LG Optimus G Pro Review

 

Summary

If you're looking for a smartphone with a larger display than what the flagships offer, then the LG Optimus G Pro is the phone you should buy. On it's own too, the LG Optimus G Pro is a quality product and a very good buy. If you were considering the Optimus as your next buy, go for it. However, when put in the company of the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 and taking into account its current price-tag, the LG Optimus G Pro comes in third. This is mainly because the Optimus doesn't offer the same design and premium factor of the more expensive One and is more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy S4. 

As phones get larger and larger, it’s no longer surprising to see smartphones being quickly updated with bigger displays. That’s why today we have with us the LG Optimus G Pro, a mere five months after the original Optimus G was launched. The Optimus G Pro boasts of a bigger display, faster hardware and updated software. But does it do enough to go against the A-listers like the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4?

Let’s find out.

Features

The biggest (literally) thing that the Optimus G Pro brings to the table is its 5.5-inch Full-HD IPS Plus display that offers an amazing 401 ppi of pixel density. In comparison, the Optimus G had a 4.7-inch 720p (1280 x 768 pixels, to be exact) display. Similarly, the bigger Optimus also has a more powerful processor in the 1.7GHz quad-core Krait 300 as compared to the 1.5GHz quad-core Krait in the original.

For a more exhaustive look at the Optimus G Pro’s hardware specifications check out the specifications tab. Looking at the specs show that there’s really not much to separate the Optimus G Pro from the other top-end Android smartphones in the market. It sports hardware that’s as powerful as the other phones and therefore, to really understand how it differs from the other smartphones in its segment, we need to look at some other aspects.

Software Features

Looking at the amount of software features in the Optimus G Pro’s arsenal, it feels like LG was desperately trying to prove something. Never has the old cliche of ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ been more appropriate than when it comes to the Optimus G Pro. It offers dozens of additional software features over and above the basic Android set. While most of these features are innovative and interesting, many of these are hidden deep within menus and submenus requiring a user to spend some quality time getting to know the phone.

Instead of listing out all the software features that the Optimus G Pro offers, let me talk about the most interesting ones, the first of which is the ‘Smart Screen’. Smart Screen is LG’s take on Samsung’s Smart Stay and similarly, uses the front-camera to detect if the user is looking at the display. If he is, then the screen remains on but if the user’s gaze shifts from the screen, the display dims and, if a video is playing, it pauses. This feature works exactly like it’s supposed to when watching a video but for some reason, its performance was very inconsistent when it came to anything else. I kept Smart Screen on and browsed the Web, looked through the photo gallery and used Flipboard. However, even when I turned away from the display, more times than not, the screen remained on. But, like I said earlier, the feature works well in the case of videos and almost instantaneously pauses it when you look away.

The Optimus G Pro offers multiple ways to type and I really appreciated the fact that LG took care to address the concerns of users who just don’t find it comfortable to type on such a huge display. As a result, you can set the keyboard to a one-hand use layout by swiping across it, which will make the keyboard smaller and align it to either the left or the right edge of the display. When holding the phone horizontally, you can also ‘break’ the keyboard in half so that each thumb gets easy access to one half of the keyboard. There’s also the LG equivalent of Swype, called ‘Path’, that lets you trail your finger across the letters to make a word. I found Path to be very accurate and by default, you should use this to type stuff out on the Optimus G Pro.

LG also offers a ‘Memo’ feature that lets you scrawl notes on anything that’s on the screen. You can choose the colour and size of the nib and can then save the notes to the gallery. By default, the Memo feature is called up when you press the quick access button on the left side of the phone. This is again, a neat feature but I felt that it would work better with a stylus as I found it difficult to maintain accuracy using my fingers (of course, I also have a terrible handwriting).

The Optimus has an IR emitter under the hood and you can use it to control your media setup and other appliances at home provided you have compatible devices. Using the Quick Remote app, you can easily add devices (that have an IR receiver) by pointing the phone at them and selecting the device from a comprehensive list. Once that’s done, you can use the Optimus G Pro as a universal remote.

Similarly, you can also use the Optimus G Pro as your go to device in your office. With the help of Smart Share, you can beam and control presentations while also using the screen to view something else. The Optimus G Pro also comes pre-installed with the fantastic Polaris 4 office suite that not only lets you view and edit common MS Office files but also create them.

Like I said, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the software features of the Optimus G Pro. Fortunately, LG has peppered the phone with handy little pop-ups that do a decent job of helping you understand a particular feature. If you want to make the best use of the Optimus G Pro, I would advise you to take some time getting to know all its features.

Performance

When it comes to synthetic benchmarks, the LG Optimus G Pro falls a little short of the numbers generated by the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4. However, you can’t really rely on synthetic benchmarks to paint the entire picture when it comes to performance. If you’re interested in checking out what numbers the Optimus G Pro posted in synthetic benchmarks, check out the table below:

In terms of real world performance, the Optimus G Pro is a fantastic performer. Like its two major competitors, the Optimus G Pro is quick and suffers from no slowdown issues. Touch is super-accurate and at no point did I feel like the phone was lagging. Battery life is also really good and the phone lasted for over six hours in our continuous video playback test. This will translate to more than a day of regular use. Call quality was a mixed bag, with voices sounding a little thin over the earphone but fine over the loudspeaker. The phone was, however, able to keep background noise at bay. One thing worth pointing out here is that the Optimus comes with one of the best in-ear headphones I’ve seen bundled with a smartphone.

Overall, the LG Optimus G Pro stands right alongside the HTC One and the Galaxy S4 in terms of performance. If you need a reason not to buy the Optimus G Pro, its performance won’t be that reason.

Design & Usability

The LG Optimus G Pro is good looking but not uniquely so. It is available in white, so that’s a refreshing change from the often overused palette of grey and black. The back of the phone features a ‘shifting’ mosaic like design that’s similar to the one found on the Nexus 4. At 9.4mm, the phone is slightly thicker than the Galaxy S4 and the One but is still quite slim. It’s also very light but still heavier than the other two smartphones. The Optimus G Pro primarily uses plastic but the build quality doesn’t suffer much because of it. Once removed, the back panel feels flimsy and is very thin. In comparison to the HTC One, the Optimus G Pro does feel less premium but it’s not a huge drawback.

The Optimus G Pro comes with Android 4.1.2 and uses a heavily skinned interface that still maintains the overall design and look of Android to a large extent. If you’re used to the Android interface, then the Optimus G Pro’s UI won’t really offer a steep learning curve. However, it seems strange that LG would choose to use their own UI but not do too much to step out from Google’s shadow. The overall aesthetics of the UI also falls short of what has been done by HTC or Samsung. A prime example of this are the icons that could do with redesign because at their current state, most of them look old and boring.

The great thing about the interface is that it’s highly customizable. LG allows users to add shortcuts to the lockscreens, provides six main shortcuts at the bottom of the homescreen that can be replaced (as opposed to only four in the default Android UI) and has an App Drawer within which you can create folders and uninstall downloaded apps directly. Tapping on an app icon during this customization process reveals information on the app such as size and RAM use, which is great. The lockscreen allows for some beautiful looking animations and default themes as well.

The Optimus G Pro features Q-Slide integration that aids in multi-tasking by letting you work on three select apps at the same time. You can do this by customizing the transparency of the open windows so that you can also view and work with the windows behind. However, this only works with select native apps like the calculator, the calendar and the video player just like on TouchWiz with its Multi-Window feature. You can also add a massive number of toggles and shortcuts to the notifications panel on the Optimus and browse through them by scrolling sideways.     

(left) Using the Q-Slide feature to watch a video, browse the Web & use the calculator at the same time.

The 5.5-inch screen on the Optimus is very good and unlike the Galaxy S4, doesn’t look oversaturated. The display works very well with text and I actually spent close to three hours reading a book on the phone without any strain on my eyes. The display is also very well suited for watching videos which you’ll especially notice when playing full HD ones. The phone played all the test videos we threw at it including 1080p MKV videos, MP4 and AVI and thanks to the display, they looked great. The only problem with the display is that it falls victim to glare especially under strong lighting. As a result, it becomes slightly difficult to see what’s on the screen outdoors especially, if it’s really sunny.

As it must have become clear by now, I found the Optimus G Pro to be a very usable smartphone with only some minor things worth cribbing about.

Camera

As megapixel counts of smartphone cameras go through the roof, it’s slightly disappointing to see that camera quality hasn’t proportionally gone up too. It’s the same story with the LG Optimus G Pro’s 13MP shooter. The camera is quite good at shooting photos under good light whether indoors or outdoors. These photos look sharp and the colours aren’t too muted or oversaturated. However, low-light photography turns out to be the Optimus G Pro’s achilles heel and the camera is simply unable to capture details under non optimal lighting. The Optimus G Pro also employs really aggressive noise reduction which is also responsible for loss of details under low light.

Photo shot indoors under good lighting (click on image to enlarge in new window).

Photos shot indoors under low-light (click on images to enlarge in new window).

Photos shot outdoors in daylight (click on images to enlarge in new window).

Like everywhere else, LG has also packed the camera with a ton of additional features. Apart from various scene modes, the Optimus has something called Intelligent Auto, that automatically selects all the right options for clicking the optimal photo. For casual photographers just looking for quick, good looking shots, this feature will come as a blessing. Like on the Optimus G, the camera can also be activated by certain voice commands- in this case, words like ‘Kimchi’, ‘LG’, ‘Cheese’ and ‘Smile’. However, not only do you have to say the words loudly but you also have to run the risk of sounding like a complete idiot while doing so. The Optimus also boasts of the Time Catch Shot feature enabling which will have the camera shoot pictures just before the actual shot, so that you can choose the best shot from multiple options. There’s also a built-in Panorama mode that lets you capture a 360-degree shot.

The Optimus G Pro is good at capturing full-HD videos and the resulting videos look great with crystal clear audio too. There’s also no stuttering or frameskip issues, something that’s often a problem when shooting videos at HD or higher.

Extra video features include Live Effects that lets you add...well, live effects while recording a video. These include adding facial effects like big eyes or a big nose on a subject or adding backgrounds like a sunset or a disco. While these sound neat on paper, they don’t really work well. I found it difficult to keep the live backgrounds constant while focusing on the subject.
Overall, the Optimus G Pro does certain things well in terms of imaging but that’s not one of its strong suits.

Bottomline

It may seem logical to think that the LG Optimus G Pro should compete against the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note lineup or other phablets on account of its 5.5-inch screen size. But the fact is that since it’s a direct upgrade over the LG Optimus G, it also stands as a viable alternative to current flagships like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. When put in that company and taking into account its current price-tag of Rs. 38,990, the LG Optimus G Pro comes in third. This is mainly because the Optimus doesn’t offer the same design and premium factor of the more expensive One and is more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy S4.

However, if you’re looking for a smartphone with a larger display than what the flagships offer, then the LG Optimus G Pro is the phone you should buy. On it’s own too, the LG Optimus G Pro is a quality product and a very good buy. If you were considering the Optimus as your next buy, go for it.

Nokia Asha 501 Review

 

Summary

If you are looking for a budget phone with a good touch screen and a simple interface then the Asha 501 is the one for you. It is ideal as your first feature phone and gives you the basic functionality as a phone and access to social networking and a basic app library. You can definitely consider this device over the Android offerings in the same price range.

If you are looking for a phone around the Rs. 5,000 price point, there are a few options that make sense. Sure, you have some devices that boast of the Android OS, but these smartphones provide a lacklustre experience. Nokia on the other hand has had a good run with the Asha series smartphones that are great value for money around the Rs. 5,000 price point.

Today, we have with us the Asha 501. With this, Nokia has introduced a sturdy build and a new OS (Asha OS) on the budget phone. Is it worth checking out?
Design, Build and Specifications
There are two things that you will notice once you get the smartphone in your hands. The first is that the build is really good and the second thing is that the display feels really small at 3-inches.
Starting with the build and design, the Asha 501 takes a leaf from Nokia’s Lumia series of smartphones. Its build isn’t polycarbonate however. The Asha 501 has a plastic rear shell that encloses the device, leaving an accent around the front borders of the phone. The unit we received was pinkish is colour, ideal for girls, but it is available in a number of colours such as green, white, black, blue and more.
The rear panel of the Asha 501 is a bit tricky to remove. Under the rear panel you have the battery. Below the battery you have a slot for the primary SIM card. On the side panel you have a slot for the second SIM card and the microSD card.
The front of the Asha 501 has the 3-inch capacitive touchscreen display. Below the display there is only one physical back button. The right of the device has volume rocker and the power button. On the top we have the microUSB port and the headphones jack.
Overall, the build and design of the Nokia Asha 501 is really good. It’s small, compact and sturdy enough to survive quite a few drops.
In terms of its specifications, the Asha 501 has a 3-inch display with a 240x320 pixel resolution giving it a 133ppi pixel density. The display is a capacitive touchscreen with two-finger multi-touch. It has 128MB built-in storage (expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card) but the phone does come bundled with a 4GB microSD card. The rear houses a 3.15MP camera (without flash) and there is no front-facing camera. The previous generation Asha phones ran on the S40 platform with the Asha 501, Nokia has introduced a new OS with this phone, called Nokia Asha software platform 1.0.
Performance and Apps
The interface of the new Asha software platform 1.0 is really simple once you get the hang of it. Swipe right or left on the home screen to unlock the Asha 501. Just like Android, you can swipe down at any point and see your notifications. Once you have swiped from the lock screen, you have access to an app listing page that lists all the apps available on the phone. Swipe again and you can see your recently used apps. If you are using an app and you want to exit it, you can use the back button till the app closes or you can just swipe left or right and you will be back at the app listing page. Quite simple.
Some apps, such as the music player and more, give you the ability to access some options. Swiping up from the bottom of the display can access these options on the Asha 501.
Coming to the Asha 501’s display, the 3-inch screen may feel small but when we started using the device, it felt really comfortable to navigate. The keyboard may feel cramped at first but it was surprising to see how easily we got used to it. The response of the touchscreen is great too.
In terms of customization on the Asha 501, you are limited to the wallpaper and audio. You can’t list the apps into folders and there are no widgets. The display constantly shows the clock when locked but this feature can be turned off from the settings menu.
The Asha 501 comes preloaded with a bunch of apps such as Facebook, Twitter, mail, FM Radio, recorder, notes, weather and some games. The graphics of the games are very basic and there are no accelerometer capabilities on the device. The social networking apps that come on the smartphone are very basic and not as fancy as what we have become accustomed to on the Android and iOS platform.
You also have access to the Ovi app store for your apps needs on the Asha 501. You do get access to a large app library that will work well on this entry-level smartphone.
The audio output from the Asha 501 speakers was quite loud, but the device doesn’t recognize MP4 videos. It recognized the SD AVI files, but they didn’t run smoothly at all.
The battery life of the Asha 501 is really good. It has the ability to last for two days with absolute ease. If you use it sparingly, you could get more from it.
The performance of the camera on the Asha 501 is nothing to boast about. The images appear over saturated, the contrast is all off and low-lit images are very noisy. What did you expect? The camera on the Rs. 5,000 device isn’t great.
Bottom Line
If you are looking for a budget phone with a good touch screen and a simple interface then the Asha 501 is the one for you. It is ideal as your first feature phone and gives you the basic functionality as a phone and access to social networking and a basic app library. You can definitely consider this device over the Android offerings in the same price range.

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Best free Android apps 2013

 

1. Seesmic

There are many Twitter apps on Android - and Twitter itself shook up the scene with the launch of its own-brand app - but we're sticking with Seesmic. Offering support for multiple accounts, a home page widget showing latest tweets and an incredibly slick and professional design, it's one of the finest examples of app development out there today.

• Best Android phone - which should you buy?

2. Facebook for Android

Facebook for Android is lacking in features compared to Facebook itself, but a recent update added Inbox support to the Android app, finally allowing its users to communicate in almost real time. The app's fast and stable, with a simplicity that reminds you of the old days when using Facebook used to be bearable.

3. National Rail Enquiries

After the original free, third-party National Rail apps went paid-for, National Rail has finally brought out its own free app. National Rail Enquiries enables you to check live train times, plan your journeys, and get notifications of delays. On first use, the app prompts you to enter a home and work train station, and then you can use the 'Get me home' button to see the next available trains.

4. UK Jobs

Hey, times are hard and you've got to pay for your oppressive monthly mobile phone contract somehow. Offering a fully searchable database of current UK job vacancies, UK Jobs, which pulls in its data from independent employment site 1job.co.uk is, a slightly cumbersome but useful and non-governmental tool.

5. Outlook

Microsoft has teamed up with developer SEVEN to offer an official Hotmail app for Android, which gives users a simple, clean interface, push notification support and even lets you manage multiple Hotmail accounts from within the app. If your email needs haven't yet been assimilated by Google, it's a useful option. It's since been rebranded as the Outlook app, in keeping with Microsoft's changes to its mail site.

• 20 best Android widgets

6. Google Sky Map

A stunning app that renders Patrick Moore obsolete, by using your phone's orientation tools to give you an accurate representation of the stars and planets on your screen. Point your phone at the sky, then learn what constellations are visible and if that's a UFO or just Venus. Google Sky Map even works indoors, if you're not keen on getting cold.

7. Layar

The stunning augmented reality app Layar has recently gone commercial, adding an online shop that allows users to buy AR content such as travel guides, local house price apps and much more. But you're still able to use the numerous free Layers to pop data up over real-world locations, delivering a satisfying futuristic experience.

8. Foursquare

The social media darling Foursquare is represented in fine form on Android, with the Google app offering easy one-click check-ins, integrated Google Maps for a seamless Google-branded experience and home page shortcut options to all your favourite places.

9. WordPress for Android

WordPress for Android started out as independent creation wpToGo, before WordPress decided it liked it so much it bought it up - hiring the maker to develop it in-house. It's very feature-packed, with the latest version offering full integration with other apps, letting you spin content and send it directly to the app for easy updating. It could do with more image insertion tools, though.

10. Google Goggles

A bit of a novelty, in that Google Goggles lets you take photos and have Google analyse them and come back with a search results page for what it thinks you're looking at. However, the app's main use is as a QR code reader, which lets you scan barcodes for quick access to apps and whatever data people choose to embed in the odd little data squares.

• 15 best Android tablets in the world

11. Winamp

Yes, the same Winamp from a decade ago. It's had an Android app for some time, with recent updates adding support for iTunes, Mac syncing, plenty of music streaming options, new release lists and Shoutcast integration for radio support. It's a fine, free media player.

12. Samsung ChatOn

There are plenty of messaging tools on Android, but Samsung's beats many of them by offering multi-platform support - with clients even available for older Samsung non-smart feature phones. It could be the ideal way to keep in touch with an out of touch relative. More "with it" users will be able to use its drawing, image sharing and social networking features.

13. Skyfire 3.0

The USP of the Skyfire browser is that it supports Flash content, popping up a little window when it detects an embedded YouTube video or something similar. The actual Flash business is handled by Skyfire's server, which does all the computery stuff, then sends the file to your handset. A bit clunky on slower Android phones, but it works like a dream on models with faster processors.Despite the arrival of Flash with Android 2.2, this is still relevant for those on phones and Android versions not able to support Adobe's Flash Player.

14. BBC News

While the BBC's Android iPlayer app is a bit on the disappointing side, the corporation's BBC News app is much more refined. There's a stylish grid-based front page, plus you're able to swipe from left to right to switch between stories in your chosen specialist category. A recent update also added a couple of Home screen widgets, too, plus the ability to submit your own news tips, as if the BBC was a small blog clamouring for content.

15. RAC Traffic

An official production of the motoring organisation, RAC Traffic is dead simple - it guesstimates your location via the mobile signal, then pops up the current traffic alerts for your area. It's much better than having to listen to the radio for the odd update about arterial blockages.

16. Swype

The odd line-drawing alternate keyboard Swype is a love-it or hate-it kind of thing, with the significant amount of re-learning required to make the most of it quite off-putting to some users.
Once you're familiar with the idea, though, it's genius - with advanced prediction options further speeding your line-typing.
After a long period of availability only through a beta test or having pre-loaded on your phone by the maker, Swype's now available on Google Play - in both free trial and paid options.

17. Evernote

After the Android version of Dropbox, the next best solution for keeping all your 'business' in one place is Evernote - which lets you stash and sync all your text notes, voice memos and files on your phone and access them through a desktop computer.

18. Flickr

As well as supporting Flickr uploading, this app also lets you capture photos from within the app and comes complete with a set of filters, so you can hipsterise your life with ease. It supports sharing with Twitter and Facebook as well, so your other, non-photo-nerd friends can enjoy the results of today's snapping session.

19. Last.fm

The subscription-based thrills of Last.fm open up a world of music streaming on your mobile. You have to 'buy in' to the odd Last.fm way of organising things and suggesting new music, but if you're easily led and not restricted by bandwidth it's a superb tool.

20. Google Maps Navigation

An absolute must-get. As long as you have Android 1.6 or above, the latest update to Google Maps introduces turn-by-turn voice navigation, simultaneously devastating the satnav industry while boosting the in-car dashboard dock/charger accessory scene. Route calculations are done at the outset of your trip, minimising data transfer en route and keeping you on target even when the GPS signal drops. It's amazing, it works, and it's free.