LG Expo review – first with biometric security (fingerprint sensor)
Thumbs Up:
Perfect physical QWERTY keyboard; brilliant and sharp display; 5-megapixel camera with flash; good call quality; excellent performance; Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, and GPS.
Thumbs Down:
LG Expo lacks 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated Start Menu button. We will prefer to have inbuilt stylus holder.
Inside the Trunk:
Technology: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Band: Quad-band of WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Phone Design: Slider
Caller ID: Yes
Other Features: Fingerprint sensor, A-GPS, Bluetooth, 5-megapixel camera with flash
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
LG Expo is powered with 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM. It also has micro-SD expansion slot that accepts 32GB.
3.2-inch resistive touch screen display has 800×480 pixels WVGA resolution that supports 16-million colors. The smartphone has 5-megapixel camera with flash that features 3x digital zoom and video recording.
The operating system is Windows Mobile Professional 6.5. The additional features are A-GPS, fingerprint sensor, projector support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G support.
LG Expo has 1500mAH lithium ion battery that has a life of 3 hours talk time and 10 days standby time. Accessories supplied inside the package are user manual, stylus, USB cable, and power charger.
Razzle Dazzle:
We appreciate the LG to remain the compact frame after combining touch-screen and full QWERTY keyboard. LG Expo is 2.16 inches wide, 4.45 inches tall, and 0.63 inch deep and weighs 4.4 ounces. It is more pocket-friendly that similarly featured HTC Touch Pro2 and HTC Tilt2.
Inside Dope:
You may have notice the AT&T advertisements for the latest – LG Expo and heard about its projector accessory. Now, LG Expo is available for $199.99 with two-year AT&T contract after mail-in-rebate of $100. It features 1GHz Snapdragon processor for great performance. The Expo is one of the best Windows Mobile smartphones available in the market. Noteworthy that projector accessory has to be purchased additionally for $179. It has more features in sleeker body than that of HTC Tilt2. The smartphone does not have 3.5mm jack, but AT&T supplies adapter for the same. The Expo also has a biometric security- fingerprint sensor that will unlock the phone only after detecting your fingerprints. If you need some kind of biometric security to keep private your data and phone, then we will recommend selecting new – LG Expo.
3.2 inches touch screen display of LG Expo has 800×480 pixels WVGA resolution that supports 16-million colors. The touch screen is resistive and small in size, so you have to use a stylus. Like Samsung Omnia, you have to lanyard the stylus on upper left corner. Due to matte finish, the display is enough sharp and vibrant to remain readable even in direct sunlight. The touch screen is quick responsive and features inbuilt accelerometer and proximity sensor. However, the accelerometer only works in selected applications.
You will get honeycomb Start Menu and simplified Home Screen as the LG Expo runs on latest Windows Mobile 6.5. LG has also included its S-Class interface in the Expo smartphone. LG Menu at Start Page separates all the features in four types: Settings, Applications, Multimedia, and Communications.
Navigation array sits underneath the display and contains Talk key, End button, back key, and a sensor. This fingerprint sensor unlocks the phone only on your fingerprint and allows navigating through menus. This sensor scrolls comfortably and accurately in all directions.
You can push the display simply to right side for accessing the full QWERTY keyboard. The sliding mechanism is very smooth and locks the display securely. Keyboard has wide keys that provide tactile feedback on pressing. We like this excellent keyboard with good placement of keys. It will provide the good typing experience instead of being cramped.
You will find camera activation/capture button, multitasking button, and micro-SD card slot on the right side, whereas the volume rocker is on the left side. Multitasking key will bring a page to display all opened applications and allows switching between them. Combined micro-USB port for audio jack/charger and power button are located on the top. AT&T provides separate audio adapter to plug a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
The LG Expo uses Windows Mobile Professional 6.5 OS that includes MyPhone back service, and revamped Internet Explorer Mobile. It also full MS Office Mobile Suite that supports videos, photos and allows delivering PowerPoint presentations from optional “pico” projector.
Other preinstalled applications are Windows Marketplace, Mobile Banking, MSN Money, MSN Weather, Sprite Backup, Adobe Reader LE, and so forth. The other features are stopwatch, notepad, alarm clock, calculator etc. You can download more applications from Windows Marketplace.
LG Expo can store contacts in its phonebook limited to available memory and SIM card can hold additional 250 contacts. Each entry can store multiple phone numbers, instant messenger handle, email addresses, street addresses, notes, birthday, and more. You can assign the contacts with custom ring-tone, group ID and photo for caller ID. The essential feature set includes multimedia and text messaging with threaded view, voice command, voice dialing, conference calling, speakerphone, and quad-band world roaming.
The additional highlights are 3G support, GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, and Wi-Fi. AT&T has also included its services such as AT&T Video, AT&T Music and AT&T Navigator. LG Expo also has Microsoft Direct Push Technology for real time email delivery and auto-sync with Outlook contacts, tasks, and calendar through Exchange Server. The instant messengers including AIM, Yahoo, and Windows Live is available. The Expo also supports for POP3/IMAP4 accounts.
LG Expo has inbuilt media player that supports video formats of H.264, H.263, WMV, and MPEG. In addition, supported audio formats are MIDI, WMA, MP3, AAC+, and AAC.
5-megapixel camera of LG Expo features video-recording, flash, and 3x digital zoom. The other editing options include effects, white balance, scene modes, image size, and more. The menu layout of camera is better than that of HTC and Samsung. The overall photo quality is good.
We made few calls through quad-band based LG Expo via AT&T service. The overall call quality was good. We received clear sound at our end without any distortion. However, there was audible hiss while lulls in conversation. The callers received the good sound quality at their end without any problem. The speakerphone call quality was also good. Both of us received enough volume to carry out the conversations without any echo or hollowness.
1500mAH lithium ion battery has a life of 10 days idle standby time and 3 hours talk time. The digital SAR rating is 1.05 watts per kg as per FCC radiation tests.
Nitty Gritty:
LG Expo is one of the best Windows Mobile smartphone available in the market, but you have to use additional adapter for using 3.5mm headset adapter. If you need a smartphone with excellent performance and good call quality and can overcome above single drawback, then you can buy new – LG Expo.
