LG Optimus Pro C660 Review

Here is the FoneArena review of the LG Optimus Pro. It is a touch screen Android phone with a QWERTY keyboard. It became official in July in Italy and was available in India last month. It is powered by 800 MHz processor and runs on Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).

Hardware

The phone has 2.3 inch (240 x 320 pixels) TFT capacitive touch screen display and a full QWERTY keyboard. The phone has nice curve shape and a good build quality. It is 12.9 mm thick and weighs 129g.

There is a physical menu button, home button, back button and a search button below the display. The numbers are on the left on the QWERTY keyboard with an alt option to switch between alphabets and numbers / symbols. There are shortcut buttons on the last row of the keyboard for the upper case characters, browser, calendar and email. The delete key and the enter key are on the far right. The keyboard is not very comfortable to type if you have large fingers, but you can manage to get the words right if you have smaller fingers like me.

The volume rocker is on the left side.

The Micro USB port is on the right side.

The power / lock button and the 3.5mm audio jack is on the top.

There is a 3MP fixed focus camera is on the back along with the speaker grill next to it.

When you open the back cover you can see the 1500 mAh Li-ion battery. When you remove the battery there is a SIM card slot. The MicroSD card slot is on the right side bottom that supports MicroSD cards up to 32GB (2GB included).

Camera

The LG Optimus Pro has a 3MP fixed focus camera with VGA video recording at a maximum of 640 x 480 pixel resolution. The camera options include option to change image size, ISO settings (Auto, 400, 200 and 100), White Balance (Auto, Incandescent, Sunny, Florescent and Cloudy), Timer, Image quality, Shutter sounds and Geo tagging. There are also on-screen camera options such as digital zoom (up to 4x), Contrast and scene modes (Mono, Negative, Solarize, Sepia and Aqua).

Here are some camera samples (Click to enlarge)

Software

UI

It has the usual LG UI that is similar to the other Optimus handsets with the Weather app on the homescreen and bottom bar with dialer, contacts, text messages and Applications. There are option to set up to 7 home screens. You can also add LG app widgets and other app widgets on any screens.

The drop down bar has shortcuts for silent/ vibrate, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and Data. The Music player can also be controlled from the notification bar. The lock screen is similar to the previous LG Optimus handsets, you need to pull the screen shade up to unlock.

The Menu has several style options such as Horizontal, Vertical grid and list view. You can also rename category or add new category and add apps in that.

Media Player and FM Radio

The Music player plays MP3, AAC, Amr and some of the usual audio formats pretty good. There is no equalizer. The sound quality is pretty good in the headphones and the loudspeaker. The Video Player supports .avi, and .mp4 but doesn’t support .mkv and high resolution 720p videos.

The FM Radio has auto scan option. You can edit the station name manually. There is loudspeaker / headphone playback button on the top and the radio on / off button on the Radio UI.

Contacts and Messaging

The Dialer is similar to other Android dialers and you can use the on-screen input and keyboard to dial a number. The call log display recent incoming, outgoing and missed calls. You could Sync from your Google contacts and also import contacts from SIM and export it to SIM or MicroSD card.

The phone has default e-mail support other than the Gmail app.

Apps

The phone comes pre-installed apps for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Search Google Maps, Gtalk, Voice Search, Places and Navigation. Some of the utility apps include Calculator, Calendar, Clock, Polaris document viewer and Voice Recorder. The recent applications can be viewed from the home screen when you press and hold the home button and the application manager lets your view running and installed app and shows the RAM usage.

You can also download apps from the Android Market and the LG SmartWorld app store.The Downloaded apps are listed below separately and the new apps are marked as N.

Connectivity

The phone has 3G support with HSDPA up to 3.6Mbps, Wi-Fi b/g/n with hotspot feature, Bluetooth 3.0 and a Micro USB port.

Verdict

The 800 MHz processor does fine while playing games or watching video. The 256MB RAM is disappointing and it tells you to close some applications when the memory is low, which is annoying. The low resolution display makes the visibility hard in some apps and home screen widgets. The battery lasts for a day for heavy users and lasts for more than a day with average usage.

Pros

• Good build quality
• Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread)
• Touch and Type
• Low cost

Cons

• Low resolution display
• Just 256MB RAM
• No Flash support

Metrotube for Windows Phone – Video Walkthrough

Last week I finally got a trial Nokia Lumia 800, thanks to the great people at Nokia Connects (former WOM World). Since we already have a full review by our Jon Choo up, I’ve decided to bring you bits and pieces about it, instead of a second full blown review. So in the upcoming weeks you’ll find a lot more content and thoughts about the Lumia 800 here on Fone Arena! As a little preview to my upcoming “What’s on my Windows Phone”-post, I’ve decided to do a little video walkthrough of one of my favourite apps on WP, and that’s Metrotube, by Lazyworm Apps.

Metrotube is a Youtube client for Windows Phone, formerly known as Lazytube. First of all, Metrotube is absolutely awesome looking! The guys at Lazyworm have picked up the already georgeous Metro UI, threw in a ton of features and polished all the rounds to create the best Youtube app I’ve seen in a long time. Features include a live-tile that includes notifications and a chameleon design, that adapts to your current phone theme color, a “pin videos to your homescreen” function, different video playback quality functions and much much more. I especially like the video playback choice, perfect for moments with poor coverage!

Metrotube has become one of my all time favourite apps, and you can try it very soon. The app will be in the Marketplace shortly, according to Lazyworm on Twitter, it’s already sent for approval! Meanwhile, enjoy my short video walkthrough of Metrotube!

 

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There’s A Special Spot In Hell For The Nokia N9

After a few hours with the N9 in my hands, I was even more convinced (as if that was possible) of whyNokia had to make the decision to go with Windows Phone as its main Operating System. Despite the sheer joy of discovering a new OS, using and abusing the swipe gestures, and marveling at the well thought-out package between Meego and the N9′s hardware, I have to say that Meego is simply not up to par with other OSes at this point, and the N9 also comes with some terrible decisions.

I am therefore fairly certain that despite deserving its own spot in heaven, the N9, even on PR1.1, should have a special spot in hell as well.

The wonderful display that isn’t

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I barely knew anything about the N9 before trialling it, but the one constant I saw in many online comments was that the screen was awesome. Imagine my jaw drop in horrified disappointment when I turned it on for the first time and could see everything slightly blurred and pixelated. I tried to track down the display resolution settings (which do not exist, obviously), then I asked the question on Twitter, only to be told the screen technology is Pentile. I will not bore you with tech details but suffice it to say, if you have slightly poor vision, you won’t see a thing and it’ll be crisp and wonderful for you. But if you have good/great vision, you’re in for the most magnificent disappointment of your geeky life. Everything looks blurred out, you can count every pixel, and anything white on a black background shows with purple edges on the left and green edges on the right.

It’s downright FRUSTRATING. Tragically UGLY. And the problem is that once you see these pixels, you can not go back, they’re all you can see on the screen. You won’t enjoy the curved screen, you won’t enjoy the AMOLED colors, you won’t enjoy anything, because everything is blurred.

This is a screenshot of how things should be on the N9

This is a photo of how the screen really displays them. No, I did not move my hand, it’s a focused macro image, but the display IS actually that blurry. Also look at the Camera icon and notice the purple edge on the left and green edge on the right. That’s what actually creates the blurry effect, every white writing has those two edges, which means that nothing is really sharp. UGLY.

The Google Account that isn’t

When asked to add an Account to import my contacts, I saw a Google account option and was pretty happy that it was finally a simple step to get my contacts onto a Nokia phone. Fast forward 10 minutes, my Gmail is setup perfectly but I only have 45 of my >600 contacts imported. I force another sync but nothing happens. I wait. And that’s when I see it: it only imported my GTalk contacts! I search for a solution online and it turns out I have to use Mail for Exchange to get my Google Contacts. Mail for freaking Exchange! If they thought many people don’t want to have all their email buddies in their contact list, just ASK US. Do not just stupidly assume it. Gah. Mail for Exchange. The tragedy.

The Notifications screen that isn’t

See, when a phone comes with a Twitter and Facebook applications out of the box, that are tightly integrated into Contacts and work really well, and when the said phone has a Notifications screen of sorts, you add 1+1 and you expect to be actually NOTIFIED about replies and messages on Twitter or the aptly named Notifications on Facebook. Apparently, that concept was foreign to whoever worked on the N9. They thought “hey, notifications screen, euh, let’s put the weather, date, missed calls and messages, ta-daaa, useful!”. I’m pretty sure someone came up and asked “and Twitter and Facebook?” so the team looked in puzzlement, and in their all-inspiring wisdom decided to slap the whole Twitter timeline and Facebook Newsfeed on that screen. Not the real notifications. Not the stuff that matter. Useless.

The landscape mode that isn’t

There’s a landscape keyboard on the N9. And the phone actually works in landscape. Yes, we have to state that, because if we don’t, no one will see it. The main phone UI, the settings, the Twitter and Facebook applications… NONE of these work in landscape. So you’re forced to type on a cramped portrait keyboard, oh, and suppose you’re browsing the web or viewing a photo in landscape and want to go back to the menu, hey, you have to turn your phone back as well!

I know that all of iOS, Android and Windows Phone don’t have a proper landscape mode, but it is not justifiable for them, and it is not justifiable for the N9 and Meego. I want to read, browse and use my phone in landscape. And most importantly, I want a landscape QWERTY all throughout the UI. Because I’ve tried portrait QWERTYs, with and without Swype, and they’re uncomfortable. Aside from the iPhone/iPod Touch, all modern phones have awkward proportions that make them much more long than wide, so holding them and typing, you feel cramped and like the phone is going to fall from your hands. I know many of you got used to it, but that’s not an excuse and it’s still not in many people’s genes. I had to find a position worthy of Kamasutra with my fingers and hands to hold the N9 and type, and I am not happy about it. *insert a very angry emoticon face*

The fancy Swipe that isn’t

While the swipe gesture is wonderful and natural and all, there are certain circumstances where it’s downright frustrating.

• First, there is no consistent way to go back specifically to the menu, notifications or multitasking. There’s only a consistent way to go back to any of the three, depending on where you were before opening the current application. Let’s say I was on the notifications screen and I opened a message from there, but now I want to switch back to twitter: I have to go back to the notifications screen and then swipe to get to the multitasking view. Irritating.
• Second, swipe interferes with switching photos in the Gallery. I can’t remember how many times I closed the gallery when all I wanted was switch images.
• Third, swiping the keyboards actually interferes with the Swype keyboard (not a typo, they’re different things), especially with words starting with P. If you’re using Swype and you’re writing “pretty”, the gesture from P to R is most times registered as a “swipe” not a “swype” and the keyboard reverts to the regular one. That’s one of the reasons I deactivated Swype.
• Last, swiping to select words to copy/paste: it took me a google search to figure out how it’s done. Because the gesture is a swipe, not a slide, not a select, it’s awkward, and works 5% of the time for me.

The camera button that isn’t

Look, when I hold a Nokia, I expect a decent camera. And when the Nokia I hold has an 8MP camera with Autofocus, I expect an actual camera button, not an onscreen silly excuse for a button. Tis all.

Everything else that isn’t

So where do I start? The earphones included in the N9′s box are the old, oooooold, regular earphones, not the in-ear type that we saw with most of their high-end smartphones since 2009. I thought the old ones had died a death worthy of their horrifyingly uncomfortable nature, but they’re resuscitated! Miracle! Not.

When importing contacts from several services, the Merge function should work automatically, but most times, you’re left with duplicates or triplicates of the same contact, with the same name. Worse? My Gtalk contacts imported with the Google Account did not merge with the Google contacts imported via the Mail For Exchange Account, even though they have the same name AND the same email address. If you know a logical explanation, please tell me.

Then there’s the fact that you can customize close to nothing in the N9′s UI. You can change the lockscreen wallpaper, the ringtones, and… that’s it. Nothing else. Themes, icons, colors, none of that. The N9 is already set for you, from the box.

So there you have it, the more I use this N9, the more I’m convinced that there’s a special place, somewhere between heaven and hell, for all the joys and frustrations it brings