What's good
- Excellent battery life
- Good color reproduction on display
- Smooth day-to-day performance
What's bad
- Camera performs poorly in anything but ideal lighting
- Very limited internal storage
For those that cannot afford the BlackBerry Q10, the LG Optimus F3Q is the last bastion for those that want a physical keyboard with their smartphone.
Like many popular phones in the 2000s, the Optimus F3Q features a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
Reviewers were able to type on the keyboard easily due to the "generously sized and spaced" keys. The addition of this feature makes the phone a fairly thick 0.55 inches and a hefty 160 grams.
Experts warn that the additional weight is quite noticeable when speaking on the phone or even when placed in their pockets. Still, they mention that it isn't necessarily a deal breaker considering the addition of the keyboard.
The 4-inch WVGA display has a resolution of 800x480 pixels and pixel density of 233ppi. While it doesn't come close to matching the sharpness of flagship smartphones, for the price reviewers didn't have too many issues. They noticed, as expected, aliasing issues but the display itself offered excellent color reproduction, decent viewing angles and responsive touch.
The Optimus F3Q isn't a powerhouse by any means as it only has a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. Still, critics experienced fairly smooth performance during day-to-day usage with the occasional pauses during app launch and average web browsing performance.
The main issue they had was the small internal storage. While technically it comes with 4GB, the Android operating system and UI only left 1.27GB of available space for app downloads. It does come with a microSD slot that accepts up to 32GB, but app installs cannot be moved to external storage. Battery life is one of its strong points lasting 14 hours on battery draining tests. During real life tests, experts were able to get well over a day of life with moderate usage.
As with the rest phone, the 5MP rear camera isn't meant to impress. In anything less than ideal lighting conditions, reviewers were only able to produce below-average images that lacked focus and detail. They note that low light images were incredibly grainy and riddled with noise. It was only with ample lighting that they were able to take clear and sharp pictures.
Reviewers are generally divided on the F3Q. CNET states, "the LG Optimus F3Q is a solid QWERTY handset that I can recommend for shoppers seeking…one that comes with a keyboard."
On the other hand PCMag says, "The LG Optimus F3Q is a decent keyboarded Android phone, but if you don't absolutely need a physical keyboard, there are much better options for your money…"
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the LG Optimus F3Q user manual here.
LG backs up the Optimus F3Q with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Optimus F3Q has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact LG support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find LG's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- LG Optimus F3Q Manual (PDF)
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