s also worth pointing out that the processor helps with power consumption too. I managed to run this phone for about 2 days going online, viewing a few videos and playing a game without having to think about charging it.
Interface
The Optimus 2X runs on Android 2.2 at the moment, which seems odd considering the leap in technology it made with the processor. However LG has said that it will update it to the latest version of Android in due course.
The phone has 7 customisable homescreens, with links to the phone, contacts, messaging and applications at the bottom of the screen. Its weather app provides onscreen animations reflecting weather conditions outside.
Built-in apps include Facebook, Twitter and even Myspace. LG Also has an app advisor recommending apps for your area.
One complaint I had with the interface was with the keyboard. The predictive text was turned off by default, which could catch out users who may not be aware of this function.
In general, the interface works quite well and the processor makes it a breeze to operate through too. Hopefully the update for Android 2.3 will come quickly to improve it further.
Multimedia
The HDMI port allows you to connect the Optimus 2X to a HDTV and display content on the bigger screen. Setting up is pretty easy – just plug in the phone with the included HDMI cable, set it to the right channel and you’re ready to go.
The TV screen responded at the same time as the phone when operated and the image produced was sharp and clear. I did find that little bits at the edge of the screen were cut off, possibly due to the fact that the proportions of the screen on the LG Optimus 2X are longer than a standard HDTV. However, the cut-off was very small. In general, it works very well for playing games on a larger screen or connecting movies you’ve recorded.
Watching video content on the phone looked quite nice, thanks to its bright 480×800 resolution screen with 1080p Full HD movie playback. The sound quality was pretty crisp too.
Camera
The 8 megapixel Full HD camera takes very high quality shots, with well defined edges. However, I found that the colour quality on the camera wasn’t great, as some of my shots had a bit of a blue tint to it. It could be easily fixed with a colour correcting app, but it was still a bit of an issue.
The camera lets you adjust the video and image size, and add colour effects such as sepia and black and white.
Overall
The LG Optimus 2X is a powerful multimedia phone, with some great hardware. Its speedy dual core processor is perfect for any heavy media user and its HDMI connectivity is certainly a nice touch. Hopefully the Optimus 2X will soon come with an update to Android 2.3 as it could help the top notch hardware truly shine.
The LG Optimus 2X is available at Carphone Warehouse for €499.
