5-Inch Smartphone with Widescreen: LG Optimus Vu 2

LG Optimus Vu 2 front view, pic from phoneArena

Do you remember or know a widescreen smartphone called LG Optimus Vu? This handset has a Verizon customized model named LG Intuition. It was launched to grab large screen market share with Samsung's Galaxy Note II but finally failed. LG Optimus Vu 2, the successor of LG Optimus Vu, was shown up at CES 2013. Actually this model had been announced last autumn, but now we could finally have a detailed and clear review of the phone.

Same as its predecessor, the LG Optimus Vu 2 has an odd and nearly square design. The screen's length-width ratio is 4:3, quite unique from any other main current smartphones. According to the hands on review from phoneArena, there's almost no difference between the 2 generations. This phone may also be less popular on the market.

The LG Optimus Vu 2 has a full-plastic case, looks quite shiny but easily becomes a fingerprint collector. Moreover, the nearly-square screen makes it difficult to handle the phone by one hand, especially for female users who commonly have smaller hands.

LG Optimus Vu 2 back view

For hardware, the LG Optimus Vu 2 comes with a 5-inch XGA IPS LCD display in 768 x 1024 pixels resolution. Its visual quality may be not as good as those main current 1080p ones, but the screen colors look quite natural and its visual angle is also wider. For software, the phone runs outdated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Optimus UI.

LG Optimus Vu 2 Korea version

As a phablet, the LG Optimus Vu 2 has a touch pen named Rubberdium. However, it's weird that there's no space to insert the pen into the phone. What makes it weirder is the pen can even insert into the 3.5 mm headphone jack!

There's also a highlight on the phone: the LG Vu Talk. It's an application that allows two Vu 2 smartphones to share/sync notes. For example, when we edit text on a Vu 2, it can be displayed on the other device simultaneously. Perhaps this feature currently makes less sense, it's not a bad idea to play games between two Vu 2 users.

In conclusion, The LG Optimus Vu 2 lacks attraction to customers. Compared with the popular Samsung Galaxy Note II and the upcoming Huawei Ascend Mate, Vu 2 could only become a niche model.