LG is far from the top of anyone’s list when it comes to great smartphone companies. It has been a long time since they have done anything noteworthy with phones. Now the company wants to re-invent itself by designing and releasing the Nitro HD.
LG has not put itself on the line with a new smartphone flagship product in such a long time. Yet, they are taking the risk to try to re-enter the market with a bit of a punch this time, in the form of the Nitro HD smartphone.
The Nitro HD sells for $249.99, when a contract is signed. This is a rarity among phones. It is AT&T’s first phone equipped with a 720p display. It is also among the only three phones in the world that can utilize the AT&T LTE network. That having been said, the specs are more than adequate, but the phone itself really required more care before releasing on the public.
As far as a phone goes, the Nitro HD is pretty good: 1.5GHz dual-core CPU, 1G RAM, 4Gb internal storage (up to 32G additional storage possible), and an 8MP rear camera. The big challenge is making a phone so superior to all others that everyone knows you are back from a long sleep and fighting for the win.
There is a lot of criticism over the Galaxy S II similarity to the iPhone, but the copycat appearance of the Nitro HD to Samsung’s big phones takes the cake. Consider, though, that when designing a phone this size, they all start to look the same, anyway. The one place it differs in the feel of the design, it fails. There is an imbalance of space when comparing the upper and lower bezels of the screen. The phone itself feels off kilter in your hands.
Although the Nitro HD is decked out with all the essential buttons, there are some flaws. To begin with, they are all crammed in together on the top of the phone. Even the power cord plugs in at the top, which interferes with operations. Along the top are the Micro USB, headphone jacks, and the power button. Volume is along one side, and the other sides are bare. In addition, you will easily break the plastic surrounding the Micro USB, through normal use. You could save yourself the headache of needlessly twittering with it and end its life by ripping it off.
Perhaps the nicest feature on the Nitro HD is the 120×720 IPS 4.5-inch screen. The colors are some of the most accurate available, and the visuals are crip. In contrast to the cartoonish saturation of the Galaxy S II, the Nitro HD renders realistic colors. The pixel density of 326 ppi is not the highest, coming in behind HTC Rezound. But it is due to the larger screen, and it does not affect anything.
The only two serious problems with the Nitro HD are the battery life and software. The battery will drain itself if left unplugged overnight. Regarding software, the skin was the problem, with the icons for apps in the drawer vanishing from time to time. Strange, but true. These two drawbacks might be a deal breaker for you, but they do not prohibit serious use of the phone, with a little planning and patience. But then, if you are going to pay for a top of the line phone, you should not have to be either patient nor ingenious to use it. LG had a winner, but did not follow through to complete this beautiful phone. We will all be waiting for their corrections in their next model.
