In recent years, LG has become a force in the cell phone market. It has not, however, spent an awful lot of time developing Android-based phones. They made early strides with the LG Intouch Max GW620 and have now unveiled the LG GT540, a phone based on the 620. Named the Optimus, the GT540 has taken the best features of the 620 and added to them without making the phone too confusing. It is ideal for beginners in Android technology or for those already well-versed in the system. With a body crafted from a contoured, high quality plastic, the Optimus offers a 3.2-inch resistive screen. Comparable in size to many other models, it stands 109mm tall, 54.5mm wide, and 12.7mm thick. Some prefer the ease of capacitive touch screens, but the one found on the Optimus is rather responsive. It displays bright images at a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels and supports 256K colors. Powered by the Android 1.6 operating system, the Optimus also uses an updated S-class user interface. Call, menu, and messaging buttons are found at the bottom of one of two home screens. Available are the basic Android home screen or a customized LG version. The customized home screen offers some nifty features like the ability to access messaging whenever you wish as well as portions of the drag-up menu, widgets, folders, and shortcuts. UI is very friendly and affords the user the convenience of importing contacts from Facebook, Bebo, and Twitter. Your friends are only a touch away. One feature found on every cell phone these days is the camera, and the Optimus takes photos with a 3-megapixel camera that includes autofocus. 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution presents these photos in bright clarity. Face and smile detection are also nice aspects of the camera. Users who have experienced the Viewty Smart will already be familiar with the cameras interface, as it is the basis for the Optimuss. VGA video is also shot at a rate of 17 frames per second. LG is aware that phones have advanced well beyond mere speaking devices and have created a powerful multimedia device with the Optimus. The player is capable of supporting both Xvid and Divx formats. LG has kept the music interface similar to that of its other phones, supporting an FM radio and an RDS feature complete with radio channels. Audio quality receives a boost with Bass and the Optimus provides 150 MB of internal memory. Though it is an early entry into Android technology for LG, the company has created a smartphone that capably handles the operating system and will please new users and prior owners of LG equipment. By keeping it somewhat simple, the LG Optimus is advanced enough to take advantage of what there is to offer but wont overwhelm those new to the world of Android-powered phones.