Showing posts with label lg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lg. Show all posts
Saturday, April 4, 2015
LG Optimus L5 Dual E615
LG OPTIMUS L5 DUAL E615 REVIEW
Another Optimus feather in LG’s hat is the LG Optimus L5 Dual price in Pakistan, delivering a nice smartphone in a moderate price. Though, LG has not been able to get the response from the people the way it deserved, still, it is producing some of the amazing phones that can see eyeball to eyeball to other smartphones. From the surface, LG Optimus L5 Dual seems to be a revised model of LG Optimus L5 supporting two sims at the same time, it does come with a few improvements and makes it a good package and definitely worth the price. On the outset, it is another astounding handset by LG but not exactly after you have a peek inside to what its packs under the hood. The new LG Optimus L5 Dual E615 shapes like a glamorous rectangular case. Moreover, LG has pushed numerous touchscreen cell phones to the market with a splendid response from the customers. We were actually puzzled before writing on this phone but the final verdict for this phone is on the negative end. The LG Optimus L5 Dual E615 is a dual sim phone offering 2G and 3G network. There is a deficiency of quality dual sim phones in the market. With all the exceptional features and dual sim option, the LG Optimus L5 Dual E615 has failed to gain a reputable rank in the market. The handset seems pretty lightweight as it weighs only 120g. The weight is perfect and is highly suitable according to the design and appearance of the handset. One of the most ravishing features of this phone is its 4 inch LCD with very responsive capacitative touchscreen and latest technology update from LG, its Optimus v3.0 user interface. This gives user a very friendly set of features making it very easy to lock and unlock the phone, access menus and use applications. Though, one downside of this mobile is its limited screen resolution and similar pixel density. Coming to the processing of the phone, it has a 800MHz processor accompanied with a Qualcomm MSM7225A Snapdragon and Adreno 200 GPU running an Android v4.0 ice cream sandwich. Compared to the price tag on this phone, it could have been better. There are various other phones that offer a much better processor and an improved GPU on that price. However, the chipset is really impressive delivering the max to the processor. The storage, like its predecessor LG Optimus L5, is 2.6GB user available storage space out of 4GB total being extendable up to 32GB through microSD chip and 512 RAM. Other features of this phone include a 5MP camera supporting HD images with an autofocus lens and LED flash. Like Otimus L5, the camera on this phone also has geo-tagging capability with touchfocus and video recording. The multimedia features, the internet browsing, communication and connectivity and rest of the other features are also the same as its previous model. As all handsets by LG, the LG Optimus L5 Dual E615 also has Android OS, v4.0 installed in it. The Android is one of the most appraised Operating system in the market and is preferred by the customers. Now coming to the processor, with majority of the eminent features LG has disappointed its customers because of just 800 MHz Cortex-A5 processor. This is not a prominent processor at all, as it is neither very fast nor it ensures full multitasking. To conclude, the phone apparently is very modish and trendy. But some of the internal features of this phone are neither suitable nor capable. We will suggest you to overlook this phone as it does not worth it. As LG is a struggling brand in the category of cell phones, it needs to provide entire quality based features for the utmost satisfaction of its valued customers. On the whole, LG Optimus L5 Dual price in USA gives you a phone with an improved LCD, refurbished user interface and support for two connections at the same time. Compared to the price of this phone, the specs of this phone must of have been better. Still, a recommended phone.
SPECIFICATION & FEATURES
LG OPTIMUS L5 DUAL E615 PRICE
Price in USA $201
Price in UK £156
Price in EURO €150
Price in PAK Rs.22,500
Friday, April 3, 2015
LG Optimus G LS970
LG OPTIMUS G LS970 REVIEW
LG launched its latest smartphone, Optimus G LS970. The latest from LG is a 4.7 inches full touchscreen handset that comes with powerful configurations and updated software. Impressibe design and uninterrupted performance makes LG Optimus G LS970 a hit in the market. Available in large rectangular brick from, LG Optimus G LS970 exudes a premium finishing and feel with its clean edges. FYI, the back and front of the handset comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 layers, making the phone much more durable and resistant to starches. The front is dominated by a full 4.7 inches True HD-IPS + LCD capacitive touchscreen with no hardware buttons but includes 3 capacitive buttons below the screen. With most of the buttons placed strategically on the phone, the user might find no trouble operating it. LG Optimus G LS970 is powered with Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait processor and includes Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, making the handset quite powerful. The inclusion of 2GB RAM and Adreno 320 GPU offers the phone a good compatibility with HD games and multitasking. Further, the phone runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean OS and comes with its own LG Optimus UI 3.0 layer, making navigation hassle-free and offer easy customization on-screen. Offering 32GB of internal storage, the phone offers a good amount of space to save important files, images and videos, though it lacks the external storage. Its whopping 13MP camera comes with LED flash and autofocus, giving users a chance to discover a photographer in them. The inclusion of Android Jelly Bean makes the overall navigation of the phone quite impressive and exciting. A 3G enabled handset, LG Optimus G LS970 does include a 1.3MP front camera for video calling and offer 720p video recording. Though the phone comes with 1280 x 768 pixels resolution screen, it sometimes feels legible to view at direct sunlight. Some other traits include: Available with active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE and NFC supported, Includes TBD radio, Comes with MHL-enabled microUSB port and USB host support, Includes GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS, Includes non-removable Li-Po 2100 mAh battery with talk time up to 13 h. Sprints LG Optimus G sports a 13-megapixel camera, a zippy quad-core CPU, and an attractively bright touch screen.
SPECIFICATION & FEATURES
LG OPTIMUS G LS970 PRICE
Price in USA $643
Price in UK £384
Price in EURO €480
Price in PAK Rs.72,000
Thursday, April 2, 2015
LG patents the G Pen possible smart pointer LG G4
Although rumor has it that there will be a new series LG G Pro, the Korean company does not want to lose face over compatriot Samsung and prepared, it seems, a G Pen, a smart pointer, to accompany the LG G4 the same way that the S Pen for Samsung Galaxy Note 4. At the end, the trend set by the Samsung Galaxy Note seems to prevail and if at first seemed crazy its wide screens, which ultimately are imposed, it seems that another element begins to be appreciated by your competitors. We talk about the smart pointer S Pen seems that competition starts thinking about incorporating it into their products.
In particular, it is LG which has registered a patent G Pen, its proposed smart-stylus, which would accompany 2015 the LG G4. We say that yesterday LG G4 different rumors that the Korean company will cease to evolve your LG G Pro series to focus its efforts on its core model is known.
It is not the first time that LG ventures for these courses. This year, we have seen as a model, the LG G3 Stylus, provided pointer but without added functions and various patents which showed a peculiar wearable as flexible bracelet that hid a pointer and even was talk that offer a screen for notifications. Indeed, this month has also been registered by the Korean company brand “G Scrawl” pointing to still thinks go further with writing functions and interaction with pointers in their terminals.
Although the bet would be that the LG G4 would have a G Pen included, is also considering the possibility that a new LG G4 Stylus appears to give much choice who likes to use this element as those who do not.
LG patents the G Pen, possible smart pointer LG G4
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Qualcomm gives clues about the next LG G Flex 2
Qualcomm, the renowned manufacturer of processors for mobile devices, has posted a picture on his Twitter account in giving a clear hint about one of the smartphones that will be presented next week at CES in Las Vegas. The team is none other than the LG G Flex 2. Do not specify in the message accompanying the image, but a detail of the design does not leave much room for doubt. Over a year ago and since LG surprised we with their mobile curved. The LG G Flex is a tablet phone 6 inches which is also flexible and has a back cover made of special material, able to repair itself when the surface is scratched. Rumors say that the successor to the terminal will continue to pursue the same concept, but improving key sections such as the screen. And now Qualcomm confirms that also continue carrying a Snapdragon chip.
The official Twitter account of Qualcomm has released an image of the back cover of a mysterious smartphone, which has made a montage to show its interior, where there is a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The message that accompanies the image is as follows “A new Snapdragon 800 mobile processor will be released next week at CES a first look-here”. As mentioned, do not refer to the manufacturer or model in question, but there are details that make it quite clear. The first and most obvious is the button on the rear of the chassis. LG changed the layout of the buttons with the LG G2, removing them from the side and placing them in the back, right hand under the camera. In this way, gets a much finer design edges, but the buttons are still accessible today. The texture of the back cover has concentric and reminds the self-healing circles housing first model.
Previous rumors about the LG G Flex 2 pointed to a launch at CES, so the message Qualcomm does nothing but reinforce this theory, but we have to wait for the announcement from LG to make it official. The current model has a 6 inch screen, but there are hints that LG could slightly reduce the diagonal away from the category of tablet phone order to reach a wider audience. Also, the screen resolution to increase FullHD 1080p, getting sharper and clearer images. The panel will remain a flexible OLED, since this is the main feature of the LG G Flex and therefore will remain in the LG G Flex 2. The processor would be a Snapdragon 800 according to the tweet of Qualcomm, although, as pointed in GSMarena, chances are that integrates a variant thereof, as the Snapdragon 801 or Snapdragon 805. The fair Consumer Electronics Show kicks off on Tuesday, January 6, just within a week. We look forward to offering all new LG G Flex 2.
Qualcomm gives clues about the next LG G Flex 2
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
LG Lifeband Touch fitness tracking wristband purportedly leaked in image
As of now, not many other details about both the alleged LG Lifeband Touch have been revealed. If the leaked image of the LG Lifeband Touch turns out to be true, then LG can be expected to enter the wearables segment quite soon.
An earlier report had revealed that LG has been working on a smartwatch rumoured to be named G Arch and has also been developing a fitness tracking wristband called the G Health, which now can be called LG Lifeband Touch, according to @evleaks.
Back in August, a company executive had confirmed the South Korean manufacturers plans to enter the smartwatch market by 2014, and the new report suggests MWC would be the venue for the unveiling.
The rumoured LG G Arch was expected to be compatible with LG Android smartphones, though there was no word on whether it will support all LG Android smartphones. However, another report claimed that the South Korean manufacturers rumoured G Arch smartwatch would be compatible with the alleged LG G3.
Monday, March 30, 2015
LG L25 a Firefox OS smartphone
Although he has appeared by surprise, and LG had announced almost a year that also come into Firefox OS ago . However, their presence in Mozilla platform was delayed until now that the first images of LG L25 are discovered, the Firefox OS Korean terminal. Already at the time, when he presented the platform, which is poised to version 2.0, promised that in addition to Alcatel and ZTE, the only ones so far have launched a terminal with Firefox OS plus Geekphone Revolution, makers of the platform they have promised that other brands would join the project but the months have passed and still fail ads.
It seems that LG could be the next to jump on the bandwagon with the LG L25, its first handset with Firefox OS that still do not have a picture of the device, but the guidelines or outlines how will your design by @upleaks, the Twitter account that has taken over the known @evleaks in this whole panorama of the leaks.
How can you see in the pictures, they are all in Japanese and it seems that LG L25 will launch, at least at first, with the help of the Japanese operator KDDI, which as Movistar in Spain and Latin America, has placed as a champion for developing Firefox OS.
How we indicated, we only see the outlines of a device that looks slim, in line with other terminals with Firefox OS, with characteristics of input range. Besides the diagrams showing the design, also few screenshots have leaked in which, in black and white, we can clearly see that the operating system is Mozilla’s proposal with its characteristic circular icons and FireFox browser.
Will have to see if this LG L25 makes the leap to other countries, since it seems that only do so if another operator is interested . In that sense, with the support of Movistar to Firefox OS already discussed, it would be strange to see him soon announced in our country and other regions where the operator is present.
LG L25 - a Firefox OS smartphone
Sunday, March 29, 2015
LG G Watch Samsung Gear Live Review Android You Can Wear
Google unveiled Android Wear back in March and while the announcement was accompanied by very few details, we did get a glimpse of a Moto 360 prototype in action and the promise of a summer shipping date. LG said it will be following suit with a watch of its own, but Samsung, the biggest Android smartphone vendor and the company with largest number of smartwatch offerings, was conspicuously absent from the launch event.
With the Moto 360 delayed - though it could still technically make the summer deadline - LG, and interestingly enough, Samsung, became Googles Android Wear launch partners, when the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live were unveiled on the opening day of the Google I/O developers conference.
We spent some time with all three Android Wear smartwatches in San Francisco in June, and have since had the opportunity to use the Samsung, and especially, the LG for over a month in the real world. If youre wondering whether Android Wear, or indeed smartwatches, can find a place in your daily life, read on.
Design and Display
Both the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live (pictured above) have boxy designs that are unlikely to win any awards. The watches look rather boring, especially the G Watch with its plasticky body. The metal on the Gear Live makes it stand out a little bit more than LGs attempt, though neither is a patch on the upcoming Moto 360 in the looks department.
The strap on the Samsung has a thick pin that needs to be pushed in, making it extremely awkward, though the going gets a little bit easier as you get used to it. The LG comes with a more conventional strap, but it feels rather cheap. Thankfully, both the LG and Samsung have standard 22mm straps that you can replace with off-the-shelf picks of your choice. We personally found the Samsung more comfortable when worn for long durations, but your mileage may vary. Both watches are IP67-certified, so its safe to wear them while taking a shower or washing hands.
Both designs are pretty basic otherwise, with Samsung opting for a single button on the right side of the watch, and LG deciding to eliminate buttons completely. As it turns out, thats a pretty crazy move, because if you switch off the G Watch (by going into the settings menu), you cannot power it back on unless you plug it in to charge. We are all for minimalism, but its pretty evident that LG has gone a step too far, while Samsung seems to have made the wiser choice.
The LG G Watch has a 1.65-inch IPS LCD display that is marginally larger than the Gear Live, but Samsungs is better looking thanks to its AMOLED technology. The colours on the Gear Live appear richer when you view the same content on the two side-by-side. However, in terms of visibility under sunlight, the LG performed better with both displays set at their brightest.
LG G Watch (left) and Samsung Gear Live.
Surprisingly, neither device comes with an ambient light sensor, which means you will constantly find yourself fiddling with the brightness settings, especially if you move in and out often and do not set the display at its maximum brightness in a bid to save battery. With no quick way to the adjust the brightness, this can become rather painful, though some third-party hacks offer help.
Setup
Unfortunately, getting started with your Android Wear device can be a bit of a pain. On paper, it is simple enough - if your smartphone or tablet is running Android 4.3 or above (sorry iPhone or other users), download the Android Wear app from Google Play, pair the devices via Bluetooth, and youre good to go. In practise, the experience is frustrating enough to make you give up before you even get started.
Upon powering on the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch for the the first time - switching on the latter required connecting it to its charger since it has no buttons - we were greeted by a prompt to choose a language. Once done, we were asked to install Android Wear on our phone, which was simple enough. When we launched the app though, we were told we need to update Google Play Services and relaunch the app. After following those instructions, we were able to connect the watches with the phone following the standard Bluetooth pairing procedure.
After the pairing is done, the next step was to give the Android Wear app permission to access our notifications. Then, the watch was finally ready to use and we were greeted by a small tutorial that showed us how to move around - swipe up to fully reveal the first card; swipe up or down to move between cards; swipe left to see more details about a card or interact with it; swipe right to dismiss a card.
The experience of setting up both watches - and indeed using them - is almost identical, which means its all part of the core Android Wear OS with little scope for the customisations (read bloatware) that OEMs like to add. However, after the pairing process was complete and the G Watch had an active Internet connection it could use, the watch wanted to download an update, and there was no way around this. The downloading, installation and subsequent rebooting meant it was a good 15 minutes before we were greeted by the tutorial on the LG G Watch - all this on a fast Internet connection. While we understand the need to download the latest firmware, this can be a frustrating experience for anyone who cant wait to get started with their new gadget.
LG G Watch showing the various menu options.
Unfortunately, the the frustration doesnt end there. The next time we launched Android Wear, we were promoted to update the Google Search app and reinstall - not just relaunch - the Android Wear app. Reinstalling it means you also have to re-enable Android Wears access for system notifications.
The experience was pretty much identical when we subsequently tried pairing the wearables with other smartphones (minus the bit where the LG downloaded software from the Internet).
Android Wear
Once set up, you can choose to receive notifications from your paired device, though thankfully you can prevent notifications from certain apps appearing on your smartwatch. This can be done by adding that app to the Mute app notifications list within the Android Wear app. The app also lets you (if you so desire) stop notifications from appearing on your phone while they show up on your watch. You can also toggle the watchs Screen always on setting from within the app.
While the app is very barebones, you can also do things like toggling whether calendar event cards should show up on the watch, disconnect the smartwatch, set default apps for various actions and resync apps to the smartwatch - more on the last two options later.
As notifications start appearing on your smartwatch, you can get more details about a notification - or, in very few cases, interact with it - by swiping left from the notification screen. For example, when you receive a text message, you can swipe left to see the message in full. Swipe left once more and youll be presented with the option to reply to the message via voice. This works rather well, and the speech-to-text isnt a problem even with Indian accents, but thats hardly a surprise anymore considering how well the feature has worked with Android devices in the recent past.
When you are not receiving notifications, what you see on the watch is a Google Now-like interface where cards pop up as and when you need them. So, walk a bit and watch will tell you how many steps youve taken today; and so on. You can swipe upwards to view more details about the card, and swiping left will, you guessed it, present more details or opportunities to interact with the card or its originating application.
For example, swiping left on the steps card shows a giant History icon, and swiping left a second time shows the Settings option where you can set your daily goal (10,000 steps by default), disable the steps card, or stop the watch from saving fitness data.
As this Samsung Gear Live shows, were no fans of moving around on our feet.
If you are not interested in a card, you can swipe right to dismiss it. If you accidentally do this for a card, dont worry - similar to Google Now, it will reappear when Google determines you need it again. The similarity with Now extends to the weather and maps cards, which appear when Mountain Views know-it-all algorithm determines you need them - and Google knows you better than you can imagine.
Thankfully, youre not just limited to reacting to cards and notifications - you can also initiate stuff. Tap the watch or simply turn it towards you, say "Ok Google" and you can get it to do a surprisingly large number of things. Our favourite amongst these was saying "Ok Google, navigate to Khan Market" and then seeing driving instructions pop up on our watch - all this while our smartphone was sitting face down on the seat next to us.
Since display area on the watch is small, you can only see limited information - like the next exit to take - but thats good enough. While its never ideal to have distractions while driving, stealing a glance at our watch felt safer than fiddling with our phone, in our completely unscientific testing.
You can also initiate text messages, emails, set alarms, and do a lot more by simply turning your watch towards you. Youll see the words Ok Google on the screen, and if you say the magic words - or tap on the top right corner - you can do any of these things by simply issuing a command. So, just before you go to bed, flick your wrist, say "Ok Google [pause] Wake me up at 7am" and, just like that, your alarm for the next day is set. Ok, that in itself is an unlikely scenario since the terrible battery life on these devices (more on that later) means they are more likely to spend the night on the charging cradle than on your wrist, but you get the idea.
Tap on the top right of the screen and the Google icon will show you the list of all voice commands that the watch can accept. You can even tap a list item to invoke that particular command. For example, scroll down to the bottom of the list and youll see the Settings option, which further includes the ability to adjust the brightness of the display; toggle always-on display; turn airplane mode on or off; change watch face; the about screen; and commands to reset, restart and power off the watch. Just below the Settings youll find the Start... option that can be used to launch apps on your watch.
You can also invoke Settings or any of the other apps under Start... by saying "Start [name of the app]." Note that this refers to apps on your watch, and not the ones on your phone, a concept that will become clearer later in this review.
While notifications from any app will appear on your watch without any additional effort from the apps developer(s), the ability to respond to these notifications from your Android Wear device or take actions within these apps in a meaningful way will require the developers to integrate the Wear SDK in their app. A few apps have done this already, but the number is still very limited. You can browse all Android Wear compatible apps by selecting the relevant option from within the Wear app on your smartphone or tablet.
Email notifications on the Samsung Gear Live.
As mentioned earlier, you can also use the Android Wear app to select the default app for each voice command. For example, if you have multiple Android Wear-compatible note-taking apps installed, you can tell the system which one to open when you say "Take a note."
Performance and Battery Life
This may sound ridiculously obvious, but the single most important thing a watch needs to be able to do is tell the time.When you turn your eyes to look at a watch, it should tell you the time instantly - a concept that hadnt been challenged in decades - till smart watches came along.
With battery life at a premium, smartwatch makers have been giving users the ability to turn off the display, which means it is not always showing the time. While you may not have to tap the display to power it on - simply flicking the wrist towards you works - theres a small, but noticeable, delay before the display powers on, which means youll often find yourself staring at a blank screen, albeit momentarily.
This can get irritating especially those who - consciously or subconsciously - look at their wrists several times a day and are used to the always-on nature of a regular watch. The problem is amplified by the fact that a simple flick of the wrist while keeping the elbow stationary often failed to power on the display. The flick needs to be a rather pronounced motion to be detected by the watch. This was especially a problem with the LG, and as a result we preferred having the display always on.
Smartwatches do offer some advantages though, like the ability to customise the face of the watch i.e. the way it displays time. You can choose from one of the pre-installed faces - some are common between the two watches, but LG has more choices than the Samsung in this department - or download more from Google Play. Youll soon find your favourite, like we did.
A watch face is like any other Android app that you can download on your smartphone or tablet - not Android Wear device - from Googles store. Theres a dedicated section for Android Wear-compatible apps in Google Play though it doesnt include watch faces yet. A simple search for Android Wear will show you a lot of third-party apps that extend the functionality of your watch. In addition to the watch faces, youll findcalculators, TicTacToe, 2048/ Threes-like games, and, of course, Flappy Bird clones.
Yes, the LG G Watch can also tell time.
These apps can be launched via voice commands, or the menu as explained earlier, or you can get an unofficial third-party launcher - not endorsed by Google - to quickly get to them by swiping right from the top-left corner of the watchs display. Swiping once will give you the list of apps you can tap to launch. Swiping once more (on the top-right corner only) will show you quick settings that can be used to quickly change the brightness of the watchs display; toggle the phones Wi-Fi; change volume, and a few other settings. You can also see the amount of battery life remaining on the watch as well as the smartphone - very handy indeed.
The Android Wear API is still very much a work in progress, so expect to run into quirks such as the Ok Google text not being visible on certain watch faces - something developers blame on the fact that Google doesnt (yet) expose the functionality that would let them change the colour and placement of this text.
If your watch is paired to your smartphone, apps with Android Wear components should be automatically synced to the watch as soon as you finish installing them on the phone. If they are not paired when you download an app on your phone, the sync should happen as soon as the watch is next connected. You can also manually initiate a sync by going to the Android Wear app on your smartphone. We installed several Wear-compatible apps and didnt have to use this option even once; but its nice to know it exists if needed.
If the notifications and alerts get to be too much, you can swipe downwards from the top of the watch to mute notifications temporarily. Repeat the gesture to unmute. This screen also shows you todays date and the amount of battery life remaining on the watch - handy when you are using a watch face that doesnt already display this information.
Theres more to your watch than notifications and Google Now. You can say, "Ok Google.. What is the capital of France?" or "What is 20 times 7?" and your watch will present the information right there - though, seriously, you should already know the answer to both those questions. Similar to the Google Search app on other devices, Android Wear leverages the power of Googles Knowledge Graph to answer these and many other questions.
The Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch have identical specifications - a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 512MB RAM, and 4GB of internal storage that is used by the OS as well as apps you may install. While that may pale in comparison to modern-day PCs or smartphones, if youd told someone twenty years ago that people today would be carrying that kind of computational power on their wrist, you wouldve been called crazy.
Thankfully, the overall Android Wear experience is smooth enough that you dont really notice the underlying hardware, which, when you think about it, is exactly how a watch should be.
However, the devices are not without their quirks. For example, we left the LG G Watch lying on a shelf for an entire day, and it still insisted we had logged over 2,000 steps in that time. The problem was one-off and hasnt reccured since we installed the recent software update, so maybe the issue has been rectified (the release notes for the update dont explicitly address this).
On another occasion, after not using the watch for a few days, we found that it had completely lost track of time. That might be understandable when you think about how these devices are designed, but losing the ability to accurately keep time is something that only happens to a regular watch over months, if not years, so it can be a frustrating experience.
The Samsung Gear Live comes with a heart rate sensor, but the watch needs to be completely pressed against your wrist for this to work properly, and even then the performance is hit-and-miss.
Samsung Gear Live comes with a heart rate monitor.The other big drawback with both watches is of course their battery life. In our usage, the Samsung Gear Live lasted just about an entire work day, while the LG G Watch fared marginally better. Just like most smartphones, youll find yourself needing to charge your smartwatch everyday - which some may be willing to accept ("Its just another charger by the bedside."), while others may find the idea completely absurd. We can sympathise with both camps, and while better battery life would definitely be nice to have, we recognise this is really the first generation of smartwatches. We expect the situation to improve as we go along.
You can try tricks like switching off the always on display option or covering the watch with your palm to quickly turn the display off when done(also a great virtual home button for the watch) but that is unlikely to make any significant improvement to your battery life, as we found out during our extensive testing. Thankfully, the watches do get charged rather quickly, getting to about 80 percent of their capacity with less than an hour of charging.
Our main problem with both the watches is not so much their battery life but the ridiculous charging mechanisms they require. Thats right, the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch feature proprietary charging connectors that require intermediate docks so the watches can be charged. This means if you forget the charging cradles at home - or worse, lose them - your watch will lose its smarts in no time.
You can buy additional docks from LG and Samsung in some regions, but their availability in India isnt clear at this point.
Verdict
We used both Android Wear devices over several weeks and found them to be more useful than wed initially imagined. The ability to look at an incoming notification and see if its something that requires further attention or can be safely ignored without even taking your smartphone out of your pocket, is very handy. However, we realise that not everyone needs to be connected constantly to stay on top of whats happening in their virtual world, and the potentially incessant buzzing will perhaps be too much for many.
With smartwatches still a new phenomenon, potentially awkward social situations can arise. One time we were at a lunch meeting while wearing our LG G Watch. Needless to say, we found ourselves reflexively looking at the watch every time it buzzed with yet another email notification. Before long, we found our host asking if we needed to be somewhere else in a hurry "because you keep looking at the darn watch!"
While weve gotten used to staring into our smartphone screens while sitting in front of each other, it will take some time before everyones on board with the idea of smartwatches.
This is further amplified by the fact that, for now at least, Wear only gives you app-level control of notifications you receive on the watch. Greater flexibility on that front might help fix the problem for some. Similarly, while the ability to quickly dictate replies to emails or messages is great, if you have more than one pending email, they get grouped on the watch, leaving the reply option unworkable. The option is also unreliable for dictating anything longer than a few words, since the moment you pause to collect your thoughts for more than a couple of seconds, Wear decides its time to send the message.
However, notifications on the watch are great when youre expecting something to pop up - one-time transaction passwords (OTP) for example, so you dont have to go hunting for your phone just to complete that midnight online purchase. However, not all apps let you do anything meaningful with notifications yet. Many will show the option to launch the corresponding application on the phone, but if you find yourself reaching for the phone, the battle is already lost.
All in all though, the time we spent with Android Wear definitely has us more excited about wearables than we were two months ago. Yes, the platform is limited in terms of what it can do, but its a more compelling offering than products such as the Pebble and even the smartwatches that Samsung brought out on its own earlier - if you are an Android smartphone user, of course. We look forward to seeing what features Google adds to Wear in the future. We also hope software updates wont be as big a pain as they are with Android smartphones and tablets, since the watches are largely free of OEM-level customisations as far as the end-user experience is concerned, and more Nexus-like in that regard.
While the software has a lot of potential, what LG and Samsung have delivered with the G Watch (Rs. 14,999) and Gear Live (Rs. 15,900) is largely uninspiring in terms of design. Theres not much to swing a decision between the two - the Samsung has a slightly better display and a heart rate sensor that barely works, while the LG costs a little less and will get through a little more of the day.
So, should you buy the LG G Watch or the Samsung Gear Live? Even if you dont mind living with the drawbacks of being an early Android Wear adopter, we recommend you keep the money firmly in your pocket, especially with the Moto 360 around the corner. While were not recommending Motorolas offering over the current contenders just yet, it certainly seems more promising on paper, and looks like a clear winner in terms of design. With the launch of iWatch - or whatever Apples offering will be called - also looking increasingly likely, things are sure to heat up in the wearables space, giving you, the consumer, more options.
LG G Flex with 6 inch curved display coming to India in February 2014
The Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean-based G Flex is powered by a quad-core 2.26GHz Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor with an Adreno 330 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. It features a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. The G Flex is powered by a 3,500mAh battery, weighs 177 grams, and is 7.9mm at its thinnest, while being 8.7mm at its thickest.
As for the 6-inch curved display, LG has used a curved OLED panel, which is also built on plastic substrates instead of glass, supposedly giving the phone better durability. The display features Real RGB technology to provide all three sub-pixels in one pixel, thereby making it "brighter and more precise."
LG has also included a new self-healing coating on the back cover, an elastic coating that supposedly has the ability to "recover from the daily wear-and-tear scratches and nicks that un-cased smartphones are likely to receive." The LG G Flexs self-healing capabilities have also been creating a buzz worldwide.
Apart from the Rear Keys introduced with the G2, the LG G Flex also incorporates the some new user interface features, such as QTheater for quick access to photos, videos and YouTube from the lock screen; Dual Window for multitasking with two windows; Swing Lockscreen for a dynamic lockscreen image based on the way the phones held; as well as three Rear Key LED indicators - Face Detection, Camera Timer and Urgent Call Alert.
LG launched its first curved display smartphone, the G Flex in October this year with much fanfare, and it was rolled out only in South Korea initially. Recently, the company announced that the LG G Flex was ready for a global roll-out, starting with Singapore and Hong Kong.
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