While Indian handset brands are already competing with each other by
packing in a plethora of features in their phones, international brands
have been a little hesitant. It used to be partly because an Android
handset with entry-level hardware specifications doesn't deliver a
smooth user experience maybe because the OS is too demanding.
However, with Android 4.1 everyone's hoping that things will change for the good.
LG is offering a dual-SIM Android 4.1 handset in the same segment with the LG Optimus L3 II Dual. The handset is an upgrade to its Optimus L3 Dual phone that it launched last August. Is the phone a good option especially for consumers on a budget? We find out.
However, with Android 4.1 everyone's hoping that things will change for the good.
LG is offering a dual-SIM Android 4.1 handset in the same segment with the LG Optimus L3 II Dual. The handset is an upgrade to its Optimus L3 Dual phone that it launched last August. Is the phone a good option especially for consumers on a budget? We find out.
Design/ Hardware
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual sports a compact form factor and is just 102mm
long and 61mm wide. The smartphone has curved rounded corners. We had a
Black colour variant of the phone as our review unit.The front houses a 3.2-inch screen and 4 capacitive buttons, namely
Back, Home, Menu and a button for switching to the other SIM. The bezel
below the display is pretty large and at times makes it inconvenient to
reach the buttons without looking. There's a volume rocker key at the
right side of the phone, while there are no buttons on the left side.
The Power/ Screen-lock key and the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top
while the micro-USB port is located at the bottomThe back cover
is made of plastic and sports a glossy finish, which is susceptible to
smudges. The 3.2-megapixel-camera lens is located towards the upper part
of the back. The back cover hides a battery compartment, two SIM card
slots sharing the same compartment and a microSD card slot located
towards the top edge.
The phone's appearance is nothing to talk about and is utilitarian at best.
The phone's appearance is nothing to talk about and is utilitarian at best.
Display
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual comes with a 3.2-inch screen that has a resolution of 240x320 pixels, which is very low compared to other smartphones in the segment. This results in graphics and text appearing less sharp. At times text that has a small font size is even unreadable. Even watching videos or playing games isn't a very pleasant experience. In fact, we'd say the low-resolution display is one of the major flaws of this handset.However, the screen is not very reflective, and the viewing angles were pretty decent thanks to the IPS panel. The under sun visibility for this smartphone is above average at full brightness levels.
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual comes with a 3.2-inch screen that has a resolution of 240x320 pixels, which is very low compared to other smartphones in the segment. This results in graphics and text appearing less sharp. At times text that has a small font size is even unreadable. Even watching videos or playing games isn't a very pleasant experience. In fact, we'd say the low-resolution display is one of the major flaws of this handset.However, the screen is not very reflective, and the viewing angles were pretty decent thanks to the IPS panel. The under sun visibility for this smartphone is above average at full brightness levels.
Software/ User Interface
The smartphone runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and LG has added its own Optimus UI layer on top, majorly changing the look and feel of the interface and enabling users to customise the phone. Interestingly some of the customisations and UI extras offered by LG with its flagship phones such as the Optimus G, have made it to this phone in the same or a lighter avatar.
The smartphone runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and LG has added its own Optimus UI layer on top, majorly changing the look and feel of the interface and enabling users to customise the phone. Interestingly some of the customisations and UI extras offered by LG with its flagship phones such as the Optimus G, have made it to this phone in the same or a lighter avatar.
Camera
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual sports a 3.2-megapixel-rear camera and doesn't come with a flash. Just like the Optimus G, it can also take pictures with voice commands like 'cheese', 'kimchi', 'LG', 'Smile' and 'Whisky'. The phone's camera app offers various scene mode's including Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Sunset and Night modes, along with settings for ISO, White Balance, Colour effects, and exposure. It also offers a timer.
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual sports a 3.2-megapixel-rear camera and doesn't come with a flash. Just like the Optimus G, it can also take pictures with voice commands like 'cheese', 'kimchi', 'LG', 'Smile' and 'Whisky'. The phone's camera app offers various scene mode's including Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Sunset and Night modes, along with settings for ISO, White Balance, Colour effects, and exposure. It also offers a timer.
Performance /Battery Life
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual ships with a 1GHz single-core processor that has a clock speed of 1GHz. It also has an Adreno 200 GPU and 512MB of RAM. The phone comes with a 1540mAh battery and we were satisfied with the backup that it offered. With mixed usage during the day, including playing games, a few calls, and e-mail and Twitter notifications turned on, we were able to get about one-and-a-half days of backup. Although the battery's capacity isn't very large, we believe that the low-resolution screen helps in optimizing the battery backup offered by the phone.
The LG Optimus L3 II Dual ships with a 1GHz single-core processor that has a clock speed of 1GHz. It also has an Adreno 200 GPU and 512MB of RAM. The phone comes with a 1540mAh battery and we were satisfied with the backup that it offered. With mixed usage during the day, including playing games, a few calls, and e-mail and Twitter notifications turned on, we were able to get about one-and-a-half days of backup. Although the battery's capacity isn't very large, we believe that the low-resolution screen helps in optimizing the battery backup offered by the phone.
Pros
- Decent performance
- Good battery backup
- Comes with Android Jelly Bean
Cons
- Low resolution screen
- No camera flash
- Capacitive keys not backlit
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