The LG Revolution is the third smartphone for Verizon that can use the 4G LTE network. In our review, we’ll try and determine if this is on par with other phones in the market, including the 4G LTE-capable HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung Charge.
Specifications:
- 4.3 inch WVGA (480 x 800)
- 1 GHz Snapdragon single-core MSM8655 processor
- 5-megapixel camera with LED flash
- HDMI-out
- Support for the Verizon 4G LTE network
- 720p HD video recording
- WiFi(b/g/n)
- Bluetooth
- HDMI, Tethering
- Mobile hotspot capable
- Android 2.2 Froyo with custom LG UI
- Comes with Netflix app pre-installed
Does the LG Revolution keep that positive streak alive? The Verizon LG Revolution is quite a big device and that’s to be expected with the 4.3-inch screen and the large 4G LTE modem. The face also has the four standard Android buttons under the screen as capacitive keys and there’s also a notification light and the front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera above the screen.
Along each spine there’s a silver bar that’s half decoration and half ports. On the right, you have the volume rocker and the HDMI-out port and the left spine has the microUSB port for charging and sideloading content. Like the G2x, there’s a stripe down the middle but this one’s dark black and it shows off the various branding (LG, Verizon, 4G LTE) and the 5-megapixel camera and flash. There’s also a large speaker strip on the back which is pretty loud for music and conference calls.
Build Quality
At 6.06 ounces, the Verizon LG Revolution is quite a heavy phone but it’s not beyond the point of comfort. It’s also quite a thick phone and it’s tough to call the design “chic,” “sexy” or elegant. Additionally, the materials used make it feel like a high-quality devices, unlike the somewhat cheap feeling that’s associate with Samsung devices.
Software
The Verizon LG Revolution runs Android 2.2 Froyo
You have seven home screens on the Verizon LG Revolution and LG includes a variety of widgets for news, social networking aggregation and more. Oh well, that’s what the home screens are for, I suppose.
For instance, you have four apps at the bottom of your home screen which are customizable by dragging an app from the app tray but it won’t work if you drag a program from the home screen. Weird. The Verizon LG Revolution comes with a lot of preloaded software including Netflix
(more on that later), VZ Navigator, Blockbuster, Amazon Kindle, Let’s Gof 2, Slacker, Rhapsody, Tunewiki and various VCast software.
It’s easy to download Google Search or Google Maps but it won’t be as tightly integrated with the Search button.
BENCHMARK
In parenthesis, we have the benchmarks of the Samsung Droid Charge.
Quadrant – System Benchmark
Average = 2109 (962)
Linpack – Processor Benchmark
Average = 34.886 (36.2276)
Neocore – Graphics Benchmark
Average = 64.36 Frames per second (56.7 FPS)
Web Browser
The Verizon LG Revolution has a relatively standard Webkit-based browser than can be found on most Android handsets. I like the auto-zoom and intelligent zooming, too.Multimedia
Like most Android phones, the Verizon LG Revolution does a fine job at handling your music and videos but the experience is not quite as integrated out of the box as the iPhone. The LG Revolution is the first Android handset to come preloaded with the Netflix app and it’s a cool way to watch movies and TV shows if you’re a member. The interface is nice, it’s easy to manage your queue and videos stream nicely with the 4G LTE network. The big screen works really well for movies that you stream and sideload.
Google Music Beta works well on the Revolution and the preloaded Rhapsody and Slacker can also handle your other streaming audio needs.
Camera
The Verizon LG Revolution sports a 5-megapixel camera with an flash and I found it to be stunningly average. Zooming can be handled with the volume rocker or on screen and the shutter speed is pretty good unless you’re using the flash. Here is a photo example taken from LG Revolution VS910.
The 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera gets the job done adequately and I found video calls with apps like Tango looked pretty good.
You can use the HDMI-out port to watch these videos on your big-screen TV.
As for the 4G LTE speeds, I ran the Speetest.net app 10 times and averaged it out to find average speeds of 7.54 Mbps down and 2.99 Mbps up, well within the promised speeds fromConclusion
Verizon. The Verizon LG Revolution has a lot of things going for it, as the big, beautiful screen is nice, the 4G LTE speeds rock and it has enough horsepower to let you blow through apps without experiencing slowdown.
Plus:
- The Verizon 4G LTE network is blazing fast
- Nice big screen that’s quite responsive
- Despite not having a dual-core, the Snapdragon processor is quite powerful
- The custom UI isn’t bad
Minus:
- Battery life could be better
- Bulky design may not appeal to all
- Camera is just average
- Bing as the default (I didn’t mind but some may)
- Default keyboard makes me want to hurt things