As first impressions go, seeing the LG Optimus Vu will make your jaw drop -- and not necessarily in the good way.
Though I heard about the Vu back in February as the "phablet" that was LG's presumed answer to the Samsung Galaxy Note, I never saw it until it was sent to our offices for this review. At first sight, I asked myself the same question everyone else asked when I showed the device to them: "Is that really a phone?"
It may be difficult to believe due its large, squarish frame, but yes, the Vu does make calls. Just expect a lot of sneers from other people when you do so in public because this handset will stand out in a crowd.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, for those of you in North America who actually want it), the Optimus Vu won't arrive at a U.S. or Canadian carrier anytime soon. It is exclusively available in Korea now, for an eyebrow-raising $900. And given that huge phones, including the Note, are appearing in K-dramas (screenshot by CNET), its oversized body might not be considered as daft as we think.
Design
At 5.5 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide, 0.33 inch thick, and weighing in at 6.08 ounces, the LG Optimus Vu is huge for a smartphone. But for its size, it's quite lightweight and slender in the hand. Though it does fit in my palm, most of the time I needed two hands to operate it. For example, dialing the number pad while holding it with one hand and using my thumb was near impossible. In fact, I dropped the Vu a couple of times while trying to make a call.
You can fit the handset in a front or back pocket, but it won't be comfortable at all. I found about 2 inches of the Vu would remain above the seem, and it felt bulky when I was carrying it around.
On top are a 3.5mm headphone jack, a shortcut key called QuickClip for QuickMemo (more on that in a while), a Micro-USB port that can be covered with a slick little sliding door, a sleep/power button, and an embedded antenna that can collapse into the phone (more on that later too). To the right is a volume rocker.
The plastic back of the Vu is textured with a grainy design that resembles leather. Though I'm sure this material keeps the phone light, it gives it a cheap sort of feel, and it's definitely less luxurious-feeling than the Note. On its left corner is an LED-flash-supported 8-megapixel camera. To the right is a covered slot for the mini-SIM card. Below that are two small slits for the output speaker. Unlike other devices, it doesn't have a slot for prying the back off with your fingernail. Instead, two screws at the bottom keep the back plate secure.
The LG Optimus Vu's 8-megapixel camera and textured backing.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The phone sports a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1,024x768 pixels. Though it's not as impressive as the LG Optimus 4X HD's, the screen is still decent. Menu icons were crisp and images were vibrant and richly saturated. A few default wallpapers, however, looked a bit streaky. Because it has 650 nits of brightness, videos played vividly. The viewing angle is wide, even while outdoors in the sun, which is usual for IPS displays.
One odd thing about the screen is that it has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which LG claims is the most "common aspect ratio for print materials in real life." The company also says it makes browsing the Web more comfortable, which I found to be true. For other content, the handset automatically optimizes third-party apps to fit the ratio. Sometimes it worked -- when I played Temple Run it looked fine on the bigger display -- but other times it didn't. YouTube videos, for example, stretched to fill the screen, giving people in the clips giraffe necks. On the other hand, if I chose to watch a video while retaining its ratio, there'd be a lot of dead black space bordering it. If an app doesn't render correctly, you can enable "aspect ratio correction" when you hold down the home button. This will change the display setting of the app to make it slimmer.
Above the display in the left corner are a proximity sensor and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Below are four front keys (menu, home, back, and search) that light up when in use.
The phone comes with a stylus that LG calls a "Rubberdium" pen (don't ask me why). Though I like the fact that it feels sturdy like a real pen, it's inconvenient that there's no slot for storing it in the phone.
Features
The LG Optimus Vu runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Again, it doesn't hold a candle to the 4X HD's quad-core processor, but it's still snappy. There was no noticeable lag time for simple undertakings like switching from landscape to portrait mode, swiping through its seven home screen pages, and opening apps.
Games launched and closed without a problem and transitioning back to home was a breeze. There were processing issues with the camera, however, which I'll explain later.
Unfortunately, the device runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which isn't the latest version of the OS. LG reported that it will be upgradable to version 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's not certain when that will be. In the meantime, the handset comes with a few Google apps you expect like Gmail, Search, Latitude, Play Store, Maps with Navigation, Places, Talk, and YouTube.
Other preloaded content includes an app that backs up your files; a news and weather app; the mobile office suite known as Polaris Office; RemoteCall, an app that lets LG support services remotely access your phone for troubleshooting; a video-editing app; SmartShare, a content distribution app; LG SmartWorld, for downloading LG apps and ringtones; a TV app that, in conjunction with the antenna, lets you watch TV and listen to the radio; a folder with preloaded apps, which include a Korean game that's similar to Tower Defense and a wallet service app; an e-reader; and about a half dozen Korean apps that look to include things like an e-reader store and a cloud service portal.
The LG Optimus Vu has an embedded antenna for TV and radio.
Basic features present are text messaging, e-mail, Bluetooth, a Web browser, a dictionary, a calendar, a clock with alarm settings, a memo pad, a calculator, and a voice recorder.
The Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip enables the handset to wirelessly communicate with other NFC-enabled devices within a short distance. LG included with the Vu three Tag+ stickers labeled Office, Sleep, and Car mode that let you use the NFC feature to activate certain settings on your phone that you customize. For example, every time you go to sleep, you may want to put your phone on vibrate, dim your screen, and have your music turn off after 10 minutes of playing. Once you set up and save those settings using the LG Tag+ app, you can activate them whenever you tap your Sleep Mode Tag sticker.
Though the feature was mostly reliable and the LG Tag+ app made for easy set up, the NFC chip wasn't as sensitive as it was on the LG Optimus 3D Max. With just a simple tap on the Max, the NFC chip would save its settings. With the Optimus Vu, however, it took a couple of movements to get the NFC to register.
The device also is equipped with QuickMemo, a feature you can access by clicking the QuickClip hot key on top. It lets you jot down, with your finger or with the Rubberdium pen, quick notes or sketches directly over screen images, which you can then save and share. You can customize the color and style of your pen tip.
A couple of other services include Wi-Fi hot spot, Wi-Fi Direct, and gesture support -- the last of which is common in LG devices. Gesture support lets you stop or snooze your alarm, pause video, or mute an incoming call, all by flipping the handset over.
View the original article here
Though I heard about the Vu back in February as the "phablet" that was LG's presumed answer to the Samsung Galaxy Note, I never saw it until it was sent to our offices for this review. At first sight, I asked myself the same question everyone else asked when I showed the device to them: "Is that really a phone?"
It may be difficult to believe due its large, squarish frame, but yes, the Vu does make calls. Just expect a lot of sneers from other people when you do so in public because this handset will stand out in a crowd.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, for those of you in North America who actually want it), the Optimus Vu won't arrive at a U.S. or Canadian carrier anytime soon. It is exclusively available in Korea now, for an eyebrow-raising $900. And given that huge phones, including the Note, are appearing in K-dramas (screenshot by CNET), its oversized body might not be considered as daft as we think.
Design
At 5.5 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide, 0.33 inch thick, and weighing in at 6.08 ounces, the LG Optimus Vu is huge for a smartphone. But for its size, it's quite lightweight and slender in the hand. Though it does fit in my palm, most of the time I needed two hands to operate it. For example, dialing the number pad while holding it with one hand and using my thumb was near impossible. In fact, I dropped the Vu a couple of times while trying to make a call.
You can fit the handset in a front or back pocket, but it won't be comfortable at all. I found about 2 inches of the Vu would remain above the seem, and it felt bulky when I was carrying it around.
On top are a 3.5mm headphone jack, a shortcut key called QuickClip for QuickMemo (more on that in a while), a Micro-USB port that can be covered with a slick little sliding door, a sleep/power button, and an embedded antenna that can collapse into the phone (more on that later too). To the right is a volume rocker.
The plastic back of the Vu is textured with a grainy design that resembles leather. Though I'm sure this material keeps the phone light, it gives it a cheap sort of feel, and it's definitely less luxurious-feeling than the Note. On its left corner is an LED-flash-supported 8-megapixel camera. To the right is a covered slot for the mini-SIM card. Below that are two small slits for the output speaker. Unlike other devices, it doesn't have a slot for prying the back off with your fingernail. Instead, two screws at the bottom keep the back plate secure.
The LG Optimus Vu's 8-megapixel camera and textured backing.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
The phone sports a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1,024x768 pixels. Though it's not as impressive as the LG Optimus 4X HD's, the screen is still decent. Menu icons were crisp and images were vibrant and richly saturated. A few default wallpapers, however, looked a bit streaky. Because it has 650 nits of brightness, videos played vividly. The viewing angle is wide, even while outdoors in the sun, which is usual for IPS displays.
One odd thing about the screen is that it has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which LG claims is the most "common aspect ratio for print materials in real life." The company also says it makes browsing the Web more comfortable, which I found to be true. For other content, the handset automatically optimizes third-party apps to fit the ratio. Sometimes it worked -- when I played Temple Run it looked fine on the bigger display -- but other times it didn't. YouTube videos, for example, stretched to fill the screen, giving people in the clips giraffe necks. On the other hand, if I chose to watch a video while retaining its ratio, there'd be a lot of dead black space bordering it. If an app doesn't render correctly, you can enable "aspect ratio correction" when you hold down the home button. This will change the display setting of the app to make it slimmer.
Above the display in the left corner are a proximity sensor and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Below are four front keys (menu, home, back, and search) that light up when in use.
The phone comes with a stylus that LG calls a "Rubberdium" pen (don't ask me why). Though I like the fact that it feels sturdy like a real pen, it's inconvenient that there's no slot for storing it in the phone.
Features
The LG Optimus Vu runs on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Again, it doesn't hold a candle to the 4X HD's quad-core processor, but it's still snappy. There was no noticeable lag time for simple undertakings like switching from landscape to portrait mode, swiping through its seven home screen pages, and opening apps.
Games launched and closed without a problem and transitioning back to home was a breeze. There were processing issues with the camera, however, which I'll explain later.
Unfortunately, the device runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which isn't the latest version of the OS. LG reported that it will be upgradable to version 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's not certain when that will be. In the meantime, the handset comes with a few Google apps you expect like Gmail, Search, Latitude, Play Store, Maps with Navigation, Places, Talk, and YouTube.
Other preloaded content includes an app that backs up your files; a news and weather app; the mobile office suite known as Polaris Office; RemoteCall, an app that lets LG support services remotely access your phone for troubleshooting; a video-editing app; SmartShare, a content distribution app; LG SmartWorld, for downloading LG apps and ringtones; a TV app that, in conjunction with the antenna, lets you watch TV and listen to the radio; a folder with preloaded apps, which include a Korean game that's similar to Tower Defense and a wallet service app; an e-reader; and about a half dozen Korean apps that look to include things like an e-reader store and a cloud service portal.
The LG Optimus Vu has an embedded antenna for TV and radio.
Basic features present are text messaging, e-mail, Bluetooth, a Web browser, a dictionary, a calendar, a clock with alarm settings, a memo pad, a calculator, and a voice recorder.
The Near-Field Communication (NFC) chip enables the handset to wirelessly communicate with other NFC-enabled devices within a short distance. LG included with the Vu three Tag+ stickers labeled Office, Sleep, and Car mode that let you use the NFC feature to activate certain settings on your phone that you customize. For example, every time you go to sleep, you may want to put your phone on vibrate, dim your screen, and have your music turn off after 10 minutes of playing. Once you set up and save those settings using the LG Tag+ app, you can activate them whenever you tap your Sleep Mode Tag sticker.
Though the feature was mostly reliable and the LG Tag+ app made for easy set up, the NFC chip wasn't as sensitive as it was on the LG Optimus 3D Max. With just a simple tap on the Max, the NFC chip would save its settings. With the Optimus Vu, however, it took a couple of movements to get the NFC to register.
The device also is equipped with QuickMemo, a feature you can access by clicking the QuickClip hot key on top. It lets you jot down, with your finger or with the Rubberdium pen, quick notes or sketches directly over screen images, which you can then save and share. You can customize the color and style of your pen tip.
A couple of other services include Wi-Fi hot spot, Wi-Fi Direct, and gesture support -- the last of which is common in LG devices. Gesture support lets you stop or snooze your alarm, pause video, or mute an incoming call, all by flipping the handset over.
View the original article here
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