MWC 2012: Hands-on with the LG Optimus L7, L5, and L3

The mid-range and budget range of the mobile phone spectrum are often overlooked in these quarters.

Their slower processors and out-of-date software means that they're often left looking like high-end devices from a few years previous. The design of these 'poor-relations' phones, meanwhile, is often as cheap looking as their price tags suggess.

LG has used this year's Mobile World Congress to announce its latest super-high-end phone, the Optimus 4X HD, and this device naturally dominates LG's large booth across the way from archrivals Samsung.

But, one of the other large areas on LG's stand is reserved for another stylish-looking set of devices that LG is labelling the "L Style" range. This family of handsets is spearheaded by the Optimus L7.

Taking its design cues from LG's recently released Prada phone, the L7 (and its smaller brethren: the L5 and L3) may not pack the same computational power as the Tegra 3-powered Optimus 4X HD, but it punches well above its mid-ranged price tag in the looks department.

LG calls the curved back and edges of the L Style phones "Floating Mass", which sets all my 'cynical, pretentious marketing twoddle' alarm bells ringing.

Sadly for good taste, LG's actually spot-on with that description. Thanks to the angle the sides drop away at, the L Style phones all look weirdly like they're floating above the surface by a few centimetres. It also makes the lithe frames (the L7 measures in at just 8.8mm) seem thinner than they actually are.

The handsets' innards, however, are less impressive, with the L7 packing a 1GHz single-core CPU, and the L5 and L3 using a 800MHz (yes, it's back to megahertz) processor.

This massive cutting back in terms of raw speed does have the pleasant side effect of a heavily reduced price, mind, with the LG rep hinting that the L3 is expected to be available for less than £90 on PAYG.

While all three of LG's new mid-range blowers possess the same basic 'floating' style design, the build quality does suffer as the price drops.

All of the models have a smart, rough back that's oddly pleasing to stroke (don't look at me like that), but the L3's small 3.2-inch screen and more plastic-like construction betray its target market.

It's also the only one of the three phones to ship with the Android Gingerbread OS: both the L7 and L5 will hit the market with Ice Cream Sandwich strapped to their screens.

LG has also sprinkled some sweet extras on top of Google's mobile operating system, including the ability to resize applications, with LG apps turning into widgets once they reach a certain size.

The L Style series may not be gunning for the hearts of the high-end buyer, but the slick and somewhat unique look of the range means that they may well be a hit with consumers looking for a free phone on contract or a cheap PAYG option.

The LG Optimus L3 will launch in the UK around March, while the Optimus L5 and Optimus L7 should appear in shops sometime during the second quarter of the year.