LG really discovers the Android operating system. Does Optimus Chic manage to compete with the models from HTC and Samsung?
Optimus Chic is for now the best known Android smartphone from LG. At purchase, the buyer can choose between black and white color options, in rest, just like the most smartphones in this price class, the image is dominated by plastic. In addition, the housing is a quickly magnet for fingerprints – the only solution against them is to repetitively erase the surface.
As attraction Optimus Chic features a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen. The display offers a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels for optimal navigation on the Internet and because of the enormous brightness of 681 cd/m2, the visibility in direct sunlight is good. Thus, using the Korean is facile either in a summer garden or on the shore of a lake. The four keys with sensors located below the screen proved to be the weaknesses. Through these keys, the user accesses the options, the home screen, “back” and “search”. During our testing, when operating rapid and successively, the quartet has responded pretty slow.
A variety of equipment on board
Optimus Chic is running on the 2.2 version of the Android operating system, the 2.3 version being ready for launch. User Platform was slightly modified, but still offers a considerable plus-value compared with the original. As we already know, the Optimus Chic home screen is customizable. The user has at its disposal seven home screens, on which can be placed widgets, folders and shortcuts to applications. In particular on the widgets category, LG offers the Optimus Chic a few applications – such as the Briefing Today app that brings on the screen the scheduled meetings and the weather forecast. The main menu is presented rather conservative. However, here we can also find enough interesting things: client for Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Xing.
In this context, the displayed keyboard has left a good impression. By the ThinkFree Office suite, Optimus Chic even offers a program for viewing and processing Office documents. The widening horizon is responsible for the so-much-beloved Layar app with Augmented Reality, by displaying information about points of interest on a certain live image fixed with the camera. As hardware equipment, we remember the Wi-Fi connection, the HSPA mode, GPS and a 5-megapixel camera, plus the usual features.
Performance in the lab
Optimus One has passed our tests with bravery – and the Optimus Chic is not inferior to his older brother. Chic displays 9-hour autonomy while speaking and 21 days in waiting. A special appreciation deserves the very-good signal. Our tests have also showed that the sound qualities are good, the partner for dialogue being easily understandable.
Overall, the Korean smartphone receives from us more points than most of Android smartphones, including HTC and Samsung, phones in the same class of price.
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