Time was when smartphones were always high-end handsets. But as economies of scale help bring prices down, Android's open option has made it appealing to a wide variety of manufacturers and it's adding smartphone goodies to some very modestly priced handsets.

Value for money phone you have to stick with the manual and try different things to get the result but they are there

Good build quality and screen; free apps

Poor instruction manual; difficulty in downloading software from apps store via PC.

I bought LG Optimus One a week after its launch and I am very much surprised! It is the best budget Android phone I have ever seen! I first had a feeling of inferiority as there are more powerful Android devices in the market but the prices are skyrocketing.

"With the LG Optimus One, LG joins the Android revolution." Those were the words of LG South Africa CEO Peet van Rooyen, and after putting the Optimus One through its paces they ring true. The Optimus One runs the latest release of Google's Android operating system, version 2.2 aka "FroYo.

LG Optimus One P500 is an inexpensive Android smartphone. The LG Optimus One package contains the beautiful handset, micro USB cable, 2 GB microSD card, charger and the headset. Design: With rounded edges, LG Optimus One P500 sports a very nice and stylish design.

The budget Android smartphone market has really taken off in the last year with beautifully made handsets like the HTC Wildfire or models with high resolution screens like the Orange San Francisco being available for well under ￡200.

Easy to use; Full range of Android features; Tidy design; Large battery

Soft plastic screen; Can be a bit slow at times; Lowish resolution screen

Owned the phone for a couple of days so far im well chuffed. Im a long time fan of LG phones but was unsure about the idea of changing to an android smartphone. Ive used iphones but never android. I was greatly suprised as to how easy it is to use.

The LG Optimus One is a well-priced Android handset. It's certainly not top of the range (thus far, LG hasn't really got a flagship Android device), but it does cover all the bases. The camera is a little iffy and it's annoying there is no camera hardware key on the side of the device.

An excellent offering for its price, the Optimus One comes with Android 2.2 out of the box!

- Android 2.2; - display; - sound output; - video playback; - battery life; - price; - social networking integration

- Thin volume and power keys; - Average Camera; - poor video recording,

LG's latest Android handset, the Optimus One, follows on from the original Optimus GT540, which at the time of review was far too expensive and ran an out-of-date version of Android.