Camera Phones Plaza

If you have read the last two articles, then you probably know that today I am going to finish presenting the last four "GB" phones from LG. in a desperate yet bold, move LG has launched not just a few top phones but a few complete new phone lines in 2009. Probably this process will continue in 2010 since LG has yet a long journey ahead before it can compete with Samsung or Sony Ericsson. It is not correct to correlate Samsung's, LG's or Sony Ericsson's rebranding process with that Nokia is doing. Nokia is continuously changing directions, or re-launching phones, or phone lines. However, LG, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are all divisions of the mother company, which cant diverts it entire attention and financial structure to the phone department.

Therefore, Nokia can easily compete in terms of company direction with HTC, or BlackBerry. The last four phones in the new entry level line from LG, "GB", GB 230, GB 170, GB 109, and GB 270 vary in both terms of design and features. The first phone, GB 230 is a 2G network phone, GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, announced in May this year and released on September. In terms of design, this phone doesn't really offer too many great features for a 2009 slider. Even so, it will impress you with the nice quality matte black plastic body, which not only feels great but also looks good. Even more, the back cover is made out of a tear drop pattern surprising in a very good way.

The front cover sports some stainless steel frames that surrounds the display, while the centered five way navigational keys are made out of a metallic material. Above the display you only get the earpiece, while below you can find beside the D-pad, two soft keys, the call key, the end call key, the camera dedicated button, and the FM dedicated button. When opened, the GB 230 sports a good sized alpha numerical keyboard. All the keys are easy to use and offer above average feedback.


With a height of 101.2 mm, wide of 49.2 mm, deep of 15.7 mm, the GB 230 weights about 89 grams, making the portability a high feature in this phone since it weight little and it is easy to slide in any pocket. LG included in the GB 230 a 2.0 inches TFT display with a resolution of 176 x 220 pixels, capable of rendering up to 256 colors. The onboard memory is really entry level like, with only 6 MB. However, keep in mind that this value easily can be expanded with the micro SD memory cards, or Trans Flash memory cards, but with the highest compatible value of 2 GB. Even so, this phone actually is represented in the connectivity department with Class 10 GPRS including the common 4+1 / 3+2 slots, with a varying speed from 32 Kb per second to 48 Kb per second. Also included are the HSCSD, EDGE Class 10 up to 236.8 Kb per second, the 2.1 version of Bluetooth with the latest A2DP profile, and the USB connection.


However, the GB 230 lacks both Wi-Fi and 3G. even so, LG included into this model, a higher camera of 2 megapixel value with a maximum resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. This camera can even record videos but at a bad quality of QCIF resolution with 15 frames per second (value which was used in 2003). Nice touches are the MP3 player, MP4 player and the FM radio. The included Lithium Ion battery is small offering only 800 mAh, which means about 400 hours standby time, or 5 hours talk time. Overall, the GB 230 is a good entry in the GB family, balanced several features with a decent design. The next announced phone, which is yet to be released, is the GB 170. This model is somewhat strange since it merges an entry level designed (hardware also) phone with an MP3 player. As you can imagine, the result is yet to be determined until a full review.


Regarding the design, the GB 170 sports an interesting combination of matte black plastic, with a rubbery yet plain keyboard, a patterned back cover, and a colored frame (very Xpress Music from LG). the front cover sports a glossy black surroundings in the display area, while under the display you get the rubbery keyboard which includes the four way navigational keys plus the OK key function, two soft keys ant the call and end call keys. The alpha numerical keyboard is decent when used, providing average feedback. Overall the keys are almost easy to use. However, there is an imprecision, because of the material used.

The back cover sports a patterned style with the "LG" logo and a loudspeaker. The build quality is not the best, but the phone feels solid build. With a height of 103 mm, wide of 46 mm, deep of 13.9 mm, the GB 170 weights about 76.5 grams. Therefore, this phone is more than easy to take around anywhere you might go. The display is more than disappointing with the 1.5 inches diagonal and 128 x 128 pixels resolution. However, I appreciate that LG dropped the older technology in favor for TFT offering about 65000 colors in this 1.5 inches display. The embedded memory of 8 MB can easily be expanded with the micro SD memory cards.


The only connectivity ensured in the GB 170 is the GPRS, the HSCSD, and the USB connection. You also get a MP3 player, MP4 player, and radio FM. The included Lithium Ion battery with the 950 mAh value offers about 500 hours of standby time, or 4 hours of talk time in the 2G network (GSM 900 / 1800). Overall, this phone is good for anyone that wants an entry level phone enabled to play MP3 files. Another GB model, GB 109 was initially announced in August this year and released quickly in September. It design is more than disappointing, looking cheap. The build quality is bad, basically because of the cheap plastic used. It even sports, a four way old directional pad. This phone belongs in terms of design to a museum. Even so it works in 2G network, GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900. With a height of 02 mm, wide of 45 mm, deep of 14.6, the GB 109 weights about 92 grams.


LG included into this model the older available technology for displays, the CSTN with a 1.5 inches diagonal display with 128 x 128 pixels resolution with 65000 colors rendering. Because this is a basic phone in every possible way you, the internal memory is limited to 1 MB, and no memory card slot is available. However, the GB 109 sports the GPRS connectivity, lacking any other possible connection. You get beside the calendar, and calculator, an integrated Radio FM. LG included in the GB 109 a Lithium Ion battery with 950 mAh, capable of 400 hours of standby time and 6 hours of talk time.

The last announced GB model, GB 270, is already available since September this year. You basically get three phone models into one, because for each available color, the GB 270 changes its design (not radically). Therefore, you get three different looks for GB 270 not only within the colors offered, black, pink and grey. The GB 270 is the best designed phone from the GB line. With excellent quality materials, great finishes, and exceptional build quality, the GB 270 will certainly be a market success thanks to not only the powerful design, but also because of the average specs, all offered as an entry level package with a small price tag. The GB 270 looks similar with some Sony Ericsson phones from last year, but even so the design is still original and modern.


With a height of 108 mm, wide of 47 mm, deep of 12.7 mm, the GB 270 weights about 88.3 grams. Therefore, with a small weight and thin design, the GB 270 is easy to take around and slide into any pockets. This phone is tri-band only with GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900. LG included into this model a 2.0 inches diagonal TFT display with a resolution of 120 x 160 pixels capable of rendering up to 65000 colors. The onboard memory of 12 MB can easily be expanded using the micro SD memory cards, or the Trans Flash memory cards with a maximum value of 2 GB. In terms of connectivity, the GB 270 sports the GPRS, the 2.1 Bluetooth with A2DP profile, and only 1.1 version of USB connection.


The included digital camera has a VGA resolution with 640 x 480 pixels. You get interesting features in the GB 270 enough to make it worth your money. LG included a slightly better Lithium Ion battery of 1000 mAh, capable of 450 hours in standby time, and an exceptional talk time of 10 hours and 30 minutes. Overall, the GB 270 offers an excellent design and builds quality. Its features are ok for the price tag. Overall the GB line launched by LG is not a finished line. In 2010 LG will either release new phones with the GB code, or just launch a new entry level phone line with design and techs improved.