LG Fathom VS750 Review

Introduction:

With Windows Phone 7 devices coming later this year, we have seen far less Windows Mobile 6.x smartphones released over the past few months. In fact, most recent smartphones for Verizon have featured the Android OS, which has taken off like wildfire. Until now, the last Windows Mobile device that Verizon released was the Samsung Omnia II i920, which came out near the end of 2009. It featured an impressive 3.7” AMOLED display, but the device was kind of sluggish and it lacked a physical keyboard, so it was not a must-have smartphone for business professionals. Now six months later comes the LG Fathom VS750, which is the manufacturer’s first WM device for Verizon. Not only does it have a faster processor than the Samsung Omnia II (at 1GHz), but it also comes with a sliding QWERTY keyboard and is a world-phone that works on CDMA and GSM networks. But is this enough for consumers to snatch-up this WM 6.5.3 smartphone, or is the timing off, as people go with Android or wait for Windows Phone 7 to be released?

Included in the retail package is the LG FathomVS750 smartphone, 1500mAh battery, wall charger with detachable microUSB cable, international power adapters, preinstalled SIM card, 4GB microSD memory card, and user guides.

Design:

The LG Fathom VS750 is very unassuming in its appearance, and definitely won’t win any fashion awards, but its all-plastic construction in black and dark blue feels well-made and more durable than the one of the Samsung Omnia II i920. It also has more weight and bulk than the Omnia II and HTC Imagio, as well as being less curved around the corners and edges. This gives the Fathom almost a brick-like quality.




You can compare the LG Fathom VS750 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

On the front of the LG Fathom VS750 is the 3.2 inch 480x800 pixel display, which still uses resistive touch-screen technology, though we had hoped it would be capacitive like on the LG Ally. Since it is resistive, it requires a press with your finger (or included stylus) to get a response, though it doesn’t need as firm of a press as resistive models from years past. Even though the screen size is limited to 3.2”, it shows images and text well and lacks any pixelation, though it can be difficult to view the display in direct sunlight. Below it are three brushed-chrome buttons for send, start (menu), and end. Along the sides are the volume rocker, microUSB port, reset button, 3.5mm headset jack, task manager key, 2-stop camera shutter button, removable stylus, power/lock key, and microSDHC memory card slot that comes with a 4GB card preinstalled. On the back is the 3.2MP autofocus camera and external speaker, and under the 1500mAh battery is the included Verizon/Vodafone SIM card.



One area that the LG Fathom VS750 trumps the Samsung Omnia II i920 and HTC Imagio XV6975 is that it comes with a sliding 4-row QWERTY keyboard.. Its layout is slightly different than the keyboard used by the LG Ally VS740, as the keys are lined-up perfectly in straight rows (instead of being offset) and the keys themselves aren’t raised as much from the surrounding plastic, thus having a flatter feel. The Fathom’s keyboard is easy to use and works well, though we did find the one on the Ally to be a bit more comfortable when typing long messages. One area of disappointment is that the LG Fathom and Ally will only turn on the keyboard backlight for 5 seconds at a time, which can be annoying when typing in the dark. The navigational d-pad is on the right side and can be used in place of using the touchscreen, as we found it useful in the web browser when selecting small links without having to zoom in.

Software and Features:

The LG Fathom VS750 runs on the stock Windows Mobile Professional 6.5.3 operating system, so there aren’t any surprises here, though Verizon does include a few of its own apps, such as Visual Voice Mail, Mobile Email, Mobile IM, City ID, and VZ Navigator. LG has not included its S-Class user interface, which means you are forced to use the standard Windows Mobile layout, though it isn't that bad now with version 6.5.3. The homescreen is easy to navigate, as you can scroll the list itself or drag the selection bar up and down the list of commonly used items, such as pictures, music, contacts, messages, calendar, etc. The Start menu shows all your apps and settings in a simple grid form that can also be scrolled through. There are a few included themes, but all they do is change the color of the desktop, menus and text, instead of altering the layout design of the desktop and menus. Overall, the visual enhancements of WinMo 6.5.3, including the large icons and text, make up for the fact that the LG Fathom VS750 is using a resistive display, and we never felt the need to use the stylus. Also, the 1GHz processor on the Fathom makes using the interface, menus, and apps more pleasurable, since everything runs smoothly and without any noticeable delay.


Naturally, you can view and add contacts rather easily with the LG Fathom VS750, as there’s a dedicated icon for it on the homescreen. It starts by showing you the list of current contacts, which you can scroll though, use the letter tabs at the top, or enter in the first few letters of the first or last name to do a search. For adding a contact, you can enter in the person’s name, phone numbers, email addresses and other vital information and then can save it to Outlook, SIM, Outlook + SIM, or create an email group or messaging group.



Since the LG Fathom VS750 comes with a physical QWERTY keyboard, the device would appeal to people who message frequently. However, there is no on-screen keyboard while in landscape mode (as you would be using the physical one), but there is a small on-screen keyboard while in portrait mode. The included ArcSoft PowerMobia Messaging app allows you to send and receive text, picture, and video messages fairly easily, while the standard Windows Mobile Email app can be used for your POP, IMAP and Exchange email accounts. You can even download the Verizon Mobile Email app, but it requires a monthly subscription fee. There is also the Verizon Mobile IM app, which is free to use, and connects you to people on your AIM, WL Messenger, and Yahoo! buddy lists, but it deducts from your text messaging allotment when IMs are sent and received.



Connectivity:

For viewing web sites, the LG FathomVS750 comes with the standard mobile Internet Explorer web browser, as Opera is not included on the device, but can be downloaded directly from their mobile site. Even though the Mobile IE web browser that is included with WinMo 6.5.3 is better than its previous versions, we still think that Opera has the advantage here, as web sites are easier to navigate through and move around. Both browsers also include Flash Lite 3, which allows for limited viewing of Adobe Flash content in web sites, but complex Flash sites will give a memory error message. After using the Mobile IE and Opera browsers, we still came away from the web experience on the Fathom feeling a bit disenchanted, as it does not compare to the superior browsing experience that is on the iPhone and Android devices, such as the Motorola DROID and HTC Droid Incredible.



The LG Fathom VS750 is also one of the few Verizon smartphones to come with the Microsoft Bing application. It allows you to search a wide variety of categories, has GPS maps with satellite view (you can zoom in to street level), driving directions, local traffic and gas prices, movies, and weather. There is a lot of good information here, so it will get plenty of use. There is also the Verizon VZ Navigator app, which will provide you with GPS guided turn-by-turn directions, but it costs a monthly fee and isn’t as good as the (free) Google Maps with Navigation program that is available for Android smartphones.



The LG Fathom VS750 doesn’t include any Social Networking apps with it, but you can easily download those from Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Of course, the Office Mobile suite is available right out of the box for viewing Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and OneNote files, as well as the Adobe Reader LE app for viewing PDF files.


The LG Fathom VS750 is a global capable device, which supports dual-band CDMA and EVDO Rev. A while in the US, and quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSDPA while in other countries. Wi-Fi 802.11b/g is also supported, as well as Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

Camera:

The 3.2MP autofocus camera on the LG Fathom VS750 puts up a similar performance, compared to other LG models such as the enV3 VX9200 and enV Touch VX11000. However, even though the camera interface is simple to use on the Fathom and provides many options (resolution, image quality, ISO, sense modes, color effects, etc.), it is slow to use, as it takes up to 4 seconds to focus on an image and then another 3 seconds to capture and save the image…while a slow-moving shutter animation moves across the screen. This takes way too long, as you are waiting up to 14 seconds just to capture and save two pictures back-to-back.


Images that we took outside on a sunny day were about average, as edges were a bit soft and colors were somehow unsaturated. When moving indoors, photos taken with bright light appeared slightly above average, with some pretty decent details being shown. Of course, as the light gets weaker, so do the shots you take on the inside.. The camera also lacks a flash, so you can’t take pictures in dark conditions.



The LG Fathom VS750 can record MPEG-4 3GP videos up to 640x480 resolution, but at only 20fps and pretty mediocre quality.

LG Fathom VS750 sample video at 640x480 pixels resolution.

Multimedia:

The LG Fathom VS750 does an OK job playing back videos on the 3.2” screen. It uses the mobile version of Windows Media Player here, and can play H.264/H.263 encoded MP4 videos and WMV video files. We tested videos up to 720x304 resolution at 30fps with 1500kbps bit rate, and they all played smoothly and without dropping any frames, though there was a slight amount of block-pixelation that could be seen. The picture viewing program is also pretty basic, as it allows you to swipe between images, though it does not support pinch-to-zoom multitouch and instead uses small zoom icons on the screen.



The Windows Media Player is also used to play your selection of MP3/WMA audio files, though the layout is very simplistic and only has categories for artists, albums, and genres. One nice feature is the way it integrates with the homescreen, so that you can control the music playback from there. The music quality was good and plenty loud, despite there being only one speaker on the back. You can also listen to music through wired earbuds using the 3.5mm headset jack, or with Bluetooth stereo headphones.

Performance:

We were surprised that the call quality on the LG Fathom VS750 was not up to par with other LG phones, including the Ally VS740. People that we called sounded “mechanical” on our end and there was a noticeable vibration distortion in the earpiece speaker when the volume level was raised above medium, while on their end people said we sounded a bit distant and hollow, as if we were talking in a tunnel. Reception didn’t fare much better, as we only had 1-2 bars showing in high-coverage areas, though we didn’t drop any calls.

The included 1500 mAh battery was able to provide us up to 6 hours of continuous talk time on a full charge, or about a day’s worth of time with mixed usage. The manufacturer rates it at 7 hours of talk time or 20 days of standby.

Conclusion:

You’ve heard of the saying “timing is everything”, and in the case of the LG Fathom VS750, timing is against it. Windows Mobile smartphones are no longer the only game in town, as we now have Android and webOS. Furthermore, Windows Phone 7 devices are on the horizon, so die-hard WinMo fans are waiting to see what that will bring. At this point, we can only see someone buying the LG Fathom VS750 if they absolutely must have a Windows Mobile device right now that has a QWERTY keyboard and also includes global roaming capabilities.

With that said, the LG Fathom VS750 is a pretty well-rounded smartphone by itself. Our only real concerns with the device are its resistive screen and poor call quality.

LG Fathom VS750 Video Review: