This seems to be the era of phablets, with consumers definitely wanting larger screens on their mobile devices. The term was coined thanks to Samsung’s Galaxy Note, a 5.3-inch screen sized device placed somewhere between a phone and a tablet. And now LG has brought out its version of a phablet with the Optimus Vu, a device with a 5-inch display. Powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM, and running on Android 4.0, what sets it apart from other phablets in the market is its unique shape. The Optimus Vu has an aspect ratio of 4:3, which essentially gives it a wider screen but in a shorter package. Its design, however, can be limiting when used as a phone, since it becomes hard to grasp it with just one hand. It comes with 32GB of internal storage space, and while there is no microSD card slot to expand the memory further, LG has offered 50GB of cloud space through Box.net free of cost for its customers. Another unique feature in the Optimus Vu is the new battery, Sio+, which according to LG is 1.5 times more powerful than a Lithium ion battery. So this device can surely run for a long time on a single charge. The rear camera has an 8MP resolution, while the front facing camera is of 1.3MP resolution. This phablet is also equipped with a stylus that lets you take notes and take screen snapshots. The Optimus Vu is priced rather competitively at Rs. 34,500, making it an attractive alternative to the Galaxy Note II.
