LG Optimus Black review

Connectivity-wise, the LG Optimus Black is decked with Wi-Fi, 3G (7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA) and Bluetooth. Attached to Wi-Fi, the browser speed is excellent, and while the 3G speeds aren't by any means instantaneous, they're not painful either.

Connectivity-wise, the LG Optimus Black is decked with Wi-Fi, 3G (7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.76Mbps HSUPA) and Bluetooth. Attached to Wi-Fi, the browser speed is excellent, and while the 3G speeds aren't by any means instantaneous, they're not painful either.

Thanks to the NOVA technology, websites look sharp and gorgeous, with colours really popping on the screen, whether zoomed in or out.

Double tapping will auto-zoom out to refit the whole website to the screen.

Web pages are quick to navigate on the LG Optimus Black, except for a slight juddering when scrolling through image-heavy sites.

Reflow is supported, instantly fitting the text to the screen, whether in portrait or landscape mode, which makes image-heavy sites (such as say, your Sunday dose of PostSecret) a pleasant browsing experience.

We think the pre-installed browser is more than adequate, but if you're dead set on downloading another, Mozilla Firefox and Opera are available from the Market.

Flash is supported. However, the single core processor means viewing isn't entirely smooth. The BBC iPlayer app, for example, loads quickly but occasionally stutters while playing, and is far too pixelated. Flash inside websites gave the LG Optimus Black no pause for thought on a Wi-Fi connection, but a little trouble on 3G roaming.

Bookmarking is easy on the LG Optimus Black – clicking on the star symbol next to the current URL takes you to an attractive thumbnail bookmarks page, including a Most visited and History tab.

In the browser, they're easily reached through the Menu button. Simples.