LG’s “Android Eclair” operating system uses the phone, ” LG Apex review”.
LG APEX features a 3.2-inch TFT display with capacitive touch, full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5 mm audio jack, a Qualcomm MSM 7627 600 MHz processor, microSD card support up to 16 GB, 100 MB memory, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM, 3.15 Megapixel camera and A-GPS is located. APEX is LG’s Android v2.1 (Eclair) operating system .
LG APEX system performance, compliance with Android, LG Apex camera and battery life. Everything related to LG Apex.
LG APEX Review
The U.S. cellular, the famous carrier in the U.S. has improved the line up of its smartphones. This improvement is particularly significant in the department of Android handsets. Some good handsets such as the HTC Desire and the Samsung Mesmerize are added to this line up. The newest member of the Android based U.S. Cellular handsets is the LG Apex. It however is not as good as the other handsets. The Apex is similar to the Verizon Wireless’ LG Ally as it packs a full QWERTY keyboard and also has an inexpensive price. It is an Android 2.1 Éclair smartphone which suffers from the sluggish performance and also from the short battery life.
LG Apex Specs
* 480×800 3.2″ capacitive touch screen
* 600MHz processor
* 256MB RAM
* Android 2.1-update1 (ERE27)
* 3MP camera with flash and auto focus
* 4GB microSD card, externally accessible
* 102MB internal memory (though it was actually 115MB on the review unit)
* 4.57″ x 2.22″ x .62″ (116mm x 56mm x 16mm)
* 5.57oz (158g)
* A-GPS, S-GPS
* Light sensor, proximity sensor
* Accelerometer, compass
* 1500mAh removable battery
LG Apex Features
The Apex is packed with midrange feature set. It makes use of the Android 2.1 operating system. It has the support to the Google services such as the YouTube, Google Latitude, Google Talk and Google Maps. It has the Think Free Office Suite and services offered by U.S. Cellular preloaded in it. More applications can be downloaded from the Android Market. It has the speaker phone, voice commands, speed dialing, conference calling, SMS, MMS, email, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS features on board. It also has the support to the social networking applications like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.
LG Apex Screen
The screen looks better than the Cliq and comparable to the Nexus One. Colors on it are sufficiently vibrant, and its contrast is good as well. Given that the display is only 3.2″ diagonally, the 480×800 resolution makes it look relatively dense. I took it outside in the direct sun and found that it was usable but not quite good enough to read on. LG made some minor changes to the UI, one of which was to give the dialer a light theme, which helped make it more visible in the sun.
LG Apex Quirks
I came across a few minor issues during my review of the Apex. I was testing out battery life and found that it used up about 12% during half an hour of gaming, but I went to the “Battery Use” screen, I found this:
Obviously, if the phone was just under 50% battery after 20 hours of use, one app could not be using all of it up. I checked this screen again later and found it listing multiple apps as it should, but “Display” was near the bottom of the list, so I don’t have much confidence in the phone’s ability to report battery usage.
When taking a screenshot of the home screen, I noticed that having a live wallpaper running would sometimes cause incorrect drawings (on the captured image, not the device). This issue is not likely to affect many users, but it is interesting. Also, the default date/weather widget takes up an annoying two rows, despite not being very large.
The volume buttons switch functions when the phone is held in landscape mode. Suddenly, the top button decreases volume, while the bottom button increases it. I believe this was done to make the buttons match the on-screen volume indicator, but I found it to be slightly awkward.
I saw the YouTube app force close randomly twice, even though I wasn’t using it either time.
This phone will not turn off when it is plugged into a USB port or a power outlet; instead, it will restart. If the phone is off when you plug it in, it will turn on.
LG Apex Calls And Speakers
Yes, some people still use their cellphones for making calls, and this device makes it easy to do so with a bottom left button that opens the phone app. The quality was alright, but voices had a bit of static with an almost robotic distortion. It wasn’t that bad, though – the quality didn’t interfere with my ability to understand what the person on the other end was saying, but the clarity was a fair bit below the Nexus One. One pleasant surprise was the “City ID” app, which identified the city and state for an incoming or outgoing phone number. I also found a spot where I had three bars, so I cupped the phone furiously in both hands, but I could not attenuate the signal enough to decrease to two bars, leaving me to believe that this phone will have a solid signal if you are anywhere within range of a usable tower.
The speakerphone speaker can actually get rather loud, though the highest two or three settings started to show obvious distortion. I tested out some music and found that I was generally impressed with the speaker. The volume range is nearly identical to the Nexus One, and the quality is only slightly worse. I found it interesting that the speaker is on the back at the bottom. It seems like the top is a more common placement, though I did not have any problems with its location.
LG Apex Camera
The Apex is packed with a 3 mega pixel camera with the auto focus and flash. The camera offers variety of editing options like scene modes, color effects, white balance self timer and ISO settings. The camcorder can record videos with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The quality is fine and it is clear enough to make out the objects. It is slightly dark and grainy however.
LG Apex Performance
The quality of the calls is decent. The audio sounds tinny with no background noise. There is no issue in carrying out a conversation. The callers on the other side also have the same experience. The quality of the speaker phone is good. There is slight hollow effect but the sound is clear and loud. The Apex is run by a 600 MHz processor which struggles to perform well. The handset experiences slight lag even when performing simple operation like switching of the home screens and launching applications. the included 1500 mAh battery is rated to offer a life of about 7.5 hours of talk time and 14 days of stand by time.
