LG Optimus 3D review: Initial hands-on

There are two 3D phones as of now in Indian market – Evo 3D and the latest LG Optimus 3D. Which one is better – that’s for another post. I just got to play with the Optimus 3D for a few minutes and below are my initial impressions -

Design

The body has a familiar dark brown metallic look all over. The screen bolder is black glossy. The body attracts fingerprints so you’ll have to keep cleaning it. There is a long vertical strip along the lens and LED that obstruct the streamlined design (I never liked this unnecessary piece over camera in many phones). The phone is sleek, and thin enough but the plastic body doesnot feel as robust as I would’ve liked.

The right side has the volume rocker and a dedicated 3D button to bring up all your 3D content. There is a mini HDMI port and mini-USB port on the left, with the power button and 3.5mm jack on top.

Display

It has a 4.3″ capacitive LCD screen with 16m colors. The display is brilliant, but like in case of almost all phones – you’ll get tonnes of fingerprints! It is very bright and sharp, pleasing to eyes even under low light. But I would’ve liked a bit more viewing angle – specifically in case of the 3D videos. Still you don’t have the minor shuttering you get in Evo 3D.

All the expected Android hot-keys are below the screen as touch-only.

Interface

Sadly the 3D comes with Froyo, although it can be upgradable to Gingerbread. The salesman told it will be automatic although he could not cite if it will be immediate or be a few days before you get the update. I’m still not sure why LG chose to keep Froyo. Maybe my optimistic mind thinks some upcoming 3D specific feature in their Gingerbread update . The CPU here is OMAP around which Google is building Icrecream Sandwich so maybe it will have that in the coming months as well!

Swiping through the UI is as smooth as you would expect on a dual-core phone.

Dual-core, dual channel, dual-memory

This is the USP of this phone. Dual-channel memory module facilitates two simultaneous stream of processes supposedly making it blazing fast. Well, I couldnot exactly see significant difference, but I was told that it will come when I have multiple applications open. Dual-channel makes it a global phone.

3D

Now coming to the flagship feature of LG’s flagship product. Before reading anything further – the 3D experience is awesome! And seamless. The frames won’t shudder a bit and the depth can be clearly felt without glasses. You don’t have dedicated 2D to 3D swiping button like that in Evo which would’ve saved a lot of work in the long run of having clicked 10,000 odd snaps. The dedicated 3D button brings a dedicated menu completed with 3D camera gallery, apps and games. I played the Golf 3D and it looks cool. Only the response was not as fast. It can even turn 2D videos of YouTube into 3D – thanks to the Stereoscopic glass on top.

You get four free games pre-loaded and chance for downloading six more.

Accessories

You get an HDMI cable, a pair of earphones and the adaptor USB cable.

Price

I was quoted 35k but then was reassured I would be given the “best price” when coming back to buy. Flipkart will ask no less than 37k. Get the same from Letsbuy for 35.5k. Comment below if you want to know where I got the best price.