What makes G2 the best smartphone from LG

The new smartphone from LG is easy to hold and does not seem too big in hand despite the big screen.

A smartphone launch has become a run-of-the-mill exercise in this age. The unveiling of LG G2 was yet another grand event where the top bosses of the company made high flowing claims about how this phone is going to take over the market and become the user’s choice.

For a cynical consumer like me, most of it was hard to believe, despite the mammoth hype the phone generated prior to its launch. 

However, LG’s latest offering captures your imagination the moment you lay your hands on it.

There is not an iota of doubt that it can give a run for money to all its competitors in the market and might even come on top in various categories if you compare it to them. Anyway, let’s find out what the buzz around G2 is all about.

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Design 

The 5.2 inch Gorilla Glass front screen looks attractive with the absence of any physical button. Throwing the rule book out of the window, the device comes with the power and volume keys placed at the back right below the rear camera.

This is a first in terms of design, as almost all the smartphones available, have the power and volume keys on the sides. It took me a while to get used to this unique (often irritating) feature, but the presence of a feature called KnockON helped.

A double tap on the screen brings the phone to life and the same process can help you lock the phone. The rear of the phone is plastic, but the fibreglass-style finish lends a stylish look to the phone.

The device is easy to hold and does not seem too big in hand despite the big screen, and it weighs just 143 g. One of the issues I had with design was the size of the power button. It’s too small and often I found myself increasing or decreasing the volume while trying to lock the phone.

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Display

This is where LG G2 scores big. It is a delight to watch videos or pictures on the screen as they are amazingly sharp.

Also, the super slim bezels, give the device a great ‘edge-to-edge’ look. There were no issues with sunlight visibility.

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Hardware and performance

The G2 is equipped with Qualcomm’s latest smartphone chip. Using four cores clocked at 2.26Ghz apiece, the G2 smoothly flies through anything you throw at it.

This is aided by an Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The phone is available in two variants in terms of storage — 16GB and 32GB. The company says it's offering 50GB of cloud storage for free but for a general consumer, the absence of a microSD card slot is a let down. 

The G2 scored 33,359 in the AnTuTu benchmark, which tests overall system performance, including CPU, GPU and RAM. And that brings LG G2 at the top position on AnTuTu charts, leaving behind the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S4, HTC One etc. 

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Software

The G2 runs Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), which puts it on an even playing field with most new phones. But LG’s software customisations range from interesting to the utterly superfluous.

Where LG has faltered is in its desire to try and compete with Samsung by offering a plethora of features on top of Android, and as with the Galaxy S4, this is a hit and miss affair.

Smart Screen and Smart Video are features which will work by detecting your face looking at the screen to either pause video or keep the screen on if it can detect you're looking at the screen.

These work to a degree with Smart Video, only reacting to very determined movements away from the display. But QuickRemote is a useful feature with some of the easiest set up possible, making it an invaluable tool if you have a lot of kit in your living room and only want one remote.

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Camera

If you are someone who takes a lot of photographs with a phone, you would be glad to carry the G2. It features a 13-megapixel sensor that takes some of the better camera phone images, right on par with the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5.

Images look crisp and detailed, and the camera manages to capture vibrant colours in average lighting. The video camera is also capable of capturing 1080p video at up to 60 frames per second. The 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera is not bad either.

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Verdict

It is not possible to deny that the LG G2 is a very good phone. Arguably the best that LG has released till date. Yet, I am reluctant to recommend it.

The frustrating button placement and needless software modifications would make you want to consider other available options. 

Priced at Rs 44,500 (for the 32GB variant), I cannot say it would be a wise choice to shell out such an amount for this device. You can get a far more polished experience with phones like the HTC One and the Galaxy S4.

Pros: Brilliant display, battery life, smooth performace

Cons: Button placement, over-priced, overdose of features

LG G2
OS: AAndroid 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software
Screen Size : 5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35 inches and 143g
Processor : 2.26 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, Adreno 330 GPU, 32 GB internal memory, 2 GB of RAM
Camera: 13 megapixel rear camera (1080p video support at 60 fps), 2.1 megapixel front camera