LG L Fino Dual Quick Review

LG smartphone line up has been doing pretty well since they launched the LG G2 a year ago. Following the success of the G2 is the current flagship, the LG G3. But these are top-tier devices that will cost consumers quite a lot. Good thing, LG introduced the L Fino. A G3-looking device without the horsepower but has a few charms of its own.

First off, LG Fino closely resembles its older siblings — the G3 series — with the rear-buttons, clean face and minimal branding. It is comfortable to hold since it only sports a 4.5-inch display with acceptable bezel. One-handed use is a check, making this smartphone friendly to any user.

A quick tour around the device will reveal the front-facing camera and proximity sensor on the front, the camera, LED flash, volume buttons and power/lock button at the back, the microUSB port at the bottom, and the 3.5mm jack on top. The rest of the device is clean and unobtrusive. When the screen is off, the Gorilla Glass on top of the display reflects beautifully and seamless.

Like any other modern phones, the call-quality of the L Fino is good with a little exception on the loudspeaker during calls. Voice sounds soft and quiet, but when playing music, it gets a bit louder.

Display-wise, the smartphone can please the eyes for its vibrant display but the resolution slightly disappoints. With only a WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) resolution on a 4.5″ display, the 207ppi pixel density is a drawback. It would have been good if they made it 720p at the very least. Nevertheless, the LG UX is a big welcome to the L Fino with some of the G3-features on board especially the QSlide apps, Knock Code and tap-to-wake.

The L Fino carries an 8MP shooter at the back and it captures images with good detail in bright situations. Low-light scenarios will result to smudgy stills but a usable photo. If things get very dark, the single-LED flash can help. Also, the camera UI is very simple and easy to learn. There are casual effects too, just to add a little fun.

While the still feature of the camera is plausible, the video recording capability raises a few concerns because it only records up to 480p. We hope to receive an update that will enable at least 720p recording soon.

Check out the captured samples from the 8MP sensor of LG L Fino:

[fancygallery id=”152″ album=”185″]

After using the LG L Fino for days, its battery gives ample energy to power the phone for a whole day of casual usage. With a 1,900mAh Li-Ion battery, data connections should be used occasionally or you’ll get shorter battery life. In our quick performance test, the L Fino got a score of 16,890 in Antutu Benchmark.

In hindsight, we hoped the LG L Fino was more affordable. It is a well-balanced phone with smooth performance and fantastic software touches. Though, for Php 7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992, it doesn’t have an HD screen, HD video recording, and an HD front camera. Basically, everything high definition is removed from the L Fino.

LG L Fino specifications:
4.5″ IPS LCD (480 x 800 pixel), 207ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.2 GHz Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200
Adreno 302
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
8-megapixel autofocus primary camera w/ LED flash, 480p video
VGA front-facing camera
FM radio w/ RDS
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
microUSB v2.0
HSDPA
Dual-SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Li-Ion 1900mAh
Android 4.4.2 w/ LG UI
127.5 x 67.9 x 11.9 mm
145 grams
Php 7,990USD 136INR 11,542EUR 130CNY 992

What we liked about it:
– Vibrant IPS display
– Solid polycarbonate construction
– Smooth LG UX
– Fast performance

What didn’t like:
– 480p video recording
– Underwhelming loudspeaker
– Not very affordable in its category