LG's scattergun approach to the mobile market continues and after identifying a demand for a simple and compact model they have come up with the GD510 - the world's smallest touchscreen phone.

Pitched at the lower-end of the market and with a host of eco-friendly features the 'Pop', as it is known, certainly is an interesting propostion:

Fun, gorgeous, green and yours for under £100? Omio decided to put the LG 'Pop' through it's paces...

Design & Specification

The LG GD510 'Pop' is a very tidy handset indeed and with a large 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, nicely bevelled edges and a sleek brushed aluminium casing, it feels far classier than it's price tag would suggest.

Unnecessary buttons have been swept away in favour of a sleek one-button Intellikey© operation which acts as the menu, end and cancel keys, depending on the phone’s mode and is indicated by either a red or green glow.

The more we used the phone we noticed more endearing touches: the unlocking mechanism was simple and nicely animated, the screen's anti-finger print coating helps you keep the phone looking clean, and you can snooze the alarm by simply flipping the phone over.

LG have included a 3-way homescreen, each of which are customisable allowing you quick and convenient access to your contacts and multimedia functions.

The GD510 also features an iPhone-esq menu of icons that rotate according to the Pop's orientation. A really eye-catching feature at first, although we did notice a bit of latency. Similarly we noticed a bit of sluggishness on the touchscreen operation too. Nothing fatal, but something that is likely to irk those used to the rapidity of higher end handset / smart phones.

LG also appear keen to reflect the shift in consumer's conciousness towards environmental issues and present the 'Pop' as a greener choice of handset. There's an optional solar panel upgrade, soy-ink printed and 87% recycled packaging and power saving features such as the bleeping that indicates when the 'Pop' has achieved maximum charge . While the solar panel would probably be defunct in the UK climate, its a nice idea nonetheless and useful to anyone lucky enough to take it to sunnier climes.

Multimedia

The LG GD510 plays music and movies in several popular file formats. Although unfortunately there was no headphone jack, so we had to make do with LG's rubbish ear pieces.

The browser isn't as snappy as LG would have you believe either so don't expect to be enjoying all the best the net has to offer on that gorgeous little screen.

However, the 3.0 megapixel camera did capture some high quality photos which we could then share with friends via bluetooth. Sadly, there was no flash though.

Calling & Connectivity

The 'Pop' was designed to deliver the basics of mobile communication in a beautiful form, so LG have bi-passed WiFi and 3G. So, it's just voicecalls, SMS/MMS and basic email, all of which it performs competently, in fact its Livesquare feature injects a bit of fun into the sometimes laborious task of texting groups of friends...

Previously we admitteded to being a bit baffled by LG's Livesquare environment when we first came across it on the super budget LG GW520. But after engaging with the 'Pop' over a busy weekend of social hijinks, it proved to be both a useful and fun feature. Essentially it populates your homepage with recent contacts, which appear surrounded by a haze of icons depending on who contacted who and how much. Using the touchscreen you can then message any or all of these recent contacts in easy movements- perfect when you're trying to steer a herd of friends through a Friday night.

Verdict:

After reviewing the frustrating LG GW520, the GD510 'Pop' feels like a breath of fresh air. For a start, you certainly won't be embarrassed to get this out in public! While it's price tag and over all functionality put it in the entry level market, this is undeniably a beautifully put together handset.

Drawbacks include a some latency on the operating system and some slightly counter-intuitive navigation, but we have to admit being somewhat smitten by the Pop's fun-factor and good looks. Crucially, the POP goes some way in reinvigorating the playfulness at the heart of staying in touch with your mobile.

'Small in Size & Big on Fun'  - The 'Pop' does exactly what it says on it's soy-ink printed box and is a winner in our book.