After announcing the LG Prada, a glamorous handset that manages to offer good value despite its high-fashion branding, there are more mutterings about LG as they announce their new Optimus L-series, consisting of L3, L5, and L7.
Unlike the Prada model, these phones don’t have the most gripping monikers – which is why it’s so surprising that they still look set to cause a stir. Comparable to the Prada in terms of design, the Optimus L smartphones will look sleek and slim, with a metallic design and a leathery back-panel. If you want a phone to show off to your friends, the L-series might contain a model for you.
One of the nicest things about this series is that it looks like LG want to make an alternative to the high-end Prada handset that’s accessible to everyone. The three recently announced models, L3, L5 and L7, will each slot into slightly different price brackets, with slightly different specs. Not much has been revealed as yet, but we can tell you that the L-7 will boast a whopping 4.3-inch screen, with the L5 following behind with a 4-inch display. A little closer to the budget end of the market, the L3 offers a 3.2-inch screen – which is still perfectly ample for a lower-priced smartphone.
The two higher-end models, L5 and L7, will also feature Android’s most recent (and exciting) version 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a complete redesign of the operating system. But, those of you with your eye on the L3, don’t worry – just because it’s the most affordable of the bunch doesn’t mean it’s going to be renamed the LG Primark. The L3 features the same stylish design of the other handsets, as well as Android 2.3 Gingerbread, which is a powerful and wonderful processor in its own right.
All the handsets will feature what LG call a ‘floating mass display’, where the display is set closer to the surface of the phone, appearing as though it’s floating on it. Well, we’ll believe it when we see it – but it sounds pretty funky anyway.
It’s early days yet, and it’s difficult to say just exactly what LG are putting on the table here. Whether the ‘floating mass display’ is a bit of a gimmick designed to draw in the crowds is impossible to tell – but it’s nice to see the LG Optimus L-series being inclusive. We expect the L7 to have nothing less than a dual-core processor, and the L5 should offer good value in the mid-range market. We think the L3 is the most exciting of the bunch, though – a budget smartphone that manages to pull off such an attractive design is a rare thing, and if the spec matches up to our expectations, we expect the LG L3 to be one of the better selling entry-levels smartphones of 2012.
The LG L3 is set to be released in March, with the other two handsets following later in the year. Who needs Prada anyway? In 2012, it’s all about the L.
