The phone that introduced me to the world of Windows Phone

Released in 2010, the Optimus 7 is one of the first generation of Windows Phone 7 smartphones. As part of the first generation, its quite similar ins specifications to other Windows Phones of the time, with a single core Snapdragon processor running at 1Ghz, Adreno 200 graphics core and 512MB of RAM. For storage , it has 16GB onbord memory, but no expandable memory, a 3.8 inch screen and a 5 megapixel camera with a dedicated camera button.

This model was purchased back in 2011, originally unlocked from Expansys. Originally Running Windows Phone 7, it was alter upgraded with the NoDo update, followed by Mango and eventually the 7.8 update.

Windows Phone 7 had no screenshot support so images are captured by pointing a camera to the screen.

Bundled Apps

LG had bundled a few applications with the handset, which were available on the LG Apps Store section on the Marketplace. There were a few other apps that could be downloaded but have since been nixed by Microsoft. A few I can remember was a web and walk app, and a couple of Winnie apps that did nothing spectacular.
Since the phon was factory reset at some point (gave it to a relative after they managed another iPhone) meaning all the original apps have since been lost.

Network Setup

Used to setup the network operator, to install settings for the APN and MMS configuration. Usually this is dedicated automatically by the network operator but you can manually amend them using this utility.

ScanSearch

This would search for local buisness and point of interest by suing the Gps and the phones camera to scan for barcodes or items. Its sort of like an augmented reality application that displays businesses according to the camera. I guess it was useful if you were in an unknown location and needed to find a local shop. Either Bing or Google could be used to locate the information.

As you can guess, the network functionality is dead now.

PlayTo

A DLNA casting app that lets you share photos, music and video stored on the phone, which can then be displayed on any device that supports DLNA like a network connected TV, console (PS3) or Windows Media Player (11+). In this example it picked up my AV receiver (Yamaha RX-481D)
The app does warn that DRM protected content will not be shared, so no music purchased from the Zune store.

As screen mirroring or casting was not a common features in smartphones, setting up your phone as a DLNA server was an alternative workaround for displaying content on the big screen.

Panorama

A basic app that lets you take a panoramic photo, the app will guide you through the process of capturing a panoramic picture, which it will then stitch together.

MFG

A test application that used to access the phones registry, and to access developer related options. This can be accessed by entering ##634# into the phone dialler app, and then entering the password 277634#*# followed by pressing enter. You can also perform a few hardware tests for the touchscreen, camera, light and proximity sensors.