Taking a Backseat

The LG GM730 is a slick looking phone that comes with rich features. The professional looking phone has an all black finish with textured pattern on the back cover. The phone sports a 3� display in front with an optical trackpad at the center bottom. The trackpad works flawlessly and makes navigation through web pages and menus a breeze. The receive and end call keys are on a touchpad instead of being a separate button. On the sides, are the volume keys, a power/lock key as well as a camera shutter key. On the top right is a little LED light indicating the status of the phone in charging, Bluetooth, etc. in various colors.

The phone's front is dominated by a beautiful 3� Touchscreen display. The display has a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels and it doesn't fade under the sun entirely, but in low brightness it becomes impossible to see under direct sunlight. The interesting part is that LG has seamlessly integrated the S-class UI over the Windows Mobile interface. Thanks to the 528Mhz processor power and 256MB RAM, the interface is very snappy in terms of response. The phone can be upgraded to windows mobile 6.5 as well. However if a user wants to access the default windows mobile shell, it can still be accessed through the standard start button present on the left hand top. LG has boasted about the phone's multitasking abilities that can be accessed through their cascading windows and it indeed turns out to be very helpful to quickly switch between open programs and even close all of them at one go.

The phone impresses in terms of loudspeaker as well as the in-ear output for both calls and music. However, the FM reception was pathetic, the phone was able to catch just 2-3 stations on auto preset scan. Also, one cannot switch to the loudspeaker mode while listening to the FM radio. The 5MP autofocus camera takes great shots, thanks to the Schneider-Kreuznach optics. Even though it doesn't have any sort of flash, the images taken indoors were quite good. The camera comes with tonnes of options for settings for both still as well as video recording. The fact that it took just 2 seconds to click a snap and show its preview makes the device better. Sadly, the phone just records video to the max resolution of 400 x 240 pixels.

LG GM730
Price: 22,490
Recommendation:
Contacts: LG India, www.in.lge.com

Specs: 3� 240 x 400 resistive Touchscreen display, 289MB internal +microSD, Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM, Windows Mobile 6.1 upgradable to 6.5, Bluetooth, WiFi, 3G, EDGE, 5MP camera, Schneider-Kreuznach optics, FM Radio, GPS, 1000mAh battery, 110g