The LG Optimus, also known as the LG Optimus GT540, LG GT540 Swift and the LG Loop GT540, is a mid-level Android

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

designed and manufactured by

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered ...

. Released running Android 1.6 Donut, the device can be officially upgraded to Android 2.1 Eclair via an LG software release. The Optimus is designed for first-time smartphone users and is available in four colors: black, white, pink and silver. First announced in April 2010 and first sold in June 2010, the Optimus is available from wireless service providers worldwide. Reviews for the device have been generally positive. Although the phone lacks cutting-edge hardware, reviewers have found that the device performs well considering its reasonable price.

Description

The Optimus, also known as the GT540 Swift and the Loop GT540, is a mid-level Android

designed and manufactured by

. The GT540 Optimus ships with Android 1.6 Donut, but can be officially upgraded to Android 2.1 Eclair via an LG software release. Android enthusiasts have created unofficial updates that allow the GT540 to run Android 2.2 Froyo, Android 2.3

Gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as cr ...

and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. LG designed the Optimus for first time smartphone users, marketing the device under the slogan "Optimal performance for first time smartphone users."

Reception

The LG Optimus received a generally positive reception. TechRadar commented, "Given that it's free on £15 a month contracts, you don't really have the right to expect top notch features. And, taking that into consideration, we have to say that the LG Optimus is a nicely rounded phone." Although the reviewer added that "there's nothing outstanding about it, but the features fit together well enough." Electricpig.co.uk was slightly less enthusiastic. While praising the phone's "surprisingly pleasant media skills", the reviewer also criticized the device's resistive touch screen and preferred the older LG GW620 in some respects.

Custom ROMs

LG previously claimed that Optimus is not capable of running Android 2.2 (Froyo) due to its low hardware specifications, but developers Quarx and Ankuch successfully ported

CyanogenMod CyanogenMod ( ; CM) is a discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Android mobile platform. It was developed as free and open-source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added origi ...

6 to GT540. Another developer, Mur4ik, successfully ported CyanogenMod 7 based on Gingerbread. A few months later, a developer named Mike Gapinski managed to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to GT540.
Only 1 month after the Jelly Bean Source was released even Android 4.1 was ported to it.

Known problems

The Optimus does not support all Bluetooth devices. One such issue is connecting to a Bluetooth Keyboard, the device will pair over Bluetooth, but is not able to establish an ongoing connection. This has been noted with the 49 key mini keyboard. LG Support confirmed this as a software issue that they do not have an existing patch to fix.

References

External links