Right when we think that LG has done with Optimus
L-series within the year, the Korean company has made us surprised with LG
Optimus L9, which replaces Optimus L7 at the affordable segment. The L-series devices
is arranged as basic-to middle-class phone that is fashionable but cheap, so,
of course, they can’t compare with the quad-core models of the company such as 4X
HD or Optimus G. instead of that, L9 runs Android 4.0 and has the 4.5-inch qHD screen
along with the dual-core 1GHz TI OMAP 4430 microprocessor and 5MP camera.
The
Korean company has made us surprised with LG Optimus L9, which replaces Optimus
L7 at the affordable segment.
Hardware
For the first time seeing Optimus L9, we
surmise a little. It’s almost alike L7, with the chrome rim and surface covered
with glossy-black Gorilla Glass. It even has the same button layout, with one
physical home button strengthened on both sides by the capacitive menu and back
keys. However, the back cover is another thing. L9 has the rough matte surface
including many small prominent dots, a shift from the stripped back of L7. It
has an amazing feeling which reminds us of the tanned leather (or maybe vinyl).
Its tilted edges and the slender 9.1mm beveled surface create a surprisingly
comfortable feeling in hand despite the wide 127.6mmx66.9mm dimensions. In
summary, the short and fat shape makes us discouraged at first, then we’ve been
conquered by the luxurious design of the phone.
L9
has the rough matte surface including many small prominent dots, a shift from
the stripped back of L7.
Increasing the beauty of L9 is the 4.5-inch
LCD TFT qHD screen (960x540), an obvious innovation compared to the 4.3inch
screen, 800x480 of L7. Though it’s not as vivid as the True HD screen which
we’ve seen on Optimus G, we realize that the vivid screen of L9 is completely
adequate. However, we can hardly feel like being cheated a little bit – the
international version of L9 has 4.7-inch IPS screen having better technical
specs, and it seems unlikely that we will see it in America. We’ve seen a lot
of pranks of such type from the carrier before – AT&T version of Optimus G has
8MP camera instead of the 13MP camera showing up on the Optimus G phone, for
example but it doesn’t mean that we accept.
The
international version of L9 has 4.7-inch IPS screen
Under sunlight, Optimus L9 is pretty
useful, but only when you increase the brightness to 100%. On the other hand,
it looks like a black-glass version. Sadly, we have to adjust brightness
manually every time the light condition changes due to lack of auto-brightness
setting. Indeed, the phone is short of ambient light sensor, a shortcoming we
fells very annoying. The rest of the normal sensor is present, including proximity,
direction, rotation vector, magnetic field and three-axis acceleration.
Volume
rocker and bower button is on the left and right edges, while the 3.5mm
headphone jack stays on the top
Besides the aforementioned buttons, the
front of L9 is the place of the front VGA camera on the top right corner, right
on the T-Mobile logo. Volume rocker and bower button is on the left and right
edges, while the 3.5mm headphone jack stays on the top. Inside the rough back
cover is a square 5MP camera lens and LED flash. There’s also an external
speaker slot at the lower left corner. If you want to expose the inner parts of
the phone, you will have to cram your nail onto the small cut below, near the micro-USB
port. Then you can pry the cover open to reveal the 2,150mAh lithium-ion
battery, SIM slot and microSD slot. However, anyone who expects to have a
notification LED will be disappointed, because it doesn’t appear.
While the performance of L9 can compare
with quad-core Optimus G, its dual-core 1GHz ARMv7 CPU is not too bad. Indeed,
we realize that it’s acceptable, as we’re going to explain in the performance
section below. L9 adds PowerVR SGX 540 GPU, along with a 5MP camera and “G fake”
HSPA+ network supporter of T-Mobile which maxes out at the speed of 21Mbps. These
technical specs are not too bad for a mid-class 80USD phone. As you can wait, Optimus
L9 supports 4-badwidth GSM/EDGE, together with 4-bandwidth 4G UMTS/HSPA+. You
won’t see NFC radio here, though of course Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are available. L9
has the ability to make Wi-Fi calls thanks to the collaboration with T-Mobile.
GPS works pretty well – it detects most of our locations accurately when we
risk going around San Francisco.
