Consumer Electronics and Other Technology

We are so lovin’ LG Optimus 4X HD Android Smartphone with Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), v 4.03. We gave it a (short) run for the (a lot of) money (around $444 at Amazon). 

Our breathless findings:

• The Good:
  • Feels great to hold.
  • 4.7 inch screen. Large enough to read email,  watch video clips or (as rumor has it) play Angry Birds.
  • The screen is outrageously sharp and bright.
  • With ICS, the phone is simply intuitive.
  • The specs describe the processor as Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9. We describe it as so zippy!
  • The camera is Awesome. You can take stills while videoing!
    • Up to 8 MP camera but we cranked it down to 3 MP, since we aren’t planning to produce posters. Mostly we save our photos or share with friends and family.
  • One of the most satisfying features is the QuickMemo which is accessed in the Notification drawer. Pull down from the top and tap on the QuickMemo to immediately write a note by hand. Tap the Share button for the myriad of share choices, or tap the cute little retro floppy disc icon to save the note to your picture folder, which is accessed in the Gallery.
• The Bad:
  • Wish the phone had a camera button for taking pictures without first pressing the wake-up button.
  • LG didn’t include Swype keyboard, but there are free apps for that at the “Play Store.”
• The Ugly: Nothing ugly, so far.
• The Expected:
  • Battery is no better and no worse than any other smartphone we’ve used and tested. The findings are always the same:  The more  apps, widgets, etc., left running,  the sooner the battery needs recharging.

So far, this is the most satisfying smartphone (a.k.a., all-in-one little computer) we’ve tested. As you might expect, no sooner are we satisfied with the Optimus 4x Hd (P880), than LG announces the next model – the Optimus G, (E973). Though there are no definitive release dates for the Optimus G and features are still rumored,  you can see gsmarena’s comparison here.

For us, LG has done it again. They designed a cellphone with just enough. Just enough for productivity, reading a book or the news; or for having fun, playing games, taking photos;  and is not feature-overwhelmed.