LG Optimus Vu 2: the quirky 5-inch phablet with a 4:3 screen
When LG entered the phablet race in late 2012, it did so in a way nobody else had tried. The Optimus Vu 2 carried a 5-inch screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, a passive stylus for handwritten notes, and a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor running at 1.5GHz. It was square, stubby, and pitched at people who wanted a device they could slip into a jacket pocket without giving up the roomy canvas of a tablet.
Reactions from early reviewers were mixed. Some praised the unusual 768 by 1024 panel for reading books, sketching diagrams, and browsing the web in portrait, while others felt it looked awkward next to the tall, widescreen Samsung Galaxy Note II that was dominating Australian retail shelves at the time. Either way, the LG Optimus Vu 2 remains one of the more interesting oddities from the early generation of pocket tablets, and it has earned a quiet second life in the refurbished and grey-import market from Sydney to Perth.
Hardware and the case for a square screen
The most distinctive element on the LG Optimus Vu 2 was its 5-inch IPS LCD, the only mainstream phablet in 2012 to commit so fully to a 4:3 ratio. With a resolution of 768 by 1024 pixels, it delivered around 256 pixels per inch, which looked crisp enough for HD video but felt modest when dense web pages were pushed onto the panel. Colours skewed a touch cooler than Samsung's AMOLED alternatives of the day, and peak brightness was competitive enough to stay readable outdoors in Brisbane summer sun.
Under the skin, the phone paired that display with a 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4, backed by 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. A microSIM slot sat beneath a removable back cover that exposed a 2,150 mAh battery, and there was microSD expansion on most regional variants. Build quality felt solid for the asking price, with a textured rear shell, a thin chrome trim around the edge, and a reassuring weight of around 162 grams.
Connectivity ticked most of the boxes that mattered for Australian buyers. The handset shipped in single-SIM and dual-SIM versions, with HSPA+ on the 900 and 2100 MHz bands used by Telstra and Optus, plus LTE on some Asian models. Buyers who sourced grey-import units through small shops in Sydney's George Street often had to settle for 3G only, since early Optimus Vu 2 firmware did not always include Australian 4G bands.
Software, stylus and the day-to-day flow
LG shipped the Optimus Vu 2 with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, layered with its Optimus UI and a handful of productivity apps the company marketed as the phone's reason to exist. The built-in QuickMemo app let users capture a screenshot and scribble directly on top of it with the bundled rubber-tipped stylus, an experience that felt surprisingly natural for a 2012 device. A separate Notebook app supported handwriting recognition, freehand drawing, and basic voice-to-text conversion that worked best with an Australian English accent when the network connection cooperated.
Performance in everyday tasks was responsive, helped by the dual-core 1.5GHz chipset and the relatively clean optimisation LG applied to its skin. Multitasking between Gmail, Chrome and Google Maps stayed smooth during a typical commute, and the phone handled 1080p video playback without dropping frames. Heavier 3D titles like Asphalt 7 ran fine, although the GPU occasionally showed its age against the quad-core flagships of that same year.
There were real compromises worth flagging. The screen's 4:3 layout meant 16:9 videos showed huge black letterbox bars at the top and bottom, which felt wasteful on a 5-inch panel. Many apps, designed with widescreen phones in mind, scaled imperfectly onto the square canvas, leaving visible black borders in some games. LG eventually rolled out a Jelly Bean update in select regions, but Australian users on imported firmware often waited months longer than buyers in Seoul for the same software refresh.
How it stacked up against the era's rivals
Putting the Optimus Vu 2 alongside its rivals shows how deliberately LG had shaped the device. The Samsung Galaxy Note II leaned on a wider 5.5-inch 16:9 AMOLED and the well-loved S Pen, making it a more obvious note-taking flagship. The Optimus Vu 2 traded screen real estate for vertical reading space and a more pocket-friendly footprint, appealing to buyers who disliked long, tall phones that stuck out of jeans pockets on a tram ride through Melbourne's Collins Street.
The original Motorola Moto X from 2013 set a different benchmark, focusing on compactness, voice controls, and a clean Android experience rather than stylus features. By 2014, the redesigned 2014 Moto X refresh showed how Motorola was steering its flagship toward mainstream appeal rather than the niche productivity crowd the Vu 2 courted. Where Motorola chased ergonomics, LG pushed for a screen shape that handled PDFs, e-books and sketched diagrams in a way 16:9 panels never quite managed.
| Specification | LG Optimus Vu 2 | Samsung Galaxy Note II | Nokia Lumia 1020 | Motorola Moto X (2013) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.0-inch 4:3 IPS, 768 x 1024 | 5.5-inch 16:9 AMOLED, 720 x 1280 | 4.5-inch AMOLED, 768 x 1280 | 4.7-inch AMOLED, 720 x 1280 |
| Processor | 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 | 1.6 GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 | 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 | 1.7 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 16 GB + microSD | 16/32/64 GB + microSD | 32/64 GB, no microSD | 16/32 GB, no microSD |
| Main camera | 8 MP, 1080p video | 8 MP, 1080p video | 41 MP PureView, 1080p video | 10 MP, 1080p video |
| Battery | 2,150 mAh, removable | 3,100 mAh, removable | 2,000 mAh, non-removable | 2,200 mAh, non-removable |
| Stylus support | Yes, in-box rubber tip | Yes, S Pen | No | No |
| Operating system | Android 4.0, later 4.1 | Android 4.1, later 4.4 | Windows Phone 8, later 8.1 | Android 4.2, later 5.1 |
In the imaging column, the Lumia 1020 phone made its case with a 41-megapixel PureView sensor, but it ran Windows Phone, which limited app availability compared with Android. The Optimus Vu 2 was no flagship killer, but it carved out a niche for buyers who wrote a lot, read a lot, or simply wanted a phone that felt different from the giant rectangles everyone else was carrying through airport terminals across the country.
Camera, battery life and connectivity in daily use
LG equipped the Optimus Vu 2 with an 8-megapixel main camera and a 1.3-megapixel front sensor. Shots in daylight were sharp, with realistic colour rendition and decent dynamic range, although low-light images softened quickly and showed visible noise past sunset. Video recording topped out at 1080p at 30 frames per second, respectable for 2012 even if it fell short of the imaging pedigree of the Nokia Lumia 1020 and its Xenon flash. Around the back, a single LED flash and a small speaker grille completed a relatively understated camera hump.
Battery life was a quieter strength. The removable 2,150 mAh pack delivered a full day of moderate use, including podcast streaming on a Sydney Trains service from Parramatta into the CBD, occasional maps navigation, and a fair amount of stylus note-taking during meetings. Heavy users who streamed video or played games continuously would still need a top-up by late afternoon, and the absent wireless charging option meant hunting for a cable at a busy cafe in Melbourne's Bourke Street mall was a regular occurrence.
Connectivity included Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX audio, NFC on the Korean model, and an infrared blaster that could drive TVs and set-top boxes through LG's QuickRemote app. Australian testers using JB Hi-Fi demo units often remarked that the IR blaster alone made the device a surprisingly handy second-room remote, even before the phone duties were factored in.
Finding one in Australia today
The Optimus Vu 2 never officially reached Australian retail shelves, which is why buyers who want one today usually hunt through grey-import channels. Specialist stores in Sydney's George Street, the QV market in Melbourne, and a handful of Chinatown phone shops still sometimes see Korean and Vietnamese stock, often advertised as "Telstra 3G compatible" or "Optus ready." Prices have ranged from roughly A$120 for a beaten example to around A$220 for a clean unit with its original stylus and box, depending on whether the seller can offer an Australian-standard charger.
Two practical realities are worth flagging. Australia's consumer guarantees, administered through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, do not apply to private grey-import sales in the same way they cover JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman stock, so a faulty unit is essentially a buyer-beware purchase. The Australian Communications and Media Authority's labelling rules also mean that any device sold with mobile connectivity here must carry the RCM compliance tick, and importing an older LG without that mark can technically breach local regulations, although enforcement tends to target bulk sellers rather than casual importers.
For shoppers who want a similar feel without the import headache, our budget phones guide covers newer alternatives with large-screen workflows, including current Android handsets that lean into bigger displays and productivity features. Refurbished Note II stock and second-hand Galaxy Note 3 deals remain easy to find through Melbourne's second-hand electronics markets, and they offer Australian warranty support that a grey-import Optimus Vu 2 simply cannot match, even if they lack the device's unusual 4:3 charm.
If a square-ish stylus phone sounds like exactly the kind of oddball you want in your pocket, the LG Optimus Vu 2 is still worth chasing. Browse the latest listings on your favourite Australian classifieds site, ask the seller about charger compatibility and band support, and confirm the IMEI is clean before handing over any cash. Tap the subscribe button on New Mobile Arrivals for more retro handset deep dives, weekly price trackers, and the occasional oddball review that does not make it onto the usual flagship calendar.