Do TVs need Bluetooth? LG thinks so, and has packed its latest LCD TV with this aging wireless tech. Activate Bluetooth via the onscreen menus and it’s then possible to pair the TV with either a set of wireless headphones, or a mobile phone. The latter makes it possible to send photos to the set wirelessly, though it’s the former that’s the most useful. It's a unique feature to LG's TVs, and essential; the wired headphones slot is hidden away on the back of the panel in a less-than-practical position.

Presented in a two-tone grey and maroon high-resolution graphics, and second-guessing whatever it is the user is trying to do (shortcut buttons ate regularly, but subtly, presented at every stage), the 32SL8000’s icon-based system is a joy to use.

Honestly, any idiot could perform an ISF-standard calibration, something that used to be the reserve of eggheads only. Via a comprehensive Picture Wizard that covers everything from colour gain to contrast - but in a very simple, picture-led way - it’s possible to get an excellent image on the 32SL8000 from almost any source.

Before we leave the onscreen menus, it’s worth mentioning the 32SL8000’s onboard media capabilities. Instead of supplying a USB port that can play MP3 files and a DLNA networking module that makes a hash of streaming (some) video files from a PC, LG has instead opted for a very clever USB port. Not only does it treat JPEG and MP3 files with due care (slideshows can very simply be set to music, or music set to pictures), but it’s able to playback everything from MOV and MP4 to AVI and MKV - including DivX HD files. All that’s missing are MPEG and WMV files, though it does warn you in advance if it doesn’t support a file type; instead of presenting a moving thumbnail of the video file, a lightning crack is shown.

All very impressive, and playback of DivX HD files is as impressive-looking as it is reliable. Yup, it’s obvious that media whores will love the 32SL8000.

Those after exacting high-def may not. Although it doesn't an admirable job with all kinds of video, Blu-ray in Full HD on the 32SL8000 is not as mind-blowing as it should be. There's plenty of rich colouring and images are always immaculate. Contrast and detailing within black areas is decent, too (if not benchmark) and its TruMotion 200Hz does remove virtually all judder and blur from quick camera work and high-octane scenes. It’s worth remembering to turn TruMotion 200Hz down to its "low" setting for best performance - "high" can introduce some video nasties.

Verdict:

If it lacks ultimate Full HD sharpness - and that's about all it does lack - there's nothing wrong with the 32SL8000's interpretation of Freeview, which is classy and clean. Sound quality is nothing to shout about, but the onboard underslung speakers do an adequate job. The TV itself is too small to appreciate any kind of stereo separation on, and movie soundtracks are bereft of low frequency effects, but regular TV audio is handled just fine.

A good, if not a great TV in terms of pure HD picture quality, the 32SL8000's multimedia features and addictive digital TV pictures help make this exceptionally user-friendly TV one to cherish.

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Tags: Home Cinema Televisions LCD televisions LG LG 32SL8000

LG 32SL8000 television originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Monitors are pretty boring things, but that can't be said about the W2230S from LG. Looking to appeal to those who don't want something that looks like a piece of office furniture. The W30 monitor comes in two sizes, 19- and 22-inches, and five different colours: "jelly pink", "applemint", "Hawaiian", "blueberry" and "Oreo". We tested the 22-inch variant in a delightful blue.

The first thing to note is the design. It draws heavily from the Apple Mac school of design, with a white plastic back, which curves pleasingly, giving it a nice clean look from behind, rather like the last generation of iMac. The front colour frame isn't as clean, with a line running across the bottom along the top of four control buttons and the backlit on/off button. But as a monitor it is attractive, something that can't always be said about displays, showing the consideration that LG have put into design recently.

The colours won't appeal to all, but it does give you some option to have it fit into the design of your apartment, or simply to add some colour to your room or student accommodation. We hooked up the W2230S to a Mac mini, an partnership which gives you a compact and tidy solution.

It doesn't have a conventional elevated stand, instead deploying a kickstand. This will allow you adjust the tilt of the monitor, but you don't get any sort of swivel. For those in a workplace who need to re-angle their display to share with colleagues this makes it a little impractical, but for domestic users, the likelihood is that it will be permanently sited on a desk and not moved, so this isn't a problem.

Without a stand, it does mean that the monitor is lower, so the conventional approach of making the top of the screen level with your eye-line as Mr Health and Safety would recommend might not be possible. Again, this might be a concern for business users, but for those who spend less time in front of a monitor it shouldn't be too much of a problem.?Thanks to not having a stand, it has a relatively small footprint on your desk, but doesn't have an option for wall mounting.

Connectivity is one place where the W2230S is lacking. Around the back you only have a D-SUB/VGA connection and the DC power input. You don't get HDMI, you don't get speakers, or a USB loop through which other monitors will offer.

The control buttons across the bottom give you access to the menu - offering picture, colour, tracking and setup options. The action feels a little cheap, but on the whole, you don't spend much time playing with these controls once you have it set-up, another good reason why we'd have preferred to have them out of sight on the side.

Brightness is rated at 250 nits and you also get a a direct control button to jump in and change the brightness, perhaps to turn it down at night or up during a sunny day. You also get a button to change the aspect to 4:3 from the default 16:9. An auto adjustment rounds out the controls offered.

In terms of the tech specs, the W2230S offers dynamic contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and a response time of 5ms. Hardcore gamers might be looking for something with a faster response rate on paper, but they probably aren't seeking this sort of colour option monitor anyway.

The 22-inch monitor, however, gives you plenty of space on-screen. It's a widescreen 16:9 format and packs in a Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel native resolution. You might initially question the value of HD resolution on a monitor lacking HDMI, but 1920 x 1080 gives a nice crisp look to your PC or Mac. You'll be able to playback your high-def video content filling the screen without resizing, or work with a browser window side-by-side with a word processing document and still see both clearly.

There is plenty of colour and detail available on offer here, although the matte finish to the display means it lacks that ultra crisp look you'll get from some glossy TVs or monitors. It does mean that it is well-suited to its primary task of computing however. We found that our high-definition content played back well, taking advantage of the native resolution on offer. We found a small amount of bleed around the bottom and top edges of the display where is meets the bezel, but not that it really detracts from the overall experience. Colour levels of the box were good too.

Verdict:

The LG W2230S is a great monitor for those looking for something a little different and wanting to avoid the boring off-white or black approach. The clean lines around the back of the W2230S, means it will look good from whichever angle you approach it from. There is plenty of space available, meaning you can get on with whatever work you need to be doing. But it does lack connectivity compared to some rivals so it only really will suit those who are looking for a PC display and only that.

Considering the spec, you can get more fully featured monitors for less, but?we like the size and simplicity and the inoffensive footprint makes the LG W2230S a great partner for a netbook or nettop PC where space is limited.

Tags: Hardware Monitors LG LG W2230S

LG W2230S monitor originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Windows Mobile 6.5 swoops in and ousts the 6.1 variation of the mobile phone operating system. We first got our hands on Windows Mobile 6.5 at Mobile World Congress back in February and today it finally comes to market on a slew of handsets from a number of different manufacturers. If you are after a Windows Phone, then from today you have the choice of all shapes and sizes.

The most surprising thing, perhaps, is that Windows Mobile 6.5 was outlined at the same event that saw the unveiling of the HTC Magic, which has since been supplanted. Such is the rapid pace of evolution in mobile phones, does Windows Mobile 6.5 earn its place in today's line-up of smartphones?

There are improvements across the board, but it's obvious from the name – 6.5 – that this is more of an upgrade than a complete redesign. At Tuesday's launch event for the "new" operating system, Microsoft representatives were careful not to comment on what we already know is incoming: Windows Mobile 7.

So what is Windows Mobile 6.5? It is essentially a stop-gap, plugging the holes apparent in previous editions of the operating system before we see more significant changes in the next iteration. But with such a long lead-time, there's every chance that consumers will find themselves stuck in a contract with 6.5, when 7 emerges. For business users this is perhaps less of an issue, but if you are forking out your hard earned cash, it's certainly a consideration.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is all about shifting from the awkward interface of 6.1 (which bears hallmarks going back to editions much, much, earlier), to a more consumer focus. In this regard it addresses a major hurdle in the fastest changing segment of the mobile phone market: touch control.

One of the biggest changes in recent times has been the adoption of capacitive screens over resistive. In the past, all Windows Mobile devices were resistive, but that's all set to change with this latest iteration. We've had our hands on the HTC HD2 which features a 4.3-inch capacitive display. The response is remarkable, completely changing what you expect from Windows Mobile, and a world away from the experience of Toshiba's TG01, it's closest hardware rival.

With this capacitive display comes multi-touch too, giving you the sort of features that Apple iPhone users have been enjoying for years. But not all Windows Mobile 6.5 users will experience this with their device. In fact, the demonstration by Microsoft to assembled journalists at the official launch saw an awkward dragging around of an internet page, jumping and staggering around. A stark contrast to what is actually possible.

Microsoft's new homepage is one of the first things to be obliterated by customisation from the manufacturer. The Windows Mobile default homepage presents a selection of major heading bars like pictures, music, through to email and text messages. On each bar you can scroll left and right too, so if you have multiple email accounts you'll get easy access to them. Make a selection on the homepage takes you with a tap through to that image. It isn't whizz-bang flashy, but works well enough.

Microsoft has made a point of adding features to the lock screen too, so rather than just giving you a method of unlocking your phone, you can see your next appointment and notification alerts, with easy access to things such as text messages. It's a mindful modification and considers the way that people actually use their phone.

6.5 users are presented with a new honeycomb menu system, arranging icons which can be easily tapped to launch an application. It works well enough, giving you a long list of your applications, including those you pickup from the Marketplace, or sideload. You can rearrange to a certain degree, sending icons to the top, but you don't get a multi-page arrangement to organise these icons. An application search is included, so it's perhaps not a problem.

Many menus have this honeycomb layout, which is fair enough – getting to your applications or settings is pretty easy, but then the stop-gap which is Windows Mobile 6.5 ends. Dive into the Sounds and Notifications menu for example and you are presented with small tick boxes and tiny tabs, regardless of all the screen real estate on offer.

In fact, these menus are almost identical to a 2002 to a Compaq iPAQ we found in the office, running Pocket PC ver 3. And therein lies the problem that blights Windows Mobile: at its core, it is still an antiquated system and as you dig into Windows Mobile 6.5, it becomes abundantly apparent.

Getting back to new features, your new smartphone now features Microsoft MyPhone. This is a feature we like, not only because it apes Apple's MobileMe offering, but because it is free. All you have to do is run a quick set-up on your device, plug in your Windows Live ID and away you go.

MyPhone backs up your handset to the cloud, a quick and easy process that costs you nothing but the data. It will take care of your contacts, calendar, tasks, text messages, favourites, photos, videos, music and documents. You get to select what you want to sync too, so if you don't want a record of banal text messages, you don't have to have them.

You can then share items through the MyPhone website, with connected social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and Flickr, as well as the obligatory Windows Live network.

Other exciting features include viewing your phone's last known location. Great! If your phone is stolen, you can see where it got to, until the thief disabled the feature in the menus. "Premium" features include ringing the phone, seeing it on a map, locking it and erasing the content. The MyPhone website offers a "limited time offer" on these features, so if you are planning on having your phone pinched, you'd better do it fast.

The Marketplace is another addition to your smartphone. It has been a long time coming and Windows Mobile users will appreciate finding applications in a central location, rather than having to fish around for them. The Marketplace is currently going through plenty of changes and in the last 2 days we've seen content come and go. Launch teething troubles, we hope.

The interface is rather basic and lacks the gloss you'll find on other devices from the Android Market to the BlackBerry App World. But there is a capable search function and you can select to browse only the free stuff if you want. It's a little early to judge at the moment, but first impressions are a little underwhelming.

The final major overhaul comes in the form of Internet Explorer Mobile. Browsing the Internet on the move has seen massive growth over recent years, fuelled by increasingly affordable data packages and enhanced solutions. Microsoft's Mobile browsers have never been very well received and Internet Explorer looks to change all that.

In reality, it's a bit of a clunky experience still. Double tap zooming in and out, dragging the pages around with a finger, it doesn’t really impress. No surprise then that HTC's CEO Peter Chou demoed multi-touch on the HTC HD2 with the Opera browser. It's free and still delivers the better experience.

Verdict:

But the killer criticisms of Windows Mobile still persist. If you want to close an application, you are faced with a tiny X in the top right-hand corner. Come to make a selection and often you are presented with a small Menu or Done button across the bottom, which is just as frustrating as it always has been. This, unfortunately, is the enduring impact that you are left with.

As a mobile phone operating system it is clear that Windows Mobile 6.5 is still a long way behind the pack. This update doesn’t bring it up to the offerings from Apple or Android which are gunning in the same market and walking off with the fat consumer contracts. Yes, Windows Mobile still delivers stalwart business support and when we hooked it up to our Windows 7 PC to sync with Outlook, the sync process swung in and took over. No messing around, no hiccups, and easy to solve conflicts. It may also be the only operating system that your company will support.

The experience that you get from Windows Mobile will differ greatly from device to device. Today we have seen handsets from Samsung, LG, HTC and Toshiba: all are different, but all have 6.5 lurking under the skin. In this battleground for your slightly-too-sensible smartphone, the lines are drawn out between Microsoft and all the manufacturers. Windows Mobile won't sell itself, but the Sense UI or S-Class interface might just.

These third-party skins can change many aspects of your device, not least including the keyboard. Today we've seen four different on-screen keyboards, QWERTY handsets, sliders and touch phones from the compact Samsung Omnia Lite to HTC's massive HD2.

The choices are almost overwhelming, but cut to its core Windows Mobile 6.5 isn't drastically different from its predecessors. Having seen the stark difference between device performance today, it is clear that there will still be "good" and "bad" devices to choose from.

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Windows Phone Windows Mobile HTC Samsung LG Toshiba Microsoft Windows Mobile

Windows Mobile 6.5 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:55:15 +0100

The LG Chocolate BL40 is a beautiful handset. It's an irrefutable fact. Its shape is unique, its colours striking and it's one of the few phones these days that gets more ooohs and aaahs than a certain other touchscreen device that's somewhat taken over the planet. In fact, there's every reason to buy one - until you turn it on.

The sad fact that what the new Chocolate represents is that LG mobile has got pretty much as far as it can until it moves on from the S-Class operating system that hampers its top devices. On the one hand, it feels unfair to focus the review of a phone on its software but, unfortunately for the BL40, it's so integral to your every day enjoyment of this device that you've got to know what you're getting yourself into before you make up your mind to buy one.

Those with an Arena or Viewty Smart who are happy with the platform might well dispute what we have to say on the matter but anyone thinking of switching from S60, Android or even iPhone might well be in for a shock.

The trouble is that the S-Class OS feels more like a showpiece than something designed with functionality at heart. It's colourful and amusing to play with for the first 5 minutes but pretty quickly you realise that the four shortcut facets of the spinning cube GUI are basically redundant.

Once you do get to the one screen that counts, the one with all the app icons, it's just too fiddly here. Either you have the phone in portrait position where the rows of icons move separately and make it harder to find the ones off screen that you're looking for, or you have the Chocolate in landscape and the icons aren't well enough designed to be obvious as to what each one does. It's a shame because otherwise the LG BL40 has everything going for it.

The greatest tragedy of S-Class is that there are no third party apps you can add to customise your experience. The browser does indeed work much better on the Chocolate's extra widescreen than it ever has and the dual/split screen mode is actually a touch of brilliance here from LG. But it's still a clunky piece of software compared to something like Opera Mini.

The only other good additions are the gesture control and cut, copy and paste which works as intuitively as you could want but it's a shame that all these good software advances sit on the back of something can't keep pace with the rest of the phone world.

So, that is the enormous caveat that comes with this phone and if it's something that grates, then you will always covet another handset and rue the day you signed your life away, but others will still be impressed every time you bring it out your pocket because it is a stunning phone.

OSes aside, LG seems to have learned every lesson from every mistake in all their other mobiles and put it all together in the masterpiece that is this fourth black label device. The shape of the thing is so wonderfully original. It's not taken a single lead from any other phone and has set a new standard for design - one of the first phones to do so since Apple got started.

The long slender shape is not only elegant but also incredibly ergonomic and functional. It's unbelievably refreshing to once again hold a phone to your ear that's also close enough to your mouth to pick up every word you say. Better still though, is that outstanding screen making it rather reminiscent of the Philips 21:9 TV.

As it goes it's not just 16:9, but an AMOLED with a excellent WVGA resolution. Films on the go are given a great cinematic feel and probably the only other complaint to make at all about the Chocolate is that it's a little too reflective outside in the sun. Come to think of it the fact that the accelerometer only works in one direction is rather silly too.

That aside, the black gloss finish is a real treat topped off perfectly by the smart scarlet ridges at the top and bottom ends of the phone. The few and well-chosen buttons and ports are superbly implemented with a shortcut to music, a shutter release, volume controls in the perfect finger position, an on/off/lock switch at the top, a universal Micro-USB for charging and data transfer complete with a tidy, sturdy and secure cover flap and, joy of joys, a 3.5mm jack too. Full house. We thoroughly approve.

Apart from the on/off switch, every function of the Chocolate can be controlled by the screen which supports an excellent level of multi-touch that's a breathtaking advance on previous efforts. If only there was a browser worth pinching at.

Phone connectivity and reliability is very good with the full complement of HSDPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and all the expected AV file types are supported in the familiar and user friendly LG media players.

The camera is typically strong with a healthy 5-megapixel sensor and Schneider-Kreuznach optics. It carries most of the features you'd expect on LG smartphones with plenty of exposure controls and recognition settings plus a decent LED flash. We are slightly disappointed by only VGA resolution video capture, which shows up quite badly on the phone's excellent WVGA 345 x 800 pixel screen. It would be nice to see the touch-to-shoot and other top end features packed into the Renoir but otherwise, all is well in this department.

On the practicalities side, the BL40 is a medium to heavy 129g but nothing like other lead weights you can buy and, although some may sneer at the unusual 128 x 51 x 10.9mm dimensions of this slim stunner, it's as good in your jeans as in a coat pocket. Mercifully the battery poses no problems either, even after a day of heavy use.

Verdict:
If you have never used an LG phone, then make sure you try the BL40 out in the shops for a good 10 minutes before you decide it's the one for you. A quick blast around the front of the UI and a go on the browser should be enough to find out whether you're going to get on with it or not. If you do, congratulations on a fantastic new phone with all the good looks and features you could want on a mobile.

The only two other situations under which you should buy this phone are if either (a) you already own and love LG handsets - in which case, you must - or (b) if phones for you are all about stylish good looks. Other than that, the phrase "barge pole" comes to mind. It's a fantastic phone provided S-Class doesn't drive you to distraction and you aren't looking for that full "smartphone" functionality.

Related links:

• Video - Sienna and Savannah Miller review the LG Chocolate BL40
• Photos - LG Chocolate BL40 - up close and personal

Tags: Phones Mobile phones LG LG BL40 LG BL40 Chocolate

LG BL40 Chocolate mobile phone originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:20:04 +0100