Best LG Blog

Another device that has been unveiled to the world at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the LG Mini GD880 certainly caused something of a stir when it was first shown to at the exhibition, and when you get a closer look at the device’s design you begin to appreciate exactly why. Interestingly at an initial cursory glance many of the assembled at Barcelona thought that the phone looked somewhat incomplete, mistakenly believing it to be perhaps a demo product or a showcase item for displaying and exhibiting a new operating system perhaps. Close-up examination, however, revealed that simplicity was the genius behind the device’s design.

The Mini GD880 retains the underlying principles of design as seen in previous LG devices such as the Pop GD510 and the standout feature is probably that there is practically no unemployed space between the left and right sides of the screen. This LG concept has been further developed and employed on the Mini and it is, according to LG at least, ‘the smallest phone to come equipped with a 3.2-inch screen.’

The Mini is fairly angular in appearance, certainly more so than the Pop, but it nestles smoothly and comfortably into the hand and has a stylish look with its plastic and metallic blend. The screen itself is capacitive and has a very good high resolution of 480×854 pixels, and whilst it negates to utilise the current craze for AMOLED screen technology the display and colours are still very easy on the eye nonetheless. Another pleasing design fact is that the MicroUSB port along with the MicroSD slot are hidden from view on the device and are concealed and protected by sliding protective flaps which hare very sturdy and fairly unbreakable look. There is also a 3.5 millimetre headphone jack which enables users to immediately plug in whichever pair of earphones they might like.

As far as performance and functionality are concerned the LG Mini GD880 runs an S-Class interface and does come with some advancements and new implementations that will run well alongside such models as the LG AREAN KM900. The homepage is comprised on three pages rather than four, although the user can choose to place whatever they like on any of the pages, and such things might include Web site shortcuts and widgets along with all of the phone’s functions. The Mini also affords the user ample opportunity to download additional widgets if desired.

The Mini’s main menu is category-divided, and this is fairly generic to LG’s newest devices that also feature touch-sensitive screen. The LG Air Sync Service makes its bow on the Mini as well, though it is still in the testing phase. The service will allow the user the ability to exchange data between their computer and their phone, and also to store files over the Web on remote servers.  Regardless the SNS function is fairly complete and will be of value to dedicated social networkers as it allows access to both Twitter and Facebook clients in addition to affording full integration of information about a user’s online contacts within social networking sites into the device’s integral phone book. This is great, as it negates any need for repeated manual updating of information.

The browser is also good, and it supports both multi-touch and double-tap controls. It also provides partial Flash support, and users will be able to watch YouTube videos – a nice addition for some who have been less-than-impressed with Apple’s iPhone incarnations.

The integral 5-megapixel camera is fairly standard and nothing particularly special, but it does have video capture (VGA resolution), and also comes equipped with a number of features and options. For example, pictures and clips can be edited after capture, which is a very nice touch indeed. The device seems set to become a hit, although there were a few glitches with the operating speed at the demo which may well be sorted by the time retail release comes around when it could see itself as the ARENA’s true successor.