Slide 2 Slide 3 Slide 4 Previous Next CNET Editors' Rating 4.0 stars Excellent CNET Editors' Rating 4.0 stars Excellent - Overall rating: 8.0
- Design: 8.0
- Features: 8.0
- Performance: 8.0
The good: AT&T's LG Optimus G has Qualcomm's lightning-quick quad-core processor, supports 4G LTE, and has a gorgeous display.
The bad: The Optimus G's camera has a harsh flash and some of its photos fell flat, it has a short battery life, and its speaker audio quality was tinny.
The bottom line: With its speedy internals, LTE data speeds, and stunning screen, the LG Optimus G is one of the phone-maker's best handsets so far, but it can't escape its weak battery and camera.
Editors' Top Picks
- 1
Apple iPhone 5 (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) 4.0 stars - 2
Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) (T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular) Starting at$49.99 4.0 stars - 3
HTC One X (AT&T) Starting at$99.99 4.0 stars - 4
LG Optimus 4X HD (Unlocked) 4.0 stars
With its large, bright, and beautiful display; Android 4.0; LTE speeds; and Qualcomm's first, very fast, very impressive quad-core processor, AT&T's version of the Optimus G is one of LG's best-ever phones.
Yet even though LG reaches for the top, the Optimus G still fails to offer anything truly innovative or wowing, apart from the chipset. The Optimus G's design is pleasant and functional, but uninspired; its 8-megapixel camera is weaker than that of the top-tier competition, and its battery life can't meet the phone's bright screen and performance demands. (Sprint's Optimus G version is arguably the better device, thanks to its crisper 13-megapixel camera.)
There's very little that's actually wrong with the device, but even with the bulging processing muscle, the Optimus G won't sweep aside the Samsung Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5, and we expect the forthcoming HTC One X+ and Nokia Lumia 920 to put on the pressure.
Design and build The LG Optimus G, which comes in black and white, has a familiar square slate design. The corners round ever so slightly, but the edges of the phone face drop in steep cliffs that create a noticeable edge. The spine then slopes more gently into the back, creating a more comfortable handhold than if you grip the phone by its face. While pleasant-looking and functional, it certainly isn't pushing boundaries, defining your personality, or wowing you with standout machining. In fact, it reminds us of the unlocked Samsung Galaxy S II.
Standing 5.01 inches tall by 2.8 inches wide by 0.37 inch thick, the Optimus G comes in slightly wider and thinner than LG's international quad-core phone, the Optimus 4X HD (which measures 5.19 inches by 2.69 inches by 0.38 inch). Its 5.44-ounce heft makes it solid, but also on the heavy side. Still, it's a smidge lighter than the 4X HD as well.
The LG Optimus G sports a unique polarized Gorilla Glass backing.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Like other jumbo phones, you won't be able to squeeze the Optimus G into smaller pockets, and this is no one-handed device. However, tossing it into a bag or larger back pocket works just fine. We were able to tote it around in a stretchy back pocket. It didn't look very attractive protruding from the material, but ambulation was possible.
LG calls its 4.7-inch Optimus G's peeper a True HD IPS+ display; that translates to a 1,280x768-pixel resolution (WXGA). The Optimus G's 15:9 aspect ratio is a little off the 16:9 standard, but that hasn't bothered us so far. Pixel density comes in at 320ppi. For reference, the Nokia Lumia 920 has 332ppi, the iPhone 5 has 326ppi, and the Samsung Galaxy S3 has a 306 pixel-per-inch density.
The absolute pixel density, by the way, only indicates clarity, but suffice it to say that this beautiful screen did not disappoint, giving bright and crisp edges and vivid, appealing color.
There's more to know about the dominating screen as well. LG boasts that its "Touch Hybrid Display" technology makes the screen 30 percent slimmer because it removes the air gaps separating the cover glass from the touch layers -- and light source -- below. LG isn't the only company to do this; the iPhone 5 and HTC One X advertise a similar process. In addition, using Corning's Gorilla Glass 2 on the front and back panels contributes to the weight, but could also lend strength. However, we're not interested in smashing the phone on concrete to test durability against cracks.
Below the display are touch-sensitive buttons to go back, go home, and pull up the menu. Press and hold Home to also open your list of recent apps. Do the same to the menu button to pull up a Google search bar.
Above the screen, you'll find the 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The volume rocker hangs out on the left spine, along with a covered bay that holds the SIM and microSD card slots. The power button is on the right. (We not-so-secretly wish this is also where the hardware camera button would be, but its absence doesn't earn any black marks.)
You'll charge the Optimus G through a Micro-USB charging port on the bottom of the phone, and you'll push in your headset into the 3.5mm jack up top. Nestled into the polarized (and patent-pending!) back panel are the 8-megapixel camera lens and LED flash.
A better look at AT&T's LG Optimus G (pictures) 1-2 of 6 Scroll Left Scroll Right
AT&T also loaded some of its apps, such as a code scanner, a family member locator, a storage cloud, AT&T Ready2Go, which lets users set up their phones through their computers, a hot-spot manager, its own brand of navigation and messaging, a live TV portal with a weeklong trial, and an app that enables users to check their AT&T account and data balance.
Other goodies include two file-sharing apps (SmartShare and FileShare), Amazon Kindle, Facebook, the mobile office suite known as Polaris Office 4.0, Twitter, a video editor, and the Yellow Pages. And of course, there are basic task-managing apps, such as: a native browser and e-mail client, music and movie players, a clock with alarm functions, an address book, a notepad, and voice command.
Furthermore, LG packed its flagship device with tons of interesting features. Some we've seen before, like the Optimus 3.0 user interface. We're internally divided over the UI. On one hand, LG has done a nice job of adding some functionality without imposing too much of its own personality on top of Ice Cream Sandwich. On the other hand, it's not as sleek and elegant as Google's vision of the OS, and certain widgets come across looking dated. However, users can customize certain app icons with four differentlyvthemed choices for completely new icon looks. Rest assured, however, that the OS doesn't get in the way of using the phone.
LG's signature note-taking app, QuickMemo, is packaged with Optimus 3.0, so it's no surprise that it's loaded in this handset too. It lets you jot down with your finger or stylus, quick notes or sketches directly over screen images, which you can then save and share. You can also customize the color and style of your pen tip.
Like most recent higher-end LG phones, the Optimus G includes QuickMemo.
(Credit: Lynn La/CNET)
In addition, Dual Screen Dual Play lets you mirror screen images between the phone and another TV or monitor. And what's displayed doesn't necessarily have to be the same content. Other extras include pinch-zooming during recorded video playback; Wise screen, which keeps the screen on when it detects someone's face staring at it; an aspect ratio corrector that corrects how downloaded apps display in case of screen distortion; a battery saver that helps to conserve power and battery reserves; LG motion gestures so users can control certain functions (like pausing video or turning off an alarm) through physical gestures; and an eco mode module that optimizes the Optimus G's quad-core performance.
The phone has the usual connections of Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth. There's also NFC support, but unfortunately, the AT&T version won't include LG Tag+ stickers, which enable lets users activate customizable phone settings with NFC (the Sprint model, however, will). You'll be able to access system settings from the notifications pull-down, and pinching and zooming on the home screens gives you a bird's-eye view.
Camera and video AT&T's version of the Optimus 4G comes with an 8-megapixel camera that sits flush with the phone backing. If you're looking for the version with the 13-megapixel camera though, head on over to Sprint. You can check out the 13-megapixel camera quality here.
Back at AT&T, the Optimus G has all the same camera software as its Sprint counterpart. There are controls to choose among seven scene modes, five white-balance modes, and four color effects. You can choose resolution that goes from 8-megapixels down to 1-megapixel. Geotagging, brightness, and flash are other settings. While you can select your favorite of four shutter sounds, we weren't able to turn the sound off. LG gets a slight demerit there for the lack of a stealth mode.
For fancier shooting options, you're able to turn on HDR mode (high dynamic range), or take a sweeping panorama. There's also continuous shot mode, which takes a burst of six photos. There are also some fun things you can do with the camera: Time Catch Shot takes a series of six shots around an event, so you can choose the best single image to keep.
You can also use a voice trigger that will take photos if you say one of five programmed words: cheese, smile, whiskey, kimchi, or LG. Just beware that you may snap unwanted shots when instructing people to say "cheese."
Continue to next page 1 2 Editors' Top Picks
- 1 Apple iPhone 5 (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) 4.0 stars
- 2 Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) (T-Mobile, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular) Starting at$49.99 4.0 stars
- 3 HTC One X (AT&T) Starting at$99.99 4.0 stars
- 4 LG Optimus 4X HD (Unlocked) 4.0 stars
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