LG Optimus L7 P705 LOVE IT:
Runs Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. HATE IT:
Sluggish at times, especially when playing games and 3D applications. PC MAG SAYS:
The LG Optimus L7 P705 is a decent and competitively priced Android mobile phone. Final Rating:
Specifications: 2G Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network: HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 Dimensions: 125.5 x 67 x 8.7 mm Weight: 122 grams Display Type: IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches Memory: 4 GB builtin; 512 MB RAM WLAN: 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth: Yes, v3.0 with A2DP NFC: Yes USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0
smartphones group test
Primary Camera: 5 Megapixels with autofocus and LED flash Secondary Camera: Yes Operating System: Android OS v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) CPU: Qualcomm MSM7227A Snapdragon 1 GHz Cortex-A5 Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, compass Battery: Li-Po 1700 mAh
$359 | Al Sayegh Brothers | 800-54 (LG) | http://ae.lgmobile.com
T
he LG Optimus L7 P705 is the latest mobile phone from LG that runs on Ice Cream Sandwich – and it’s priced competitively, which is much lower than the other high end mobile phones we have in this Group Test. The LG Optimus L7 P705 runs on a 1 GHz processor, with a 4 GB built-in memory and 512 MB of RAM. The 4.3-inch screen is big, though the resolution is only 480 x 800 – which pales in comparison with the 720 x 1280 screens of the other higher end smartphones. LG said that the Optimus L7 comes with an IPS display – which enrich your viewing experience as images and videos come across with more vibrant colours and precise details to provide you with the utmost viewing quality whether you are indoors or outdoors. That is somewhat true though – we get the brilliant colours on the screen but it can reflective at times, which most of the time you get to see your reflection instead of what is showing on
the screen. The LG Optimus L7 P705’s design is nice but not great either. It’s not the type of mobile phone that would turn heads when you put it out. The mobile phone’s design is mostly plastic, with a coated material that is a fingerprint magnet. There sharp edges, unlike the rounded ones found on the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III. LG employs its own custom interface over the default Ice Cream Sandwich like Samsung’s TouchWiz or HTC’s Sense. It’s nothing special though, as I find the apps and widgets on the other mobile phones more appealing. The standard Android programs are preloaded on the P705. As with all Android mobile phones, initial setup requires you to sign in with a Googlebased account. This will also let you download apps on the Google Play Store. I tried installing a couple of apps from the Play Store with no problems at all. However, there was a noticeable delay when
54 | september 2012 | www.pcmagme.com | www.altus-publishing.com
launching apps, especially the games. Temple Run nearly took 40 seconds to load and when we started playing the game, it starts framing – so we don’t know if it a hardware or software issue. The P705 also features a 5 megapixel main camera and a front facing camera. Image quality taken with the P705 was good, but not great. Comparing it with other mobile phones in this Group Test, it showed some noise on most if the pictures we’ve taken. Like the HTC Desire C, the images aren’t the best, but it its good enough. Call quality was good with no hisses or issues on either end of the call. Battery life was good, considering the 1700 mAh was lower than the competition, though it managed to last two and a half days of usage after a full charge. The LG Optimus L7 P705 is a decent Android mobile phone – priced competitively and offers the same set of features as with the other smartphones sometimes only slower.