LG's Optimus 7 & Samsung's Focus Reviewed: A Tale of Two Windows Phones

LG's Software Bundle

This is the way smartphone competition is supposed to work. You get a single, well done UI, and the manufacturers compete based on design choices, form factor, build quality and bundled value.

LG delivers build quality, screen size and attempts to offer additional value with its software bundle. Optimus 7 owners get access to three LG specific apps on their Windows Phone 7 device: Panorama Shot, Play To and Scansearch.

The Play To app allows the Optimus 7 to act as a digital media server capable of streaming content to any DLNA digital media renderer. This can be anything from an audio receiver to a HDTV, as long as they are DLNA compliant DMRs.

Launching the Play To app gives you a list of content types. You can choose from music, photos or videos although you can't stream content from your Zune Pass.

Pick the content you want to play, then pick the device you want to play it on. The device list is enumerated according to any DLNA compliant renderers that exist on the same network as the Optimus 7. For me the Optimus 7 discovered by Sonos Zone Players as well as my Samsung HDTV.

To push photos or videos to the TV I just choose the content I want to play, I get a message on my TV telling me what's going on and I'm good to go.

Data has to go over your WiFi network so there are obvious bandwidth and range limitations, but the Play To app is a great way to get content on your phone onto DLNA renderers in your house.

Photos stream well. The default view is a slideshow mode, although you can pause the slideshow and push individual photos over the network. It takes a couple of seconds for each photo to get pushed out to the TV. Don't expect anything instantaneous. There's no support for rotating photos either, so if you take any photos in portrait mode using the phones camera expect to be looking at them sideways on your DLNA compliant TV.

Videos stream via Play To just as easily as photos. Once more this is a great way of getting videos you've made with your phone onto a larger screen without any copying/syncing. There is a few second delay before you get started.

Music streaming works for content you have stored on the device as long as it's DRM free. Unfortunately that means you can't turn your Zune Pass equipped Optimus 7 into a jukebox of unlimited proportions.

Panorama Shot is exactly what it sounds like. It's LG's own camera app that lets you stitch together five photos for a single ultra wide aspect ratio shot. Once you take the first shot in a panorama you get a red outline on the screen telling you where to position the phone for the next shot. The process continues until you have taken all five shots required, you can't stop short.

Panorama Shot - first image

Panorama Shot - second image, note the guide to help line up shot #2

Then there's a lengthy stitching process on the camera. Remember we're still dealing with first generation Snapdragon silicon here.

The final product is workable but honestly doesn't look very good:

Panorama Shot produces 2.55MP images at 3656 x 698, but the resulting file size is only 1MB - there's a lot of compression at work here (although technically less than the camera's 5MP images).

Like many 3rd party apps on Windows Phone 7, the Panorama Shot app isn't very fast. The live viewfinder runs at what looks like 15 - 20 fps.

Scan Search is the final member of LG's app bundle for the Optimus 7. You get an augmented reality interface that uses your GPS location and data connection to find and mark points of interest on your screen (e.g. nearby restaurants).