Penny Mobiles – Mobile phone news, reviews & information
Penny Mobiles brings you up to date information on mobile phones, including how to get the latest handsets for cheaper. A penny for your thoughts on mobile technology.
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Well, it looks like LG has been pretty busy lately. Despite the initial reports from HTC and Asus, it looks like LG is far ahead of its peers when it comes to developing the very first Windows Phone 7 series smart phone.
As much as we would like to say that we are impressed, the new device is still short of our expectations. While the OS to be used will definitely be something, there is that slight disappointment at the generic looking phone that we saw in the images.
The LG Panther comes with a pretty glossy plastic body. Matte is significantly better, it is edgy and classy; better yet, it is not a fingerprint magnet. The keypad on the slide out QWERTY keyboard on the other hand is very promising. The keys look pretty spacious, though we do prefer the 5 row setup which makes numbers much easier to type in.
Specs wise, LG is quiet. The back of the phone clearly shows that a 5 mega pixel camera will be present on the device, the rest we can only guess about. Qualcomm’s chips will be used in the CPU –Microsoft did announce that WP7 is exclusive to Qualcomm technology so we are expecting to see either the Snapdragon 1GHz processor or maybe the upcoming dual core version.
The large display will definitely be a capacitive touch screen. Since WP7 relies heavily on touch based controls and gestures, it would not be surprising to have a capacitive AMOLED screen that can handle the graphic intensity of the new OS.
Reports state that we can expect to see the device come out this coming September. It is a lot earlier that the initially announced holiday release; and we are certainly not complaining.
Read more about the new WP7 device from LG at Pocket Lint.
Now for some information regarding the new LG GD910 watch phone. Cue the inevitable Dick Tracy references. It seems that any article or blog post regarding the new LG watch phone, and its Samsung rival the S9110, has to make at least one mention on the 1950’s comic book hero. Why? Perhaps this is the easiest reference to watch phones and a good way to get an article moving, but anyway I am pretty sure there are plenty of other cultural references that can be pillaged instead.
But this post is not about Dick Tracy, it is about the new LG GD910 watch phone. This is not the first watch phone to be released; in fact they have been around for a number of years. This may come as news to you, you may have never come across a watch phone before – but this is no great loss. If you have never seen a watch phone before it is for a reason; they were always shoddy and disappointingly crude, a far cry from the Dick Tracy fantasy that many a young comic-reader often hoped for.
The LG GD910 is noteworthy for this very fact; it is the first watch phone that is actually feasible and worthwhile owning. With the recent developments in touch screen phones, high speed data transfer and video calling the watch phone is more and more aligning itself with the mental image people have of such a device. Being able to communicate face to face with someone through a gadget strapped to your wrist is something that was once merely consigned to laughable sci-fi films in the bargain bin at BlockBuster, or an unconvincing piece on yesterdays Tomorrows World.
Touch screen technology is also another advancement that makes the whole having-a-phone-on-your-watch idea a lot more appealing, as now the whole face of the watch can be dedicated to the display, rather than having to compete for space with physical buttons. The technology used here is the more favourable capacitive (made famous on phones like the iPhone) that provides greater sensitivity while not requiring you to apply excessive pressure onto the screen.
Having a watch that can make video calls (as well as ordinary calls of course), send and receive text messages, play music and take photographs is something most people will rightfully get excited about – Dick Tracy fan or not. Sure there are limitations – things the GD910 can’t do that an ordinary candybar phone can; but even then there are many features to be found on the GD910 that are not even found on many standard non-watch phones.
With LG is announcing that they are working on their second Android mobile phone, people are starting to forget that the GW620 is also an Android smart phone. Well, it is hard to blame anyone for forgetting. With Sony Ericsson announcing the first Android smart phone to run on the Snapdragon 1 GHz processor and Motorola bringing the latest version of the Android to UK shores, all the other noteworthy Android devices got shoved out of the spotlight.
Acer also has their own Snapdragon Android phone too. LG does not like being in the sidelines too much as they too announced that they are now working on their second Android smart phone and they will be using a Snapdragon processor.
Ups and Downs
Check the LG GW620 deals with local carriers and see if any are offering good packages. At this point, it makes a little more sense to get the HTC over this model in terms of design aesthetics and functions. Price-wise, the decision goes either way. The three inch touch screen may not be that attractive as it is smaller than other 3G smart phones and the resistive touch is not as responsive as capacitive technology. Users of the Android would prefer capacitive touch screen since the OS is meant for finger touch commands than the use of a stylus.
Android Nonetheless
LG’s GW620 is an Android device with decent specs, and back then, when Android mobile phones were scarce, this would have been a very welcome addition. But with all the new mobile phones also using the Google Android operating system, it is hard to appreciate the GW620 when there are plenty of other models out there with better specifications. The 5 mega pixel camera is a nice touch, and so is the physical keyboard, but aside from these two selling points, the device has nothing much to offer that other Android devices do not have.
In late September, LG had announced the release of its latest phone in the Chocolate series. The stunning BL 20 Chocolate is available in the UK on O2, where it will be available for a price of €269. With the increasing interest of consumers in LG BL 20, O2 can potentially enjoy some healthy sales after it lost the exclusive rights to sell the iPhone.
LG BL 20 Chocolate is a pretty impressive design, which is somewhat similar to the earlier Chocolate series release, the BL 40. The BL 20 is a really slim design despite being a slider phone, and is only 12.3 mm thick. However, the screen of BL 20 is much smaller than that of LG BL 40. The LG BL 20 features a 2.4 inch TFT screen and a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. The phone has a slider keypad in red, which is in combination with the dark appearance of the phone. The slider keypad of the phone is impressive as compared to other phones as sliding open the phone reveals hidden navigation keys, which is an attractive design feature. The phone also features touch sensitive side keys, which offer great convenience in controlling functions like volume and zoom.
LG BL 20 features a 5.0 mega pixel camera with auto focus and flash. Another very unique and impressive feature of the phone is clear memo capture with text scan, which enables you to scan documents and texts with stunning detail. The interface of LG BL 20 Chocolate features Widget Hotkeys, which help you to instantly access your favorite web services and other information such as news and weather updates. The supported network modes include 3G, EDGE and GPRS with WAP 2.0, HTML and X-HTML browsing. Other features include Bluetooth, USB support, FM Radio, MP3, speakerphone and voice recording. Coming to the O2 network there is sure to be lots of great LG BL20 Chocolate contracts on offer.
The saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ rings true when you look at the LG GW550. The phone has such a stark resemblance to most Blackberry phones. This is mainly accentuated by the full – QWERTY keyboard, which copies its layout from Blackberry phones. Of course, when we look at how successful Blackberry have been among both the youth and the businessmen, we can easily understand as to why LG went for their design. The LG GW550 Reviews aren’t too bad of the phone, so let’s have a look at the phone for ourselves.
The LG GW550 doesn’t have looks which will make heads turn around. However, the phone is perfect for those who want to be discreet and don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention. The navigation controls of the phone are situated between the keyboard and the screen. The screen used in the phone is a 2.5 inch TFT display which has a crisp resolution of 320×240 pixels and can display a maximum of 65,000 colours.
The phone comes pre – installed with the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard. The phone supports communications apps such as push – email and IM. Office as well as PDF files can be viewed on the phone. However, the disappointing part of this is that you can’t edit them. The music player is efficient and sorts your songs according to album, genre and artists. The video player supports playing 3GP and MPEG4 video files. The internal memory of the phone isn’t really something to boast about, but you can expand the internal memory of the phone upto a maximum of 8 GB by using the microSD memory card slot. Stereo Bluetooth is supported, enabling you to use your Bluetooth headsets with the phone. The phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera and supports HSDPA internet connectivity.
Pricing or release date details have not been revealed, but we expect it to be released during the 3rd quarter of this year. Around that time you will be able to pick up some great LG GW500 deals so make sure you keep up to date with whats going on.
The LG GW300 serves to be a low end phone with in built e mail and Facebook facilities for the users who need the Internet at every single second of a day. Plus, the QWERTY keyboard of this LG GW300 is simply amazing to use. The handset is equipped with 2.4 inches 240 x 320 display that is QVGA, USB 2.0, 95 gm weight, stereo Bluetooth as well as 2.5G GSM, EDGE/GPRS networks. The phone has physical QWERTY keypad with a sleek style. It is a fully featured mobile phone which is mainly focused on thumb pressing, Twitter viewing, social networking. In truth, it has the Facebook client which makes it really convenient for the customers to remain connected with their family and friends. Other amazing features of the LG phone include SMS, MMS, 2 MP camera and other high end facilities. The phone is also a great MP3 player for the music aficionados. The device however does not provide the 3G connectivity and the Wi Fi option.
The Micros SD memory cards of the LG GW300 can be utilized easily to beef up the device’s memory as per the preferences of the user. LG has selected the Spanish market to experiment this handset for first time. Even though the LG Berry release was a super hit in UK markets, LG is still not opening its mouth as far as the price tag of LG GW 300 is concerned.
A nice web browser, quick access to social networking sites and email client are the main features of this LG gizmo. It can thus be said that this phone is the one that is featured with a really racy appearance. The display resolution is superb with keeping in mind the needs of tech savvy users.
LG GW300 Links:
The LG Louvre GC990 is one of the new camera phones to hit the market later this year. The 12 MP camera on it is the best of its class. Not only is the resolution of this device outstanding, but it is also unmatched in terms of photo and video editing options. In addition to the top class still shots, even videos can be recorded with HD resolution at 30 frames per second. This 12 MP camera utilizes Schneider-Kreuznach optics. This professional lens ensures that all photos captured have excellent detail and clarity. The auto touch focus feature allows you to focus on an object in the screen by just touching it! This feature enhances your photo taking ability even further, as it allows you to focus on any point in the viewfinder that you wish to focus on. You can even zoom in on a section of your view finder this way. Dim light photography is also equally good in terms of resolution as the xenon flash illuminates the object extremely well, even if you capture the shot in pitch darkness.
The LG Louvre GC990 also allows geo tagging. This means that you can tag an image with geographical coordinates after you capture the image. The zero shutter lag feature is also useful as it allows you to capture photos in real time without any shutter lag. This makes the camera on the LG Louvre GC990 as good as any top class stand alone camera.
With GPRS, EDGE, and Wi-Fi, you have nothing to complain about in terms of connectivity features. The LG Louvre GC990 even allows you to access DLNA. The onboard GPS receiver only adds to the utility of the phone by making it an invaluable navigation tool as well.
LG Louvre GC990 Links:
Out of the new touch screen phones that are in the market right now, the LG BL40 Chocolate stands out in terms of usability and appearance. The block form factor makes it easy to carry the phone around in even the smallest space. Featuring a 4 inch TFT display with a top class resolution, you can watch your media at a quality close to cinema screen quality. The dual screen user interface is one of the most interesting features as this allows you to run 2 applications on the phone at the same time without any sort of time lag or delay. You can even check on the status of both the applications thanks to the dual screen.
Connectivity options of the LG BL40 Chocolate include class 10 GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi. All of these ensure that you can access the internet wherever you are. This makes the LG BL40 Chocolate ideal for you whether you are a music lover, a social networking addict or even both!
The battery life of the phone is quite decent as with moderate use, it lasts for a good 3-4 days. Transferring data across a short distance is easy via the Bluetooth chip built in the phone itself. In addition to all these features, the LG BL40 Chocolate also comes with an inbuilt GPS receiver. This allows you to use the phone, as a navigation tool, for hiking or even just simply to find your way around. Capturing your precious memories is another one of the many reasons to get the LG BL40 Chocolate, as the 5 MP camera captures photos with excellent detail. The best thing is that all these features are incorporated in a simple user friendly interface which is easy to manage.
LG BL40 Chocolate Links:
Out of all the touch screen phones to be launched this year, the LG GT505 stands out. This phone is one of the few touch screen phones in the market right now to feature a top class touch screen that covers the entire the front panel of the phone. The LG GT505 allows 3G connectivity which is a big advantage as this means that the user can download files off the internet at top speeds. The LG GT505 was launched earlier this year in June. The one thing that many users complain about the LG GT505 is that it is one of the bulkier models to be launched by LG this year. This makes the phone difficult to fit into any small pocket.
The 3inch touch screen is of the TFT type and allows up to 256000 colors to be displayed which makes the phone a good one to view your favorite media on. The 240 x 400 pixel resolution allows videos displayed to have excellent detail. The user interface of the LG GT505 falls in the A-class category which means that the accelerometer in the screen allows the user to rotate the screen of the phone to view media on. If you want to store media on the LG GT505, you can use the microSD memory card slot on the side of the phone. This allows you to use multiple memory cards to store your memory in.
Other than the 3G, the LG GT505 has other top class connectivity options as well. The class 10 EDGE allows you to connect to a variety of networks. If you want to transfer data across a short distance, you can always use the Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP. This is useful if you want to transfer small files. If larger files or folders are to be transferred, you have to make use of the USB cable.
The LG GT505 is the newest social networking phone to have been released by LG which will be much more than just a mobile phone. With high speed internet, top – notch features and a super clear display, the phone is sure to be a big hit among all the people who use the phone as the internet function along is sure to wow them.
The LG GT505 has a touchscreen bar and comes with a 3 inch touch screen display which is capable of displaying a maximum of 256k colours. The phone makes use of the A-Class user interface, which gives you an absolutely amazing experience rather than the boring S-Class user interface. High resolution photography, video recording and geo tagging are all possible via the 5 megapixel autofocus camera which is complemented with the LED flash. A secondary call camera is present for making video calls.
For internet enthusiasts, the LG GT505 has a good set of connectivity options, including 7.2 Mbps HSDPA for high speed internet access. You can also go to a Wi-Fi hotspot and surf the net using the Wi-Fi network present. Since this phone is meant mainly for social networking, you can make use of ‘push’ updates, whereby users will be able to see the latest updates on their social networking profile and update their status from time to time. The phone has a WAP 2.0 browser and also comes with WisePilot, which is a navigation service.
The LG GT505’s only colour scheme is black and is capable of being used on all networks. The media player has support for all audio and video formats such as MP3 and MP4. All your songs, pictures and videos can be stored on the phone, whose memory can be expanded upto a maximum of 8 GB via the microSD memory card slot.
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