LG Optimus L7 II

The LG Optimus L7 II improves upon its predecessor – the Optimus L7 – and, according to expert reviews, also sits at the top of LG’s budget handset range. As a budget model, the L7 II design didn’t wow any of the critics with its all plastic body or basic rectangular design, though Phone Arena does acknowledge its sturdy build quality. Due to the plastic body however, reviewers noticed that the back of the phone attracted significant amounts of smudges and dirt.

Like its predecessor, this model offers a 4.3″ LCD display with a 480 pixel resolution. This roughly translates to a mediocre 216ppi pixel density, well below the 300ppi quantifier for a retina display. Reviewers noticed slight pixelization of icons and text, but warn heavy multimedia users away from the phone as watching videos was “not a pleasant experience,” as NDTV discovered. For the most part though, critics were happy with color reproduction and viewing angles on the display though the brightness left something to be desired in outdoor conditions.

The major failing point of this product for most reviewers is its performance. The phone sports a 1GHz dual-core processor and 768MB of RAM, which is fairly low by today’s standards. Even when performing simple tasks such as opening and closing apps, reviewers noticed a significant amount of stutter. ITProPortal says, “Apps take their time to launch, and a brief period looking at a white screen…is the norm rather than the exception.”

It also has a limited 4GB of onboard storage. When taking into account LG’s unremovable software, this number goes down to about 1.6GB of usable storage. There is an expandable microSD slot; however this is only usable for data, not apps. Fortunately, the one place LG did not compromise was battery life. In day-to-day testing, Trusted Reviews found that the device easily lasted a day and half with moderate usage.

In order to stand out from its competitors, LG added a couple interesting features. One worth noting is a built-in LED light around the home button. The LED blinks different colors based on the alert, which users can customize or disable. Another is an additional side button, which users can customize to quickly open an app of their choosing. For users that have a lot of contacts, LG also offers a version of the device that has dual SIM cards. Reviewers found switching back and forth between the cards simplified due to a dedicated swap key and color coding for the two cards.

In general, most testers agree that the phone is unremarkable, even for a budget phone. While there are no obvious highlights or glaring weaknesses, Notebookcheck states, “LG should have put some effort into its…new device in order to fully convince potential customers of its merits.”