First impression: LG Optimus G Pro

Not so long ago, I had a personal computer powered by Intel's Atom processor, the speed of which was 1.6 GHz.

And here, I was looking at a phone powered by a 1.7 GHz quad core processor! Music for gamers' ears.

This was my first thought as I gingerly picked up the LG Optimus G Pro, launched on Thursday.

The phone is big at 5.5-inch, yet fits snugly in the hand.

The weave pattern on the back cover reminds one of the Google Nexus 4, also made by LG. Unlike the Nexus 4, the cover of LG Optimus can be opened to reveal the removable battery, a microSIM and a microSD slot.

The IPS screen is crisp and watching videos was a joy indoors, in the demonstration area.

One hopes the display will be just as sharp in sunlight.

One can also use the phone as a remote and play HD videos on televisions.

We did notice some lag though on the big screen.

The phone features a 13 megapixel rear shooter, which took sharp images with the flash, but was a tad slow in focussing. Also, the flash misfires sometimes.

Videos can be shot in full HD but indoors, it didn't show much of a difference from videos shot by cheaper phones.

The Pro runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2, with its custom user interface featuring Q Slide, a stack of shortcuts for apps.

One hopes the software will be upgraded to Android 4.2 soon.

Priced over Rs 40,000, it has all the bells and whistles of other flagships. And is bigger than most.

But we’ll reserve our judgement till we check out its battery life and gaming abilities.

Image: LG Optimus G Pro ' Photograph: lg.com