Brother MFC-L8900DW

Poor battery life and the lack of a microSD card slot are downsides, but the 4G-capable Optimus G is fast, well-designed and has some handy software features. It's definitely LG's best smartphone ever.
Better late than never. After a lengthy delay, LG has finally released its flagship Optimus G smartphone in Australia, exclusively through Telstra. Although there are some downsides including poor battery life and the lack of a microSD card slot, the 4G-capable Optimus G is fast, well-designed and has some handy software features, making it LG's best smartphone ever.
The plastic build doesn't feel as premium compared to other devices.
The LG Optimus G is a relatively well designed smartphone. It's basically a rectangular black slab with a chrome edge around the front and glossy, curved sides. It's relatively lightweight and comfortable to hold, though like the Samsung Galaxy S III, the plastic-feeling build doesn't feel as premium compared to devices like the Apple iPhone 5 and the Sony Xperia Z.
The design highlight of the Optimus G appears to be the back of the phone, which has a pattern LG calls "Crystal Reflection". It's a clear, glossy finish on top with a reflective pattern underneath that only appears when you're looking at it at certain angles, or under the right lighting. The look isn't horrible but it won't suit all tastes and can be slippery to grip.
LG has positioned the Optimus G's buttons and ports in all the right places. There's a power/lock screen button on the right, a volume rocker on the left, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top and a micro-USB port on the bottom. Both the volume and power buttons are very well positioned, making them easy to press when you're holding the phone with one hand.
The 4.7in IPS screen is one of the most bright and vibrant we've seen.
One downside to the Optimus G's design is the lack of a removable battery, which may annoy hardened Android users. There's no room for a microSD card slot either, so you'll have to make do with the 32GB of internal memory.
The Optimus G may not have a full HD 1080p display but its 4.7in IPS screen is one of the most bright and vibrant we've seen on a smartphone. It has excellent viewing angles, outstanding colour reproduction and displays very crisp text, though we found sunlight legibility a little poor. The screen pushes almost to the edge of the phone leaving minimal bezel, so it actually feels larger than it is without compromising on the size of the handset.
LG adds some unique features but many of them are gimmicks that we didn't use too often.
The LG Optimus G runs the 4.1 Jelly Bean version of Google's Android platform but is skinned with LG's own user interface. This interface overlay adds some unique features but many of them are gimmicks that we didn't use too often. We aren't a fan of the overall look and feel of the skin, either, which is rather cartoon-like. Whether you agree really comes down to personal taste.
Swipe down the notification bar on the Optimus G and you'll get quick access to up to 14 completely customisable toggles called quick settings. You can add and edit a range of toggles here including QuickMemo, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound profiles and screen brightness. It's a nifty inclusion and definitely adds value to the standard notification pull down.
We're not sure how many people are desperate for the QSlide feature.
Below these toggles are five "QSlide apps" which allow you to watch a video, browse the Web, write a memo, see the calendar or use a calculator while another application is open. You can open up to three of these apps at once and keep them on the screen while you switch between regular, open applications. The QSlide apps don't slow down the phone which is quite impressive, though we're not sure how many people are desperate for such a feature. It also makes for a rather confusing notifications panel, with icons and buttons everywhere. There's no way to remove the feature if you don't plan to use it.
There's a few other LG-exclusive features, too. QuickMemo lets you use your finger to write on screenshots, which handy if you need to take a quick note or jot down a phone number. There's also a 'Dual Screen Dual Play' feature that mirrors content from the phone to a TV using Miracast technology. Conveniently, you can play a video on your TV and then use other functions on the phone itself, or you can display a powerpoint presentation on a TV and read notes on the phone's screen.
The lock screen on the Optimus G is also worth mentioning. When you put your finger on the screen to swipe and unlock it, a circle appears and gradually gets larger as you swipe. The circle is translucent and reveals the screen you're swiping into. It doesn't add any real functionality but it looks impressive. You can choose one of three different clock widgets or two calendar widgets to display on the lock screen, and you can swipe open into four customisable apps.
The Optimus G is certainly a fast and powerful smartphone.
One feature we wish LG didn't change is the on-screen keyboard. It's space bar is positioned too far to the left so we frequently mis-hit it when typing. The keyboard includes Swype-style typing called "path" but we found it far less accurate to the excellent Swiftkey keyboard.
Although LG's skin and extra features might not suit all users the Optimus G is certainly a fast smartphone. The 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 2GB of RAM seems to keep things ticking over nicely. We rarely experienced any lag, even when using some of the phone's more taxing applications.
Most basic operations, like unlocking the home screen, switching between apps and scrolling in the Browser are very smooth and fast. The Optimus G has no trouble playing the most graphically intense games, either, with titles like Real Racing 3, GTA III and Shadowgun running without any major issues.
LG has added some extra features to the camera interface.
The LG Optimus G has a 13-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls. We found photos captured with the phone were impressively detailed, especially outdoors in good lighting. However, indoor performance was less impressive with noticeable image noise and grain hindering our shots. Overall, the 13-megapixel camera isn't significantly better than most 8-megapixel camera phones we've seen, including the Samsung Galaxy S III and LG's own Nexus 4.
LG has added some extra features to the camera interface on the Optimus G. The most notable inclusion is 'Time catch shot', which captures three photos before and one after you press the shutter button for a total of five photos. There's HDR, panorama and continuous shot modes, along with the ability the capture photos using a voice trigger. Thw latter works with one of five pre-programmed words: "cheese", "smile", "whisky", "kimchi" or "LG". However, we found this feature hit and miss with some words not always registering. The Optimus G also allows users to zoom into videos while recording by up to 5x.
The LG Optimus G has below average battery life. In most instances, the 2100mAh battery only lasted up to 14 hours before needing to be recharged, a pretty poor result. The large screen and 4G connectivity do take a toll on the battery, though more prudent users may be able to push a full day out of the phone, depending on usage patterns.
The LG Optimus G is available now exclusively through Telstra in Australia.
• LG confident in late-arriving Optimus G "superphone"
• Telstra 'exclusive' Optimus G not landing Down Under until March
• LG Optimus G preview
• 4G-capable Optimus G won't see light of day Down Under until 2013
• LG: We "dropped the ball" in smartphones
There are so many different options for cloud (online) storage.
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Visit our shop for the best deals on hot products
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
Brother RJ-4230B
This small mobile printer is exactly what I need for invoicing and other jobs such as sending fellow tradesman details or step-by-step instructions that I can easily print off from my phone or the Web.
Microsoft Office 365/HP Spectre x360
Microsoft Office continues to make a student’s life that little bit easier by offering reliable, easy to use, time-saving functionality, while continuing to develop new features that further enhance what is already a formidable collection of applications
Microsoft Office 365/Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
I’d recommend a Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 and the new Windows 10 to anyone who needs to get serious work done (before you kick back on your couch with your favourite Netflix show.)
Brother PT-P750W
It’s useful for office tasks as well as pragmatic labelling of equipment and storage – just don’t get too excited and label everything in sight!
Brother MFC-L8900CDW
The Brother MFC-L8900CDW is an absolute stand out. I struggle to fault it.
MSI GT75 TITAN
I need power and lots of it. As a Front End Web developer anything less just won’t cut it which is why the MSI GT75 is an outstanding laptop for me. It’s a sleek and futuristic looking, high quality, beast that has a touch of sci-fi flare about it.