The LG Optimus L5 is the middle phone in the trio of L-style handsets unveiled by LG at MWC 2012 in Barcelona.

Expected to enter into the mid-range mobile market, a quick glance at the spec sheet does leave us wondering if the Optimus L5 may be lacking in power and features.

The Optimus L5 offers up a 800MHz processor which is relatively slow in comparison to over mid-range handsets such as the 1.5GHz dual-core HTC One S.

Style-wise the Optimus L5 fares better with the soon to be iconic straight edges and slim (9.88mm) build of LG's L-Style featuring on the device which has a plastic case with a metal edge running around the circumference.

Although the majority of the phone is plastic the Optimus L5 feels solid and sturdy in the hand and the addition of the textured back cover does provide a slightly premium feel to the handset.

A big plus point for the Optimus L5 is that it's running Ice Cream Sandwich (version 4.0.3), the latest version of Google's Android operating system. LG has added its own overlay which is excitingly named "LG 3.0 UI", but it hasn't gone to town like HTC's Sense overlay, instead opting to keep ICS quite pure.

Although Ice Cream Sandwich runs smoothly we did experience some slowness when swiping between the seven home screens and browsing the pages of apps, which is a result of the lowly 800MHz processor inside.

The 4-inch HVGA (320x480) TFT screen is bright and crisp and although it lacks the pop of super -AMOLED displays as found of the Galaxy S2 and the like, it's a decent screen for this mid-range device.

The qwerty touchscreen keyboard is reasonably space, but we would it lacking accuracy so you may want to consider downloading a third party option from the Android Market.

Round the back you'll find a 5MP camera with video recording and LED flash. The camera app took a few seconds to load up and we found a second or two delay between being able to take shots.

Auto-focus, tap-focus and numerous scene, modes and effect options are available from within the app, allowing you to tweak you snaps in a multitude of ways.

The Optimus L5 only allows you to capture video at VGA (640x480) quality which is disappointing considering we are getting used to seeing 720p video recording supported on a lot of handsets.

It's good to see that LG has included NFC technology inside the Optimus L5 which will allow you to perform contactless payments and use LG's new Tag+ system.

Expect to see the LG Optimus L5 land in the UK during Q3 and although LG we unable to comment on pricing we reckon it will come in around £200.

The Optimus L5 looks like it's going to be a bit hit and miss. The slow processor, poor video recording quality and difficult to use keyboard does put some real negatives down for the handset.

However the L-style design, Ice Cream Sandwich support and NFC technology may sway some to opt for the LG Optimus L5.