A poptart of a mobile phone

It shows how far the mobile world has come when even the most budget-friendly

phones can pack some touchscreen action. We’ve seen a few devices try and go

down the smartphone route on the cheap (the HTC Tattoo) and some offering bog-

standard touch at rock-bottom prices (Orange Vegas we are looking at you), but

LG’s latest money friendly endeavour, the LG Pop, tries to bridge the gap

between price and functionality.

Popping on to the scene for a snip under £100, the LG GD510 Pop has a

surprising amount of decent features on offer. On-board there’s a 3.2-megapixel

camera, a 3-inch WQVGA screen, wireless FM radio and expandable MicroSD memory.

But it’s also surprising the lack of features it houses, some that you’ve come

to expect on even the most standard of devices –3G and to a lesser extent Wi-Fi

are both missing in action. Size-wise the phone is the Kylie of the mobile

world: small but perfectly formed.

Size matters

While it measures a mere 97.8 x 49.5 x 11.2mm, it does boast the biggest

touchscreen on a phone this size, something that will come as relief to those

with fumble fingers. In an attempt to make things as simple as possible, real

buttons are scarce. What you get is three in all: one on the Pop’s front which

acts as a home screen button; one on the side of the handset which, when

pressed, transports you to your favourite apps and also moonlights as the

shutter button for the phone’s camera; and finally there’s one on top which

powers the GD510 down.

The main interface of the Pop is an interesting one. You can cram it as much as

you want with widgets available on the phone. If the UI looks to be getting a

bit cluttered, then shake you’re the Pop to align them. It’s a great little

feature which gives the phone a bit of character.

Wee widgets

Those who have played with the LG Cookie will be right at home with the Pop.

Like the Cookie, default widgets on the homepage include a clock, calendar and

access to this internet – although all of these can be toggled to your specs.

Flick the screen to the left and you will notice that there are two more ‘home’

screens to add things to. One of these is for your contacts, while the other

can be an extension of your original homepage. This is where the Pop shows off

its true colours. With access here to avatars for your contacts and even a

virtual farmyard, LG is definitely pitching the phone at younger social-

networkers.

Being a budget-friendly device means that the phone’s touchscreen is a bit of a

’mare to use. The resistive touch is sluggish and accessing widgets took longer

than expected to open. Sometimes it did take two to three attempts to perform a

task which was a tad annoying.

Handy features do keep popping up to make you think the device is offering more

than its budget price suggests. Things like the Status Summary page, which

points out how much battery memory you have left is great, and from here you

can also toggle Bluetooth on and off.

Pop tart or pop star?

Drill into the phone a bit more though and it does become apparent though that

what you are using is a low-end device. Opening up and playing songs and movies

is far too sluggish for our liking and while it’s great there’s an on-board

camera and camcorder the footage you get from both doesn’t exactly set the

world on fire. It’s a shame the phone wasn’t smarter as there’s a mountain of

features available. With around 32 apps to choose from, the phone is perfectly

packed to make your on-the-go life that little bit easier.

In the end, the LG GD510 Pop teases you with the amount of features it’s got

but never really delivers. It’s great for those who have never tested the

touchscreen waters before but for those who can spot a resistive screen from 12

paces may want to look elsewhere.

by Marc Chacksfield