LG Optimus Black Review - Specifications, Design and Display

LG Optimus Black Review - Specifications, Design and Display
Page content

Optimus Black

The LG Optimus Black is one of the new Android phones which was unveiled earlier this year at CES 2011. LG completely stole the show at CES this year with phones like the LG Optimus 2X and the LG Optimus Black.

The LG Optimus Black, is an extremely stylish phone. It comes with Android 2.2 Froyo but will also be upgraded to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It will come with the Optimus 2.0 UI and has a 5 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash and a 2 MP front facing camera for video calls.

LG Optimus Black Specifications

  • Dimensions: 121 x 63.5 x 9.2 mm
  • Weight: 109 gms
  • Display: 4.0 inch Nova display, 480 x 800 pixels
  • OS: Android 2.2 Froyo
  • Processor:
  • Memory: Up to 32 GB microSD card support
  • Camera: 5 MP camera, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 720p video recording
  • Connectivity: GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct
  • GPS: GPS with A-GPS support
  • Battery: 1500 mAh Li-ion battery

(5 out of 5)

The LG Optimus Black has an excellent design with a very stylish look. The glossy black look is excellent and is very sleek with dimensions of just 121 x 63.5 x 9.2 mm. It is probably one of the slimmest Android phones. It is also quite light and compact with a weight of less than 110 gms. On the top, you’ll find the power button, the microUSB slot and the audio jack. The back has the battery compartment with the 5 MP camera and LED flash.

It comes with a 4.0 inch Nova display, which, according to LG, is one of the most power efficient displays and the brightest one. It consumes 50% less energy than AMOLED displays while providing the highest brightness levels.

The 4 inch display should be ideal for browsing the web while on the move, and also watching videos. Below the display are the three keys - Menu, Home, back and Search. Above it is the 2 MP secondary video camera. The phone has excellent build quality and a great feel overall. It may have outAppled the iPhone.

User Interface (4 out of 5)

The LG Optimus Black is one of the best Android phones in terms of OS and user interface. It will ship with Android 2.2 Froyo at first, but will definitely get an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

It will come with the new Gesture UI overlay over the Optimus shell, which looks pretty good. We don’t have the exact hardware specs, but it’s likely to be a 1 GHz+ processor, maybe a dual core one. It will have 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM.

The phone feels snappy and offers excellent performance. It may not be as powerful as the Optimus 2X, but is good enough to beat the current crop of Android cell phones.

Multimedia (4 out of 5)

Optimus Black-1

The LG Optimus Black will come with a 5 MP camera with an image capture resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels. It also has autofocus and LED flash.

It is also capable of 720p video recording. The highlight of the phone is the 2 MP front facing camera for video calls, the best in mobile phones.

It will come with an image gallery, music player and video player, like all other Android phones. With the powerful processor, it should be able to play 720p videos easily. Watching videos should be a pleasure on the 4 inch Nova display.

Connectivity (3 out of 5)

The LG Optimus Black comes with all the connectivity options you would expect in a smartphone. It comes with GPRS, EDGE, 3G HSDPA as well as Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA. One of the best features is the Wi-Fi Direct support which will allow you to connect two Wi-Fi devices using the new protocol for data sharing. It also comes with GPS with A-GPS support and Google Maps.

It comes with a 1500 mAh Li-ion battery which should offer a very long battery life, thanks to the power saving Nova display.

The Verdict (4 out of 5)

The LG Optimus Black was one of the best Android phones at CES 2011. It was overshadowed a bit by the LG Optimus 2X, but is one of the most stylish Android phones yet. We still don’t have the complete details about it, including a few specs and the pricing, but they should be clear soon. If you plan to buy an Android phone, and can wait, do wait for the LG Optimus Black.