Review: LG GM750

Windows Mobile devices with full frontal touchscreens tend towards the large side of things at the moment. Not so LG’s GM750 which is a fairly small format handset. It is deceptively small, in fact, and light to hold and pocket. It is nice to see the range of features that are crammed into the casing, and, if you can live with the small screen and are a fan of Vodafone, which has this device as an exclusive, then it could be a very good choice.

The GM750’s core features are quite alluring. Windows Mobile 6.5 is here and LG has put its own S-Class interface on top – more on that later. The handset is HSDPA and quad-band GSM with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth present. A-GPS is here too, and there is an FM radio.

There is a fairly standard 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM configuration, and a microSD card slot under a cover on the right side of the casing for adding more. We really like the accessibility of the card slot, which is ideal for hot-swapping.

There is a 5 megapixel main camera and a front camera for two way video calling. The main camera benefits from a side button for launching and there are a fair few settings you can make though nothing like the range you’d get from a fully featured consumer-friendly, photo-centric smartphone. There’s no flash.

At least LG has opted to use its visually rich virtual wheel for making settings. This makes a change to the usually staid and dull camera settings menus.

In addition LG has added the Adobe PDF reader and, most unusually for a Windows Mobile handset, a serviceable if simple stopwatch.

We mentioned LG’s S-Class user interface. This includes some apps that double up on Windows Mobile functions. There’s a calendar, contacts app, email application, messaging tool and music player, as well as a file browser and a multitasking tool that lets you switch between apps and close them by hitting an icon at the top right hand corner of the screen. If you prefer, there is a right side button next to the camera shortcut that calls up the multitasking window.

The main S-Class tool, though, is an overlay on top of Windows Mobile. You can finger-sweep to flick between five screens. The main one has shortcuts on a bottom row that include a link to Vodafone online services, shortcuts to contacts and messaging, and a shortcut which takes you to LG’s neat scrollable apps listing, (which we prefer to Windows Mobile’s honeycomb).

Higher up on this main screen you’ve got notifications for incoming messages, missed calls and diary actions. And there’s a little settings link here too from which you can do things like hop onto a wireless network or change profiles.

One of the other screens can be populated with favourite contacts, one links to music and photos, one offers links to connected services and one can contain any of several widgets. The selection is small but includes some useful things like a calculator and notes tool.

The on-screen keyboard is rather too small to use with fingertips with the screen in portrait mode, but you can flick it into wide mode and it becomes a lot easier to work with. Overall the resistive screen is very responsive, but inevitably some of the icons are a tad small, especially as you delve into Windows Mobile core applications such as Calendar.

You may want to resort to a stylus for using some of these, but LG does not provide one that fits in the chassis. Instead there’s a ridiculous telescopic thing that hangs off the casing like a charm: we preferred to use a pencil tip.

These factors and some occasional sluggishness in general use are notable negatives in what is on the whole a reasonably good device.

Price (as reviewed): contract
Web: www.lge.com/uk

Essential Verdict
Performance: 7/10
Design: 8/10
Features: 8/10
Value for Money: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10

Originally published in Smartphone Essentials magazine. Written by Sandra Vogel.

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