LG Optimus L1 II: ultra-budget segment, the Korean version
A holiday recently passed on March 8, and my brother and I decided that this was an excellent occasion to “transfer” mom from an ordinary push-button telephone to a smartphone. Since we were talking about her first sensor device, it was decided to present an entry-level model, that is, the so-called “state employee”. Unfortunately, at that moment I was not in the city, so the choice of the device was completely entrusted to my brother, he himself participated in the process only financially.
I do not know what he was guided by, but his choice fell on the LG Optimus L1 II. Having returned home, I stopped by my parents and took it for a couple of days - to configure, update the firmware and install software. Now I want to share my impressions about this device.
I’ll clarify that there is also a “dual-SIM” version of this model on sale - LG Optimus L1 II Dual. In addition to supporting two SIM cards, it differs from its “single-SIM” counterpart and externally (for some reason, LG makes cases of ordinary and “dual-SIM” versions of the same smartphones in different designs), the rest of the characteristics are the same. Looking ahead a bit, I will say that the gadget pleasantly surprised me: despite its ultra-budget price (about 3,000 rubles), it turned out to be better than I expected, although it could not do without serious flaws.
We can safely say that the LG Optimus L1 II has its own face, which can not be said about most Android-backgrounds, and this applies not only to budget models. The case of the gadget is made of high-quality plastic of various types: the back is textured plastic of white-gray color, the ends are textured gray plastic, and the space above and below the screen is made in brushed aluminum. All parts of the case are well adjusted to each other, the device really seems monolithic. There are no complaints about the build quality.
On the front side of the device, as usual, there is a screen covered with protective plastic (it’s clear that it would be foolish to count on glass for such an amount). Under the display are four Android touch keys: “Back”, “Home”, “Menu” and “Application Manager”. This arrangement is not very familiar to me personally, usually the "Back" arrow is on the right, and the "Menu" is on the left. By the way, there is no backlighting for the keys, so in the dark you have to fall at random. Honestly, it is not clear why it was necessary to save on backlighting, because it is in most ultra-budget smartphones.
Above the screen is a speaker, which is used both for communication and for playing ringtones, sound from videos and music. The quality of speech reception / transmission is good, but if you use a speaker, for example, to listen to audio tracks, the quality is poor. Also, in the upper part of the front panel there was a place for the proximity sensor, but there is no light sensor and front camera. Due to the lack of the latter, you can forget about video calls in Skype. (It’s good that there is at least a proximity sensor, because in the main competitor of LG Optimus L1 II - Samsung Galaxy Star for the same 3,000 rubles - this component is also missing, which is generally beyond decency.)
The hardware control keys are conveniently located: the screen unlock button on the right side of the upper edge, and the volume rocker on the left side.
They slightly rise above the body and are easily groped, but, at the same time, have sufficient “resistance” to exclude false alarms. Also on the upper edge of the LG Optimus L1 II is a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
At the bottom there is a microUSB port and a microphone.
On the back is the camera lens and the manufacturer's logo.
This can end the description of the appearance, go to the screen. LG Optimus L1 II is equipped with a 3-inch display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, the pixel density per inch (ppi) is 133. The manufacturer’s website indicates that this model uses an IPS matrix. Well, I don’t know, in practice I didn’t notice this. Everyone knows that the distinctive features of this technology are natural color reproduction and wide viewing angles. If the first is more or less in order, then the second is much worse. When you look at the screen from the bottom up, the picture just brightens, but if you look from top to bottom, the colors are noticeably inverted, and the image becomes dark. When viewed from the left or right, the picture looks tolerable, although some color change is still noticeable. Honestly, the display could have been better.
In general, QVGA resolution has become a rarity. Therefore, some applications are "not sharpened" under it. For example, the popular AnTuTu benchmark is not displayed correctly, and the same AnTuTu Tester is completely “not available for this device”. Therefore, I could not determine how many simultaneous taps the “touch” supports, but for sure more than two.
LG Optimus L1 II is built on a time-tested (read - old) single-core Qualcomm MSM7225A processor, which operates at a frequency of up to 1 GHz, the RAM here is 512 MB. It is clear that something special should not be required from a smartphone with such “hardware”, but nevertheless, the device copes with most basic everyday tasks. The interface works smartly, and applications open quickly enough.
Moreover, you can even play unpretentious toys. For the sake of experiment, I installed Angry Birds; what can I say, the birds really “fly” in every sense, the smartphone did not even think to “slow down”. But this is perhaps the maximum: no 3D games.
The amount of internal memory is 4 GB, plus there is a slot for a microSD-card. All the necessary wireless modules in the LG Optimus L1 II are present - this is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as an FM receiver. They all work properly.
The operating system in the LG Optimus L1 II uses Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The interface is significantly redesigned, the smartphone uses the proprietary Optimus UI shell, and it all looks really pretty. In addition to the changed appearance of menus, submenus and icons, the shell includes several interesting applications. Here are the themes, and the ability to select effects on the screen, font size and type, and much more. Changed and unlock screen. For example, it displays four customizable icons for quick access to the necessary applications.
In the upper curtain there are icons for turning on wireless modules, data synchronization, Airplane mode, Access Point (when the smartphone acts as a router), power saving mode, QuickMemo (a proprietary program for creating screenshots and working with them) and much more. Conveniently, all this can also be configured by adding or removing one or another “switch”. Here (in the upper curtain) there is the ability to adjust the brightness of the screen.
Like the more expensive LG models, the LG Optimus L1 II has a widely publicized KnockOn function that allows you to turn on / off the screen without pressing the hard key - you just need to double-tap the display.
I also liked the ability to display the battery percentage. In general, there are enough such pleasant trifles in the LG Optimus L1 II.
Among the preinstalled programs, I note the client of the company’s application catalog LG AppClub, file manager, text editor Polaris Viewer 4, LG Smart World, Remote Call Service (a program for remote diagnostics of the device) and Safety Care application. I will say more about the latter. Since the LG Optimus L1 II belongs to the ultra-budget class, it is oriented, inter alia, at the elderly and children. In the Safety Care program, you can set up automatic forwarding of an outgoing call during an emergency call to a specified number. Also, the device can notify selected subscribers about the inactivity of the smartphone for a given time, and most importantly, send a message about your location.
Yes, I almost forgot: the device has the ability to download updates by airy, and immediately after the purchase, he offered to download and install two updates.
The camera in the LG Optimus L1 II is 2 megapixel. It is clear that this smartphone does not claim to be a camera, the quality of photos is very mediocre. Here are some examples:
The camera interface is different from the standard application from the Android operating system, there are many settings. It’s even a shame that for such a frankly lousy camera there are so many options. Of the interesting, I note the possibility of activating the "shutter" on the spoken word.
BatteryThe LG Optimus L1 II has a capacity of 1,540 mAh. The smartphone confidently "lives" on a single charge for 2 days in an average mode of use. During my mom’s acquaintance with a smartphone (I remind you, this is her first touchscreen device) and his careful study, he lasted about a day and a half, which is very good.
I will summarize. In general, the device is not bad, as for the ultra-budget class, but it has enough weaknesses. For example, the lack of a front camera, a light sensor and key illumination. I would also like to see a better display in it. Probably, if you choose from models of first-tier brands within 3-4 thousand rubles, then LG Optimus L1 II will be one of the best. But if you compare it with devices from the same local Russian brands, the Ski will openly merge. Take, for example, the Highscreen Zera F. It costs 1,000 rubles more (3,990 rubles), but it also has a 4-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, a 2-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, a 5-megapixel main and 0.3-megapixel front camera, as well as a more recent version of Android - 4.2. However, in any case, you should choose: A "simple" device from a famous brand or a gadget with more interesting characteristics, but with a lesser known name. I can only say from myself that in the budget class A-brands are already in the role of catching up.
I do not know what he was guided by, but his choice fell on the LG Optimus L1 II. Having returned home, I stopped by my parents and took it for a couple of days - to configure, update the firmware and install software. Now I want to share my impressions about this device.
I’ll clarify that there is also a “dual-SIM” version of this model on sale - LG Optimus L1 II Dual. In addition to supporting two SIM cards, it differs from its “single-SIM” counterpart and externally (for some reason, LG makes cases of ordinary and “dual-SIM” versions of the same smartphones in different designs), the rest of the characteristics are the same. Looking ahead a bit, I will say that the gadget pleasantly surprised me: despite its ultra-budget price (about 3,000 rubles), it turned out to be better than I expected, although it could not do without serious flaws.
We can safely say that the LG Optimus L1 II has its own face, which can not be said about most Android-backgrounds, and this applies not only to budget models. The case of the gadget is made of high-quality plastic of various types: the back is textured plastic of white-gray color, the ends are textured gray plastic, and the space above and below the screen is made in brushed aluminum. All parts of the case are well adjusted to each other, the device really seems monolithic. There are no complaints about the build quality.
On the front side of the device, as usual, there is a screen covered with protective plastic (it’s clear that it would be foolish to count on glass for such an amount). Under the display are four Android touch keys: “Back”, “Home”, “Menu” and “Application Manager”. This arrangement is not very familiar to me personally, usually the "Back" arrow is on the right, and the "Menu" is on the left. By the way, there is no backlighting for the keys, so in the dark you have to fall at random. Honestly, it is not clear why it was necessary to save on backlighting, because it is in most ultra-budget smartphones.
Above the screen is a speaker, which is used both for communication and for playing ringtones, sound from videos and music. The quality of speech reception / transmission is good, but if you use a speaker, for example, to listen to audio tracks, the quality is poor. Also, in the upper part of the front panel there was a place for the proximity sensor, but there is no light sensor and front camera. Due to the lack of the latter, you can forget about video calls in Skype. (It’s good that there is at least a proximity sensor, because in the main competitor of LG Optimus L1 II - Samsung Galaxy Star for the same 3,000 rubles - this component is also missing, which is generally beyond decency.)
The hardware control keys are conveniently located: the screen unlock button on the right side of the upper edge, and the volume rocker on the left side.
They slightly rise above the body and are easily groped, but, at the same time, have sufficient “resistance” to exclude false alarms. Also on the upper edge of the LG Optimus L1 II is a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
At the bottom there is a microUSB port and a microphone.
On the back is the camera lens and the manufacturer's logo.
This can end the description of the appearance, go to the screen. LG Optimus L1 II is equipped with a 3-inch display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, the pixel density per inch (ppi) is 133. The manufacturer’s website indicates that this model uses an IPS matrix. Well, I don’t know, in practice I didn’t notice this. Everyone knows that the distinctive features of this technology are natural color reproduction and wide viewing angles. If the first is more or less in order, then the second is much worse. When you look at the screen from the bottom up, the picture just brightens, but if you look from top to bottom, the colors are noticeably inverted, and the image becomes dark. When viewed from the left or right, the picture looks tolerable, although some color change is still noticeable. Honestly, the display could have been better.
In general, QVGA resolution has become a rarity. Therefore, some applications are "not sharpened" under it. For example, the popular AnTuTu benchmark is not displayed correctly, and the same AnTuTu Tester is completely “not available for this device”. Therefore, I could not determine how many simultaneous taps the “touch” supports, but for sure more than two.
LG Optimus L1 II is built on a time-tested (read - old) single-core Qualcomm MSM7225A processor, which operates at a frequency of up to 1 GHz, the RAM here is 512 MB. It is clear that something special should not be required from a smartphone with such “hardware”, but nevertheless, the device copes with most basic everyday tasks. The interface works smartly, and applications open quickly enough.
Moreover, you can even play unpretentious toys. For the sake of experiment, I installed Angry Birds; what can I say, the birds really “fly” in every sense, the smartphone did not even think to “slow down”. But this is perhaps the maximum: no 3D games.
The amount of internal memory is 4 GB, plus there is a slot for a microSD-card. All the necessary wireless modules in the LG Optimus L1 II are present - this is Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, as well as an FM receiver. They all work properly.
The operating system in the LG Optimus L1 II uses Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The interface is significantly redesigned, the smartphone uses the proprietary Optimus UI shell, and it all looks really pretty. In addition to the changed appearance of menus, submenus and icons, the shell includes several interesting applications. Here are the themes, and the ability to select effects on the screen, font size and type, and much more. Changed and unlock screen. For example, it displays four customizable icons for quick access to the necessary applications.
In the upper curtain there are icons for turning on wireless modules, data synchronization, Airplane mode, Access Point (when the smartphone acts as a router), power saving mode, QuickMemo (a proprietary program for creating screenshots and working with them) and much more. Conveniently, all this can also be configured by adding or removing one or another “switch”. Here (in the upper curtain) there is the ability to adjust the brightness of the screen.
Like the more expensive LG models, the LG Optimus L1 II has a widely publicized KnockOn function that allows you to turn on / off the screen without pressing the hard key - you just need to double-tap the display.
I also liked the ability to display the battery percentage. In general, there are enough such pleasant trifles in the LG Optimus L1 II.
Among the preinstalled programs, I note the client of the company’s application catalog LG AppClub, file manager, text editor Polaris Viewer 4, LG Smart World, Remote Call Service (a program for remote diagnostics of the device) and Safety Care application. I will say more about the latter. Since the LG Optimus L1 II belongs to the ultra-budget class, it is oriented, inter alia, at the elderly and children. In the Safety Care program, you can set up automatic forwarding of an outgoing call during an emergency call to a specified number. Also, the device can notify selected subscribers about the inactivity of the smartphone for a given time, and most importantly, send a message about your location.
Yes, I almost forgot: the device has the ability to download updates by airy, and immediately after the purchase, he offered to download and install two updates.
The camera in the LG Optimus L1 II is 2 megapixel. It is clear that this smartphone does not claim to be a camera, the quality of photos is very mediocre. Here are some examples:
The camera interface is different from the standard application from the Android operating system, there are many settings. It’s even a shame that for such a frankly lousy camera there are so many options. Of the interesting, I note the possibility of activating the "shutter" on the spoken word.
BatteryThe LG Optimus L1 II has a capacity of 1,540 mAh. The smartphone confidently "lives" on a single charge for 2 days in an average mode of use. During my mom’s acquaintance with a smartphone (I remind you, this is her first touchscreen device) and his careful study, he lasted about a day and a half, which is very good.
I will summarize. In general, the device is not bad, as for the ultra-budget class, but it has enough weaknesses. For example, the lack of a front camera, a light sensor and key illumination. I would also like to see a better display in it. Probably, if you choose from models of first-tier brands within 3-4 thousand rubles, then LG Optimus L1 II will be one of the best. But if you compare it with devices from the same local Russian brands, the Ski will openly merge. Take, for example, the Highscreen Zera F. It costs 1,000 rubles more (3,990 rubles), but it also has a 4-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, a 2-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, a 5-megapixel main and 0.3-megapixel front camera, as well as a more recent version of Android - 4.2. However, in any case, you should choose: A "simple" device from a famous brand or a gadget with more interesting characteristics, but with a lesser known name. I can only say from myself that in the budget class A-brands are already in the role of catching up.