LG GW520 Overview

LG's approach to the mobile market seems to be to turn out feature-packed yet affordable phones and the GW520 is one of LG's latest attempts to shoehorn new technology into the entry-level market.

The GW520 is essentially the successor to the LG KS360, packing a larger screen and full keypad plus a host of other features that suggest with this phone in your pocket you'll be super-poking left right and centre in no time at all. 

So when one landed in our office, we were only too happy to give it the Omio once-over:

Design & Specification

Let's be clear, its basic buttons give the GW520 away as an affordable rather than a high-class handset. That said, while the phone isn't exactly slimline (106.5mm/53.0mm/15.9) it fit's in your pocket, no problem.  To the engineer's credit, the slide mechanism is well executed, smoothly revealing a decent-sized QWERTY keyboard and it even comes complete with nice flourishes such as light-up caps lock and shift buttons. However, a lack of space around the keyboard's edge meant that thumb-tapping at speed felt quite cramped.

Navigation is via a 2.8" TFT touchscreen, with a subtly vibrating feedback mechanism intended to make operation more tactile - usually a feature only seen on high-end phones. While haptic feedback is not to everyone's taste novices in particular will appreciate this feature as they get to grips with the new navigation.

Multimedia

The GW520's large display is nice and bright, although it's 240 x 400 resolution doesn't promise anything particularly dazzling.

The 3 megapixel camera is fair but without a flash, results are dependent on the ambient light. Having said that, there is next-to-no delay in shutter operation and a picture & movie editor is included which will reward those prepared to invest some of their patience.

Using the mp3 player is is held back by the poor ear phones, which offer no sound insulation and without the option to plug your own headphones this makes for a bit of a dead-end in the fun department.

Calling & Connectivity

Plainly speaking the sound of voice calls on the GW520 is not great. In fact, it felt alot like talking through a letterbox. A plastic letter box. Reception was strong though and held up well even when making calls from the depths of the basement.

Webmail is made accessible via the Push Email widget, which performed reasonably well and combined with the solid QWERTY keyboard, made for a half-decent mobile email experience. Accessing the internet however was a torpid affair and even basic fact-finding was bit of a chore. Facebook eventually loaded up via the widget although then we were faced with the problem of a fiddly browser navigation.

Verdict:

It is clear that the GW520 lacks the dazzle of other handsets with touchscreens or QWERTY keypads, in fact the only feature of this phone that might be described as dazzling is it's price with some deals as low as £20! 

At that price, anyone looking to dip into the world of mobile email might be tempted to do so with the GW520... but be warned, it will be a largely joyless experience.