The 4X HD also comes with built-in (near-field communications) for making mobile payments. You can use Android Beam, which is built into , to transfer photos, contacts, Web pages, and more to another NFC-equipped Android 4.0 phone.

Camera

Like every other high-end Android phone, the Optimus 4X HD has an 8-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor. In my own hands-on tests, the Optimus 4X took okay photos indoors and good photos outdoors. I took a few snapshots on a sunny day in San Francisco and was impressed with their clarity and color. Indoor photos had a strange, yellowish cast to them. I also noticed a little graininess in some of my shots (click on our still-life test photo, at left, to enlarge) and a lack of sharpness. The cameras on the HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III are much better than that of the LG Optimus 4X HD.

Bottom Line

Sometimes it is hard to not be envious of our neighbors overseas--they seem to get all the cool phones. Here in the United States, we're still waiting for at least one quad-core phone to make its way over here. The LG Optimus 4X HD demonstrates the power of a quad-core processor, particularly in gaming. It also has a gorgeous display and the latest available version of Android to boot. The camera isn't as good as the HTC One phones or the Samsung Galaxy S III, however, and I wish LG had left Android 4.0 alone. But overall, the LG Optimus 4X HD has what it takes to compete with other top-of-the-line Android phones, and I hope that LG brings a version to the United States.