LG F70 LTE (LG X3) Android Phone Hands-on Review, Features & Photos

The LG F70 made its first appearance during the MWC 2014, but then got disappeared until the company finally launched this smartphone globally. The same phone was showcased at the LG Tech Show in India, but with the name LG X3. This is one of the mid-range smartphones targeting the users who are interested to have something for the LTE connectivity. The F series is something new from LG, and the F70 is the first device which comes with the mid-range specs.

The LG F70 comes with a 4.5-inch IPS display, with the WVGA (480×800 pixels) resolution and LG has given a physical home key on the bottom under the display, while the design is very decent. The internal specs include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset (Cortex-A7 CPU), a quad-core one clocking at 1.2 GHz, which comes with the support from 1GB RAM.

One of the best parts about the F70 is the Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS, the latest one with a lot of software enhancements, where the LG’s own interface includes the features such as KnockCode – enabling the users to unlock the screen with a particular pattern, and a lot more features which we list below.

“LG has an unwavering commitment to delivering the superior experience that consumers expect from an LTE device and the F70 meets and exceeds such expectations,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The F70 possesses all the best of LG’s LTE technologies in a slim, handsome design that will appeal to millions of customers worldwide who are thinking of upgrading to 4G.”

The phone has a 5-megapixel rear camera and a front VGA shooter. The connectivity options include LTE/HSPA+ 21 Mbps (3G), Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, A-GPS, NFC only for the LTE models. The internal storage in the LG F70 is 4GB (could be 8GB based on the market) while there is a MicroSD card slot for the storage expansion. The thickness of the device is 9.9mm, to take the 2440 mAh Li-ion battery from the rear side, under the removable back cover which has got a matte finish.

Features of LG F70

The special features which the LG F70 users could take advantage of, thankfully because of the Android 4.4.2 with the UX, includes:

• KnockCode – Power on and unlock the screen of the phone in a personalized knock pattern on the display, with a series of 80000 combinations from which one can be set by the users for the enhanced security.
• Plug & Pop – This feature recommends options which are usually used when a headset or the USB cable is detected, so that the user doesn’t have to keep wondering about the options.
• Guest Mode – Secure the content on the smartphone by sharing the phone with any family members or friends, by limiting the apps and options available.

Quick Window is a protective case for the LG’s recent smartphones, which would come with a window where a part of the screen is shown, and that would show the few functions which you can access without lifting the cover for the entire screen – time, music, text messages etc.

Pricing and Availability of LG F70

The first market where the LG F70 is to be made available, is Europe. It would be later followed by Asia, Central and South America, North America and the name would be carried as the same in most of the markets, except in India where we expect to see this available as the LG X3 where it was showcased with that name. The pricing details are not known yet, but in most of the markets, it should cost around $100 with the contract through the network providers.

LG F70 (X3) Hands-on by PhoneRadar

As said above, we had got to use this phone (LG X3) for testing during the LG Tech Show in India, and the smartphone looked good in looks, comfortable in the hand and quite light. The button placement was good, with the side panels having the buttons just like in the L Series II devices (L90, L65) and the physical key in the bottom should be handy for those who are not happy with the touch buttons, especially when the screen goes unresponsive.

The rear cover is removable, and it comes with the matte finish. The camera quality is not really decent, and same is the case with the front VGA camera. The software enhancement part is something I was totally impressed about – the features such as Knock Code, the intuitive UI with a big load of pre-installed apps. While testing, we couldn’t find the OS version as the Settings app crashed while going into the About section, but as we are told, it would be the Android 4.4.2 out of the box and that is obvious, given that the device is coming with the features which the other LG phones with the same OS version have got.