The LG Optimus GT540 – Information & Advice
In recent years, LG has become a force in the cell phone market. It has not, however, spent an awful lot of time developing Android-based phones. They made early strides with the LG Intouch Max GW620 and have now unveiled the LG GT540, a phone based on the 620. Named the Optimus, the GT540 has taken the best features of the 620 and added to them without making the phone too confusing. It is ideal for beginners in Android technology or for those already well-versed in the system. With a body crafted from a contoured, high quality plastic, the Optimus offers a 3.2-inch resistive screen. Comparable in size to many other models, it stands 109mm tall, 54.5mm wide, and 12.7mm thick. Some prefer the ease of capacitive touch screens, but the one found on the Optimus is rather responsive. It displays bright images at a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels and supports 256K colors. Powered by the Android 1.6 operating system, the Optimus also uses an updated S-class user interface. Call, menu, and messaging buttons are found at the bottom of one of two home screens. Available are the basic Android home screen or a customized LG version. The customized home screen offers some nifty features like the ability to access messaging whenever you wish as well as portions of the drag-up menu, widgets, folders, and shortcuts. UI is very friendly and affords the user the convenience of importing contacts from Facebook, Bebo, and Twitter. Your friends are only a touch away. A camera is essential on cell phones today, and the LG Optimus provides a 3-megapixel camera complete with autofocus. Pictures are shown in 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution. Additional features include face and smile detection. The camera’s interface is based on the LG Viewty Smart, so those familiar with past LG phone models will be happy. Another capability of the camera is the capture of VGA video at 17 frames per second. Cell phones have evolved far beyond the ability to provide a tool for conversation. They have become multimedia systems and the Optimus is no different. Xvid and Divx formats are supported by the media player. The music player is based on the same interface of LG’s other models and supports FM radio and has an RDS feature containing radio channels. The Bass feature adds some punch to the sound and the Optimus comes with 150 MB of internal memory. Though it is an early entry into Android technology for LG, the company has created a smartphone that capably handles the operating system and will please new users and prior owners of LG equipment. By keeping it somewhat simple, the LG Optimus is advanced enough to take advantage of what there is to offer but won’t overwhelm those new to the world of Android-powered phones.