Hands-on review: MWC 2015: LG Spirit

This is a flash hands on review to give you the chance to see what the phone is all about as soon as possible. Stay tuned as we'll be expanding and upgrading this review shortly with more info.The LG Spirit is one of four new phones announced by LG at MWC 2015, and while it doesn't quite have the punch of the Magna, it's pretty close. The battery is a little smaller at 2100mAh, although with a 4.7-inch 720p screen to power it's going to be quite light on the power pack.The phone also uses a quad core chip clocked at 1.3GHz, so should be up to all the heavy lifting needed.In terms of design, the LG Spirit feels compact and soft in the hand, with the elegant curve on the back belying the lower cost of production. The sides are slightly angular, and the buttons once again placed on the back – knocking the screen is the best way to unlock it, but you can also hit the rear power button.The screen itself is nice and bright, with LG's In-cell technology improving contrast ratios and responsiveness under the finger… it's certainly got a lot more sensitivity than expected for a mid-range phone.The camera is 8MP on the rear, which will probably do well for most people looking for a lower cost device – however the 8GB of internal storage doesn't sound like it will hold too many bits of your favourite media.Early verdictThe LG Spirit is a mid-range phone that needs a competitive price to avoid sinking below the surface in a congested market.The build quality and screen are decent, with the camera relatively impressive – time will tell if it gets dubbed the big winner in this quartet of new phones.

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