Plemix

We had the first glimpse of LG GM730 in this year’s Mobile World Congress half a year ago. LG has finally eased your craning necks and released the powerhouse GM730. Inheriting the LG tradition of sleek design and high technology, the compact and slim phone houses an array of cutting-edge features including S-Class UI, 3.0 WQVGA touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS. Is it worthy of all the anticipation and craving? Let’s see.

It is always out job to give you an overview of what is included in the box: the GM730 phone, a battery, a charger, a data cable, a stereo handsfree, a stylus and a CD ROM.

I always think design is the forte of LG, GM730 is no exception. The phone looks minimally chic. LG seems to have once again become the spokesperson of the modern and elegant design. Despite the ever-going spec list, GM730 is still at an amazing slimness of 11.9mm. However the three button layout and the silver edge may be too familiar to impress users who are more fashion-forward. The 3.0 WQVGA screen can hardly be compared to its competitor Samsung I8000’s 3.7 inch AMOLED, but who can? The display is satisfactory.

The right side of the phone accommodates the charger/audio slot, the shutter release and the key lock that doubles as power button which is rather unconventionally placed for me.

The rubberized volume rocker and the phone strap slot can be found on the left.

The back of the phone is pleasantly decorated with waves of dots. The 5MP Schneider-Kreuznach certified camera without flash is a bit underwhelming I have to say. You may wanna check out GM730’s cousin Viewty Smart if you are looking for a better camera.

MicroSD and SIM card niche can be found removing the battery cover.

The external Stylus suggests a hint of that of Samsung’s i900.

GM730 is the first LG phone to run on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. A reliable platform but the device is little slow on response. The S-class UI is a pleasure to use, the 3D cube interface allows convenient navigation within the featureful device.

Setting up the phone is easy because the set up page is a one stop shop for web, call and all other application settings.

You can wheel around the media gallery with ease and style and the phone can automatically rotate when you place it horizontally.

Once we mention Nokia, we may think of its Nseries, N97 which places you at the heart of a personalized internet experience. Or Eseries, E71 with QWERTY keyboard for optimized messaging and email. Here comes the XpressMusic lineup of Nokia, 5530, another device to fire up the buzz of the product line after 5800. Is it going to continue the fad or to fill a gap in the company touchscreen portfolio? Read on.

What’s in the box? The Phone, a battery, a charger, a cable, an in-ear headset, Mini DVD and a Short User Guide.

The 5530 XpressMusic stands at 104 x 49 x 13 mm in its full touchscreen shine, is much more compact than the 5800. But trade-offs was inevitable here- the display is in 2.9” only whereas 5800 XpressMusic got 3.2”.

A bunch of connection ports here- the charger plug, the microUSB port, the 3.5 mm audio jack and the charger plug. The stylus is on the right corner. The microUSB connector is hidden under a protective lid to prevent it from filling up with dust. Well done, Nokia!

The microSD memory card slot (expandable up to 16 GB) and the SIM slot are on the left side of the phone under a single extra long protective cover. What? You still need to remove the rear cover and battery to eject the SIM card? That’s no point to have the cards slot on the side~

On the right side of the phone hosts the camera key, the screen-lock and the volume rocker. Locking/unlocking of the screen is marked by a short vibration just like the one in 5800 XpressMusic.

The 3.2 MP snapper with LED flash at the back of the phone.

Let’s check the input options on 5530 XpressMusic. It offers a standard alphanumeric on-screen keypad, which may automatically turn into a full QWERTY keyboard when you tilt the device. Of course, handwriting won’t be missed here.

The display can be used with a stylus or fingers. It is absolutely on par with any competing touchscreen device and the finger-friendly interface may make you forget about the stylus. It’s quite fast to access to Plemix homepage and the page rendering algorithm is quite good.

Actually, the 5800 and the 5530 are nearly the same things. Both runs on S60 5th edition, a bit different here, 5530 is completely touch-operated - even the call keys and the menu keys are touch-sensitive. Unfortunately, 5530 is no 3G supports but the superb audio is gonna trade-off this and the media player can be played for up to 27 hours on a single charge. The 5800 is at the mid-range running after the high-end N97, and 5530 is doing the same thing after 5800. At the core of the Nokia 5530 XpressMusic is the music and entertainment experience. It is an ideal device for those who wish to quickly and easily access, share and mix a huge selection of media. Oh! Goody! It comes in sweetie price tag.

Nokia 5530 XpressMusic Video Review