LG shows Android's low-end smartphone promise

From CNET News.com: My test of an LG Optimus One smartphone began inauspiciously with a combination of consternation and revulsion at its keyboard. But after two months using it as my primary phone, I wound up with a much more favorable impression of it and the prospects for Android on lower-end phones.

The Optimus One's dismal keyboard is a touch-screen version of the numeric keypad so poorly adapted to typing letters. It reflects LG's effort to cater to new arrivals in the world of smartphones. As I see it, the sooner they fumble through the settings to switch to a more useful Qwerty keyboard, the sooner they can start getting a taste of a real smartphone.

For the full smartphone meal, alas, a higher-end model is really the way to go. But for the basics of Android--e-mail, Web surfing, a few games, driving navigation, texting--it's fine.

LG's Optimus One is sold here in Europe; including its close kin in the United States, the Optimus S, T, and Vortex, LG has sold more than a million of the phones, and LG said it "expects Optimus One to be its first 10 million-seller smartphone." That's doubtless in part because they're cheap--even free with two-year contracts in some cases. You'll pay a lot in monthly fees, but a low introductory price is important to close a sale.

More broadly, after living with an Optimus One as my primary phone, I've concluded that Android is workable for low-end phones.

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