Product Listing

LG Optimus Black - Shining Black (Updated!)

By Seow Tein Hee - 7 Jul 2011
Launch SRP: S$768

Conclusion

Black Lights the Way

The minimalistic approach of the LG Optimus Black , coupled with its thin profile, scored some points with us. However, Its profile isn't uniform across the device, with a tapered edge along the border creating an illusion of slimness. Its feather light weight and a mostly plastic body lacked the premium feel that's often associated with its portfolio. Unfortunately, the device escaped our grip too easily. Once it struck the ground, its flimsy casing is easily flung off, with the battery dislodged from its contact points just as quickly.

Most of its physical buttons are found in the usual spots, where the crown of the device is occupied by the power button, a 3.5mm audio port and a slider cover that protects the microUSB port. Of these three, we favored the slider cover for its practicality. Touch-sensitive buttons are back in action, with its four main icons for home, menu, back and search lighting up and presented below its 4-inch display once the device is awakened.

Below the volume buttons located on the left, we spotted the gesture button. How the gesture button is used can be customized within the settings panel. This could range from holding the gesture button and swaying the phone left or right to alternate between pages, or just simply holding it and picking up the phone to answer an incoming call. As mentioned, this gesture feature is more of a gimmick than practical, and is something that you can live without.

The Optimus Black and its exterior might be as dark as its name implies, but underneath, it shines literally. The generous 4-inch IPS display greets you with a maximum brightness of 700 nits. In truth, even with its automatic brightness setting, it could prove to be too straining on your eyes and a drain on the battery unnecessarily. While it is great for the bright outdoors, it is too glaring when you are indoors with a softer lighting.

Its overall performance was somewhat lacking from what we know of devices loaded with single-core processors. The daily handling of its apps and screen transitions were indicative of how the device was lacking in responsiveness, while the Quadrant and Neocore scores did report lower numbers against similar devices.

Due to its bright display, we were expecting slightly lower results for our routine battery tests. Running at 3 hours 33 minutes, its numbers were lower than similar single core 1GHz smartphones crossing the 5 hour mark in our intensive tests. However, we did get a day's mileage out of the Optimus Black for standard use. At times, it did not respond well to our touch gestures, but managed to prove its worth as a multimedia player with smooth video playback and decent audio reproduction.

With more dual-core smartphones vying for a piece of the smartphone pie, the LG Optimus Black will be facing stiff competition from the likes of HTC and Samsung.

The LG Optimus Black does not present itself as a premium device, nor does it have the raw power of a dual-core smartphone. As such, we are less inclined to pay the full S$768 for this device, but a 2-year contract with the right service provider should soften the impact.

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7.5
  • Design 7.5
  • Features 7.5
  • User-Friendliness 7.5
  • Performance 7.5
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Light and slim
Good display legibility under strong sunlight
Minimal buttons to keep design sleek
The Bad
Poor handling, tends to slip from grip
Low battery mileage for single-core device
Lacking in responsiveness
Design/build could have been better
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