By Paul Marc Rañon
When I was told to review this particular mobile phone, I got shell shocked. The reason? Well, the unit that was given to me for review was from LG Electronics. I thought to myself, the guys from LG only make home entertainment system like TVs and DVDs. I guess I was quite mistaken.
Knowing LG, the fact that they ventured into the mobile phone market is a bold move. Many mobile phone consumers aren't keen about new names in this market because of the dominance of Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson. But, I guess with the entry of LG Electronics, it's surely a whole new ballgame.
With this development, I was given a glimpse of LG Electronics’ new mobile phone that has been a hit the Philippine market: the LG P7200 2 mega pixel Camera Phone.
The P7200 comes in a distinctive black color. The phone itself is quite ergonomic, measures 96mm x 50mm x 17mm and weighs about 112 grams. Being black makes this baby chic, due to the brushed finishing and the handset's overall weight. The build is extremely sturdy, and scratch resistance is above average.
One noticeable feature of the P7200 is its Motorola RAZR-inspired keypad. From the blue backlight to the tactile feeling, not only does it look similar, it actually feels similar. The keys might not be soft enough for fast text messaging, but their spacing and arrangement are appropriate.
The P7200's volume controls, memory card slot (uses a microSD), and data transfer/power connection slots can be found on the left side, while the hands free connection slot and camera shutter key are on the right side of the phone. The lens of the P7200's 2MP camera can be found at the back, while the square-sized 65K TFT front display screen (96 x 96 pixels) and three music hotkeys are found on the cover of the device.
A unique feature of the P7200 is that its 256K TFT main display screen (176 x 220 pixels) can be swiveled and flipped down. The flip spring hinge is a bit unremarkable; it is however strong enough and it gives the impression that it's durable.
The P7200 has a 2MP CMOS camera that can take digital pictures at a minimum of 72 x 72 pixels and a maximum of 1600 x 1200 pixels. The camera can be activated from the main menu on the main display, a shortcut menu on the sub display, or by simply swiveling and flipping over the screen. All images can be saved either in the internal memory or in the microSD card.
There are three levels of image compression to choose from and white balance can be set to auto, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent, or sunlight. The special effects available are monochrome, sepia, and negative color. The availability of scene modes is useful at night; you can choose between macro, night, portrait, and landscape modes. The P7200 camera’s picture quality is good, has appealing Macro shots, and is generally accurate.
Regarding its video recording, the P7200 can compete well with the competition. Video resolution can be set to either 128 x 96 pixels or 208 x 160 pixels in MPEG format. Play back of the videos taken is smooth and not jerky, even when moving the camera. And get this, all the scenes and special effects that we mentioned earlier for still images can also be applied to videos.
Another feature of the P7200 that I like is its audio player function. It can read and support a wide range of formats including MP3, AAC, AAC+, E-AAC, WMA, and Real Audio files. The P7200 speakers give a stereo effect while playing music and the latter can be set as your favorite ring tone/s because of its voice polyphonic system. I was very surprised to find a customizable built-in equalizer in the P7200 and when I play music I can choose from three flashy, yet hip, visual effects (Light, Bounce, and Guitarist).
The LG P7200 is a triband phone that supports GSM 900/1800/1900Mhz. When it comes to signal reception, well it's somewhat like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, meaning it can be a bit of a problem when trying to pick up weak network signals. However, when the P7200 is able to detect a network, audio quality is excellent. Using it as a speakerphone is useful and I thank LG for the wonderful speakers of the P7200.
The P7200 is equipped with an 800-mAH Lithium-Ion battery. Based on tests in the Technews Lab it has a charging time of 2.5 hours, 3 hours of talk time, and a standby time of 2-3 days, depending on usage.
Other functional features of the P7200 include SMS, EMS, MMS, SMTP/POP Email, WAP, GPRS, USB, and Bluetooth connectivity. Its miscellaneous applications include a voice recorder, multiple alarms, unit converter, calculator and world time. The LG P7200 supports Java MIDP 2.0 and has two built in games, namely Bubble Soccer and Jetski XXL.
Even with all of these good features, there are three things I found wrong with the phone. First, the slow response of the keypad buttons during SMS that can turn off potential heavy texters. Second, there is no 3G, EDGE and Infrared that would give the P7200 a greater edge against the competition. And lastly, how come it only has a 64MB microSD (Transflash) card? I only wish LG would be kind enough to increase the external memory that is included in the package.
Despite these shortcomings, the P7200 offers an impressive set of high-end features in a clamshell phone with a front cover that reminds me of those transforming Autobots and Decepticons.
The LG P7200 2MP Camera Phone is a strong addition to its list of electronic products. The still image, video, and music quality are all very good, and its mobile telephony performance is well above average.
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