Stylish Meets Cheap

The LG Optimus L5 is an incredibly stylish phone that comes without the hefty price tag attached. However, underneath that finesse and sleekness is proof that LG have had to make some hefty cuts to the power in order to count for the low price. For that, the Optimus L5 gets a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

The LG Optimus L5 comes pre-installed with Ice Cream Sandwich on board which is impressive considering that the L5 is a very modest handset. The interface of this operating system is very simple and easy to use even for those are technophobic.

However, backing up the Android 4.0 operating system is a rather weak 800MHz processor which is obviously one of the cuts that LG had to make in order to make this handset more affordable. Swiping through the home screens and menus was smooth although at several times it was known to stick and become rather sluggish. If anything this under powered processor lets own what could have been a very powerful phone.

Another cut back by LG may have been the memory alongside the processor, as once the L5 starts to fill up on apps and other memory guzzling functions, it started to become slow and there was a noticeable difference in its smoothness.

Whilst the 4 inch screen is big enough to offer easy typing and web browsing, it only has a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels which is rather weak compared to the LG Optimus 4X HD which has a 720 pixel display. However, this resolution is decent enough for the attached price tag.

Despite this weak resolution, the screen is bright, sharp and vivid enough to handle most tasks such as games and playing low quality videos. But if you’ve got your heart set on watching videos on the move, then you may want to fork out a bit more money and choose a better screen. However, if your only hopes are to send emails, text and call, access a few apps and casually browse the web, then the Optimus L5 will do just fine.

In terms of aesthetics, the L5 is rather stylish as the front as a chrome effect that looks similar to the Samsung Galaxy range. However, it does the job and makes the L5 look more like an upmarket handset.

Positioned on the front of the handset is a single physical button which, at one touch, will take you straight back to the home screen. On either side are several touch capacitive buttons that light up slightly when pressed and then blend out of sight when they are not being used. Although this doesn’t do much in terms of functions and its power, it is a nice little touch that makes the L5 even more pleasing on the eyes.

Stylish looking and incredibly easy to use, the LG Optimus L5 with Ice Cream Sandwich is an excellent addition to this handset that will satisfy those with a thirst for technology. However, the weaker processor may mean that this handset doesn’t offer up all it is capable of in terms of functionality.