LG officially announced their Optimus One smartphone back in September, but the entry-level Froyo handset is only now making its sales debut.  We caught up with LG in London for the Optimus One launch event, and grabbed some hands-on time with the phone.

First impressions are that the Optimus One, unsurprisingly, is not going to set the Android world alight.  The phone has a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen and a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, though it never felt particularly sluggish, as well as a 3.2-megapixel camera on the back and 3G/WiFi/Bluetooth.  There’s Google Maps Navigation support, along with mobile hotspot functionality, and a 2GB microSD card included in the box.

LG has made a few modifications to the base Froyo build, and generally they’re pretty useful.  The shortcut bar at the bottom of the display can be easily switched around to show your choice of four apps – you just tap and hold an icon in the app launcher, then drag it down to the slot you’d like it to occupy – and there’s a new folder-style organizing system for the app launcher itself.  Meanwhile uninstalling apps is easy too, with an iOS-style “X” button on each icon rather than users being forced to dig through the menus.

The LG Optimus One is available through UK retailer The Carphone Warehouse from today, priced from free with a new, £20 per month contract.  More details in the gallery and video below.