LG is gearing up to launch the first of their Optimus range of Android powered handsets in India. Part of the perks of my job is that I sometimes get a chance to give you guys a sneak peak at handsets that aren’t officially launched in the country and in this case it’s the GT540. Unfortunately I can’t give you a detailed review as I was sent a prototype that's still riddled with bugs. In lieu of that, here’s a quick preview of device before it hits the shelves officially.
Form Factor
It’s a slim, sleek handset with curvy lines and a slick brush-metal like finish. Dressed all in black, it’s hard not to notice that it’s a good looking device. Here’s the first mistake LG made though – the GT540 is equipped with a 3 inch resistive touchscreen that will require you to use a stylus for a few things. An even bigger issue is that the stylus is not tethered, nor does it come with a built-in slot, you’re it’s more than likely you’ll misplace it in the first week. Using an Android phone with a stylus is just not a good thing. A couple of touch sensitive keys are placed under the display with button for taking and ending calls and a Home key in the center.
It weighs in at just 115.5g which makes it lightweight and easy to carry around. On one side is a micro USB port for the charger/USB cable as well as a search button and the camera key. Volume/Zoom keys are located on the other side with a 3.5mm handsfree socket on the top. This Optimus also has a hot swap microSD card slot just under the rear panel.
Features and Performance
Interface
The GT540 allows you to choose between the standard Android UI or swap it with a better looking LG version. Android’s multiple desktopswith drag and drop widgets and shortcuts remains the same. For most uses the UI is finger friendly but sometimes it’s quite a struggle just trying to pull down the menu bar from the top of the screen. That’s when the stylus comes in. The Onscreen QWERTY keypad can also be a little unnerving due to the smaller screen size. It’ll take a bit of getting used to without the stylus. It’s a lot easier to use in landscape of course. You also have the option of switching to a standard alphanumeric phone keypad or use the handwriting boxes. The gallery section has a 3D view set up that’s visually, quite attractive and user friendly.
This piece was running on Android 1.6 and although I was unable to update it to 2.1 as the option to update the device OTA was not available, LG did inform me that it would be upgradeable when it hit shelves. Of course it’s very possible it’ll be 2.1 ready out of the box. The best part about the LG UI is that you can create categories for your apps and drag and drop apps to these sections. This makes the layout a little more defined and organized. If you switch to the native interface though, you’re back to square one.
Media
What’s missing from the media section is the Dolby sound engine. That would have seriously added something extra to the handset’s offering. I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more since as is the music player is quite mediocre. Although there’s nothing to complain about when it comes to the output quality, the volume is just a little low. Other than an FM radio and image viewer, the GT540 also supports DivX and XviD video codecs which means you can copy paste videos on the drive for instant playback, no conversion. The player doesn’t allow you to stretch images to fit the screens though, so you’ll need to find a video player that does from the Android Market if you don’t like Black Bands.
A video editor is just one of the many goodies LG has preloaded with this device. It’s quite intensive for those who like making slideshows or adding a bit of flare to their recorded videos.
