LG Optimus One P503 Mobile Phone Review

Simplicity works and LG’s Optimus One proves that very well. From the minimal design to the subtle changes in software, LG has struck gold with its best selling Android based Optimus One Smartphone. I received a review sample from LG a few days back and it quickly became my favorite low-cost Android device.

The Optimus has a very plain Jane design with the four standard Android keys as hardware buttons at the bottom, the center two of which are unnecessarily grouped together. On the right side you have the volume keys while the top has the power/lock key as well as the 3.5mm audio port. At the bottom of the device is the USB connector. A metallic strip runs around the device appearing thicker at the bottom than on the top and that is about as much of a design element that you’re going to get out of the LG Optimus One.

Build quality on the LG Optimus One is decent but not exceptional. The back cover creaks when you firmly grip the phone. I do like the finish of the back cover which is slightly rubbery making the phone a lot more secure in your hand than, say, the iPhone 4 which feels like it will slip out even at your slightest distraction. One thing missing on the unit is a notification LED which I personally think should be present on all mobile phones

Internally the LG Optimus One is powered by a 600Mhz CPU. It supports 7.2 Mb/s HSDPA and UMTS for high speed data access along with 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 and A-GPS. For expansion, a MicroSD slot is present pre-installed with a 2GB card.

On the software side, LG has done a decent job of customizing the Optimus One for the region. First and foremost, Arabic support is built-in which is a blessing for users in the region as Android does not support Arabic by default and many manufacturers ship units without Arabic support. To select typing in Arabic, make sure you chose LG keyboard as the method of entry which has Arabic as one of the languages.

Other than Arabic, LG also adds the Slide ME market store- a replacement for the Android Market which is still not officially available in the UAE. Although Slide ME offers a fraction of the applications that the Android Market offers, at least it allows your phone to be legally smart in the UAE.