A Visual Treat!

With gingerbread in vogue, LG Optimus Sol brings an elite and royal black fashion phone in one of the slimmest and lightest avatar. With clean features and clad in an elegant attire, the phone comes in at just '19,000

The first thing that draws attention is its make, weighing just 110 gm including the battery, the device boasts of a clean finished look with some nicely placed hardware buttons on the front.

The 3.8-inch ultra AMOLED display on the front is quite appealing and delivers vibrant colors with top-notch clarity that matches the Optimus range of the phone. The phone comes with 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording capability and is a perfect mid-range smartphone. The AMOLED display makes the content quite readable and visible on the screen even under sunlight.

Software

The sleekness along with the light weight makes carrying and using the phone a pleasure. Thanks to the front display that is covered by the scratch resistant Gorilla Glass, that keeps it safe from any damages or ugly scratches.

However the device also has some issues. The back of the phone is capable of attracting fingerprints, as well as scratches. The external loudspeaker's audio output is not very great and even at maximum volume you need to struggle to listen clearly; the speaker does not rank highly on its list. The volume keys present on the left hand side are quite flat and inconvenient to use.

Moreover the device has a disappointing battery life for heavy users. Any heavier usage and you will need to carry a charger. It has a 1,500 mAh Li-Ion battery which is just about good, however the opening mechanism of the back cover might scare you due to the appearing brittleness factor of the lid.

Though the LED backlight touch buttons on the bottom part of the phone gives a tidy and elite look, however they don't light up and are a pain in low lighting.

Hardware

The phone has 512 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal storage, which works well with the Qualcomm chipsets and enhances the overall experience. The memory capacity can be extended to 32 GB with external memory cards. The 5 MP camera is standard for current generation smartphones, but it lacks flash which is a norm these days. The photo output is typical of LG.

Connectivity options include 3G, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi Direct which would allow you to transfer multimedia files directly to other Wi-Fi Direct-enabled devices. The call quality is also clear and loud. The speaker is also loud, but at times tends to jar a bit when the music is played at extremely high volume. LG has its own video player on the device which plays all AVI files encoded with DivX and Xvid.

Verdict

To sum up, Optimus Sol is yet another great example of amazing design from LG's kitty. The Sol, not only seems to bathe in bright sunlight with its AMOLED display but also seems to twinkle in the eyes of the users with its bright looks!

So if you were waiting for a smartphone filled with latest software and brilliant looks, LG Optimus could be the one!

Specifications:

• Band: Quad
• Operating System: Android 2.3.4
• Processor: 1 GHz processor
• Dimensions: 480 x 800 pixels, 3.8 inches (~246 ppi pixel density)
• Weight: 110 g
• Battery: Standard battery, Li-Ion
  1500 mAh
• Camera: 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels,
  Autofocus
• Video Player: 720p@30fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, DLNA