This post was published 2 years 4 months ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

Since the release of Windows Mobile 6.5 and the subsequent release of the new Windows phones, I have had the privilege of reviewing two offerings by AT&T. The HTC Pure (Touch Diamond 2) and the Tilt2 (Touch Pro2), both of which I found to be good in their own rights with the Tilt2 being the better of the two in my opinion because of the hardware keyboard and larger screen. Since then I have also received the LG eXpo to review.

The LG eXpo is the second Windows Mobile phone by LG and is a vast departure from the Incite which came before it. The LG Incite (pictured below) is a 3 inch QVGA touch screen slate or bar design with no physical keyboard and while thick for its form factor it is still a pocketable device. The eXpo on the other hand comes with a slide out qwerty without adding a tremendous amount of size but a noticeable change in specs. How does it compare with the Other Windows Phones? Let’s take a look

What’s in the Box

• LG eXpo
• Lithium Polymer Battery
• Power adapter
• USB Data Cable
• Hands Free Headset and 3.5mm adapter
• Stylus
• Quick start Guide

Technical Specs.

• Processor: Qualcomm 1 GHz
• Operating System: Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional
• Memory: 512 MB ROM + 256 MB RAM
• Dimensions: 4.45″ H x 2.16″ W x 6.3″ D Weight: 175.0 grams
• Display: 3.2″ 16M color WVGA (800×480 pixels)
• Network: GPRS/EDGE Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900  MHz) UMTS/HSDPA Tri-band (850/1900/2100 MHz)
• Keyboard: Slide-out 4-row QWERTY keyboard
• GPS: GPS/A-GPS
• Bluetooth®: v2.1 with A2DP
• Wi-Fi: 802.11b/g with WPA2 security
• Email: Outlook®/Direct Push, POP, IMAP
• Messaging: Threaded SMS, MMS, Email, IM
• Biometric sensor/D-pad
• 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash
• Optional Pico Projector

The Design

The eXpo is a sideways slider bar or slate phone with a four row QWERTY keyboard. It has a 3.2 inch resistive touch screen with 800X 480 resolution. It is a very professional looking device with a Black and Chrome face and what appears to me graphite metallic finish on the back. While not as heavy as many of the full QWERTY sliders it does have a solid feel to it and the presence of the Biometric sensor (Fingerprint reader) adds to the professional look. It really is a nice size yet is very pocketable.

Unlike the Pure and Tilt2 it is not a finger print magnet, the screen seems to have a anti-smudge coating on it and the color combined with the just less than smooth surface resists finger prints on the back. You don’t feel like you have to constantly clean the screen, and that is a good thing.

For buttons on the front we have the send, end, back buttons. In between the screen and the buttons we find the biometric finger print reader that is also used as a Directional pad now commonly removed from the latest HTC Smartphones (to the lament of one of our contributors here on Mobilitysite). The Sensor works as a security device to unlock the phone without having to enter a password or slide the unlock icon on the screen. To use it as a d-pad takes a little practice along with setting the sensitivity up, but once you get used to it, it’s a nice feature.  Above the screen we find the ear speaker.

On the left side we find the volume rocker which is oddly placed in the middle and a bit awkward I might add. It is from here we have access to the slide out keyboard. The Keyboard is for rows and like the Tilt2 you have to use the function key to access numbers. My current device up until recently has been an original Tilt. The keyboard on it and the eXpo are comparable, but I do find I hit multiple keys on the eXpo more often. It is not in the same class as the Tilt2, but still very usable and definitely better than a virtual keyboard.

On the top is the power button and, under a dust cover, the sync/charge/audio all combined into a micro USB port. Here we also have a place for a lanyard and or the stylus. This is my first gripe about the eXpo, the stylus is an extendable stylus that is separate from the phone and it looks like a small lipstick. You have two choices, well, really three. Attach it to the lanyard slot and let it dangle (not), put it in your pocket (now where did that thing go), or leave it at home in your desk. (you’re not going to want to do that either, read on)

On the right side we have the Micro SD slot under a dust cover. You can put up to a 32GB microSD card in it. We also have a task manager button and the camera button. On the bottom is the microphone port and on the back is the Camera, battery cover, LED flash and external speaker.

The most unique thing about the eXpo is that it has a Pico Projector that will become available in the future as an accessory. The price of the Projector is expected to be about $180. I did not receive the Projector with the review unit, nor is it available for purchase as of yet, so I will not be able to offer any opinions on it. There are some reviewers who have received one and their opinions of it vary.

OS and Interfaces

As I mentioned the eXpo comes with Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. When Windows Mobile 6.5 was released it was not received well by the tech media and for many of the WM faithful it was a disappointment. The memory management has been improved and the menus, while still reflect the aging OS have been enlarged to make them finger friendly with the larger screens. They have changed the Home screen yet still made the original available. While I admit there should have been more I like the improvements that have been made in 6.5 and look forward to see what this year brings and I hope I am not disappointed.

Like the HTC Tilt2 and Pure, the eXpo offers multiple ways to interact with the Phone. The Default WM interface called Titanium, LGIdles, and the Classic Windows Mobile Today Screen. Let’s take a look

Titanium

Like many other manufacturers LG has developed their own interface to run on top of the stock Windows Mobile Titanium Home screen. But unlike HTC, Samsung and others LG does not have its interface turned on by default. Instead, when you turn on the device for the first time you are greeted by the stock WM 6.5 Home screen as you see in the picture below. This Zune like screen gives you quick access to the things you need most, but as many have said, it only takes a tap or two to get to the menus of old found in the dated OS. These menus are bigger and a little more finger friendly but still look dated. If you like this interface you can improve on it by downloading the Home Screen customizer from the Marketplace that lets you add, delete, or move the panels up or down on the screen. Included in the application is a weather panel and an application panel which allow you to open your favorite applications right from the today screen. The best part, it’s free. this is my preferred screen especially when combined with the Home Screen Customizer Application.

LG Idles

The Interface developed by LG is called LG Idles. This can be enabled in Start/settings/today by tapping the Item tab and checking LGIdles. This will disable whatever today Items you have checked and when you select OK it will load the LG interface. It takes a while to find all the features within the menu system and like HTC’s TouchFlo, LG skins almost every aspect of the OS, which maybe was Microsoft’s intent all along, who knows? Anyway you have a today like screen which has the clock and shows your upcoming appointments, if you swipe the screen left or right you have access to a media screen for you’re your favorite music, pictures and videos, and a favorite contact screen where you can call, email or message your favorite contacts

At the bottom of the screen you have a sliding panel with the commonly used applications. From here you access submenus for messaging, favorite applications, the internet and so on. From the home screen you have a rising tab the gives you access to common settings such as your wireless manager for Bluetooth and wifi, flight mode, ringtones and alerts, themes and wallpapers and even a tutorial for LGs S-class UI.

LG has added one more interface of sorts called LG Menu. This can be accessed from the lower menu on the LG interface or from the Start menu. What the Menu does is separate the stock applications and settings into categories and then displays them in sliding panels of Icons. Iif you tap and hold on one of the Icons you can move it along its category row but beyond that, you can’t add or remove any of the panels nor enable it as a default which for some might be desirable.

Windows Mobile Classic

I don’t know if that is what it is called but it sounds good to me. As with the Pure and The Tilt2 the eXpo allows you to disable all the eye candy and just use the basics. I know some still like it because with each review I am asked if it is still there. While it is not very pretty nor does it do much it is clean basic and functional. It lets you display what you want to see and none of what you don’t. While some of what is in Windows mobile can be confusing for some, you have to admit if this screen confuses you, you probably don’t need a smartphone. In fact the screen shot you see here is everything you can turn on with the text size at largest size.

Software

As is typical, AT&T installs loads of applications and trial software and games. I wish they would listen to the communities like this one and stop loading these things up with junk but I guess they will keep doing it, and we will keep complaining about it. What I am going to do is List what I believe to be stock applications, AT&T applications and then junk I mean trial ware.

Stock

• Office Mobile (Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Word)
• Outlook Mobile
• Outlook Mobile calendar
• Internet Explorer Mobile
• Windows Media Player Mobile
• Windows Live
• Windows Live Search
• Adobe Reader LE
• Mobile Zip
• Sprite Backup
• Remote Desktop
• RSS viewer
• Podcast application
• Pocket Express (an application like bing mobile or the Google Mobile application)
• Internet sharing (USB or Bluetooth PAN)
• Enable Dun (USB Modem)

AT&T

• AT&T Navigator
• APPCenter (the new name for the AT&T Media mall)
• Mobile Video
• Ferrari GT Evolution (Trial)
• Tetris (Trial)
• Monopoly (Trial)
• Block Breaker (Trial)
• Katamari (Trial)
• Instant Messaging application (Compatible with AIM, Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger)

Widgets

As with all WM 6.5 Phones the eXpo comes with Widgets. For those not familiar with widgets they are small applications which pull specific information from the web for you to view when you need or want it. Some come as trials and some are full applications. The ones installed on the eXpo are:

• Mobi4Biz
• MSN Weather
• MSN Money
• Notifier for iSkoot (integrates social networks like facebook and MySpace)
• Wiki Mobile (Trial)

As a Phone

As far a signal goes the eXpo gets and holds a decent signal for a Converged phone. I found it to be about on par with the Tilt2 and slightly weaker than the Pure. Call quality on my end was good as was volume. The problem I ran into is on the other end. When talking to others they would say I was breaking up. I first thought it was my Bluetooth Headset so I tried another with the same result. So I reasoned it must be the Bluetooth connection, maybe a firmware issue or something. One day I forgot to bring a headset and on my way home my wife said it was the same. I tried another phone in the same area of town and it had no issue. I don’t know if it was just the phone I have or if this is an issue with this phone. If someone has one please chime in and let us know.

Performance

Here is where the eXpo is an improvement over most WM phones, it comes with a 1Ghz processor and it just flows faster than the Tilt2 or the Pure. It opens programs and scrolls just a little faster and seems unaffected by how many applications are running in the background. It’s not a tremendous increase and maybe not even enough to choose the LG over a Tilt2 or the Pure, but combine the extra performance into a pocketable Smartphone equipped with a full qwerty keyboard and it just might sway some.

Where I found the eXpo lacking performance wise is the screen. It looks good has good color and it is visible outside but it just doesn’t respond like the HTC devices. You can calibrate it to death but it never gets just right. You have to touch to the right or left of a screen slider, if you aren’t in the center of an icon it may register the one above it. It is annoying with the stylus (which is why you won’t want to leave it at home) and almost impossible with your finger or finger nail. I know I know it’s resistive you don’t use your finger, but I can use a Tilt2 all day sometimes and never pull out a stylus unless I am playing bubble breaker or doing a lot of deep menu tasks. It seems to LG’s implementation of their screens because my sons Incite is the same way. Combine this with the lipstick stylus and for some this may be a deal breaker.

The Camera

The eXpo has a 5.0 MP camera with a led flash. I am not a photographer by any means but I took some pictures and you can be the judge. They don’t look bad to me. The first on is inside with lighting from above, the second with flash, no lights on in the room but lights on in the next room. The last one is outside on a cloudy day.

GPS

The eXpo has built in GPS/aGPS and while it does not get a lock as fast as the Tilt2 it does lock in less than a minute from a cold start in most cases. I tried it with bing maps and it performed well with what seemed to me to be good accuracy. I am not a gps expert by any means but I have no complaint with this one. It can still find me indoors of a small structure.

Web Browsing

Where the eXpo’s processor really makes a difference is in browsing the web. It is noticeably faster is web browsing than any WM phone I have used. It doesn’t get any more bandwidth than the Tilt2 or my old Tilt for that matter, but it is much faster at rendering web pages. I find that IE mobile is not as bad as I or anyone else thought it just needs more processor. It has roughly the same amount of memory as the Tilt2 so it has to be the processor If you do a lot of surfing on your phone this would be a reason to consider this model, but remember we have similar spec phones on the horizon and given the screen issue I mentioned earlier, you might want to wait. It’s not as good a the Safari browser on the Ipod Touch. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to compete is for Windows Mobile to get a Webkit browser. If microsoft has pay someone else to do it then that’s what they need to do. It just takes too much processing power to render web pages.That said IE mobile has improved but still needs more work. Having used the Tilt2 and the Pure I used the zoom bar at the bottom of the screen. With the LG you use the default zoom slider that comes up when you hit the Magnify button.

As a Media Device

Here again the 1Ghz processor shines again. I played my rip of a movie done at the 640×480 in a format for a WM phone. It is the same one I used for the Pure and the Tilt2. The Pure played well enough to watch though the video skipped frames to let the audio play normal. The Tilt2 couldn’t play it well enough to watch. The eXpo played it without a hitch. No skipped frames, no lag no audio problems in beautiful color and clarity. While I would not and could not recommend a Tilt2 or Pure to use as a primary media device, if you added a 3^rd party player to cover all formats I could recommend the eXpo. It really makes me want to see the HD2 badly. The only downside is it does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, but at least the included audio adapter is not large and clunky like the HTC ones. You can play your media through Window Media mobile or The LG Music player.

FM Radio

When you have the included headset connected you can use the FM Radio which works well and gives you the name of the station and what song is playing if the station transmits it. You also have the ability to list presets. Tuning is easy by tapping the signal up or down, actually right or left arrows you can tune manual or tap and hold the arrows for seek. Sound quality is good and I am sure it would be better if you used a better headset.

Battery Life

I actually was surprised at the battery life. Even with me messing with the phone more than usual and with a 1Ghz processor I could usually get a full day. If I used it normally, about 45min of phone use, some web surfing, push mail, and checking other mail several times a day and playing games, I could get a full day with about 40-50% let over. All in all it is on par or better than most smartphones.

Conclusion

The LG eXpo is a very nice device in many ways. It has plenty of memory, a super fast processor, and a very nice design. It has better than expected battery life and playing videos on it is a pleasure, far better than the current HTC devices which are known for their lack of good video drivers. It looks like professional device as much as a Touch Pro2 would be a better choice as far as media is concerned. They keyboard while a little tight is good and the display is vivid. I like that the screen and body do not attract fingerprints and it is small enough to carry in your pocket without feeling like you have a laptop in there. Really my only gripes about the device are the inaccuracy of the Touch screen and the stylus is not stored inside the device. Either one of these issues would not have stopped me from wanting this device seeing it as a tradeoff for the faster processor, but both? I have been needing a new device and I held off hoping to get to review this one. Having done so I ended up ordering a Tilt2 and using them side to side it was the right choice for me. If you need the faster processor than the eXpo may be for you, but given what is coming in the way of New WM phones you might want to wait. It is available on the AT&T network for $199 with a two year contract and obligatory data plan, which is on par for these types of device.

I will close with some comparison shots.

The Good

• Professional Design
• Fast processor
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Multiple interfaces
• Optional Pico Projector (wow factor)
• FM Radio
• Good video playback
• More reasonably sized audio adapter
• Better than average battery life.

The Bad

• Poor sound quality on receivers end of phone calls
• Exterior Stylus
• Poor screen accuracy
• No 3.5mm audio jack

Thanks to AT&T for providing the eXpo for evaluation and to you for reading.