LG Optimus 3D

Hot on the heels of the stereoscopic 3D screen in the Nintendo 3DS, glasses-free 3D displays seem to be becoming something of a (small) trend in the smartphone market. Then again, mobile makers are constantly searching for new features to make their handsets stand out in an increasingly crowded sector. HTC has already gone 3D with the Evo 3D, but since it's not out in the UK yet, LG is the first manufacturer to bring a glasses-free 3D mobile to Europe with the Optimus 3D on Android 2.2.

We'll obviously be trying out the 3D functions of this phone, but we're also keen to find out how the Optimus 3D holds up as a smartphone—as don't forget it can be used perfectly well in 2D mode too! So can LG's 3D model live up to this summer's star handsets, namely the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S II? Find out in our review.

Classic Design / New-Fangled Screen

Words that spring to mind when handling this handset are: big, bulky, heavy (169 g compared with 148 g for the Sensation and just 118 g for the Galaxy S II), thick, masculine and unexceptional. Having previously come up with some original smartphone designs, LG doesn't seem to have tried very hard to make the Optimus 3D stand out—and that's a shame for a smartphone with such a niche market position.

Thankfully, the plastic and brushed metal used in the casing are good quality, and the phone is well made and finished (HDMI port cover, micro USB port for charging). This makes it feel sturdy and reassuringly robust. We particularly like the feel of the smooth, matte material on the back of the smartphone, which is comfortable to hold and doesn't pick up too many fingerprints. This phone does, however, feel heavy in the hand.



When you press the '3D' button, the 4.3-inch IPS screen (800 x 480 pixels) switches to 3D mode and can display 3D content with no glasses required. In 2D mode, viewing angles are very good but colour fidelity could clearly be better and the screen is just a touch over-contrasted. That said, it's certainly not disastrous, and the colours are less crazy than on a Super AMOLED screen. In fact, test results aside, for day-to-day use, the screen is pleasant to use even in bright sunlight, as everything remains perfectly clear and easy to read.


And now for the part you've all been waiting for—what's the screen like in 3D mode? The Optimus 3D's glasses-free 3D display is based on the same technology as the Nintendo 3DS. The effect is really quite impressive ... so long as you stay facing the screen straight on, you don't move around too much and you stay at the recommended distance from the display (at least 20 cm). Otherwise, 3D content starts to look blurred and confused. You therefore can't expect to be immersed as impressively as with a 3D TV and glasses—the depth of field and protruding objects simply aren't as well rendered with this type of technology.

When viewed from the side, the 3D effect is pretty much non-existent—plus it's sure to give you a headache, as your eyes can't focus properly on what's supposed to be going on. Users who are particularly sensitive to 3D effects won't be able to stay in front of the screen for long, as eye-strain will soon set in.

Note that you can adjust the intensity of the 3D effect by changing its strength on a sliding scale (see picture, above). In spite of that, after about 15 minutes of 3D viewing, you'll be keen to cast your eyes elsewhere.

Interface & Navigation

LG's interface is nothing revolutionary, but it's logically designed and easy to find your way around. There are seven homescreens that can be customised with widgets and shortcuts. The 'favourite contracts' widget is particularly handy for sending a text message, an e-mail, or quickly viewing (in two clicks) to the phone book entry or the Facebook page of your most frequently used contacts.



The social network aggregator (Facebook, Twitter etc.) does its job just fine. Most competing interfaces also have a widget like this these days, which shows you all your contacts' activity on the main social networking sites in just one window.



LG's custom interface for Android is neat and tidy but doesn't offer as many customisation options as the HTC Sense GUI. Then again, not everyone wants or needs an interface that can be customised to such an extent.


A special 3D menu can be accessed by pressing a button on the side of the phone. There's still not much content available though ... really not much at all, in fact. You can use this menu to upload 3D videos to YouTube 3D too.


Navigating in the menus is mostly smooth, but sometimes the phone lags a little when you launch an application. It's nothing too annoying or troublesome, but it's still a bit surprising for a high-end smartphone. Perhaps the 1 GHz TI processor could do with a bit more power ... or perhaps LG's custom interface slows things down a bit now and again.

Multimedia

How many users are going to rush out and buy a smartphone with a 3D screen when the choice of 3D content is still so limited? It's clearly a problem, so to get round that, LG (like many other camera and camcorder makers) has equipped its handset with two cameras that shoot simultaneously to create a 3D effect in photos and videos. This should go some way (although perhaps not that far) to make up for the lack of 3D content.


In 2D photo mode, the Optimus 3D takes pictures that are just about OK for this type of device. It's not quite as good as what we've seen with the HTC Sensation and Samsung Galaxy S II (the best of the three), as you can see in our test shots.



The 3D video mode (720p) is quite original, and the 2D video mode (1080p) is good enough to film with now and again. We found we mainly stuck to filming in 3D—otherwise there's not much point in having a 3D smartphone!

The Optimus 3D also has a function for converting 2D pictures and videos to 3D—well, kind of 3D. This sort of works, although there's a real lack of depth and areas of relief looks to have been 'stuck' on in surprising parts of the shot. The result is approximative, as is usually the case with this kind of function. Similarly, content captured in 3D can be converted to 2D to facilitate sharing content online—on Facebook, for example.

The video player supports all the most common video formats like DivX and AVI with no need for an extra application or file converter.


The phone comes loaded with three Gameloft 3D games (Asphalt 6, Nova, Let's Golf 2). Obviously, since glasses-free 3D means you need to be facing the screen directly to see things properly, you'll be better off sticking to the onscreen controls rather than using the accelerometer.

Note that a warning message is displayed before you switch to 3D mode, advising you to take a break if you feel dizzy or if your eyes start to feel tired—you therefore can't say you haven't been warned!


The battery life could be better though, so you may want to keep the charger nearby. In fact, we found that the battery couldn't hold out for 24 hours and sometimes gave up the ghost well before that. That's a real downside for a high-end 3D handset.