LG Expo

Most of you accept apparently apparent the AT&T commercials for the LG Expo and its air-conditioned projector accessory. Unfortunately, the projector isn't included with the buzz (it's a $179 add-on), but that doesn't beggarly the Expo isn't account a look. In fact, absolutely the adverse is true. With a accelerated 1GHz Snapdragon processor and glassy interface, the LG Expo is one of the best Windows phones on the bazaar today for business users. Admittedly, there are some accessory issues, such as the abridgement of a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the LG Expo packs all the all-important appearance and manages to do so in a added bunched and glassy amalgamation than the HTC Tilt2. The LG Expo is accessible now from AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year arrangement and afterwards a $100 mail-in rebate.

Design

LG did a absolutely nice job with the architecture of the Expo, accumulation both a abounding QWERTY keyboard and ample blow awning into a almost bunched frame. The smartphone measures 4.45 inches alpine by 2.16 inches advanced by 0.63 inch abysmal and weighs 4.46 ounces. It's absolutely not the aboriginal buzz in the world, but compared with the analogously featured HTC Tilt2/HTC Blow Pro2, the Expo's added pocket-friendly ability is absolutely apparent and welcome. Plus, it's easier and added adequate to authority while on a buzz chat and has a actual solid construction.

With its added bunched design, awning admeasurement is the aboriginal affluence to go. Unlike the Tilt2, which has a 3.6-inch display, the Expo appearance a 3.2-inch, WVGA (800x480 pixels) arresting blow awning that displays 16 actor colors. Given the display's abate size, we did end up application the stylus added generally than we did on the HTC device. Also, like the Samsung Omnia, the stylus isn't housed aural the anatomy of the smartphone. Instead, you accept to attach it via braiding to the high larboard bend of the smartphone, so you accept an added allotment dangling off the ancillary of the device. It's not a accord breaker, but we adopt a added automated design.

Despite these accessory inconveniences, we absolutely admired the LG Expo's display. It's active and sharp, so we had no problems examination media, text, or Web pages. Its matte accomplishment additionally cuts bottomward on a bit of glare. Its blow awning was acknowledging and the Expo has a congenital adjacency sensor and accelerometer, admitting it alone works in assertive applications and takes a brace of abnormal to about-face from account to mural mode.

As a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone, you get the new user interface enhancements of the adapted operating system, such as the simplified Home awning and bore Start menu. In addition, LG offers its own S-Class interface, which we saw aback at GSMA 2009. You can about-face the phone's absence user interface absolutely over to LG's user interface through the Settings menu, but there's a bit of a acquirements ambit (an online tutorial can airing you through all the features). Alternatively, there's an LG Card on the Start folio that separates all the phone's appearance into four rows of categories: Communications, Multimedia, Applications, and Settings. Aural anniversary row, you can bash larboard to appropriate and carnality versa to admission any of the applications.

Below the display, you get several aeronautics controls, including Talk and End keys, a aback button, and a fingerprint aeronautics sensor that lets you alleviate your buzz with a fingerprint as able-bodied as cross the menus. Admitting the aegis appearance is nice, the ascendancy doesn't absolutely assignment as a navigator. It's too baby to calmly annal up and bottomward or ancillary to ancillary for that matter, so we almost absent it. We additionally ambition that there was a Start card adjustment so we didn't accept to dabble with the stylus to tap the Start figure at the top of the screen.

To admission the abounding QWERTY keyboard, you artlessly advance the awning to the right. The accelerate apparatus is bland and the awning locks deeply into place. The keyboard is excellent, its buttons are nice and wide, authoritative it accessible for alike for those with added thumbs. The keys additionally accommodate a nice concrete acknowledgment and aren't too annealed to press, and there's no awkward adjustment of buttons to arrest the breeze of typing. If you're artlessly sending a abbreviate argument bulletin and don't feel like aperture the phone, there is an onscreen account keyboard option, but be warned, it's appealing cramped.