On a Test Drive

Hands on with a new LG GSM handset.


There's going to be a twist in this tale once every few weeks here henceforth. We're going to lay our paws on a gadget or geegaw--software or hardware--kick its tyres around a bit and take it for a little test drive. So without any further ado, just jiggle the wax out of your ears, don a tin topi and follow me as we check out LG S5200 handset this week.

The S5200 is a petite, stylish black, tri-band GSM mobile phone. Cosmetically quite similar to the Samsung D500, the 92 gramme slider phone is replete with all that jazz that makes GenNow guys and gals trill with thrill: Camera, MP3 player, polyphonic noises, WAP 2.0, GPRS 10, USB connectivity with PC, Bluetooth 1.2, built-in handsfree, and MP3 ringtones.

The 900/1800/1900 MHz band handset has a four-way navigational joystick--which also double up as quick keys for short cuts—and a central "OK" key to execute the highlighted function.

The graphical TFT LCD screen display offers 262,000 colours in a 128 x 160 pixel window. The largish display is bright, color rich, vibrant and pleasure to behold. The viewing angles are impressive and readability is unspoilt even in bright sunlight.

Direct access to the MP3 player is possible via the music key on the side of the phone. Aurally, the S5200 comes with 20 preset polyphonic (64 channels) ringtones. Apart from MP3, it warbles to WMA and AAC formats as well. The stereo surround sound is resonant, clear and surprisingly pleasing. Though a tad low in decibels even at its highest volume, it is definitely not tinny like most handsets in the same—or even higher--price range.

The 1.3 megapixel phone camera clicks 1280x960 pixels shots, does video and comes with a flash. The camera lens is protected by the slider which is good for obvious reasons. It offers 3GP video format compatibility—for both playback and recording. It allows several photographic effects, but it can't take pictures in frames. Photo quality is okay—depending upon light conditions. Like with most phone cams, pictures taken in natural light are best.

Two downers: The phone comes with just 64 megs of shared memory--for messages, music, video, photos etc. That’s not fair--especially for a delicious sounding MP3 phone. Secondly, jabberwockies are not going to be too happy with its two-and-half hour talk time.

Other features include 1,000-name phonebook, T9 support, scheduler, voice memos, multiple alarms and other standard blah-blah. No point getting into all that.

All in all, the S5200 is a neat phone that has the sights and sounds of a winner in its price bracket. Only wish its makers could prescribe it some memory boosting medication…

Price: Rs.10,990
www.lgindia.com