LG Optimus Sol available online for Rs.16,990

Update: LG has made the Optimus Sol and Optimus Hub official now. The Optimus Sol retains the same specifications and is priced at an MRP of Rs.19,000. The Optimus Hub on the other hand is priced at a more affordable Rs.14,500 with the online pricing being a bit lower. The Hub E510 will compete with the Sony Ericssson Live with Walkman around the same price point. It has a 3.5-inch screen, Android v2.3, (slower) 800Mhz CPU and a 5MP camera capable of VGA recording. On paper at least, it doesn’t seem too impressive but we’ll know for sure once we review it some time next week, so stay tuned.

We think we may just have another strong contender in the 15K to 20K price bracket in LG’s Optimus Sol. Introduced back in August 2011, LG’s Optimus Sol is now available for Rs.16,990 across online shopping sites, like Flipkart. This will compete directly with Sony Ericsson’s Neo V, which for a long time now has been the best Android phone under 20K.

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On paper, the Optimus Sol and the Neo V are nearly identical in every aspect, but LG’s offering seems a tiny bit more appealing. To begin with, it is cheaper than the Neo V by a grand and is lighter as well at only 110g. LG have ditched the LCD screen and gone with an ‘Ultra AMOLED’ screen which is 3.8 inches with an 800 x 480 resolution. It will also feature a scratch resistant glass from Corning. You get more internal storage for apps, 1GB to be precise, as opposed to 320 MB in the Neo V. The Wi-Fi module in the Sol also supports Wi-Fi Direct, you get Bluetooth v3.0. Both phones have exactly the same processor, which is a Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon running at 1GHz. The phone does come with Android 2.3.4, but, don’t hold your breath for an ICS update, as knowing LG’s track record, you’ll probably get it by the year end, if they decide to release it, that is. One thing that’s missing is an LED flash for the camera. Overall, it seems like a very good option in case the Neo V didn’t catch your fancy.

Here’s a quick rundown of the main highlights of the phone:

• 3.8-inch Ultra AMOLED Capacitive Touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution

• 1GHz MSM8255 Qualcomm processor, 512 MB of RAM

• Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread

• 1GB internal storage

• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct

• GPS with A-GPS support

• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0

• 5 megapixel camera, 720p video recording

• Stereo FM radio with RDS

• Memory expandable up to 32GB via microSD card

• 3.5 mm handsfree socket

• 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery