By Charlemagne Losaria
LG?s latest flagship phone has been stirring up news in the mobile industry ever since its announcement late this year. Through the LG G2, the South Korean electronics giant is spearheading a new approach in smartphone design.
A strong contender for the title of the best smartphone in the world, will the G2 finally push LG to new heights and help them take a big chunk of the Android market? Read on and be the judge.
The LG G2 comes in two variants: black and white. The black LG G2 is one of those phones that you tend to appreciate more with the screen off. With almost zero bezel at the sides, the 5.2-inch 1080p IPS panel device looks like a single black slab of glass, save for the silver earpiece and the LG Logo.
The LED notification, proximity sensor, and the 2.1MP front camera are located just west of the earpiece. The 3.5mm headset jack and the dual phone speakers are located underneath, sandwiching the micro-USB port.
The left side houses the slot for the micro-SIM. The back part is made of polycarbonate glossy plastic as opposed to its predecessor, the LG Optimus G, which is made of glass.
Flip it over and you will find a much busier backside. Here, one can find the 13MP camera and LED flash. The volume rocker and the silver-toned power button are located just below the camera lens. The gap between the power button and volume rockers emits white light whenever a notification arrives.
LG previously mentioned that the reason for implementing this new design is to make the overall experience of operating bigger smartphones better by putting more controls in the backside where you?re fingers naturally rest.
Take for example when taking a call. You can adjust the volume of the call using your index finger, which naturally, would rest at the back of the phone.
This new design might take a while getting used to and may not be for everyone. We found operating the device very cumbersome at first, often accidentally pressing the power button instead of the volume up button or vice versa.
If you?re the type of user that holds the phone on the edges and has sweaty hands, waking up the device by pressing the power button at the back may cause the device to slip out of your hands. We found the best way to negate this is by resting your thumb on the screen while pressing the power button using your index finger.
LG may have foreseen the problem the design may cause so they added another unique way to put the device to sleep or to wake up. It is done by simply activating a feature called KnockOn, tapping the screen twice to turn off the screen and tapping the screen twice again to wake up the device. It may take a while getting used to, but it will surely grow on you.
Also, LG designed the buttons slightly indented so worries about the buttons being accidentally activated when laying the device on a flat surface is out of the window. LG took a big gamble on the designs of the LG G2 to make a difference among a sea of smartphones. As consumers, we like to see innovations every now and then.
Performance and features
Powered by a 2.26GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset paired with a 2GB RAM, the LG G2 is a ?beast? of a phone, able to process any application thrown in its way without any lags at all. Benchmark scores from notable benchmark apps are outstanding.
We were very pleased with the battery life of the LG G2, lasting us days on regular use before requiring charging. In standby mode test, we left it untouched and checked four days later and still has 83 percent left in its battery.
The LG G2?s IPS display is stunning as ever with an ideal balance of color, brightness, and saturation. The high 423ppi count on its 5.2-inch screen ensures a true HD Experience. The 13MP camera is one of the best out there, having integrated optical image stabilization (OIS) producing great natural colors and crisp image even on first takes.
Other features of the device include an FM Radio, NFC, wireless charging capability, 24 bit/192kHz HiFi playback and IR Blaster, allowing you to control smart TVs.
On the software side, there are tons of newly added features from last year?s flagship phone. To name a few, there is a new feature called AnswerMe, which allows you to answer incoming calls just by placing the phone near your ear.
Also, there is the Slide Aside feature, which lets you do a three-finger gesture to “slide” open apps off the screen for easy multitasking. The Q-slide feature as we have seen in the LG Optimus G, allows you to run multiple apps running at the same time.
Other features that really stand out are the weather app animation, puzzle alarm clock, and the ability to fully customize the virtual navigation buttons like color and button placing.
Conclusion
The LG G2 really impressed us that no other phones have so far. The overall design is astounding, very seamless, and has that simple yet classic feel to it. The performance and all the features embedded in it are really what make it one of the strong contenders for the title “Best Smartphone of 2013”.
The good
- Big 5.2 inch IPS HD display
- Slim profile
- Long battery Life
- Tap to sleep/wake up functionality
- Exceptional 13MP camera
- Superb overall smartphone experience
The bad
- No micro-SD slot
