Review LG Optimus E430 L3 II Smartphone

The word "simple" best describes our first impression of the 99 Euros (~$129) LG device's 11.9 x 102.6 x 61.1 mm (0.47 x 4.04 x 2.41 inch) case. Simple isn't to be confused with mundane or bad; there are certainly more expensive devices that are less visually appealing than LG's entry-level model. At 107 grams (3.77 oz), the very light device is about the size of a cigarette box, but much thinner. The case is constructed predominantly with dark plastic. The back shell of the case is composed of one piece of black plastic and can be very easily removed with two hands. The back shell weighs practically nothing and is razor-thin, and the feeling of lightweight construction thrusts itself front and center. But that isn't the primary feel of the device. Despite the case's thin construction, it's quite stable and withstands our attempts to twist it relatively well.

Under the back shell of the case you'll find the battery, which you can remove to access the SIM card slot. The slot accepts the standard card size. To the left, next to the battery bay, you'll find the microSD card slot, which can be used to expand the device's memory by up to 32 GB. That of course means you have to remove the back shell every time you want to access the slot.

All in all, the device makes a good impression, both in terms of look and feel.  The dimensions of all the slits work perfectly, the design is simple, the silver accent around the border spruces up the device a little, the glass front is set in the case in a refined fashion - but we still couldn't shake the subliminal "lightweight construction" feeling. However, at a price of under 99 Euros (~$129), we can't really complain. Considering the case's manufacturing, we can confidently say that its price-to-quality ratio is consistent.

Due to its reflective surface, the display is limited in its usefulness outdoors. But it shares this problem with most of the competition. At more than 400 cd/m², the display's brightness is respectable. For that reason the image content is still visible outside and in the sunshine, albeit not as visible as one might wish. In the shadows or indoors the user shouldn't have any difficulty viewing the screen. We would like to have seen a crisper contrast ratio, which certainly would have enhanced the display.

The little LG smartphone's viewing angle stability is also satisfactory. The image does fade a little at very flat angles, especially around the edges. But all in all, the display looks good from almost any direction. The colors never invert, nor is the entire display content ever "lost".

Even if you don't consider the Adreno 200 GPU's limited performance capabilities, the tiny 3.2-inch display doesn't exactly provide the prerequisites for an enjoyable gaming experience. In "postage stamp format" the display is too small for anyone to want to play games that demand high graphics performance. Simple games like Angry Birds do work, but because operating the little touchscreen is rather tricky, it's not a whole lot of fun.

As our tests make clear, the cheap 99 Euros (~$129) Optimus 430 L3 II from the Korean manufacturer LG excels more than anything at "long-distance running". With a battery runtime of over 36 hours in the reading test, and still more than 16 hours in the WLAN surf test, the "battery giant" even beats potent devices like the Apple iPhone 5 - at least when it comes to battery life. With 1540 mAh, the dwarf's battery isn't especially large, but it manages to keep the cigarette-box sized smartphone running for hours and days - even weeks. This advantage should be appealing to travelers and outdoor fans especially, particularly as its low cost of under 100 Euros (~$131) makes it affordable as a second cell phone for vacation or outdoor activities, where a scratch here and there isn't a big deal. You don't generally want to expose an expensive cell phone to the elements, which you might otherwise have to do on hiking tours and the like. Here our review device recommends itself with its incredibly long standby times of up to a month between charges. All these characteristics make the phone ideal for long nature trips away from power sources.

When it comes to performance, the LG smartphone offers solid performance for a device in its price class. The performance benchmarks show that the Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU MSM7225A installed in the device isn't a high achiever, but nor does it come out with abominable marks. In the graphics tests things look a little different. Here the integrated Adreno 200 GPU lags considerably far behind the competition. But honestly: Who cares about graphics performance if you only have a 3.2-inch display at your disposal?

The inexpensive device is also recommendable for kids who would like a smartphone. The price and stable manufacturing make the phone interesting for parents looking to fulfill an adolescent's pleas for a smartphone of their own. But will kids actually find the simple, low-budget device cool? Seeing as at that age you rarely have the guts to rock the sophisticated understatement "meh", probably not.