LG DoublePlay Review

Every now and then there are smartphones coming in the market which tend to be different from others. LG DoublePlay is one of those smartphones which attempts to be different from the league by providing users a split-style QWERTY keyboard. The phone also has 3.5 inches primary display along with a 2 inch secondary screen. But does DoublePlay impress? Go through our LG DoublePlay review to know the answer for yourself.

LG DoublePlay Looks and Design

At 6.9 ounces and dimensions standing at 4.8 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches, DoublePlay is one of the bulkiest phones you will find in the market. It is heavier than Samsung Galaxy S II and T-Mobile myTouch 4G which weighs 4.8 and 5 ounces respectively. We did not find the chassis of the phone to be very attractive. It is quite thick and rounded with a dark-gray design. There is a matte chrome-colored stripe on its side.

When slided, the phone reveals a silver QWERTY keyboard, with a 2 inch touch screen located in the middle. The phone is far from being called a premium device and due to its plastic shell, it retains smudges. We hoped for a better design from LG and overall design of the phone failed to impress us.

LG DoublePlay Keyboard

Though the keyboard of DoublePlay looks quite interesting, in reality it proved very difficult to use. The keys were rounded and raised and they provided firm tactile feedback, but we had hunt for them as it was quite difficult to remember as to which keys are on which side. Using the tiny space bar on either side of the phone was also quite annoying too. However, much to our relief, LG has also provided DoublePlay with virtual keyboard and by default the phone also comes pre-loaded with Swype. The Swype and the Android stock keyboard provided great haptic feedback.

LG DoublePlay Apps

T-Mobile is DoublePlay’s carrier and LG and T-Mobile has bundled the phone with modest set of applications. Some of the applications which you will find in DoublePlay are:-

• SmartShare
• CloudText
• T-Mobile TV
• T-Mobile ID
• DoubleTwist

LG DoublePlay Screen

With mid-range phone offering WVGA resolution, we were quite surprised to find LG DoublePlay sporting a 3.5 inches HVGA screen. The display displayed deep colors which is something which is not associated with a typical LCD panel. Brightness level of the display was very low and the poor viewing angles made it very difficult for you to view the screen contents in outdoors. When we streamed a high-quality Youtube video, the motion was smooth, but the images were not that great.

 

The most unique feature of DoublePlay is its tiny 2 inch screen which sits in the middle of the slide-out keyboard. This low resolution display offered quite limited functions but in some cases the screen is quite handy. In the default state, the screen contains 8 short cut icons. The screen also has a SMS messaging application which allows users to compose and send messages from the screen. Then there is a calendar which shows you about upcoming events. Most of the applications in the second screen help in multi-tasking.

LG DoublePlay UI and Software

With a 1 GHz processor, the performance of DoublePlay is quite smooth and responsive. LG has added a few customizations and the phone has 7 customizable home screens. There are no widgets present by default but LG has included an optional social widget from where users get Twitter and Facebook feeds. There is a battery widget which shows the amount of battery remaining. At the bottom of the home screen you get quick cut bar with icons.

LG DoublePlay Camera Quality

The phone has a rear 5MP auto-focus camera which manages to take decent photos. Though the details are quite average, yet the color production is quite good. We were quite happy to find that the photos clicked in dim light came out relatively bright. However, in extreme low conditions, the images were filled with lot of graininess which marred the overall quality of the images.

LG DoublePlay Video Quality

The phone is capable of recording 720p videos. The videos were decent but our only complaint was its faint and weak looking details. But the video features continuous auto-focus and smooth capture rate of 30fps and at the same time there was neutral color reproduction. Though the audio recording is on the scratchy side, yet they are quite audible.

LG DoublePlay Multimedia

The Android stock player is quite good and volume output with the speaker is quite good. We are presented with some equalizer settings which enrich the audio quality and helped us to better adapt to specific kind of music. The phone played our test video quite well. We were a bit disappointed by the lack of 1080p videos.

LG DoublePlay Internet and Connectivity

The overall web-browsing experience was quite decent. Web pages loaded quite quickly and just like other phones, connectivity features of the phone include a GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile hotspot functionality. The phone promises 14.4 Mbps of download speed on HSPA+ network. Just like other T-Mobile phones, DoublePlay has mobile hotspot potential.

LG DoublePlay Battery Life

LG DoublePlay battery life is quite good. In our laptop battery test, the battery lasted for over 7 hours which is 2 hours longer than average smartphone category.

LG DoublePlay Retail Package

While unboxing DoublePlay, we found the following stuffs in the box:-

• LG DoublePlay
• MicroUSB Cable
• Wall Charger
• User Manual
• Product Safety & Warranty Information
• Start Guide

LG DoublePlay Price

On contract price of LG DoublePlay is approximately $ 99.99.

LG DoublePlay is different from the rest of Android phones. The second screen of the phone definitely saves your time, then the split keyboard is a bit difficult to use. Our biggest complaint regarding the handset is its low resolution main display. If you want a smartphone standing different from the crowd then you can definitely go for LG DoublePlay.