Overview:
When people talk about their phones being ‘crystal clear’, they normally mean that you can hear the person on the other end of a call. In LG’s case though, this term is referring to the phone’s “now you see it, now you don’t” transparent personality. But is this a bit gimmicky or have LG really cracked something unique here? Let’s find out.
Review:
We first had a sneak peek of the LG GD900 Crystal back in April, and hands-on it stood out from the crowd. You may look at the phone and think, “but I can see it!” Well yes, if the whole handset were see-through that wouldn’t be very practical when looking around the house to try to figure out where on earth your kids have hidden it.
What is transparent is the touch keypad, which slides out from under the display and emits a soft, warm glow so you can make use of it and not stab your finger around hoping to hit something solid.
Design-wise, the LG Crystal is a sleek, sexy handset and something very different in a market saturated with grey plastic.
While the touchpad may look a bit flimsy, it is actually made of highly durable tempered glass that is ultra-strong. It is also encased in a frame designed to absorb shock and vibration. Basically, it should be as durable as any other phone that gets knocked around in the pub.
LG have also designed the touchpad to be extra user-friendly to make up for the initial confusion of trying to use something see-through. The Crystal Touchpad comes with Gesture Shortcuts that allows you to configure shortcuts by simply drawing shapes.
Gesture Shortcuts aims to reduce the amount of steps required to access multi-tasking features. Say you’re in the middle of writing an email and need to find a link to include. By tracing a symbol on the touchpad (like a “W” for example), you can instantly access the web browser. How’s that for 007?
The touchpad also has Mouse Mode which allows you to use the touchpad just as you would a laptop touchpad. It also has a Touch Wheel function that in iPod style, allows easier access to your multimedia bits and pieces.
If you need to do the ye olde thing of typing out letters, you have the option of a standard key pad to use, or you can draw out individual letters on the touchpad to tell your other half that you’re going to be late for dinner that night.
Apart from the Mission Impossible high-tech aspect of the Crystal, you also get a high spec phone with:
– 8MP camera
– 3" full touchscreen with auto-rotating display
– MP3 player
– External memory capacity of 32GB
– Wi-Fi
– Bluetooth 2.1
The LG GD900 Crystal will be available from the 1st of July from the Carphone Warehouse
Check out all the full features on the LG Blog
The Gaj-It Verdict:
Design: 10/10
Usability: 8/10
Features: 9/10
Value: TBA
We Say:
The LG GD900 Crystal is a centre piece for anyone who like to carry around a bit of a wow-factor with them. Not only does it look uniquely stunning, it has the features to back up its beautiful looks with some hardcore tech. This is a really interesting phone and we can’t wait to “see” it out and about on the streets.