LG Optimus Me P350

Expected soon
30th January 2011, updated 10th February 2011

Launched in a very low key manner a few days ago by LG, and lacking even some of the most basic details, the LG Optimus Me is another addition to the Android-powered Optimus series of smartphones where it sits at the bottom of the range.

It probably says a lot about the target market when a device like this is launched on Facebook and YouTube rather than traditional channels, although we expect that the phone will be presented in a formal way at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

What we know for certain is that the Optimus Me is an Android 2.2 smartphone with a 3 megapixel camera on the back, has an FM radio, a 600 MHz processor, a 1280 mAh battery, has WiFi and it comes in a variety of colours. We assume that it is at least a 3G phone (most likely 3.5G) and comes with GPS, as every other Android phone we can think of has that.

Several sources have quoted the screen resolution as being 320 x 480 pixels, but LG's own hardware profile states that the Optimus Me has a much more modest 240 x 320 pixels, something that can be confirmed by measuring the screen ratio. Pixel count is one thing.. screen size is another, and a very close look at LG's promotional video indicates that this is a small device, around 110 x 59 x 12mm and with a 2.8" or 3.0" display.

We don't know when the LG Optimus Me will become available, although it is probably this quarter. And as for pricing.. well, that's another little mystery, but our best guess is that this will retail for about €200 or so SIM-free.

The LG Optimus Me pushes smartphone features into what was previously the dumber "feature phone" price range. LG in particular has seen feature phone sales slump as consumers raise their expectations of what a touchscreen phone should do. Despite the modest technical specifications of the Optimus Me, we think that a device such as this may open up a significant market.

Update 10/2/11: Some additional specifications from LG confirm that this the display is a 2.8" 240 x 320 pixel panel and that the camera is capable of VGA video capture at 24 frames per second.