Our friends over at LG have sent us the T-Mobile Optimus L9 for us to review! This is part of LG’s L-Series, and this fits into T-Mobile’s mid range line up. It will work on T-Mobile’s newly announced Unlimited Nationwide 4G with no contract service and while it does not have the same features or specifications of the Optimus G devices, it has some solid features. It is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with an LG User Interface, and it does have the ever-so-popular LG Quick Memo application. If your into good-looking phones, you may have found your device as well. Now, let’s dive into the full review of the T-Mobile LG Optimus L9!
Design
Now, I am a huge fan of LG designs or at least most of them. As you know they killed it with the Optimus G’s a sleek yet elegant device, that just feels good in your hand. Going around the device you have an aluminum chrome siding and it gives the L9 some color. The back of the device is textured cover, that is in the color black. It feels almost leather like and it provides some good grip for the device. On the back you have the LG logo, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, and a speaker. If you pop the back cover off you will find the SIM card slot, micro SD card slot, and a 3.8 V Li-Ion rechargeable battery. The top of the device is home to a headphone jack and a microphone. You will find the volume rocker on the left hand side and it has a “+” and a “-” symbol on it, this way you can easily make your music louder or softer. The power/sleep button can be found on the right hand side. Your 2nd microphone and micro USB port are on the bottom of the device. Above the screen you will find the LG logo, T-Mobile logo, a VGA front facing camera, and earpiece. To my surprise there is no Ambient Light sensor on the Optimus L9. Below the display you will find the back and menu buttons, these are both touch and back-lit. While the main home button is a physical button in between these 2(two) other buttons. Overall, I really like the design of the Optimus L9 it is very simple and usable, as an added bonus you get a nice textured back which gives you a grip.
Hardware
The LG Optimus L9 is a mid range smartphone, so while it may not have the specifications of the Optimus G, it still gets the job done. For starters you get a 4.5-inch qHD Corning Gorilla Glass 2 Display with a resolution of 960 X 540. The Corning Gorilla Glass 2 will give you protection and durability, and the display quality is good. The images are not as crisp when compared to the Optimus G, but the viewing angles are just as good, the colors are vibrant and the text is easily readable. If you use your phone outside of in direct sunlight, it performs well in these scenarios also. I would suggest that you turn the brightness all the way up, as it will give you a better quality display when in these conditions. The Optimus L9 runs on T-Mobile’s Nationwide 4G HSPA+ network, meaning that you will get 4G HSPA+ speeds. During my testing my average download speed was around 8Mbps and the upload was are 3Mbps. I had around a full 4 bars of reception or 3 bars of reception during these tests. I am happy with these speeds are they are average for this network. However, keep in mind that network speeds and reception all depends on the carrier’s network in your area. The processor inside of the L9 is a 1Ghz Dual-Core processor and in comparison to other mid range devices on the market this may seem a little slow. But, it performed quite well and only slowed down when you had multiple large applications all going at once. Swiping between home screens, sending a text message, unlocking the phone, and other actions happen very smoothly. For storage you get 4GB internally and a micro SD card slot if you need to expand. With normal use the 3.8 V Li-Ion rechargeable battery should last most of the day, but I would recommend brining a charger or charging cord with you. On the back you have a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, this is similar to the cameras on the AT&T LG Escape(Click Here For The Full Review) and Verizon LG Lucid(Click Here For The Full Review). The LG Escape does not have a flash, but both the Lucid and L9 do and this makes the camera better. The camera either performs good or not so good, at least with my tests this was the case. Some images were very vibrant but, others seemed quite washed out. On the other hand recording 1080pHD video was great the quality was very good and looked vibrant as well. On the front you get a VGA camera that will be good for video chatting on the go or taking “selfies”. The hardware in the Optimus L9 fits in with other mid range smartphones.
Software
The LG Optimus L9 for T-Mobile is running Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich with an LG user interface. A great feature of this device is WiFi calling, this will let you make calls in areas with low reception. It does this by connecting to your WiFi and you can use this feature via the pre-loaded application. This will certainly come in handy if you have to make a phone call in an area with little or no reception. LG’s great quick memo application is on the L9 as well. This will let you take a screenshot and customize it, then you can send it via a text message or share it many different ways. For instance if you are meeting someone and they don’t have the exact address, you can use the maps application, take a screenshot and right the instructions on the image and then send it to your friend. LG Quick Memo is an awesome application that is available on many LG Device, it launched with the Verizon Wireless Intuition By LG(Click Here For The Full Review). A neat feature of this LG User Interface is that you have a home screen launch bar, this will let you have up to 5(five) applications that you can open directly from your home screen. In terms of other pre-loaded applications you get Games, Gmail, Google App Suite, Lookout Security, Memo, More For Me, Music Player, Polaris Office, Google Play, Settings, Setup, Slacker Radio, Smartphone Mobile Hotspot, SmartShare, T-Mobile My Account, T-Mobile Name ID, T-Mobile TV, Task Manager, TeleNav GPS, YouTube, and some others. T-Mobile evidently had a large part in this device, you have several pre-loaded applications and a nice magenta background. However, many of these applications come in handy like T-Mobile TV. This will let you watch you favorite TV stations on the go or check out T-Mobile My Account to manage and check in on your account with the carrier. I like the software experience on the T-Mobile LG Optimus L9!
Bottom Line
The T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 is a nice mid range smartphone. I could definitely see it being a great option for a first time smartphone use, as it will allow for the basic smartphone needs. It has an awesome simple design that has a really nice textured back. On the front you get a great 4.5-inch qHD Corning Gorilla Glass 2 Display, that has protection, vibrant colors, and great viewing angles. You get fast speeds from T-Mobile Nationwide 4G HSPA+ network. A 1Ghz dual core processor and 4GB of internal storage. An amazing software experience on the L9, that includes Android 4.0, LG QuickMemo, WiFi Calling, and much more! The LG Optimus L9 seems like a great device for a new smartphone user or for a first time smartphone user. It is available for $199.99 as a pre-paid device currently, and this can be paired up with T-Mobile’s new Unlimited Nation 4G no-contract plan! I have reached out to LG and T-Mobile to see if the L9 is available on any other plans or at different price points. I will be sure to update you when I hear back. For More Information On The T-Mobile LG Optimus L9, Please Click Here. Getting the LG Optimus L9 for $199.99 and pairing it with T-Mobile Unlimited Nationwide 4G no-contract plan, seems like a great deal! I would definitely look at the T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 as your next smartphone or your first smartphone! We would like to thank LG Mobile USA for providing us with a copy of the “T-Mobile LG Optimus L9″.
