LG’s Vu series of smartphones has not garnered good reviews, nor have sales been very good here in the US. We’ve only seen the first, Verizon’s LG Intuition, but a second model was released in Korea. It had a 4:3 ratio display (making it a giant square) and a capacitive stylus with no room to stow it, which did not make for the most pleasant of experiences.
For some reason, LG is now releasing a third model. Dropping the Optimus name, the LG Vu 3 comes with a few new tricks up its sleeve while retaining that 4:3 aspect ratio. The nearly square 5.2-inch display has a resolution of 1280 x 960, sticking with a mid range 720p resolution. In contrast, LG decided to use the fastest Qualcomm processor they could, the 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800.
The device also features a 13MP camera with optical image stabilization, 24-bit audio support and finally an integrated stylus. Yes, now you can stow the stylus in its own little silo. But if it’s anything like the previous stylus, it’ll be a simple capacitive stylus with nothing fancy.
The device also inherits some software features from its slimmer brother, the LG G2. You’ll get KnockOn (which turns on the display with two knocks on the glass), Q-Slide (floating apps) and some integrated apps for the stylus. And of course you get the colorful, almost TouchWiz-like interface overlay that LG likes so much.
Aesthetically, it’s very similar to the LG Optimus G Pro. Meaning that it is very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note II, down to the choice of physical home button and capacitive menu and back keys. But unlike the Galaxy Note, the back key is on the left, making it far away from your thumb on a wide device.
The LG Vu 3 is launching on September 27 on three different South Korean carriers. No launches outside of Korea have been announced. A US launch is possible, but looking at the weak sales of the LG Intuition, it isn’t likely. It’s a conflicting device with a 720p resolution and a Snapdragon 800, and the display ratio will probably make it hard to hold. But it isn’t a bad device by any means. Would you buy one for yourself? Leave a comment!
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