LG likes to pioneer when it comes to phones. The company was the first to come up with a real watch phone, and earlier this year it introduced the LG Optimus 3D, the first 3D handset ever to be launched. And the LG Optimus 2X is no exception – it is the first phone to come with a dual-core processor, which should in turn make it the most powerful device to date. However, in the world of technology firsts aren’t always remembered, so we’ll reserve our judgement at the moment.

First impressions

The most striking part of the LG Optimus 2X is its 4in screen. Its size means that the handset is rather long – above and below the screen is quite a bit of space where you’ll find the front-facing snapper and a number of touch keys. It may be long but it’s certainly not chunky – its waist is particularly slim. That’s because the back of the device curves in behind the handset. On the phone’s back you’ll see a metallic strip that runs through the middle of the handset and is emblazoned with the word ‘Google’, just in case you weren’t aware that this is a Google Android handset. We weren’t that enamoured with this design feature – if they were so keen on including it, it would have been nice for it to have had some sort of function – a lens protector for the eight-megapixel snapper perhaps. It seems odd that the lens is not protected, especially as the camera is so good – but more of that later.

The only hard keys on the phone are the volume keys on its right side and the power/lock key, which sits on the top of the handset. The four touch keys under the screen are for Settings, Home (one press will take you back to the main homepage, another press with bring up the seven home screens in thumbnail form), Search and Back. While pressing search takes you to the Google search engine, you can choose to either type in or say your search term (by pressing the microphone key). Sure, it’s not the first Android device to use this function but we have to say it is particularly effective here. It is even possible to change your location setting, so that any searches relate to your new position – say ‘restaurants’ for instance, and you will be given a selection of the nearest venues to you.

We just weren’t wowed by the LG Optimus 2X’s design. It’s not ugly nor is it badly built – we like that you can easily take off the back to hot swap memory cards – but it just doesn’t have any impact looks-wise, when compared with the likes of the HTC Desire HD or the iPhone 4.

Android Froyo

While the Optimus 2X is pioneering the dual-core processor, it still runs on Android 2.2 Froyo, although the Gingerbread update is in the pipeline – once it comes, it will offer better battery life, and better processing power – not that that is much of an issue given the dual-core processor on board.

One thing it is missing is near field communication (NFC) technology, so you won’t be able to use that even if you’re re running Gingerbread. There is, however, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel snapper for video calling.

Dual-core processor

So what difference does this dual-core processor make? One word for you – speed. Produced by NVIDIA, which develops graphics processors, this dual-core Tegar 2 system offers improved multitasking for apps, speedier internet browsing and a better gaming experience. And is that what we got? It certainly is. Loading web pages and applications was zippy, and made our own 1GHz handset seem frustratingly sluggish in comparison. We’re looking forward to a raft of dual-core handsets coming onto the market in the near future.

Our gaming experience was excellent. We experienced true high definition and there’s plenty of games to take your pick from – you’ll find them in the pre-loaded Tegra Zone, which lets you know what’s available via a news feed featuring latest games and what’s coming soon. Our only grumble was that there didn’t seem to be an option to try out games in demo mode, and as they cost around $9.99 a pop, that’s quite a big commitment.

Make it your own

Despite all that power under the bonnet, LG has managed to create a device that is easy to use. You’ll find LG has added its own skin to the OS, but if you’re used to Android it won’t prove a problem. Simply typing in a password and username is all you need to do to set up email accounts and social networks. And that excellent 480 x 800 pixels screen and an intuitive user interface makes for a clear reading experience, although the display isn’t up there with the likes of the iPhone 4’s Retina Display or the Super AMOLED screen of the Samsung Galaxy S when it comes to the wow factor. There are plenty of chances for customisation of the seven home screens, adding in your choice of shortcuts and widgets, as well as the ability to name and create folders. That means you could store all your contacts from the local pub quiz team in a folder called ‘quiz’ for instance or put all your games in one folder entitled – you’ve guessed it ­ ‘games’.

It is also possible for the user to tweak the menu to suit their own needs. To bring it up, you need to tap the applications virtual icon in the bottom-right of the display. Then you can choose to have the menu displayed as a vertical grid system (that is, one that slides up and down) or a horizontal grid system (which slides from left to right). It is also possible to create categories of your own so that you can organise your apps to suit your own needs.

As on other Android phones, you’ll find the pull-down bar at the top of the display, which will show email and text notifications. LG has added its own touch to this, as along with the GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on /off keys there is also an auto-rotate facility and mute. Under these you’ll find the music player controls (which by the way offer a good sound thanks to the pair of speakers at the bottom of the handset). What we do like is the fact that you can access the music controls even when the device itself is locked. If the music player is already playing, you can just wake up the phone by pushing the power key and then slide down the top of the screen to show the music controls. It’s a really handy addition and has been set up so that you don’t need to stress about hitting the pause button while the phone sits in your pocket. 

The Optimus 2X also comes preloaded with a number of apps. Naturally, you’ll get a far better choice from Android Market but it’s a good start. We are particularly keen on the News & Weather app, which brings together links and headlines from the main news outlets and puts them in categories such as UK, sports, weather and entertainment. LG has also included a social feeds app that does a similar job for Twitter and Facebook feeds – however, they are kept separate so if you prefer your feeds altogether you may want to look for an Android app that suits your purpose.

Happy snapper

When it comes to the snapper, the LG Optimus 2X offers an excellent 8-megapixels with plenty of features as well as LED flash, touch focus (which lets you highlight on the display which area of the image you want to see in most detail) as well as face and smile detection. But it’s the video camera that really stands out – the handset can both record and play high-def video. While it looks good on the 4in screen, the inclusion of an HDMI jack (although not a lead) means that you can watch the footage on your TV. If you don’t have an HDMI TV set, but do have a DLNA compatible device, the good news is that you can stream the content from the phone wirelessly, thanks to LG’s rather clever SmartShare app. In the past we’ve found this kind of function results in a pixelated image on the bigger screen, but here we found we got the full high-def experience.

Like a number of other handsets, there is no dedicated camera key, which we do find irritating. However, we were willing overlook this omission because the camera is so darn good. There are plenty of functions available for editing your images and video before uploading them to the internet via a couple of clicks.

The verdict

The LG Optimus 2X is a powerful brute of a phone. It beats the competition in terms of power and speed, and anyone who plays a lot of games or uses their phone for web browsing should definitely bear it in mind. And the video recording is better than any other handset we’ve seen. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t wow on the looks front like its closest rivals. However, the LG Optimus 2X is a tempting taste of what’s to come in the smartphone market, and we expect that the next batch of dual-core phones will be even better.