Since the release of HTC’s HD2, it seems that most manufacturers have been putting out phones with only minor design changes to this model’s tried-and-true basis. A large display, minimal edges, a few buttons beneath and a logical layout of the side buttons; all this, combined with a high-quality casing, seems to be the perfect smartphone formula, and if you think we’re overreacting, have a look at HTC’s phone gamma since the appearance of HD2 and try to find a significant design change. A year ago, around the time when Samsung Galaxy S was about to appear on the market, LG started their own project, now embodied in the P990 model, or Optimus 2X. The idea was to match the aforementioned Samsung model, but it was late enough on the market to enable Samsung to release the second generation of its flagship product - Galaxy S2. In the meantime, let’s have a look at what’s been cooking in LG’s kitchen for the past year or so.
From the design point of view, the aforementioned formula and the layout of the most important elements, combined with a few minor tactical changes, make P990 one of the prettiest phones we’ve encountered so far. Its hefty dimensions are similar to models with large displays, and this is a direct consequence of the somewhat large frame above and below the display itself, which we weren’t too fond of. As with all similar models, the front is dominated by the large 4” TFT display protected by the damage-resistant Gorilla glass, making the phone extra safe against most types of mechanical damage. The standard resolution of 480x800 makes for a very precise display of all necessary elements on this diagonal, while surfing the net is even more pleasant. Above the display, one can find proximity and light sensors, as well as the front camera, while the section right below consists of four touch-sensitive keys, typical of Android phones. The large Google logo that dominates the chrome fillet in the middle of the back cover clearly states the provider of software support for this model.
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The single-piece metal frame surrounds the front side of the phone and gives it firmness, making the phone very compact. The battery cover is plastic, but fits nicely into the construction, so that there’s no screeching and twisting, as it lies directly on inside elements across most of its surface. The main camera has a resolution of 8 MP and is of solid quality, with a rich options menu; however, we found the lack of a “shoot” button lamentable, as it would significantly reduce vibrations during shooting. The camera also has a LED flash, while the part of the cover that it’s situated on is a continuation of the metal fillet, making for a perfect positioning of the index finger when you’re holding the phone in one hand. Owing to its strong hardware base, the phone can shoot video in 1080p at 24 fps or 720p at 30 fps. We recommend the latter due to a better framerate; even though 1080p sounds much more attractive, the lower number of frames per second really impacts the video fluidity, which makes 720p a higher-quality setting, strange as it may sound.
The charging and data transfer connector is located on the bottom, between the two surprisingly good speakers, while HDMI, audio and power buttons are located opposite from them. Volume regulation is under the command of two side buttons, which are the only elements you can find on the sides of this phone. Although we’ve already stated that we sorely miss a hardware “shoot” button, the lack of any buttons on the sides bar the volume ones makes this a very elegant-looking smartphone, so it’s unsurprising that LG has made this sort of compromise.
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NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset is the hardware base of this phone and the main reason behind its very agile environment. It’s a combination of the dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU working at 1 GHz and ULP (Ultra Low Power) GeForce GPU, which take care of all the workload. With its four pixel and four vertex shaders, GeForce watches after multimedia, the manipulation of display elements, HD video playback (on its own and external displays) and support for relatively demanding games for Android.
All this means that most tasks you put in front of this phone will be executed momentarily, without any glitches or waiting. The model that we received for testing has LG’s version of Android 2.2, which means that the phone has a few LG-exclusive features among the usual ones; these, however, put additional strain on the device, so we believe that a “clean” Android would have been even quicker. This isn’t to say that the phone doesn’t “fly” as it is; even with LG’s customised “Optimus UI 2.0”, as they call it, the phone is all over the place, leaving any competition behind. Unfortunately, due to software limitations, LG is only just faster than Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S - it seems that the phone is still unable to unleash the entire power of its hardware base. While waiting for further updates to rectify this, you’re bound to enjoy the much-improved web experience, as well as Flash applications; not to mention everyday tasks that become a breeze, as P990 definitely has the fastest interface that the smartphone market currently has to offer.
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The display, as the element you’re likely to spend most of your time with, isn’t a Super AMOLED, but truth be told, it isn’t that worse either. The colours are a bit oversaturated, but their reproduction remains correct. Excellent viewing angles make sure that black remains black; not as black as E-7, with Nokia’s ClearBlack technology, but somewhere along those lines - yes. What we didn’t like was backlight bleeding in the corners, which may be bothersome when you’re watching video in non-fullscreen mode. Everything remains visible even under direct sunlight, as long as brightness levels are set to their maximum, which is commendable in general, and particularly noteworthy with a non-Super AMOLED display. Then again, TFT displays consume more power than Super AMOLED ones, which is another drawback.
Since it can reproduce 1080p HD video content with no hassle at all, this smartphone can be used as a media player as well, by simply connecting it to a TV or monitor via its HDMI connector. Having in mind the space that a typical HD video takes up, the internal memory of 8 GB will likely prove to be too confined; luckily, you can extend it with a memory card with a capacity of up to 32 GB. We’ve also noticed mild heating issues in Optimus 2X’s upper section, particularly pronounced when playing HD video or games, which can be unpleasant when you’re holding the phone in your bare hands.
