REVIEW : LG Intuition !

LG has forever been known as that "other Android manufacturer", relegated to fourth place behind Samsung, HTC, and Motorola in consumers' minds. With its recent lineup arriving on US shores, though, the Korean manufacturer is hoping the tides will turn. Not only is it lying in wait with its beastly Optimus G to steal the spotlight from competing flagships, LG is also venturing into niche territory, including the increasingly popular "phablet" market.

The Intuition has a radical design, and LG makes no apologies for stepping outside of the box with this one. The Intuition's display is impressive, and performance is snappy and powerful. Call quality is as good as we've come to expect on Big Red.

Those who hate the Intuition's design will outnumber those who love it. Unfortunately, this hybrid device fails as a tablet as well as phone-- it's too small and boxy for multimedia viewing, and too big and sharp for messaging and phone calls. Forget using this device with one hand, it's absolutely impossible.

The Intuition is a polarizing device, and you're either going to love it or hate it. If you fall somewhere in the middle, you'll realize it has a great display, fast performance, and a visually-pleasing Ice Cream Sandwich experience. You'll also realize it should be kept in the niche category, as its functionality as a tablet is limited by poor software and stylus, and its phone functionality suffers from impossible one-handed operation.

The LG Intuition is like no other device before it, a product with truly unique and polarizing design. You won't open the papers to any legal woes for LG caused by this one -- the Intuition's boxy shape, sharp corners, and 4:3 aspect ratio are hard to mistake for anything else on the market today. But that's not necessarily a good thing. One of the reasons phone makers have stuck to widescreen designs is that it lends itself to a multitude of uses. The Intutition's design, however, limits itself to only a handful of truly useful functions, the rest being left out to awkward screen layouts and less-than-intuitive end results.

But more on that functionality later. For now, let's look at the actual nuts and bolts behind the Inuitition. On top of the device you've got a power key, a dedicated Quick Memo key, and a microUSB charger hidden behind a slide-away door. The volume rocker is located on the left side of the phone, while the right side houses a SIM card door. The Intution's rear is occupied by an 8MP camera, single LED flash, and speaker slots. It's also coated with an grip-friendly finish that's almost reminiscent of the vinyl seats in your mid-1990's car. The Intuition does not support microSD expansion.

Don't go looking for a slot for your handy-dandy Rubberdium stylus that ships with every Intuition. For one reason or another, LG decided not to include an on-device holster, a fatal error in my ever-so-humble opinion. I rarely used the bundled pen, not because I didn't want to, but because there was nowhere for me to put it. The last thing I want is something else taking up room in my pocket, even if it is as small as the pen. Instead, I was inclined to leave the stylus in the box during day-to-day use.

But a decent display is only beneficial if its form factor allows it to be put to good use. The screen lends itself well to reading text, and as LG has pointed out time and time again, the 4:3 aspect ratio is ideally suited to magazine and book reading. However other things, like email, web browsing, and phone calls, suffer on the device's boxy display. Multimedia viewing is let down by with letterboxed videos and precious real-estate lost to an overbearing bezel. Sure, everything looks sharp and vibrant, but these tasks weren't intended for squarish displays -- 4:3 aspect ratios were abandoned by TV and monitor manufacturers years ago. You'll find yourself jockeying for a comfortable position when trying to send a two-sentence SMS, and you'll find that most apps, including services like Facebook and Twitter that you use regularly, render in odd ways on this screen. Developers can tweak their apps to take full advantage of what the Intuition's display offers, but for most app designers, the number of units LG pushes won't justify the extra work.

Inside the Inutition, LG has managed to cram a 2,080 mAh non-removable battery without adding much bulk to the device, which measures just 0.33 inches thick. This battery lasts longer than expected, and even under heavy usage it got me through a 14-hour day without the panic of reaching an outlet. I did keep the display at half brightness most of the time, as cranking it all the way up dramatically reduced battery life.

Considering the internals that the battery is powering, it's longevity is even more impressive. The Intuition comes packed with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal storage. Despite the last-generation SoC, the Intuition performs admirably, thanks no doubt to Ice Cream Sandwich's performance improvements and LG's newly revamped, less-bloated UI. Apps loaded with ease and 1080p video chugged along effortlessly. There was, however, the occasional hiccup in the UI, but for the most part the experience is as smooth as can be. I think the potential is really exciting when you factor in Jelly Bean, but I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet, as LG is notorious for taking their sweet time with software updates.

SOFTWARE :

 

LG has stressed that the Intuition is a hybrid device, and as such it includes some subtle touches that blur the line between smartphone and tablet.  First and foremost is the Quick Memo functionality, enabled with the touch of the dedicated button on top of the device. Press it and you'll have instant access to a memo pad, similar to the Galaxy line's S-Note. There, you'll have access to pens, markers, pencils and highlighters of all different shapes and sizes, as well as the ability to bypass the memo pad all together and write directly on the screen. When finished, you can choose to save your notes in either your Gallery or the included "Notebook", which saves all of your doodles according to date and time.

Posted in: Android,LG