LG Mini GD880 Review

Introduction and Design:

You know that “cycle” and “cyclic” are among the most overused words in the fashion world and we often get to see things that used to be in vogue become all the rage years later. The rule doesn’t really seem to apply to the inhabitants of the cell phone universe, although we have recently witnessed a major u-turn back to handsets with really small overall size, say, models like the Nokia 8390 and Panasonic G51 that were massively popular back in 2002-2003. The market adoption of huge cell phone displays was, however, to change all this, since larger screens simply require heftier weight and increased physical size. Quite a few “mini” devices have been introduced this year, say the Xperia X10 mini and mini pro, HTC HD mini and LG Mini GD880. The former two are tiny indeed, while the latter pair is better described as compact alongside of most contemporary devices. 

The guys over at LG appear to have hit the nail on the head and the Mini GD800 seems like a definite success with regard to size. We believe them when they say the handset is the world’s smallest cell phone to integrate a 3.2-inch screen. The overall design is so simplified that it even looks a tad incomplete – the GD880 looks more like one of those nameless devices manufacturers use to showcase new operating systems. We have to admit the LG Mini GS880 reminds us of the prototype of the iPhone 4, it just happens to be a bit more jagged and angular.

The build quality is really good – the metal elements give the phone a solid and reliable feel, not to mention the handset is not on the weighty side of life either (102gr). The LG Mini GD880 is slightly discomforting to carry about in your pocket, but feels awesome in your hand. Its rubber back, however, doesn’t exactly help towards a better, safer grip.



You can compare the LG Mini GD880 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.

Said 3.2-inch display is capacitive and comes with surprisingly high native resolution of 480x854 pixels (similarly to the Motorola DROID). The image quality and color saturation are both very, very good. LG Mini GD880 does not utilize all the rage AMOLED technology, but LCD. The screen remains relatively usable in direct sunlight if you increase its brightness to the maximum setting. The manufacturer states the display is scratch-resistant, although we haven’t tested that claim really. Our personal impression is the coating is solid and hard to damage.


The hardware buttons are only three - volume rocker, power/off and camera shutter. We can describe them in just one word “awe” – they are so awesome they get no “some”. All three feature great travel, feel distinctive to press and are large enough. One of the things we are quite happy about is the particular way the manufacturer has managed to conceal the microSD slot. The sliding cover seems reliable and feels quite comfortable to use. Moreover, the handset is equipped with 3.5mm jack, so you can plug in a pair of headphones to your own liking.




The Mini GD880 is yet another piece of proof LG has a great and truly creative team of designers. Having seen the unique LG Crystal GD900 with its transparent keyboard and the affordable jewel LG Pop GD510, it seems it’s about time the manufacturer released a device with a totally different overall look. We do like it a lot, not to mention the great build quality. Read on to find out if the manufacturer has done equally well with the software that powers the GD880.

Interface:

Let’s get down to brass tacks. The LG Mini GD880 is a feature phone running the famous S-Class interface. The 3D cube with sides hosting separate home screens is rather conspicuous in its absence and it seems LG has given up on it. Still, the contemporary version of the software does bring several pleasing novelties and improvements alongside of the iterations on models like the LG ARENA KM900 and LG Crystal GD900. The home screen no longer comes with four dedicated pages and their number has been reduced to three. You are allowed to place whatever you like on any of them, including widgets, shortcuts to all phone functions, links to websites, etc. Finally, you’ve got the option to download more widgets and we are as happy as can be. At the time of the current review, the widget catalogue is rather limited and features but a few, most of them dedicated to online stores (Amazon and eBay), news like CNN, Fox and New York Times and... well, that’s pretty much all. At least all of them are completely free.



The main menu consists of three pages (similar to that of Samsung devices) and all entries no longer appear in relevant categories as they did with the prototype of the Mini GD880. The software version of the interface on our handset disallows other themes, given the option is active on almost all contemporary cell phones of the manufacturer (the LG Cookie Fresh GS290, LG Cookie Music KM570). The LG Mini GD880 offers more than decent task manager that is accessible via dedicated shortcut placed in the main menu.



Occasional lagging is all common with LG cell phones, but it’s less pronounced here, at least alongside of the LG ARENA KM900, which does not mean it’s unnoticeable. The other software issue we encountered relates to the lack of QWERTY keyboard in certain applications and functions. All told, the layout is only available when you compose messages/emails or use the browser. Other than that, the interface of the LG Mini GD880 is quite motley and cool, although said shortcomings mar the overall enjoyment the handset brings.

Contacts and Social functionality:

The phone book stores up to 1,000 separate entries and all of them can be assigned various personal details, such as several phone numbers, emails, addresses, etc. We like the fact the handset searches in both parts of the name, but we are disappointed at the missing integration of social profiles, a feature that is becoming increasingly common with cell phones today.



At least the device comes with applications (and widgets) to use your Facebook and Twitter accounts. They are quite snappy and save you the hassle of opening the mobile page of the relevant service. In other words, they are usable. However, we need to point out the handset will not recognize account passwords that contain “&” and (most probably) any other special symbols. You have been warned.



Messaging:

Similarly to most contemporary devices, the LG Mini GD880 offers automated setup for popular email service providers. The application for text and MMS messages is quite capable indeed and visualizes written correspondence in threaded style.



Typing away itself is, however, a bit of pain in the neck. The portrait alphanumeric keypad sports large keys, but the lag is most annoying. On the other hand, the QWERTY version comes with overly tiny keys. It’s the first time we’ve felt like a resistive screen would have been the better option (so as people could use their fingernails to type away). All told, we just cannot recommend the LG Mini GD880 to people who text a lot.



Internet and LG Air Sync:

It’s obvious that LG has gone to great lengths to make the LG Mini GD880 a user-friendly device, at least in terms of surfing the Internet. First off, the handset supports both HSDPA 7.2Mbps and Wi-Fi, so you’ve got all the bases covered.

Second (and more importantly), the handset is equipped with a brand new WebKit-based browser called the Phantom (because the application is sometimes there and sometimes not). We are kidding, of course. Having had the chance to test it thoroughly, we can safely say this is one of the best browsers to be found on a feature phones today and it supports multitouch and double taps. Zooming could have been smoother, although this is not much of an issue really. Moreover and thanks to the high screen resolution, webpage text is easily readable even if you don’t zoom much. The integrated Flash support is a plain disappointment. All told, it’s limited to YouTube videos and you will have to put up with annoying stuttering whenever you try to watch online videos in the web browser. Watching content with the built-in YouTube player is not pleasing either, since the image quality is rather low. Still, the browser of the LG Mini GD880 is suitable for internet surfing.



The service LG Air Sync makes its debut on the LG Mini GD880. It isn’t something innovative and allows for synchronization of contacts, calendar, tasks and notes to an online server that can then be browsed via a normal computer. In case you install additional software (LG Link Air), you will be able to share your PC files and browser history with the LG Mini GD880 without connecting them physically. As a whole, we do welcome the service, since we are pretty fed up with all the wiring you typically need, even if it’s just a standard microUSB cable.

Camera:

The LG Mini GD880 is definitely not aimed at eager fans of mobile photography. The handset comes with 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and the available options include macro mode, shooting presets, manual focus, face detection, etc. Focusing and saving a snapshot takes quite a lot of time and you will need about 5 seconds in between consecutive shots in standard shooting mode.



Pictures taken outdoors have relatively decent details, but there is occasional purple fringing. Don’t get too close to the object you about to photograph in macro mode even if you happen to have the hand of a sharpshooter (we recommend that you rest the device against something in case you want to get a proper picture). Image noise takes over in snapshots captured indoors and photos are overly dark. The lack of flash becomes an issue with pictures taken in low lighting and they come out blurry too often.




The video capture capabilities of the device are nothing to write home about. Frankly, we are somewhat surprised at the resolution of 640x480 pixels, given most 5-megapixel models by LG can take videos in 720x480 (D1). The average frame count is around 20, but videos still stutter for some reason.

LG Mini GD880 sample video at 640x480 pixels resolution

Multimedia and GPS:

The LG Mini GD880 is an able performer when it comes to music. The player offers various filtering options and sound augmentation functionality (i.e. equalizer), plus it comes with landscape mode that reminds of the famous Cover Flow of the iPhone. There is a built-in radio with RDS, but you will need to plug in a pair of headphones for it to work. Sadly, the handset is not equipped with FM transmitter.



We didn’t have the chance to test the boxed earphones, but connected a mainstream set and were pleasantly surprised by the audio playback quality. The sound is loud and clear and distortion becomes noticeable only with the volume going at full blast. The loudspeaker is decent, but the sound it produces is sharper.

We didn’t encounter any issues playing videos with resolution width of up to 800 pixels and the LG Mini GD880 supports MPEG-4 and Xvid. The image quality is decent, but we noticed video artifacts, plus colors don’t gradate smoothly. Still, we consider the LG Mini GD880 suitable for watching videos whenever you feel like idling away.



GPS:

Out unit of the LG Mini GD880 comes without navigational software, but we found a link that takes you to maps.google.com. With the help of the integrated GPS, out location was almost instantaneously pinpointed and... that was all. We could neither zoom in on, nor scroll the map, not to mention the screen keys sometimes worked and sometimes they just wouldn’t. All told, Google Maps service is almost entirely unusable.

Performance and Conclusion:

We tested the LG Mini GD880 in an extremely noisy pub and were surprised to find out we could actually understand our callers pretty clearly. Still, we noticed the sound was slightly sharp and somewhat annoying with the volume set to its maximum setting. Our callers didn’t have any major complaints either, but advised us not to stay in noisy public venues and kindly asked us to, erm, hurry up and get back home right away (in a rather menacing voice). Idyllic, isn’t it?

The battery of the LG Mini GD880 can be quite robust in case you switch off 3G and Wi-Fi dependant functions. According to the manufacturer, it should be able to provide 7 hours of continuous talk time and keep the handset operational for 14 days in stand-by.

We believe what most people would probably find appealing about the LG Mini GD880 is its odd design and proper build quality. If any of these is you cup of tea, the handset will definitely not disappoint you, since its overall functionality is not halfway bad. The browser is capable (for a feature phone), the device is usable for listening to music and watching high-resolution Xvid videos. On the other hand, we are displeased at the lagging interface, mediocre camera and screen keyboard layouts. The price tag of the device is unjustifiably steep at the moment ($550), but as far as we know LG, this will change soon.

So, what alternative options do you have?

-    LG ARENA KM900 – the handset comes with similar functionality, but different design and slightly smaller display. The LG Mini GD880 is, however, better at video playback.
-    LG Crystal GD900 – its unique transparent keyboard is exceptionally eye-catchy, but the build quality is not equally good.
-    Samsung Jet S8000 – one of the best feature phones for the last year that is still attractive with its snappy operational speed and excellent multimedia capabilities.
-    Sony Ericsson Vivaz – it’s also compact, but not as well-made. Still, this is a Symbian^1 smartphone that delivers decent 720p video capture.

LG ARENA KM900

LG Crystal GD900

Samsung Jet S8000

Sony Ericsson Vivaz

We are going to reword one of the things we said about the LG Pop GD510 that seems to fully apply to the LG Mini GD880:

„We hope that LG comes up with a smartphone with the design and overall size of the Mini GD880. Such a device would be an excellent addition to the manufacturer’s product range and make the cell phone world richer and more appealing”