Succeeding in KS360, the LG GW520 is a sliding mobile phone with QWERTY keyboard like its predecessor. Affordable Equipment, midrange, touch screen… With its characteristics, this mobile phone targets a rather young audience optimized for e-mails and SMS. Does it has sufficient assets to take over and meet the same success as that of the KS360? Our opinion after testing…
LG GW520 which has been sent to us for our evaluation comes with the pearly white keyboard with gray color mouse sold by major operators (it is also found in black and blue or black and orange). Rather square shape, barely thinner than its predecessor (1.59 cm against 1.68 cm), this new mobile offers nothing very original in design, or leaves a somewhat negative impression. The plastic shell while there is probably something, especially the smooth part, not pearl, which forms a wide margin around the screen. The finishes are quite correct.
A keyboard comfortable but a little color choices suitable
The unit is dedicated to messaging because you can configure multiple POP accounts, the first review focused on the keyboard. Large buttons and equipped with slightly rounded and well spaced, the last four lines is to use, quite comfortable. The letters are white on a gray background supported, so quite readable. In contrast, the second characters (punctuation, numbers, etc..) are in red, which, even with the backlight on, is not a very wise choice. Unless you have eyes of a lynx, one is often obliged to direct the phone to a light source to distinguish them. These shortcomings will fade with practice.
But like LG has done in the original by placing the numbers in a block of 16 keys and not on a line like a true QWERTY keyboard, the task is tough! Damage also affects a "smiley" that was not added. It is possible to insert the emoticon of your choice from a database.
An application to communicate in a fun and practical
We then examined the LiveSquare software of LG. The principle is simple: when the user creates or modifies a contact, it may match an avatar from a database made available by LG. Their design is not extraordinary but the interest does not lie at this level.
In fact, when the user enters in oral or written communication with one of his contacts, the avatar of the latter becomes lodged on the second screen of the mobile phone. A bit like animated gifs, these little gestures, blowing kisses, sports, and more interesting, simply drag a finger tab to call or message to launch these applications. Better, yet a pressure on the screen gives access to the history of conversations held with these avatars; an original idea and rather convenient to contact his family without losing a single second.
However, LG did not develop Facebook application on its phones, which is a shame for devices equipped to written communication. For social networks, in general, we must go through the WAP browser and use mobile versions, which do not pose too many problems with compatibility 3.5 billion and the wide screen diagonal (7 cm).
A relatively responsive touchscreen
To facilitate navigation through the menus, the GW520 has a full touch screen interface unlike that of KS360, limited to few applications. To lock, LG had the foresight to include a dedicated button. Despite a resistive type screen, the interface is relatively reactive, but somewhat slow. It is very far from the comfort offered by a high-end device but nothing crippling.
The multimedia functions of GW520 prove complete and satisfactory overall, with some caveats. The headset provided by LG does not have excellent grades and as the connection type is USB microphone, it is not possible to connect a standard headset for listening to MP3 player or radio. Worse, via the integrated speakerphone, the sound is feeble, lacking bass and sharpness.
Pictures taken with the 3-megapixel sensor is very acceptable in good lighting conditions, like a video except its a little sputtering. The resolution is limited to 320×240 pixels. For storage media, be better off buying a microSD card, easily insertable through a slot on the side of the device.
Key Features
- Full 2.8” touchscreen: Use the 2.8” touchscreen to tap out your message or slide back the screen to reveal the QWERTY keypad – it’s like a proper keyboard, only smaller.
- High-speed 3G (HSDPA 7.2): Don’t wait ages for websites to load. With a high-speed 3G (HSDPA 7.2) connection, you can check out all your favorite pages in no time.
- 3 Megapixel Camera: Capture your favorite moments in all their glory with a 3 megapixel camera.
- LiveSquare visual alerts: See the friends you contact the most as avatars on your homescreen. If a friend drops you a text, their avatar will tell you there’s a message – then just click on the avatar and you’ll go straight to it.
- Threaded Messaging: Organize your text messages into ongoing “threads" for a conversation-like effect.
Specifications
- Type: Slide phone
- QWERTY Keyboard: Yes
- RF Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 900/2100, HSDPA 7.2
- Dimension: L x W x D (mm): 106.9 x 53 x 15.9
- Weight with Batt. Standard (g): 125.5
- Standby Time, Max (hrs): Up to 500
- Talk Time (hrs): Up to 4.5
- Display: 262K, TFT
- External LCD (Pixel): 240 x 400, 2.8 inch
- Java (version): Yes (MIDP 2.1)
- FM Radio: Yes
- Camera: Yes
- Camera Resolution (MP): 3
- Internal Memory: Up to 40MB
- External Memory: Micro SD (up to 8GB)
- MP3: Yes
- Bluetooth: Yes
- Touch Screen: Yes
- Video Recording: Yes
- Document Viewer: Yes
- E Mail: Yes
- Instant Messaging: Yes
Conclusion
From a design point of view, the LG GW520 is equipped for mobile text input, with its broad, comfortable keyboard. The system of animated avatars created by LG stay in contact with its tribe which is original and quite practical, even if the graphics captivate is not that 100%. This model is clearly not free of defects. However, its major asset is its relatively low cost to attract the consumers.
Pros
- The large QWERTY keyboard
- Compatibility with 3.5 G
- The touchscreen
- The complete multimedia functions
Cons
- Nothing
