Update on 09-Jan-2012
I am writing this update because LG does not seem to be interested in providing Gingerbread (v2.3) update to the phone’s android OS. Though the phone works properly with current OS (v2.2), I feel providing an update is not a big deal. Somehow, they are not interested in providing one. I bought this phone - LG Optimus Black P970 - around 15 days ago. The phone cost me 18, 500 rupees in a brick-and-mortar shop. Though the same phone was available for 18, 200 rupees online and also packed an extra bluetooth set, I wanted to experience the phone and learn before buying it.
For the same price range, there were 2 other phones also - Galaxy S and Sony Ericsson Neo. Though all of them had their pluses and minuses, the things that made me buy this phone were - extremely bright display, 2 megapixel front camera, 5 megapixel back camera with flash (flash was missing in Galaxy S). Though internal memory was more in Galaxy S, the display looked a little dull as compared to this phone and there was no flash (front camera was also VGA camera). The IPS screen ensures that screen looks bright and clear even when looked at from an angle. I think, in terms of display, there are not many phones that can beat this one (I have heard iPhone beats it but have never tried it).
This phone comes in White and Black colours and both look equally tempting. It has got a very sleek body and gives a nice feeling while holding the phone. I chose black colour but realized that the body of the phone is literally "Finger Print Magnet". Within few minutes, there were lots of ugly fingerprints all over (that could be wiped but they will return very soon).
The phone comes with 1 GHz processor and all the operations are very smooth and fast. LG provides a clear anti-scratch film over glass, so that saves you 200 rupees initially (in case of Samsung, you get a printed film that you need to replace). The bundled phone pouch is also okay. The headphone bundled with this phone is not good. Sometimes I wonder why companies make a great product and then spoil the whole experience with small issues like this.
Other features are pretty standard - call, sms, connectivity options (plenty) etc. Battery life is average (has 1500 mah battery and lasts 1.5 days with normal talking, SMSing, and about 1 hour of GPRS browsing). I felt disappointed because LG has not bundled any extra apps with this phone (I think it has only Android standard apps). Considering the lack of wi-fi network and also cost and speed of GPRS, it is a pain to download useful apps from android market. Few months back, my friend purchased HTC Wildfire and it had few games pre-installed on it (even Tom - the talking cat).
I haven’t tried the phone over 3G network. I used my existing Airtel connection and took 98 rupees a month (1 GB) GPRS plan. The phone connected instantly using the Airtel provided settings and I was able to browse the net.
Regarding wi-fi, I tried connecting at a friend’s place and it didn’t connect. I took the phone to showroom and they played with settings (turning Airplane mode on and then off). Finally it worked.
The PC software provided with this phone is good and you are able to back up important items including SMSes (I like this feature because my old SE phone didn’t allow back up of SMSes). Also, you can check and update the phone software using PC interface. This phone comes with a PC software called "On-screen Phone". This is a wonderful software that allows you to see the phone display on PC and perform actions using PC. I think the similar feature is present in some other phones also but there is not instant action. How did I find this feature useful? Well, if you have to type a long email or type several SMSes, you can connect your phone and type using PC keyboard (instead of tiring your finger tips).
The biggest problem with LG is that they are very slow in adopting to Android updates. This phone runs version 2.2 and when others are talking about updates to latest (Ice cream Sandwich) version, LG is not sure when it will upgrade to version 2.3 (gingerbread). In current version, you cannot use front camera on skype (so having 2 MP front camera is of no use until upgrade to 2.3) (Corrected - I downloaded skype and it seems to be using front camera also. However, couldn’t test it fully because of slow GPRS connection).
I feel apart from old OS and lack of pre-installed apps, this is as good a phone as any other in same price range. Believe me, I had not seen such a brighter screen and such brilliant colours in any other phone.