| Network | ||
| 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps & HSUPA 5.76Mbps) | 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| 2G (GSM) | 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | |
| Features | ||
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows Phone 7 | |
| Processor | 1 GHz Scorpion Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8650 Snapdragon chipset | |
| RAM | 512 MB | |
| ROM | 512 MB | |
| Formfactor | Bar | |
| Dimensions (mm) | 125 x 59.8 x 11.5 | |
| Audio Jack | 3.5 mm | |
| Video Streaming | Yes | |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM | |
| Browser | HTML | |
| Radio | Stereo FM radio | |
| Games | Yes + downloadable | |
| Colors | Black | |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS support | |
| Display | ||
| Screen | 3.8 inches 16M colors | |
| Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen | |
| Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels | |
| Features | - Gorilla glass display - Multi-touch input method - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off | |
| Memory | ||
| Phonebook | Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall | |
| Call Records | Practically unlimited | |
| Internal | 16GB storage | |
| Card Slot | No | |
| Maximum Supported (via Card Slot) | No | |
| Camera | ||
| Primary | 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, | |
| Secondary | No | |
| Features | Geo-tagging | |
| Video | 720p@24fps | |
| Data | ||
| GPRS | Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps | |
| EDGE | Class 10, 236.8 kbps | |
| 3G | HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps | |
| WLAN Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA | |
| Bluetooth | v2.1 with A2DP | |
| Infrared Port | No | |
| USB | microUSB v2.0 | |
| Java | ||
| Via Third Party Application | No - Facebook integration - Digital compass - Microsoft office document viewer/editor - MP4/WMV player - MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player - Organizer - Voice memo - Predictive text input | |
| Battery | ||
| Standard battery | Li-Ion 1500 mAh | |
| Standby Time | Up to 330 h (2G) / Up to 330 h (3G) | |
| Talktime | Up to 6 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G) | |
| Price (Approx) | $667 | |
LG’s Optimus 7 is a Windows Phone 7 (WP7) handset. It differs from the original Android-powered Optimus in both design and specification: it has a larger, clearer screen, a better camera with an LED flash, and a generous 16GB of internal storage, though it lacks a memory card slot. We much prefer the new design, with its sculpted body and reassuringly solid metal back cover.
Battery life was just over 22 hours in our light usage test, so you might be able to get away without charging it every night – if you're careful with WiFi, GPS and 3G usage. Camera snaps were reasonably sharp but suffered from noisy shadows and a lack of fine detail. Our only complaint with the hardware would be the placement of the Back button, which is the furthest left, and a harder reach for your thumb (if you're right-handed).
Microsoft likens the tiled homepage to the Windows Start menu. Like the Start menu, you can pin applications from the main menu as a Live Tile: for example, the email tile will show the number of unread emails, so you don't have to open the email app to check. However we couldn't find any third-party applications, such as Twitter, that offered such live previews.
You get a mobile version of Office, which can edit all office documents and create Word, Excel and OneNote files. There's Internet Explorer, which we found easy to use. We liked the way the back button took us to the previous page, rather than exiting the application - much like Android's Webkit browser, in fact.
Microsoft has followed the social aggregation trend with its People app, which shows updates and email from Windows Live, Google and Facebook accounts. Unlike recent versions of Android, third-party apps with associated account data, such as Twitter and last.fm, can't be added to this list. Vodafone has also included a couple of small apps – one that streams your phone's contents via WiFi, and a barcode scanning app – but these are limited as network operators aren't allowed to heavily customise the interface.
It's hard to ignore WP7's major flaws, however. The lack of copy and paste means text entry will always be handicapped, and sours our enthusiasm for Office Mobile, while the lack of multi-tasking is sorely missed. Still, the iPhone didn't get either of these features until later and yet still sold well. WP7 is definitely worth keeping an eye on, especially for those who use lots of Microsoft products and services already – such as Messenger, Office, Hotmail and Xbox Live. Even then, we’d hold out for the promised update that includes multi-tasking and copy and paste.
At the moment, WP7 phones don't offer any hardware advantages and, unless you're a heavy user of Microsoft services, there's no reason to use the software either. Android and Apple phones have many more free and useful apps available, and more mature feature lists. The Optimus 7 is also quite expensive compared to high-end Android phones.
