The LG L80, recently launched in Brazil, has an intermediate configuration, dual chip option and bets on a 5-inch screen as a differential in its price range.
O LG L80, recently launched in Brazil, has an intermediate configuration, support for two chips and bets on the 5-inch screen as a differential in its price range.
Design and Finishing
The construction of the L80 was well thought through by the engineers at LG. The front is basically covered by the 5-inch screen, with the speaker for calls on the top and, on the side, the 0.3 megapixel front camera.
The back, which is removable, is made of plastic with a matte-looking texture, which ensures a more secure grip. The rear camera has an 8-megapixel sensor, with the LED flash on the side. At the bottom, there is a mono speaker just below the micro USB output. Altogether the device weighs 142 grams.
Fabric
The LCD display with IPS technology has good contrast and color level. I noticed a very high level of reflectivity, making it unfeasible to use the device outdoors.
The resolution of 480 x 800 pixels (WVGA) was comfortable, but not ideal. At 5 inches of screen, a resolution at least HD would be more viable.
Hardware and Processing
The heart of the L80 is made up of a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core 1,2 GHz processor, with 1 GB of RAM and an Adreno 302 GPU. 4.4.2 Android KitKat, which promises to run more smoothly on devices with 512 MB of RAM, don't think that playing Real Racing 3 or Dead Tigger 2 will be a good experience, just because the screen is big.
There are also slight stutters in the animations of the LG interface, the Optimus UI. Also, games take up to 1 minute to fully load. Here's a tip: if you intend to use the L80 for games, opt for casual games, like Candy Crush, Sheep Happens (pictured above) and Angry Birds Go.
Battery and Storage
The 2.460 mAh battery had a regular performance, within the expected average, reaching 6 hours of intense use (games, videos and Facebook). With moderate use (checking emails, and using WhatsApp), the L80's battery lasted 10 hours.
The device's internal storage is limited, taking into account that the SD card (expandable up to 32GB) is valid only for documents, photos and music. In this way, the experience in installing games and applications can be compromised. This is because of its announced 8Gb, about 3,71GB is accessible to the user.
This space is not filled only by the features implemented by LG, as in the case of the L80 there are not many. But there's a redundancy of built-in apps like Chrome and LG's proprietary browser, Play Music and the default player, Videos and Play Videos, among others. As they are native apps, it will not be possible to uninstall them.
Interface
Even running Android KitKat, LG did not migrate the new interface present in the LG G3 (which runs the same version) for this device. We still have the Optimius UI, which is extremely different from pure Android, but with interesting features as a differential.
Quick Memo
Utility present in the notification bar that allows the user to save the screen that is currently displayed, adding resources for editing and annotations. Memo behaves like a more improved notebook, which has a user-chosen print screen as a background.
QSlide
These are the traditional “floating mini apps” that allow access to some utilities, such as calculator and calendar.
knock Code
Allows you to unlock the screen using a sequence of taps. The differential of this function is the absence of the unlocking design, making it add more security in the pattern chosen by the user.
Extras
The dual-chip seems to have really fallen into the taste of manufacturers when it comes to equipping their intermediate smartphones. Access is through the rear, by removing the cover. LG brings between the capacitive buttons a shortcut to change the SIM Card, so that the user can choose which chip will be used for data and calls.
In the year of the World Cup, Digital TV, better known as DTV, became a differentiating resource between low, middle and high-end smartphones. Unlike other manufacturers, LG opted for a built-in and retractable antenna, but not removable.
Conclusion
Overall, the device experience is satisfactory. The value announced by LG of BRL 949 was quickly reduced at retail, in order to make the market offer viable, since devices such as the Moto G Dual have a lower value and have a few items higher than the L80.
Users looking for a smartphone with Digital TV, support for two chips and a larger screen, will find the LG L80 a good alternative.
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