Review LG has produced a slew of good-looking handsets recently, not least with its sleek ‘n’ smooth Chocolate series. With its S-class UI it’s also got a snappy icon-based interface which gets a little bit of an update with the LG GM750.
LG’s GM750: all the trimmings, but lacks finesse
The phone is exclusive to Vodafone and echoes the good looks of LG’s higher end smart phones as well as much of their specs, including a 3in touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6.5, a 5Mp Camera, Wi-Fi and HSDPA 3G with downloads up to 7.2 Mbps. Even so, actually using it turned out to be a bit of a pain
Looking not hugely different from other LG touch screen phones such as the Arena and Cookie, the GM750 is fairly chunky at 110x54x13mm and 120g but it has slick bevelled sides and corners to lessen the effect.
Above the touchscreen is a VGA Camera for video calls, light sensor and speaker, with touch-sensitive call start and stop buttons below with a navpad in-between. This is nicely sensitive by the way, and often proved preferable to using the screen itself, as we’ll see. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Less, they say, is more, and that’s certainly a maxim LG believes in if the Pop – aka the GD510 – is anything to go by. This is one small phone, yet it presents a full touch-based user interface and simple, clear styling that will make some wonder if it’s one answer to the long hoped for iPhone Nano.
LG’s Pop: nice and small
Should Jobs and co worry? Alas no, because as impressive as the Pop looks, it’s let down by its key component: the touchscreen.
The phone we use every day has a capacitive screen, but we’ve been testing phones with resistive touchscreens for years – HTC offerings, mostly. After all that stabbing away with fingers and stylii, not triggering a tap unless we pushed really hard, here, thanks to capacitive touchscreen tech was a display that was never less than totally responsive.
Capacitive is, without question, the way all of today’s touchscreens should be.
And LG’s gone and put one of the old-style ones on the Pop. Right from the off, it makes using the phone more of a chore than it ought to be, simply because it slows you down. If a tap or a swipe of your fingertip doesn’t work first time, you have to try again. And sometimes one or two times more. The Pop’s display will respond eventually, but how much time will you have wasted? Read the rest of this entry »
Review LG’s first Chocolate was promoted as a style phone but now, several incarnations in, its become more than just a sweet talker. The LG New Chocolate BL40 looks like nothing else (except perhaps a bar of Cadbury’s Bourneville), with its 21:9 cinematic widescreen and elongated proportions. Yet, besides its unusual look, it also has a 5Mp Camera, Wi-Fi, HSDPA 3G, A-GPS, an upgraded S-Class UI with widgets and an FM radio, plus a host of other features.
Dandy candy: LG’s New Chocolate BL40
To our eyes, the BL40 looks lovely, with its glass front, glossy black plastic back, tasteful metal strip around the sides with some snazzy red trim on top and bottom. This distinctive look won’t appeal to everyone but get better acquainted with it, and there’s a lot to like. Initially, the dimensions of 128 x 51 x 11mm seem bizarre but we soon got used to its stretch limo aesthetics. At 129g it’s no lightweight, but at least feels sturdy and well made in the hand.
Around the sides the controls are rather stylishly built into that metallic strip and include a volume rocker, Camera shutter, music key, a micro USB socket covered by a plastic grommet and there’s a 3.5mm jack plug on top next to the power key. The back is plain except for the Schneider Kreuznach Camera lens and LED flash. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Smartphones we are familiar with. Watches too. But combining the two is quite rare. Sure, there are sports watches that can collect information about training sessions and share it with a computer. Those with longer memories will recall things like Casio’s data bank watches with their weeny keyboards, and there was the Palm OS watch from US timepiece specialist Fossil. Yet, LG’s GD910 Watch phone is certainly the most sophisticated offering we’ve seen in the wristwear department.
Indeed, this is definitely more phone than watch. With its touchscreen, Bluetooth, HSDPA, 80MB of internal memory and a Camera for two way video calls, it certainly gives a good initial impression. The real questions are: is it usable, and would anyone really want to spend £500 on one?
Before we get to the detail of features, it is worth taking a look at the design. First thing of note: this is one big watch with a 1.4in screen. There’s a fair amount of unused space around its edges, so that the front fascia of the watch measures 39mm wide and 49mm tall. It’s also 13.8mm thick – quite a chunk to have on a wrist. Moreover, our GD910 weighed in at 90g. If you are used to wearing something svelte, you’re certainly going to notice it bulk and weight.
The general look is impressive. Build quality is good, the strap is robust faux leather with a sliding adjuster, so you can ensure a snug fit. The right, side-mounted Call, Back/Clear and End/main power buttons are well made and solid. Sure, you might scratch the screen, but in general the watch, er, phone, er, watch phone feels like it will take some knocks. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The LG GD900 Crystal wouldn’t be the first mobile to sell itself on a gimmick. But in today’s increasingly competitive market, a gimmick just isn’t enough. The new Crystal’s schtick is that it has a see-through keypad – as in, transparent.
LG’s GD900 Crystal
It’s not completely transparent of course, the numbers are displayed as grey etchings, which light up when the keypad is touched. And it’s not just a keypad either, since it also doubles as a multi-function trackpad.
Also on board is a 3in touch screen, 8Mp Camera, HSDPA 3G (7.2Mbps), quad-band GSM, Wi-Fi, the Symbian S60 operating system and LG’s very cool S-Class user interface. So it’s clearly more than just a pretty keypad.
The LG GD900 Crystal isn’t the slimmest or lightest slider at 105 x 53 x 14mm and 120g but it’s perfectly pocketable, nonetheless. The front is dominated by the 3in, 800 x 480 pixel, capacitive touch screen and above it are loudspeaker, VGA Camera and light sensor. Below the screen are three touch-sensitive keys: call start and stop, plus a shortcut to the spinning cube version of LG’s S-Class interface, which we last saw on the Viewty Smart. Read the rest of this entry »
