The most unusual feature is the phone's two screens, one main 3.5-inch
touchscreen running at 320 x 480p resolution and a second 2-inch, 240 x
320p screen.
The two-screen approach, like the 3DS or the Echo, lets you run an app
in one screen and see app icons in another. Or, you can see your main
Facebook page and chat with someone on the second screen.
As you can imagine, having two screens means putting up with some bulk.
The phone weighs 192 grams, or about 50 grams heavier than the Galaxy
Nexus. At 64mm thick, the DoublePlay feels like it could double as a
hockey puck or maybe a doorstop. If thin is in, then LG didn't get the
memo.
With its 1GHz processor, the DoublePlay is a bit behind the curve
compared to the new crop of 1.2GHz and 1.5GHz phones that have added
zip for games and browsing the Web. The phone is loaded with Android
2.3.4 Gingerbread and we kept missing the superior performance and
usability of Android 4.0.
The 5-megapixel camera is also a bit behind the pack. At CES, we saw a bevy of phones with extremely high-res cameras, up to 16MP in some cases. The DoublePlay supports 720p video recording, but it is equally inadequate. The phone includes 2GB of internal memory, but if you need more space for your photos and videos, it supports up to 32GM microSD cards.
As for wireless connections, this is an HSPA+ phone
running on T-Mobile in the US with a rated download speed of about
14.4Mbps. Real-world speeds were much lower, hovering around 3-4Mbps.
The phone supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. Unlike an Android 4.0
phone, the DoublePlay does not work with the new Bluetooth Health
Device Protocol (HDP) standard and does not have an NFC chip.
Further
lessening its appeal, the DoublePlay comes equipped with a 1500 mAh
battery is not quite capable of all-day functionality. The two screens
definitely hamper the experience if all you care about is talking and
texting. The phone is rated for just three hours of talk time.
In our own tests, the DoublePlay lasted for about six hours of
normal use during the day. As with many recent Android phones, we
installed the Juice Defender and were able to use the phone an entire
day.
Alas, none of that is likely to matter if you're interested
in the DoublePlay solely for its dual-screen functionality. We think
only the most hardcore dual-screen users will appreciate the hardware
design; other will miss a slimmer phone.
The LG DoublePlay is a unique phone that, if nothing else, tries to
do something different. When it works, the dual-screens let you
multitask at an unprecedented and entirely awesome pace.
Unfortunately, its uses are so sparse, that the novelty of the DoublePlay starts to wear thin, quickly. The phone is quite a bit too big and bulky, so everyday tasks like making calls and browsing the Web become too cumbersome.
Merits
The dual-screen does afford some
extra functionality – namely, texting or taking notes on the small
screen while you perform other tasks on the main screen. And when
you're done using the physical keyboard, it's handy being able to slide
up the phone keyboard and use the virtual keyboard.
Apps
generally ran fast, and we had no problems visiting sites (except a few
that buckled under their own large Flash animations).
Demerits
The LG DoublePlay felt bulky and heavy by the end of the day. The battery can't match the longevity of comparable models.
The
camera did not provide enough clarity for photos or video, and did not
include enough settings to fake good picture-taking.
Typing on
the split-screen was a bit cumbersome and, perhaps most unforgivable of
all, the small display frequently had no functionality in conjunction
with apps. There was no way to know what was supported, aside from
opening each app.
Verdict
The LG DoublePlay gets extra
points for doing something almost entirely different. For some, the
second screen will be a productive aid.
However, at the end of
the day the second screen feels more like a mistake than a revolution,
and as an everyday phone, the DoublePlay just doesn't cut it.
It's too bulky, too unintuitive, and too low-tech to be anything besides a gimmick.
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