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LGs Optimus 4X HD is the companys new flagship handset, and its certainly not messing around with the specifications. Theres a 4.7in 1,280×720 IPS screen, an Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and an eight-megapixel camera with a backlit sensor. This puts it up against top-of-the-range phones such as the HTC One X and award-winning Samsung Galaxy S3.
The 4X HD doesnt look as fancy as the One X and S3; instead of a curved screen and rounded pebble shape you get a more standard rounded rectangle. Its easy to maintain a solid hold on the phone thanks to a textured back, and two parallel chromed plastic ridges around the edge provide grip for your thumb and fingers. The outside of the phone is sparse, with just a power button, volume rocker, headphone jack and Micro USB port; you dont get a dedicated camera button, and have to pop the back cover off to get at the microSD card slot.
The 4.7in screen takes up most of the front of the phone, and its an impressive display. Theres no AMOLED display, as on the Galaxy S3, but it is a superior IPS-type LCD. Theres slightly less contrast than on the Galaxy S3, but the operating system, photos and videos still look great; the screen is definitely a match for the IPS model on the HTC One X. The 1,280×720 resolution is the same as that of the One X and Galaxy S3, and gives a pixel density of 313 pixels-per-inch comparable to the 312 of the One X and 306 of the Galaxy S3. You cant see the pixels, at any rate, and we cant imagine anyone having any complaints about the display.
LG has heavily customised the handsets Android 4.0 operating system. Many of the icons are LGs own, and theyre big, bright and colourful, and work well with the large, high-resolution screen. Like stock Android 4.0, the main app screen is divided into Apps and Widgets, but the 4X HD also gives you a separate section for the apps you have downloaded.
There are some useful preinstalled apps. LGs own video player has a preview which lets you scan through videos with a picture-in-picture box without leaving your current place. You can also pinch-to-zoom and pan around while a video is playing. The SmartShare DLNA app lets you play back media files stored on DLNA servers, and also control playback on other DLNA devices from the phone. The only app we didnt get on with was LGs own email app; it wouldnt let us connect to our company Exchange server due to a problem with SSL certificates most Android email apps have the option to accept all SSL certificates, so getting around our Exchange servers quirks, but this is absent from LGs app.
The 4X HD has Nvidias Tegra 3 chipset, with four cores running at 1.5GHz, plus a fifth low-power core which takes over duties such as music and video playback, letting the other cores power down. While the phone feels perfectly snappy in everyday use, the Sunspider JavaScript benchmark showed a performance deficit versus its main rivals; we saw 2,181ms from the 4X HD compared to 1,581ms from the One X and 1,459ms from the Galaxy S3. This didnt make much difference when rendering web pages; the 4X HD could render the BBC News homepage in five and a half seconds, compared to five for the One X and four and a half for the Galaxy S3.
The 4X HDs camera has an eight megapixel back-illuminated sensor. Back-illuminated models are designed to perform better in low light, and the combination of this and the 4X HDs bright LED flash meant that indoor shots were impressive, as long as we composed them carefully and our subjects were fairly still. Indoor videos were also remarkably free of noise, although the noise reduction algorithms caused some interference when panning across large areas of solid colour, such as carpets.
Outdoor shots were reasonable, with accurate colours, but focus wasnt particularly sharp, especially to the edges of the frame. Its not a bad camera, but we much prefer the shots taken with the Galaxy S3.
However, LG does have one cracking camera feature: Time Catch. This lets you scroll back through four previous shots that were taken before you pressed the shutter as the phone is essentially recording images all the time to make the viewfinder live view, these images are already in the buffer. We found it eliminated many just missed it moments, as well as making it impossible for subjects to cover their face at the last minute to avoid being shot.
LGs Optimus 4X HD is an impressive phone the design, screen and operating system tweaks all make it feel like a premium handset. Its not quite up there with the Samsung Galaxy S3, though its screen isnt quite as good, its not quite as fast and its camera doesnt take such impressive outdoor shots. If youre buying SIM-free, theres no contest, as both phones are around the same price. However, the 4X HD is seriously good value on contract. While the cheapest we could find the Galaxy S3 was free on a £26-per-month deal, the Optimus 4X HD can be had for free for £15.50 a month (if youre buying from www.mobiles.co.uk just make sure you cancel the insurance and tech support add-ons). This makes it a bit of a bargain, and a Budget Buy.
