« Searhcing for Wind Power via Land, Sea and Air | Main | Rockefeller Foundation – Creating the Mold for Big Philanthropy »
LG’s Smarter Smartphone
By Neil Peterson | December 9, 2009
With the release of Apple’s first iPhone in summer 2007, the company singlehandedly raised the bar for what consumers could expect from a smartphone. Blackberry and Sidekick had already proven that people would pay for phones with email, camera and wi-fi capability – but the iPhone made it look good, marrying great design with an intuitive user interface. Considering their current market share, it will take nothing less than a ‘game-changer’ to knock the iPhone from it’s podium. Fortunately with the LG eXpo GW820 smartphone, that’s just what users can expect.
LG did their homework. The GW820 delivers the user-friendly features of the iPhone – simple touchscreen, extensive national call coverage through AT&T, point-and-shoot photo capability, and an extensive bank of downloadable applications – but it’s the improvements they made on an already-proven technology that makes this phone a contender that Apple should keep its eye on.
LG GW820 Expo!
PC User-friendly
We’re not all Macs. Unlike the iPhone, which runs on a lighter version of the Apple operating system, this LG phone includes all the software standard to any Microsoft-running machine. Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook are all pre-loaded on the GW820, so syncing between computer and phone should be a snap.
Sliding QWERTY keyboard
One of the greatest failings of the iPhone (and one that has not been rectified in subsequent versions) is the keyboard – or rather, the lack of one. Typing out emails, status updates, text messages and tweets can be a monumentally frustrating task – even for small hands. The GW820 features a full QWERTY keyboard – much like the Blackberry – but LG”s version slides out from under the display to keep the device’s footprint as small as possible.
Biometric Security
A four-digit pass code might be sufficient – but why not err on the safe side? Although other companies have attempted it, the GW820 is one of the first phones on the consumer market to feature biometric security – so only your unique fingerprint will unlock it. Overkill? Maybe not. Between emails, personal contacts, and personal-information-storing applications – there might be more of you on your phone than you realize.
Projector Capability
This is GW820′s Big Kahuna. Appealing to the business market, LG designed the phone to work in tandem with an integrated projector (purchased separately). Capable of displaying slideshows, videos, web pages and presentations, the phone can project images up to 40″ onto any surface.
At first glance, it might appear that the GW820 is merely an iPhone in disguise – a clever gimmick from LG designed to lure away a few thousands Microsoft-friendly consumers. Yes, the GW820 does do everything the iPhone does (with a few, important improvements) – only it does it a little bit better. Its 5 mega-pixel camera has built-in flash with autofocus, it runs several applications simultaneously – and for those diehard PC users, there’s no Mac OS learning curve. It might not knock the iPhone out of the top spot – but it’s one worth keeping your eye on.
Related Posts
- The iPhone Holiday Survival Guide
- Cool to theTouch – Apple’s Latest iPod
- Flipping Out Over the Flip Video Camera
Share this Post
Topics: Favorite Things, General | No Comments »