The Samsung Galaxy Note may not have been the first phone-tablet hybrid or “phablet” (I think the Dell Streak 5 gets that honor) but it was the first one to be commercially and critically successful. When it was first announced, the Galaxy Note was criticized for its size and for having an “identity crisis” — it was a device that wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a phone or a tablet. However, all those naysayers have been proven wrong as the device has been one of the most successful for Samsung and is now gearing up for the release of its successor, the Galaxy Note 2.
One interesting result of the success of the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Note 2 is that since Samsung has proven that phablets can work, other phone companies have taken to creating their own. One such phablet that just may be widely available soon is LG’s Optimus Vu.
The LG Optimus Vu was released in March 2012 and has done relatively well. It has sold around 500,000 units since it was launched and, possibly due to all the attention the Galaxy Note and the galaxy Note 2 have been drumming up, LG is now considering bringing the phone to the US. According to rumors, LG will be partnering with Verizon to unleash an LTE-version of the Optimus Vu to American consumers by the end of summer.
For those looking for options other than the Galaxy Note 2 or the upcoming iPhone 5, the LG Optimus Vu could be an interesting alternative. It has a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor beating in its chest, 1 GB of RAM, a more-than-sufficient 8 MP camera and 32 GB of internal memory. You get all this and a 5-inch display plus it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box.
Will you consider getting the LG Optimus Vu? Do you think it could stand toe-to-toe against the Galaxy Note 2 and the iPhone 5?