LG Optimus 4X HD quad-core Android phone review
Understated excellence
I was never much of a fan of LG’s Android phones, they struck me as rather ordinary and frequently hampered by an unhealthy obsession with 3D. But suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere South Korea’s other phone maker has delivered an absolute blinder. Between you and me, this may prove to be the best Android handset of 2012.
Optimus maximus: LG's Optimus 4X HD quad-core Android smartphone
At 8.9mm the LG Optimus 4X HD is no thicker than HTC’s One X. Somewhat understated, its nonetheless handsome exterior – a design LG calls prism-edged due to the serrated side profile – should appeal to those who like me think that Samsung’s new Galaxy S3 is blighted by its big home button.
Like the Galaxy S3, the new LG has a wholly plastic assembly and so may prove more susceptible to scratches and scrapes than the polycarbonate HTC One X. That aside, I’ve no qualms about the build quality. The textured rear makes the device easy to hold and the volume rocker doesn’t stand too proud so unintentional adjustments are rare.
Note the groovy edge design
By keeping the amount of bezel around the screen to a minimum, LG has managed to create a phone that is both slightly shorter and narrower than either the One X or the S3. If you want a small, big phone then this is definitely the handset for you.
The technical highlights of the 4X are similar to those of the One X. The screen is a 312dpi 4.7in 720p IPS LCD affair, while the coal is hauled by an Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with an ARM Cortex A9 CPU running at 1.4GHz in quad-core mode and 1.5GHz in single. The screen is bright and colourful if not AMOLED-good in sunlight.
AnTuTu score and spec info
LG only gives you 16GB of storage compared to 32GB on the HTC one X, however, you do get a hot-swappable microSD card slot. That’s a better answer to the storage question in my book, not least because it means all the available internal space can be used for apps. The AnTuTu benchmark app returned scores of over 11,500 suggesting the handset has more power than you will ever find a way of actually using. The UI is supremely fluid no matter what else the system is getting up to.
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COMMENTS
Re: Fab phone. Dinosaur price.
That's like saying because you can buy a TataCar for £8, the game is up for BMW.
LG - Steer Clear
Sorry but after the firmware debacle that was & is the LG O2X I wont be going anywhere near any LG product. Current track record for LG would suggest that Jellybean will be available for this handset sometime Q4 2012..no wait that would be Q4 2017 and even then it will be buggy & broken.
Re: SIM
"Why does the reviewer think not using a MicroSim is any kind of advantage?"
Easy, you can swap SIMs between different phones. That was always the entire point of having a SIM in the first place. So you could switch phones, networks etc without having to ask anyone's permission. As a VERY simple example, whenever I travel, I buy a SIM pack from the country I am travelling in and stick it in my smartphone (much cheaper data, local calls etc). So that I can still receive calls and texts from home, my UK SIM goes in a 1p Samsung I got years ago.
Try sorting that out when one phone takes a standard SIM and the other a Micro SIM.
We have standards for a reason. Companies break standards for a reason!
Oh no, LG aren't very good at providing software updates. Oh no, I'll have to decide now whether i like the features and stick with them for the lifetime of the phone.
Remember a few years ago when we bought a phone and its capabilities remained exactly the same until such time as it went to landfill?? Just because Google releases a new version doesn't mean it needs to be on your phone, especially if you chose the right phone in the first place instead of whatever looked like it had the most horsepower & biggest screen.
Re: Not another 5in screen...
What the hell are you babbling about? Fandroid? What is that junk?
