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LG Optimus 7 E900 review

Our Rating :

Great hardware, with a smart design and all the usual smartphone features, can't make up for Windows Phone 7's immaturity, but the added competition can only be good for consumers.

Specifications

Windows Phone 7, 3.8in 480×800 display

LG’s Optimus 7 is a Windows Phone 7 (WP7) handset. It differs from the original Android-powered Optimus in both design and specification: it has a larger, clearer screen, a better camera with an LED flash, and a generous 16GB of internal storage, though it lacks a memory card slot. We much prefer the new design, with its sculpted body and reassuringly solid metal back cover.

LG Optimus 7 E900 Back

Battery life was just over 22 hours in our light usage test, so you might be able to get away without charging it every night – if you’re careful with WiFi, GPS and 3G usage. Camera snaps were reasonably sharp but suffered from noisy shadows and a lack of fine detail. Our only complaint with the hardware would be the placement of the Back button, which is the furthest left, and a harder reach for your thumb (if you’re right-handed).

LG Optimus 7 E900

Microsoft likens the tiled homepage to the Windows Start menu. Like the Start menu, you can pin applications from the main menu as a Live Tile: for example, the email tile will show the number of unread emails, so you don’t have to open the email app to check. However we couldn’t find any third-party applications, such as Twitter, that offered such live previews.

You get a mobile version of Office, which can edit all office documents and create Word, Excel and OneNote files. There’s Internet Explorer, which we found easy to use. We liked the way the back button took us to the previous page, rather than exiting the application – much like Android’s Webkit browser, in fact.

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Details

Rating ***

Hardware

Main display size 3.8in
Native resolution 480×800
Second Display No
CCD effective megapixels 5-megapixel
Flash LED
Video recording format MP4
Connectivity Bluetooth, WiFi, USB
GPS yes
Internal memory 16384MB
Memory card support microSD
Memory card included 0MB
Operating frequencies GSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G 900/1900/2100
Wireless data GPRS, HSUPA
Size 125x60x12mm
Weight 157g

Features

Operating system Windows Phone 7
Microsoft Office compatibility Office Mobile
Email client POP3/IMAP/Exchange
Audio format support MP3, e-AAC+, WMA, WAV
Video playback formats MP4, H.263, H.264, WMV
FM Radio yes
Web Browser Internet Explorer
Accessories charger
Talk time 6 hours
Standby time 14.6 days
Tested battery life (MP3 playback) 22h 2m

Buying Information

Price on contract £30-per-month, 18-month contract
SIM-free supplier N/A
Contract/prepay supplier www.vodafone.co.uk
Details www.lge.com

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