Today we’ll be reviewing the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. This is the phone that is going to follow and continue the legacy of the Optimus 3D. Actually, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the producers of this phone are also calling it the LG Optimus 3D 2. There is, however, one big drawback to this phone. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 will only be available for a specific network provider – SK Telecom in South Korea. Personally, I don’t quite agree with this sort of thing, limiting your product to a single area and a single network. But then again, I like to think I am somewhat good at business. Sure, the production cost would be bigger should you choose to make a product available worldwide, but so would be your profits and you’d get more worldwide recognition in the process. But that’s just my opinion, you don’t have to agree with me on that one. Back to the matter at hand, what information you find in this review, according to my sources, are the Official Preliminary Specifications. Usually that implies that some things can change until the phone comes out. However, since the price is already available and the phone can be purchased, I’d say nothing from what you see here has changed. The price, while we’re still on that topic, is somewhere around 470 euros, or around 500 dollars, which come to think of it isn’t all that much considering it has a tiny 3D screen and a 3D camera. There is a catch to this phone, however, since this is not a GSM device and it will not work with any GSM network. This is one of those phones that uses CDMA. Since there’s no point in extending this intro for too long, let’s start this little review.
SUMMARY
As I promised a while back I will start my reviews with a short SUMMARY in which I will try and cover some of the good and bad points o the device in as few words as possible, so if you truly want to know more you just have to keep on reading. No worries, however, since in order to ease your reading pleasure and to help you in your scanning of the text, I’ve structured each part to its own paragraph for the user’s ease. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 isn’t a very powerful phone as far as hardware is concerned. It’s more than half decent with its hardware, but that’s not its strongest point. The strength of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is the fact that it is a 3D phone. That being said, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has both a 3D screen ( granted there are very few 3D apps available, but it can play true 3D movies – true 3D as in, without glasses ) and a set of 3D cameras ( yes, a set of them since we don’t have the technology yet of creating such small cameras that can record in true 3D, and even so, you’d need a true 3D compatible screen to view them; this phone has one, but what if you want to see said videos somewhere else ). So, without wasting any more time, let us commence with this little review.
GENERAL
We’ll start off this little review by taking a look at the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870’s more general aspect, stuff like the supported networks and announcement and release dates. As I already said, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 doesn’t support normal GSM networks, instead it uses the more uncommon, yet still highly effective CDMA networks. Those networks are as following : 2G ( CDMA 800 and CDMA 1900 ) and 3G ( which, for some reasons, my sources say they are HSDPA; I guess only time will tell ). The announcement date of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 was in February 2012, and since the folks at LG work quite fast, one may assume that this phone should have been out by now. Still, the release date is yet shrouded in mystery. All that is known is that it will be released in Q3 of 2012. Since there’s nothing left to say here, let’s move on now to the next part of the review – BODY.
BODY
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the body of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. Here you can find out a bit about the size and weight of the device and also see whether or not said device has any particularities that might make it stand out from a crowd. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is around 126.8 x 67.4 x 9.6 mm big and it weighs somewhere around 148 grams. Basically, it’s size is quite normal considering this is a 3D phone, it isn’t too big, but it isn’t too small either. The only particularity of this phone is the fact that it has Touch-Sensitive Controls instead of frontal buttons. I’ve mentioned before that I personally prefer the good old fashioned buttons, but so be it. Let us move on now to the next part of the review – DISPLAY.
DISPLAY
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the display of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. By display, I’m referring that I will review the screen type, screen size, screen resolution and pixel density, screen protection and any particularities that we should be aware of. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has a 3D IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors. So, not only is this a 3D capable screen, but is also quite a clear one. The screen size of this phone is around 4.3 inches, so quite a decent one there. Not the biggest screen, but as far as I care, it falls under acceptable standards. The screen resolution reached by this screen is 480 x 800 pixels. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870’s display also has a pretty good pixel density, one that’s around 217 ppi. The only particularity of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is that it has the LG 3D UI on it, should you choose to activate it. Unfortunately, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870, just as the other LG Optimus 3D phones, lacks Multitouch. Frankly I find that a bit annoying, but then again, that’s why it has a zoom “button” on the front, if you can call touch-sensitive controls buttons. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870’s screen has no protection, so I do urge you to be extra careful with it since if it drops you have no way of knowing whether it will shatter or not. Since I’ve nothing left to say for this part, let us move on now to the next one – SOUND.
SOUND
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the audio output capabilities of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 and try and figure out whether or not the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has any sound enhancement whatsoever on it, be it software-based or otherwise. I won’t go into any other details here, as most people already know the basics about Android phones. If you don’t know however, I do urge you to browse this website for older articles as I have written a bit in those. Sadly, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has no sound enhancement whatsoever on it. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is just as basic as far as sound is concerned just as much as the other LG Optimus 3D phones. Since there’s nothing left to say here, let’s move on now to the next part – MEMORY.
MEMORY
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the memory of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. Here you can find out a bit about the RAM and the internal storage space and ways of expanding said storage space. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has around 1 GB of RAM. Now the current maximum is 2 GB of RAM, however, when this phone was announced, 2 GB was out of the question, so thus this amount of RAM for the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is pretty good. The internal storage space of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is around 16 GB. As of yet, it is unknown whether or not this phone will have a Card slot, however, should it receive one, that would me a Micro SD card slot which would use any card of up to 32 GB, since that is the standard one. Since there’s nothing left to be said here, let’s move on now to the next part.
DATA CONNECTION
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the connectivity of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. Here you can usually find out a thing or two about the GPRS and EDGE of the device, the Speed and WLAN and the Bluetooth, USB and other ( if any ) connections. It isn’t known whether or not the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has either GPRS nor EDGE, as CDMA phones rarely have those two. The speed of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is as following : HSDPA at 21 MB/s and HSUPA at 5.76 MB/s. The WLAN of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA and Wi-Fi hotpost. The Bluetooth of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is one which has A2DP and EDR. This phone also has NFC, which is something quite rare among phones as this is a new feature not many are lucky enough to receive. The USB port of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is a Micro USB ( MHL ) v2.0 one. Having nothing left to say for this part, let us move on now to the next one – CAMERA.
CAMERA
Now we’ll be taking a look through the camera of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. Here you can find out a thing or two about the main and secondary cameras ( if any ) as well as their features and capabilities. The main camera consists of two Dual 5 MP cameras which can photograph at resolutions of around 2592 x 1944 pixels. The features of this “camera” are as following : autofocus, LED flash, stereoscopic photos and videos and geo-tagging. The main camera of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 can record in the following formats : 1080p full HD at around 30 frames per second in 2D and at 720p HD at around 30 frames per second in 3D. The only feature of the video recorder ( it is good that it has one, others have none ) is video stabilization. The secondary frontal camera of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is a VGA one with no features of its own to discuss. Since I’ve nothing left to say here, let’s move on now to the next part – BATTERY.
BATTERY LIFE
Next up we’ll be taking a look at the battery life of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870, since that is usually a huge issue with Android devices. Here you can usually find out a thing or two about the battery type of the device and see how long said battery can function. We only know for sure what battery it has, but not how long it can function. Still, a bit of news is better than no news at all. The battery of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is a Standard Li-Ion 1520 battery. Regretfully, out of nothing left to discuss here, let us move on now to the next part of the review – HARDWARE.
HARDWARE
Next up we’ll be reviewing the three main hardware components of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 : processor, motherboard and graphics card. Unfortunately, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 only has one of the three – a processor. This processor isn’t one of the strongest ones, but it isn’t all that weak either. We’re talking about a Dual-Core 1.2 GHz processor. All and all, this processor is quite decent. Since there’s nothing left to say here, let’s move on to the next part – SOFTWARE.
SOFTWARE
Next up we’ll be reviewing the software of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. Here you can find out a bit about the OS version of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 and whether or not it needs or can handle an update to ta newer version of said OS. The Android OS of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is v2.3 Gingerbread. While this may come as a disappointment, know that it does have a planned upgrade to v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the near future. It’s possible that you can do the update as soon as you purchase the phone. Since there’s nothing left to say here, let’s move on now to the final part of the review.
FEATURES
Last but not least, we’ll be taking a brief look at the features and capabilities of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. The sensors of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 are as following : Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity and Compass. The messaging on this phone can be done via : SMS ( with threaded view ), MMS, E-Mail, Push Mail and IM. The browser of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 uses HTML5 and has built-in support for Adobe Flash. Unfortunately, the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 has no radio, but look on this website and you’ll find a way to fix that. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 also has a GPS with built-in A-GPS support and Java via Java MIDP emulation. The LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 is available in the following colors : Black and White.
Here is a brief list of what the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870 can do :
- SNS integration
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- MP4/DivX/XviD/H.264/H.263/WMV player
- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player
- 1080p@30fps (2D), 720@30fps (3D) playback
- 3D/2D image&video editor
- Document viewer/editor
- Organizer
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail
- YouTube, Google Talk
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input
This concludes our little review of the LG Optimus 3D Cube SU870. If you feel that anything is lacking from this review feel free to leave your suggestions in the comment section below for things which should be added and I will be sure to take them into consideration when writing my future projects. In the meantime, I sincerely hope you had as much fun reading my little review as I had writing it.
