LG Optimus L7 review: L-egant droid

Synthetic benchmarks

We said the UI is pretty, but how well does the Optimus L7 perform? To find out, we did what we usually do - put it through the BenchmarkPi, Linpack, NenaMark performance tests, as well as the SunSpider and BrowserMark browser tests. The 1 GHz processor on the Optimus L7 definitely showed its age, and the fact that it's single-core didn't help much either.

In the first test, Benchmark Pi, we see how fast the CPU is able to compute. The single core CPU is definitely not up to par with the other (admittedly more expensive) devices we have recently tested.

Benchmark Pi

Lower is better

• Samsung Galaxy S Advance
  530
• HTC One S
  306
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  452
• HTC Sensation XE
  536
• Sony Xperia S
  536
• LG Optimus L7
  773

Linkpack is another processing test, so we weren't too hopeful for the L7 here either. The only device that it came close to was the single-core HTC One V, which still was 10 points ahead.

Linpack

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S Advance
  64.74
• HTC One S
  210
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  77.6
• HTC One V
  34.4
• Sony Xperia S
  86.4
• LG Optimus L7
  25.4

SunSpider favors the superior JavaScript performance of Ice Cream Sandwich, so this is one area where the Optimus L7 really had a chance to shine. Unfortunately, it failed pretty badly again, only beating the HTC Sensation XE.

SunSpider

Lower is better

• Samsung Galaxy S Advance
  2663
• HTC One S
  1708
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  1849
• HTC One V
  3299
• HTC Sensation XE
  4404
• Sony Xperia S
  2587
• LG Optimus L7
  3661
• Apple iPhone 4S
  2217

BrowserMark adds HTML5, but doesn't help the Optimus L7 case a great deal. It manages to beat the One V, but the rest (even the Android 2.3 smartphones) are out of reach here.

BrowserMark

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy S Advance
  81557
• HTC One S
  98435
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  111853
• HTC One V
  42342
• Sony Xperia S
  74990
• LG Optmus L7
  61470
• Apple iPhone 4S
  88725

NenaMark 2 is where the GPU gets to show its worth. The Adreno 200 graphics processor was simply unable to keep up with the big dogs. It rounded out last place with an average FPS of 19.3 (though keep in mind that the One V isn't present here).

NenaMark 2

Higher is better

• HTC One S
  60.5
• LG Optimus L7
  19.3
• Samsung Galaxy S II
  51.6
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
  43.6
• Sony Xperia S
  37.5
• Samsung Galaxy Nexus
  24
• HTC Sensation XE
  23

In today's market, we'd be hard-pressed to recommend this phone, if we only went by its hardware specs. That being said, there aren't too many more powerful options in its price range. Sure, the Samsung Ace 2 and the Xperia U will give you an extra core for the same price, but don't forget that there's the 4.3" screen and updated OS to consider.

Up next is our look at the phonebook and messaging capabilities of the L7.