LG Optimus L3 2 review

This entry level handset is small in size, but can it achieve big things?

LG Optimus L3 2 review
Can this bite-size handset become an entry-level feast?

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Like so many other Android handsets the LG Optimus L3 2 comes with two browsers pre-installed, specifically the standard Android one and Chrome.

LG Optimus L3 2 review

The Android one seems to be the focus though as it is given home screen real estate from the off, while Chrome is tucked away in the app drawer.

In truth there's not a vast amount of difference between the two, both have an address bar (which doubles as a search box) at the top of the screen and a button to the right of that for switching tabs.

The Android browser has a small menu at the bottom with options to go forward or backward a page, go to your home page, open a new tab or go to your bookmarks.

The Chrome browser doesn't have that bottom bar but both browsers keep most of their options in a popup menu which lets you save a page as a favourite, request a desktop site or toggle and tweak all sorts of settings from whether or not to save passwords to enabling JavaScript.

LG Optimus L3 2 review

In both cases the bookmarking system is fairly similar and straightforward, as having tapped on the bookmarks option you simply get thumbnails of all your bookmarks and can tap one to open it.

Both browsers are well laid out and simple to use, though there are also other options available to download from Google Play if you don't get on with them.

Whichever browser you use the web experience on the LG Optimus L3 2 isn't particularly good.

It's not that it's especially slow, it takes about four or five seconds to load mobile pages over Wi-Fi and around ten seconds to load desktop sites or about five seconds more in each case over 3G - which is no worse than we'd expect from an entry level handset.

LG Optimus L3 II review

The real problem is the screen, as not only is it tiny enough to ensure that copious amounts of scrolling will be guaranteed but it's also got such a low resolution that you have to zoom right in to comfortably read most text and even then it's blurry.

Reading sites zoomed out is unpleasant and surely bad for your eyes while reading them zoomed in means that you'll have to scroll around even more.

It loads sites fine so if you just want to occasionally check your email or Facebook the LG Optimus L3 II will do the job, but if you plan to regularly use the internet on your phone for more than a few minutes you should really look elsewhere.

TOPICS

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

Latest in LG Phones
LG V50 ThinQ
LG’s phone business is dead, but its phones are still getting Android 12
LG Wing 5G
LG has reportedly made its last smartphone
Pile of smartphones
Do you remember your first phone? We look back on our early mobiles
LG Velvet
LG’s Android phones will get three years of updates
LG phones
LG's smartphone legacy: every LG flagship Android phone
LG Wing 5G
Some LG phones will get Android 12
Latest in Reviews
Alienware 27 AW2725Q monitor on desk displaying a scene from Cyberpunk 2077
I played games with Alienware's new 27-inch 4K OLED monitor and now I don't want to see another LCD panel
MacBook Air 15-inch with M4 chip on a creative's desk with screen open
I've reviewed the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) - and it remains the best 15-inch laptop I'd recommend for most people
Samsung Music Frame on a table beside some books and a vase
I spent six weeks listening to the Samsung Music Frame and it kept missing the beat
GlocalMe KeyTracker
When I tested this global tracker, it trounced the Apple AirTag in so many ways
Groov-e Boston DAB radio on a wooden table
I tested this affordable DAB radio and, sadly, its tinny output made me think of every car garage I've ever been to
An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D on its retail packaging
I've reviewed three generations of 3D V-cache processors, and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D is the best there is