The Samsung Galaxy Note isn’t the lonely ranger in the smartphone/tablet hybrid market anymore. LG has announced the Optimus Vu, a 5-inch touchscreen hybrid, a week before MWC kicks off.
In its appearance, the Optimus Vu is wider than the Galaxy Note, which may make it difficult to handle with one hand. The Vu’s 5-inch IPS display sports a resolution of 1024×786 with a 4:3 aspect ratio as compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note that has a 5.3-inch screen with a resolution of 1280×800 with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Apart from the large display, the Optimus Vu has a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 8MP rear shooter, a 1.3MP front-facing cameras and an HDMI port. The device also has a 2080mAh battery and will run on Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS (Upgradable to ICS).
The Samsung Galaxy Note on the other hand has a 1.4GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 processor, 1GB RAM, 16/32GB internal storage, 8MP rear shooter and a 2MP front-facing camera. The device also has a 2500 mAh battery, and runs on Google’s Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS with the Samsung TouchWiz UI v4.0 (Upgradable to ICS in the coming summer).
The LG Optimus Vu is 8.5mm thin making it thinner than the Note by 1.2mm.
On paper, the LG Optimus Vu seems to be a worthy contender to the Samsung Galaxy Note but the street performance is something that will be seen once the device launches.
Smartphones in the Samsung lineup from the Galaxy S II and beyond will receive the Android ICS update sometime this summer.
Below is an in-depth look at the specifications of both, the Samsung Galaxy Note and the LG Optimus Vu.
| Model | Samsung Galaxy Note | LG Optimus Vu |
| Screen Size | 5.3-Inch Super AMOLED HD Display | 5-inch IPS Display |
| Screen Resolution | 1280×800 | 1024×768 |
| Processor | 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 dual core processor | 1.5 Ghz Qualcomm dual core processor |
| RAM | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Internal Storage | 16/32GB | 32GB |
| Rear Camera | 8MP | 8MP |
| Front Camera | 2MP | 1.3MP |
| Battery | Li-Ion 2500 mAh | Li-Ion 2080 mAh |
| OS | Android 2.3.5(upgradable to ICS) | Android 2.3 (upgradable to ICS) |