LG Optimus One P500 budget Android smartphone

Froyo on the cheap

Budget offering

The One offers a 320 x 480 resolution, so not as sharp as the pricier models, but still decent.

Video playback is smooth enough, though there’s no option to stretch the picture to fill the screen. Downloading an alternative player such as RockPlayer from the Android Market fixes this, and also adds a bit more flexibility to the video formats it supports.

Corners cut - but not as many as you'd expect

The One has Android 2.2 on board which offers a few little extras such as the ability to use your handset as a Wi-Fi hotspot and free navigation from Google Maps. Surprisingly, though, there’s no support for Flash video. You can download the latest Flash Player from the Android Market for other 2.2 handsets, but apparently the Optimus One doesn’t meet the hardware requirements. There is, however, a YouTube app on board, and the Skyfire browser from the Android Market can also offer a lot of additional Flash playing capability.

The interface has a light dusting of LG customisation with a few widgets on offer for the maximum seven home screens and a dock at the bottom of the screen offering popular shortcuts: phone, contacts, messaging and browser. Sadly, this isn’t customisable.

In an echo of LG’s S-class interface, you can subdivide the menu into different categories - for example, ‘games’, ‘media’ etc. - and arrange your apps accordingly.