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IFA 2011. Inexpensive LG Androids

I will try to tell you about the two big LG stands at IFA sometime soon and though LG did not announce any new phones and among announcements there were only their latest vacuum cleaners, washing machines, microwave ovens and fridges there was interesting stuff too. As well as some other major manufacturers LG is developing smart electronic systems which LG understands as pairing smartphones with domestic appliances and adding some smart features together with screens to domestic appliances. I think there are pros and cons to that approach and some funny usage scenarios LG reps were talking about like getting home with ten bags of groceries and typing expiration date of every item into the fridge. But let’s get back to the inexpensive smartphones I found in the Brightpoint LG showcase.

Logically, the new LG Optimus Sol and LG Optimus Net should replace the current low-range LG Optimus One and LG Optimus Me respectively and the release prices should be higher than those for the older phones at sales start. I want to tell you about these phones separately because LG Optimus One, the former LG low-range Android, turned out to be one of the best phones in its segment – balanced, fast and practical. Let’s now see what its successor, LG Optimus Sol, has to offer.

LG Optimus Sol

It runs on Android 2.3, it has a plastic body with a glossy front and glossy/textured back panel. The first downside as compared with Optimus One is the soft buttons below the screen instead of the hard ones in the predecessor. In hand it also feels bigger but it’s slimmer than the top Androids – it feels ok in hand. Now the specs:

Body: plastic
OS: Android 2.3
Platform: 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8255
System Memory: 512 MB
Storage: 2 GB, microSD slot
Connectivity: Wi-Fi (b/g/n/), Bluetooth 3.0 (A2DP), microUSB (USB 2.0) sync and charge, 3.5 mm headset jack, DLNA
Display: capacitive, 800x480 Ultra AMOLED 3,8”(WVGA), auto brightness adjustment
Camera: 5 MPix AF
Navigation: GPS
Battery: 1500 mAh

Technically LG Optimus Sol reminds of Optimus Black but I think Black was released in the wrong time and it became interesting only recently when the price was cut in half. This should not happen to Optimus Sol – it is a lot like Black but the start price will hardly exceed $300 and then it will be going down. I liked everything about this phone except for the screen – I find it too bright and contrast. Although, I am quite sure there will be a lot of folk who will love this feature of the screen for vivid colors and exceeding brightness.

As soon as the price will go down the phone will be a bargain in the mid and low-range and it has everything to repeat the success of Optimus One.

LG Optimus Net

The second new smartphone will play in the lower mid-range and in terms of the hardware it is the simplest new LG phone.

Body: plastic
OS: Android 2.3
Platform: 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227
System Memory: 512 MB
Storage: 150 MB, microSD slot
Connectivity: Wi-Fi (b/g/n/), Bluetooth 3.0 (A2DP), microUSB (USB 2.0) sync and charge, 3.5 mm headset jack, DLNA
Display: capacitive, 320x480 TFT 3,2” (HVGA)
Camera: 3 MPix
Navigation: GPS
Battery: 1500 mAh

It is a compact smartphone with a mat back panel and hard buttons under the screen. It reminded me of Optimus Me somehow. It has a very bright and contrast screen – in the web some people say that it is a regular TFT but it looks more like an AMOLED screen. There is no information on the release date or the price yet but I suppose it will cost around $200, otherwise it won’t be interesting for anyone. Also, I wonder when will manufacturers finally stop producing Androids with resolutions below WVGA?