LG Cookie Plus GS500 Review

Introduction:

The affordable LG Cookie KP500 didn’t take long to become the fastest selling model of the company and with more than 10mln units sold in less than 13 months following its market release, nobody was really surprised to see the manufacturer introduce its successor, the LG Cookie Plus GS500 (shortly before MWC 2010 took off). The new device comes with slightly refreshed overall design and a few differences in terms of specifications alongside of its famous predecessor. However, all of them are major, because the new generation handset features 3G functionality, 3.5mm headphone jack, microUSB port and revitalized interface.

Design:

The LG Cookie Plus GS500 is made from rubberized plastic that is pleasing to touch and exactly the same its ancestor is made from.  The overall size of the device has been increased, but its design is more likeable and all told, the GS500 is definitely more appealing than the first Cookie.



You can compare the LG Cookie Plus GS500 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

The display measures 3 inches again, comes with WQVGA native resolution and utilizes resistive technology, meaning you will have to put up with the disadvantages of the technology. Being effectively unable to, say, use your fingernails to press the screen (because the handset will simply not register the touch) in case you don’t want to exert too much force is one of them.

The three buttons below the screen are now round and raised and we didn’t encounter any issues using them.

We are happy to see the manufacturer’s proprietary port has been replaced by the increasingly common microUSB and the LG Cookie Plus GS500 also features 3.5mm jack located on the top.

Interface and Functionality:

As we have mentioned in the beginning, aside from the novelties relating to its overall look and design, the LG Cookie Plus GS500 also comes with refreshed interface. Actually, you will be able to take advantage of the very same software that powers the LG Pop GD510. It’s quite colorful and allows for certain personalization – for an instance, there is a theme that is exceptionally well suited for kids, similar to the youthful theme of the Samsung Corby S3650. The main menu can be visualized in exactly the same way as on any other device running the S-CLASS 3D interface or alternatively, set to show larger icons grouped in separate categories, similarly to LG´s previous generation of cell phones equipped with touch-sensitive screens.


The home screen consists of the three pages typical of this class of LG models – one for widgets (that are no more than simple shortcuts to applications, except for the weather widget), one for your favorite contacts and one dedicated to Livesquare – the strange interface that visualizes correspondence in the form of small creatures standing on a luscious green lawn and doing things to attract your attention. We don’t like it really, although we cannot deny the solution is unique, innovative and offbeat.


As a whole, the interface of the LG Cookie Plus GS500 is pleasing and even childish in a way, but still, you will certainly be able to get used to it fast.

Each separate entry in the phone contacts of the LG Cookie Plus GS500 allows for various details about a person and you can search by first and family name from within the application or by telephone number from the dialing screen. The Cookie Plus is equipped with accelerometer that helps the device to automatically switch between alphanumeric and QWERTY layouts as you tilt the phone, although the whole thing happens with a noticeable delay. The full QWERTY keyboard is not one of the most comfortable we have used to date, because its keys are rather small, which equates to low typing speed.




The LG Cookie Plus GS500 comes with three preinstalled applications for access to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. They deliver quite a few options for an affordable, feature phone, plus their interface is both user-friendly and easy to get used to. When it comes to Facebook, however, we would rather use the version of the website tailored to handsets with touch-sensitive screens (touch.facebook.com), than the dedicated applications - it is quite sluggish and fails to offer better functionality.


One of the major advantages of the LG Cookie Plus over the first Cookie is the handset supports 3G, meaning loading web pages, sending pictures and virtually all actions that require internet connection take significantly less time over HSDPA 3.6 Mbits/s (as compared to EDGE).

The browser is usable and offers comfortable surfing of the endless expanse of the Worldwide Web, although, you shouldn’t expect it to perform on par with its computer brethren. You will have to wait for complex pages like ours to load fully, because scrolling is almost impossible otherwise. We prefer Opera Mini 5, since it’s significantly faster, comes with more appealing interface, allows for tabbed browsing and zooming in/out on things via single screen taps… and of course, saves traffic.

Camera and Multimedia:

Given the particular performance of the 3-megapixel camera of the first Cookie, we did cherish the hope the Cookie Plus GS500 would be better, both in terms of interface and snapshot quality. We do like the fact the GS500 comes with the refreshed version of the camera interface typical of recent LG models, because it sports contemporary design and large, finger-friendly icons (even if is doesn’t exactly offer an overwhelming number of options).



Unfortunately, the snapshot quality is not good at all – similarly to what the Cookie KP500 delivers, the image details are scarce and colors appear unsaturated and thin. The overall quality of clips you take is far from impressive as well, not to mention the maximum video capture resolution is QVGA. But the worst part is the average frame rate count - 9-10 fps, meaning your videos are more like slideshows than smoothly playing video stream.



All told, the camera will allow you to take pictures to show your friends an interesting place you’ve been to or capture a thrilling moment and share it on Facebook, but neither is passable for normal computer monitors.

The mediocre performance of the camera of the LG Cookie Plus GS500, however, doesn’t equate to subpar video playback. Just like its predecessor, the Cookie Plus GS500 handles H.263 videos with resolution not exceeding 240x320 pixels (the native screen resolution of the handset) marvelously. Sadly, the device fails at MPEG-4 playback, so you will have to put up with the inferior image quality of H.263.



The audio and video players share an enjoyable design. They are rather simplified in terms of functionality and fail to offer anything more than standard options. As we have already mentioned (and unlike the first Cookie), the Cookie Plus GS500 is equipped with 3.5mm headphone jack, so you will be able to relish your favorite music and FM Radio stations using earphones to your own liking. Our GS500 came without a box, so we had to use one of our headphone sets for the test and the overall result proved to be more than satisfactory – thunderous bass and clearly discernible mid and high frequencies. We are also pleased at the loudspeaker that packs some punch and produces clear sound, without a trace of annoying crackling and hissing.


In a nutshell, the LG Cookie Plus GS500 does not offer better functionality than its predecessor, the Cookie KP500, at least in terms of camera and multimedia. Still, we have to admit the 3.5mm headphone jack makes for a truly nice extra feature.

Performance:

Despite the fact cell phones are evolving at a great speed and the number of functions they offer is increasing by the day, in-call quality still remains one of the crucial aspects of any handset. The LG Cookie Plus GS500 performs above average with this respect. No matter which end of the line you are on, the person you’re talking to will sound loud and clear. The only issue we encountered during our tests is the excessive sharpness that gets noticeable in noisy places. All told, the in-call quality of the GS500 is by no means worse than what the KP500 offers and the new Cookie is certainly an appealing device for calls.

The handset is equipped with the same 900mAh battery as its forefather, but it performs slightly better. The Cookie Plus GS500 delivers 3.66hrs of continuous talk time and remains operational for 400 hrs in stand-by, as opposed to the 3.50/350hrs of the first Cookie. Given the average battery performance of most mainstream handsets on the market today, however, the Cookie Plus is a disappointment.

Conclusion:

The first Cookie proved to be a smashing success for the manufacturer and it’s only logical to expect its successor will do equally good. However, the market for affordable handsets equipped with touch-sensitive screens has changed dramatically over the last year and the other players have already introduced their own (and quite capable at that) alternatives. The Corby family makes for an illustrative example - with it Samsung showed its intention to take a front seat and conquer the market. LG made it clear it was not going down without a fight and retaliated with the Cookie series.

The LG Cookie Plus GS500 comes with several truly nice novelty features like refreshed interface, 3G, 3.5mm jack and microUSB port. We highly doubt it the handset will manage to become as successful as its famous predecessor though, mostly due to the oversaturated market and despite all the novelty features it brings that make it a properly balanced cell phone.

Truth be told, we also like the cheaper LG Cookie Fresh GS290, because it does look fresh (what a surprise!), comes with radio that doesn’t require users to plug in earphones and offers really good in-call and audio playback quality. Except for the GS290, we would also advise you to consider:

The LG Pop GD510 – it’s the world’s smallest handset with 3-inch touch-sensitive screen and comes with awesome design and more capable camera (than the Cookie Plus GS500). Unfortunately, it does not integrate a 3.5mm jack.

The Samsung Lindy M5650 – the music-oriented sibling of the Samsung Corby S3650 offers rich functionality aimed at audiophiles (for an instance, applications for access to last.fm). The audio playback quality is slightly better than what the Cookie Plus delivers, but you cannot use the radio without plugging in your earphones first.