LG Mach Review

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Posted: 17 Dec 2012, 09:11, by Brian K.

Categories: Sprint Sprint LG LG Android Android

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Introduction:

Not too long ago we told you that the QWERTY was dying, but Motorola didn’t get that memo and put a pretty excellent keyboard on the Photon Q, their high end device for Sprint. LG went the more tradition all-touch route with their hero device, the Optimus G, but launched the QWERTY-touting Mach alongside the Optimus. The LG Mach is by all accounts a mid-range device, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it when using it thanks to the dual core Snapdragon S4 processor, Android 4.0, 4G LTE and a respectable feature set. Can the LG Mach find a home in Sprint’s growing Android lineup? Read on to find out

Design:

The LG Mach is an updated version of the LG Viper, one of Sprint’s LTE launch devices. With a 4” display, it is slightly more comfortable to use than Motorola’s 4.3” Phonon Q. The overall construction of the Mach is reassuring, with a smooth yet sturdy spring-assisted slide and quality materials all around. Once again, this is not up to the standards of LG’s Optimus G or Nexus 4, but the LG Mach will not be confused for a cheap device despite its low price. The Mach isn’t the thinnest device out there, but at less than half an inch thick it won’t be straining your pockets too much.


The Mach isn’t the thinnest device out there

You can compare the LG Mach with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Around the edges you’ll find the usual array of physical buttons - all of which are easy to find by touch and have good travel - and three capacitive buttons below the display. As usual, LG has replaced the standard Android multitasking button with a menu button, and the multitasking menu is accessed with a long press of the home key. One interesting note about the Mach, there is not a single Sprint logo to be found on the device. Do you hear that, Verizon?


Right side	Top	Left

QWERTY keyboard:

The 5 row keyboard on the Mach is easy to get used to and we were quickly typing accurately, but it did not have the inviting quality that the Photon Q’s keyboard had. The keys are well spaced, but adding the 5th row makes them a little shorter than we’d prefer. Still, we’d gladly trade those few and far between accidental presses for the presence of the dedicated number row.


The 5-row QWERTY of the LG March

Display:

It retains the same 4” display and 480x800 resolution (good for 233ppi), but ditches TFT technology for the much more eye pleasing IPS technology. Though it may not have the best resolution or the unbelievable clarity of the Optimus G’s IPS panel, the Mach’s display is very good with accurate color reproduction and steep viewing angles, and stands up to most any lighting conditions.

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LG Mach

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1. Nathan_ingx posted on 17 Dec 2012, 10:21 1 0

"...there is not a single Sprint logo to be found on the device. Do you hear that, Verizon?"
I wish i could say 'Aye Aye Captain Brian'. :)

2. Captain_Doug posted on 17 Dec 2012, 11:10 2 0

I wouldn't put my name on it either...

3. OGman posted on 17 Dec 2012, 12:28 0 0

"with the Optimus Elite, Mach and Optimus G LG might just have the best Android phone in each market segment on Sprint right now" Agreed. Times are changing, Lg is stepping up.

4. Naviiin posted on 17 Dec 2012, 14:34 0 0

This gets an 8, but the Samsung Galaxy S Relay with similar specs/higher clocked processor gets a 7?

7. Brian.K posted on 20 Dec 2012, 17:32 0 0

Naviiin, we do admit that ratings are subjective to an extent, but if you haven't yet check out our guide on how we rate phones:

phonearena.com/howdowerate

In this particular case, the phones do seem very similar on paper but as you can see from the benchmark results the Mach scored much higher, plus in general I feel the Optimus UI is better than TouchWiz (again, subjective.) Another factor in the 8 rating is that it out-performed "high end" Sprint devices, specifically the Motorola Photon Q which is the Mach's main competition on the carrier.

8. Naviiin posted on 21 Dec 2012, 06:58 0 0

Okay, seems fair enough. Your comments make the review a lot more clear. I was just thinking from an off contract point of view, and I'd like to add (even though it's not relevant for this Mach review) that I ran an AnTuTu benchmark on my own Galaxy S Relay yesterday with all of the T-Mobile exclusive apps disabled and it did a score similar to the Mach's 10000+ (though I don't know how a benchmark actually works, if it had to do with all of the disabled apps). But that takes a lot of disabling. And subjectively, I like the way the Relay's built a lot more than the Mach's build. I just thought the difference between the phones is not worth a whole point, but maybe like a half point. But that's just me, isn't it? :)

10. doublej1970 posted on 08 Jan 2013, 13:04 0 0

Brian, I have the photon Q right now and enjoy it pretty well. Which camera would you say is better between the Q and Mach? I like LG better then Motorola in the past! Then Motorola passed LG, but now it sounds like LG has made a comeback. What are your thoughts if you had to choose between the Q and Mach? Thanxz

5. Scottjnsn posted on 17 Dec 2012, 19:30 0 0

I've seen rumors that this device will be released by Virgin Mobile as well. Can anyone confirm this and the price?

6. BREvenson posted on 17 Dec 2012, 22:57 1 0

That would be interesting. At this moment, I can't find anything regarding the Mach appearing on Sprint's prepaid carriers yet. Given their trend of putting several of their most well-known devices on prepaid (Galaxy S II, EVO 3D, Transform Ultra, EVO Design, etc.), I wouldn't doubt it.

It would be a solid choice on either Virgin or Boost. I'd expect it to be about $299. Now to see if they actually do it...

9. Izzy_V posted on 25 Dec 2012, 20:33 0 0

I'm assuming the Motorola Phonon Q is a variant of the Motorola Photon Q that was never released?

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