LG Optimus Black

“It would be unfair to compare the Optimus Black to the new generation dual core phones. But it’s not a phone to write off either. It gives LG a boost in confidence and that’s more than welcome, considering the highly competitive bracket it falls in. Both HTC and Sony Ericsson have recently updated their droid lineups, and Samsung are busy churning out Galaxy S spinoffs. The Optimus Black has a key feature to market itself on and looks classy without overdoing it.”

“If you're both a fan of the black bar aesthetic that seems to be the current go-to design of smartphones, and a fan of lightweight machinery that does exactly what it ought to, then the LG Optimus Black will suit you great.While its only truly outstanding feature is the NOVA display screen, it performs well enough in other areas to stand as a competitor to the Apple iPhone 4 for those who prefer Android phones.”

“The LG Optimus Black is something of a mixed bag. Eye-catching design and a great screen are paired with a phone that isn’t a great performer on the multimedia front. For the most part we like LG’s light touch with Android: it still leaves you with that Android feel, but does offer a few nice widgets and some enhancements like weather. On the whole the phone runs smoothly and delivers the core Android experience with minimal fuss. But then we come to the strange situation with HD video capture, the slightly awkward gesture button and battery life that falls below what we expected.The end result is a handset that doesn’t quite earn its spurs in the higher echelons. The Optimus Black is more capable than the current crop of entry-level devices, but it feels a touch under-powered when put alongside the likes of the new HTC phones - the Desire S or the Incredible S - which sit beneath the top tier devices and the performance (screen aside) sees it challenged by older devices like the Samsung Galaxy S.Software updates could change the fortunes of the LG Optimus Black, so for now, this is a handset to keep an eye on, rather than one we’d fully endorse.”

“Although it is not the best shooter we've ever seen, the LG Optimus Black takes satisfyingly good looking photos and videos with its 5-megapixel camera, assuming it has been given the optimal conditions. When you have some time to kill, the Optimus Black can come in handy allowing you to watch 720p video on its vivid NOVA display. TI's single-core OMAP 3630 chipset is powerful enough for casual web browsing and will even run less demanding 3D games at good speeds. Thanks to its Adobe Flash-enabled browser, the smartphone delivers an enjoyable web browsing experience, although it can get choppy with some heavier web pages. In a nutshell, The LG Optimus Black can do most of the things that you would expect from a contemporary smartphone fairly well, which makes it a good all-purpose Android device.”