LG Optimus 7 deals & review

The Optimus 7 is LG´s first Windows Phone 7 handset and was one of the first phones to be released after the unveiling of the latest Microsoft operating system. Social networking integration is the latest thing in the world of smartphone interfaces and is a feature that the old Windows Mobile systems sorely lacked. Apple, Google and even Symbian have been quick to make the change and Microsoft hope that this will help to revive their diminishing share of the smartphone OS market.

Released at the same time as the Samsung Omnia 7, HTC HD7 and HTC 7 Trophy, all featuring Windows Phone 7, this batch of WP7 handsets all come with a similar set of features. They all feature a 1GHz processor, 720p video recording and very high quality displays. In fact it can be quite hard to find much difference between the phones, especially as they all feature the same OS, and the choice may for some people simply boil down to a matter of aesthetics.

The Optimus 7 has a 3.8" screen, which is slightly smaller than the HTC HD7´s 4" screen but is still a very spacious display. It also features a very high colour depth and sharp WVGA resolution. The new Windows Phone 7 OS supports multitouch input gestures and this will explain why all of the WP7 handsets released so far feature capacitive screens.

The Optimus 7 is powered by a very fast 1GHz Qualcomm processor and 512MB RAM that really show off the power of the new Microsoft interface. Other hardware features also fall in line with the other WP7 phones, such as the 5 megapixel camera. It seems as though HD video recording is a standard feature for Windows Phone 7 handsets as this has an almost ubiquitous presence on WP7 phones. The camera also comes with other great features like geo-tagging and an LED flash. Unfortunately, although the camera is great for videos there is no secondary camera for video calls.

The Optimus 7 comes with 3G and Wi-Fi support, as well as GPRS and EDGE. There is a microUSB slot and Bluetooth as well, although there is no microSD card slot. This is a shame although the internal memory is a very large 16GB so you will not exactly be short of storage space. This is ideal for storing your captured videos or videos copied from your home computer, as well as any music you may wish to listen to on the phone´s media player. You can also listen to music through the FM radio.

The Optimus 7 uses threaded viewing for SMS messages, as well as having MMS support, email and instant messaging. Social networking has been heavily woven into Windows Phone 7, and SNS updates are provided straight to the Optimus 7´s homescreen. These are updated in real time via the web so you can be instantaneously informed of your social grouping´s activities.

As most of the initial wave of WP7 phones are fairly similar in terms of specifications you may find yourself hard pushed to make a decision between them. As such much of the decision makin