LG Vu

The LG Vu is another one of those iPhone lookalikes. But it has one major advantage over the iPhone. It supports Mobile TV (from AT&T since that is its only carrier now) and the TV feature is no joke.

DESIGN:

As I said before the design is iPhoneesque. The phone features only 3 hard keys. Everything else is controlled via a touch sensitive screen that mimics the iPhone in many ways. While the phone does have an iPhone feel those familiar with LG’s Prada, Venus etc will see more design cues from there rather than the iphone.

The phone features a huge 3 inch display (a little less than the iPhone) that supports 262,000 colors and 240x400 pixels. Of course this means that you are getting an amazingly bright screen that pays attention to the finest detail.

Other design features to take note of is the finish. The phone features a high gloss finish. While this makes the device look expensive ($299 after $100 mail in rebate) it also does a god job of attracting fingerprints and smudges (something the iPhone and PSP are also good at). It also features a pull out antenna that is a key feature to the excellent video quality the phone posses (which unfortunately are lacking on the iPhone).

SOFTWARE:

The software is almost identical to that of the LG Voyager, Prada and Venus.  All phones posses touch screen capabilities but the Vu is the best at it. Navigation can be done though tapping and finger sliding. The phone’s software is pretty good. The navigation is simple and a lot more streamlined than many other touch screen devices on the market. But don’t expect those awesome effects such as pinching etc. you get with the iPhone.

Some of the main features includes a full HTML browser, media player (audio and video), instant messaging, email support and of course your regular calling and texting features. But the major advantage of this phone is its TV capabilities. While its not the first phone on the market to offer mobile TV, it is the first to offer decent to excellent quality in this department. A lot of that is thanks to the pull out antenna and the optimization for AT&T’s network. While the TV at a first glance might look the same on a Verizon or Sprint phone, you will notice that the device carries better clarity, sound and video quality and sync between audio and video.

PERFORMANCE:

Batter life is pretty good. Not exceptional but good nonetheless. Call quality is excellent and so is the 3G support which is surprising since AT&T is not known to have one of the fastest networks in the industry.

All in all the LG Vu is a great phone with some great features. Although I can’t help but think, if you’re planning to get it why not spend a hundred more and get an iPhone? Or you could always wait for the 3G iPhone which is rumored to be coming out in June of 2008.

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