The Optimus V by LG is probably one of the simplest and slimmest Android smartphones one can find in the market. With a tag of Android 2.2 the phone has a lot of features that are depicted in this LG Optimus review, plus it is very affordable, priced at around $150.
Design & Features
The Optimus V as stated before is very slim, just .52 inches thick with pocketable size. It holds a soft touch finish all over its body and the 3.2 inch screen is very bright, colorful and supports up to 262 colors. Jet Black in color, the button locations on Optimus V is same as it was in its previous model; the Optimus U. V comes with the conventional Home, Back and Search keys. The phone has some integrated factory Virgin Mobile apps as well. The Optimus has an Android interface and the menu has shortcuts, and web browser on its home screen, plus the Swype keyboard built in makes life even easier as it allows a user to enter text quickly in one continuous motion over screen. V comes with an Android version 2.2, but it is upgradable to Android 2.3. For a smartphone like Optimus V, it couldn’t get better than an Android installed in it. The features include voice dealing via Bluetooth, app sharing, phonebook integration with social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace. However, the much needed Flash support on the web is not there, as the phone lacks the hardware to support it.
The phone has 3G capabilities, a stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a GPS system. The GPS system works with a variety of 3rd party apps, the V however is not hot-spot capable. Needless to say but the phone is equipped with a lot of integrated Google software which includes a search bar, Google Talk, Email, Calendar Sync, YouTube etc. V comes with a 3.2 MP camera, though the quality is similar to that of its predecessors.
Optimus V collaborates with e Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync as well. Other features include a speakerphone, conference calling, visual mail, text and multimedia messaging. The V comes with a standard Android music and video players. With Android Marketplace, virtually one has all the apps in hand he possibly needs. The phone has a built in 170MB memory plus the Micro SD slot can support up to 32GB of space.
Performance
The LG Optimus V has a talk time of 11 hours and a standby time up to 18.75 days. It has a digital SAR of 1.04 watts per kilogram. The call quality, the reception is very good; the sound comes with great clarity, and volume comes in very natural. The speakerphone works perfectly well. The camera quality however is not very impressive; the image quality is still the same as of its predecessors. The phone works very well in its 3G mode. It merely takes seconds to load YouTube videos and other heavy coded webpages. Optimus V comes with a 600 MHz processor; one reason the phone works very swiftly during navigation with absolutely no hiccups or lags.
Before you buy an LG Optimus V from Virgin Mobile, see my Top 5 Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V Annoyances at http://bit.ly/qs3wM7
How can you upgrade it to 2.3? I don’t see any official update from motorola or VM. Does upgradable mean rooting and putting a mod on it?