Android phones have flooded the market of late, and really, since they all run the same OS, there is not a lot by which we can differentiate them, at least when we use them. Still, with the new year, manufacturers are separating themselves from each other by creating phones that look great and give a little better experience than most of the devices that we see on the shelves. LG’s Optimus G is one such product. We were very curious about the device here at the office when we first heard about it, and personally, I have to admit I have always been a fan of how LG phones look. They have had an understated simplicity with just enough detail to catch your attention, and a great feel in hand. Late last week, it arrived at the office, so for those of you who share this fascination with LG and their phones, is our unboxing and our first impressions on the device.
The box it comes in is a fairly plain deal It’s pretty heavy, and immediately lets you know that there’s something pretty special inside. The top comes off to reveal the phone itself, resting on its little shelf. The device has some heft to it. It feels very solid in the hand and is quite flat, but with nicely curved edges. The finish is a very smooth glass both on the front and back of the device, with a nice, thin, shiny bezel along the outside of the face. It feels nice; LG has not pulled any punches in the looks department. It might actually be a little too slippery. I’s liable to slide right out of your hand if you aren’t pretty careful. The back has a very interesting textured pattern under some protective glass, and it immediately apparent that the battery is not user-accessible; there are no seams to tug at to reveal the inside of the Optimus G. The back is also home to the 13-Megapixel camera and LED flash, as well as the loudspeaker.
Controls are sparse, as is the case with most phones these days. There’s a power button on the right edge, when you look at the screen, a volume rocker on the left edge, a microUSB port at the bottom, and a headphone jack up top. There is also a front camera with a 1.3MP sensor for video calls.
On powerup, you are greeted with a crisp 4.7-inch, 768×1280 HD-IPS screen with a crisp 318 ppi resolution and the familiar LG logo. The combination of Gorilla Glass 2 and sharp images lets you know the Optimus G means business. It runs a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait processor, standard for devices of this tier, and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. This is great news, as the device was originally planned to get JB through an update, if memory serves right.
The box contains the standard accoutrements: AC-USB charger, microUSB cable, sim-poppy-out-thing and quite a nice pair of premium, flat-cabled headphones. I’m liking what I see so far, and if the experience is as nice as the looks of this phone, I think we’ll all be in for a treat. Hang on to your wallets, and stay tuned. We’ll be doing a full review in the April edition of our Gadgets Lab.
Before we go, here’s one last look at the Optimus G, this time from the back, showing off that gorgeous glass and textured pattern underneath.