LG Genesis
LG, with US Cellular launched its new Genesis smart phone in May, 2011. The new phone features two, yes two touch screens, which had attracted a lot of users. The mobile also has a physical keyboard which gives the look of a miniature notebook. The phone is the smart phone version of its predecessor LG enV, as it has the same dual screen design.
The keyboard is quite roomy, with QWERTY layout. Running on Android 2.2 version, equipped with 5-MP camera and with some great pre-installed apps, this phone is available in the market from May, 2011.
The new Genesis is pretty much like its predecessors, LG enV Touch but, Genesis is a bit larger. With the dimensions of 4.23 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide and 0.66 inches deep, the phone gives look of a solid smart phone. It is also the heftiest smart phone in market, weighing around 6 ounces. The reason of the bulkiness could be the added Keyboard.
There are two touch screens with the front one measuring 3.5 inches. The display is an ordinary 480x800 pixels TFT screen, which disappoints many, because it could not be considered to the super LCD o the Super AMOLED screens found with the other trendy smart phones. But it does not feel that bad, because of the 16 million colours support it has. The screen does get washed out in bright sunlight.
Favourably, even though the images and video are not that bright, but the touch screens are very responsive and the accelerometers are quick to detect the change in axis. There are four touch sense buttons on the screen for contacts, phone book, messages and web browser. Other then these four, there are four normal touch buttons as well that are not part of the screen. They are for the standard home, menu, search and back shortcuts. The spines of the phone’s body accommodate a range of buttons and ports. The 3.5mm jack for headset and the Micro-USB port are on the right, while the dedicated camera key, the volume control and the power button are on the left side. The 5-megapixel camera and the flash LED are at the back.
As mentioned before, the phone is quite hefty, and the reason for that are the QWERTY layout keyboard and the second (internal) screen. The screen could be opened up to 180 degrees. The internal screen is same as the external one, except that it smaller in size, i.e. 3.2 inches. The keyboard keys are quite large and spacious and it is easy to use the keyboard. There is a dedicated navigation control and android keys on either side of the keyboard.
The phone runs on Android 2.2 and has some nice widgets and application pre-installed. There are LG’s own Facebook and Twitter applications that make the social networking more fun. The 5-MP camera could be used as camcorder in QVGA mode. The phone has 1GHz Snapdragon processor by Qualcomm in its core and is powered by a 1500mAh battery that gives 150 minutes talk time.
If the drawbacks such as speed i.e. 3G, not 4G and the ordinary display, could be balanced with the extra screen and a roomy keyboard advantages, then this phone is quite a good buy for $149.99 per year.
