We can’t say that we were at all surprised when LG had plans to release a phone that competed directly against the Samsung Galaxy Note, and we’d be lying if we said that we were excited when we first got word. Well, we just got some hands-on time with LG’s take on the phone/tablet hybrid and in our jet lagged daze, we walked away pretty impressed.
The stand out differentiator of the LG Vu is that the device is that its 5 inch display has a 4:3 aspect ratio opposed to a 16:9 aspect ration we’re used to seeing on Android tablets and the Galaxy Note. This aspect ratio makes the Vu much more on the square side, which is a pretty nice experience. That said, the shape of the Vu doesn’t make it any less big. It’s big and its proud to be so.
To our surprise (or not) the Vu supports stylus input. We didn’t get a chance to play around with it to compare it to the Galaxy Note’s offering, which is impressive for what it is, so we’re just going to have to wait until we get another chance to play with it.
Powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, the Vu is just as powerful as you’d expect a device to be that’s not running on the Tegra 3 or other quad-core options. The device is also impressively thin, which makes it easier to wield. Then again, we’d strongly suggest you test the thing out for yourself before your jump on the Vu wagon.
Other specs of the Vu include a 8 megapixel camera, front-facing camera, as well as NFC. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to Beam anything to other Android phones since the device is running on Android 2.3.6 but it should get the Ice Cream Sandwich update in the near future. They always say that, though.
The LG Vu is still very much a novelty and it’s not going to be at the top of the list for the average smartphone buyer. Still, it will appeal to some hardcore Android fans and those who liked the Galaxy Note but wish for something else. The LG Vu is that something else, whether that’s a good or a bad thing. We like what we see so far but we’d need it in our pockets for a few weeks before we can give any hard opinions on it.
What do you think about the Vu from what you see here?
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