TechXplosion

LG Optimus 3D review - is it worth it?

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:26:43 -0400

We have had the opportunity to review this powerful device courtesy to Lily and Louis, and LG New Zealand.

Before I begin, I wish to point out that our unit is quite possibly a pre production unit, and had been used for various reviews prior (there were imperfections).

The LG is a little ‘heavy’ but was very comfortable to hold even for a small handed person. Turn the phone on and you’re greeted by a beautiful WVGA screen, bright and crisp. Controlling the touchscreen is a breeze; it is light and responsive, and with 4.3-inches of real estate, there’s more than enough room to manoeuvre. It needs a little more firmness than the iPhone 4, for example, but it’s not massively noticeable.

The screen, although large, isn’t so wide that it’s difficult to control with one hand, although typing is noticably more comfortable with two.

The handset is running a standard version of Android 2.2, with multiple home screens and widgets as standard. Consequently the messaging inboxes, contacts and media player are all standard froyo.

Now to the 3D, which I am sure what you all are here for to find out.

LG has grouped all the LG Optimus 3D’s tri-dimensional content into one handy hub, accessed by the 3D button on the side of the handset. This includes a guide to 3D, to familiarize newcomers with what’s on offer.

There’s also a shortcut to 3D apps and games, which currently houses the three games available. One interesting thing is LG’s deal with YouTube, which sees users able to upload their 3D videos directly to YouTube using the hub.

The background may have been spectacular, but the foreground was a little bit trickier. There’s a definite sweet spot directly in front the face and if you mediate from here you end up with quite a bit of fuzz and loss of the 3D effect.

Displaying an undoubtedly impressive 3D image when you hold the phone in the right place, it is a real shame that the LG makes your eye water rather quickly. There’s no way anyone be able to play an entire game or watch a full movie with aching eyes, which defeats the purpose of the 3D display.

We found the camera on the 7Q was a bit better with how they were positioned, instead of the 3D launcher where the button on the 3D is utilised for. If you’re not careful, you can slightly shake your phone and you will take a pretty average picture out of the 5MP camera.

The camera also records 1080p HD video – the quality is hard to judge on just the handset screen, but it certainly looked crisp and the colour quality felt natural.

There is an HDMI port for connecting the handset to a larger screen though; it can also output 3D video to a 3D TV, if you’ve invested in one (although 3D content will be 720p HD).

The Negatives:

As mentioned this device is a demo, pre production unit that has been handled by various testers and media personnel. We find the device to hang at various activities, to the point that I need to pull the battery out and put it in again.

In conclusion:

This phone is definitely worth all the hype of a 3D device without glasses, however I would not recommend using it to play games all day long. If you are not wearing any glasses, no doubt you will soon require one.

The device is excellent, and definitely a contender for top spot. It has no competition in the market until the HTC Evo 4G 3D (a mouthful) comes out.

TechXplosion

LG Optimus 3D review - is it worth it?

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