LG is one of the world’s largest phone manufacturers and whilst this means that in some cases an LG mobile is not the best option if you are looking for exclusivity, LG seems intent to remedy this by creating a wide range of phones which cater to diverse needs and tastes. In fact, if you look at their current line up of phones you might be forgiven for thinking that some of them are more than a little similar to one another. With the LG GT500, you are getting a great touch screen mobile that is not going to leave a serious dent in your wallet.

In the current mobile market it seems that spending more money is not necessarily going to get you better hardware specifications, but will almost certainly open up a world of improved software and this is certainly true of the LG GT500. On paper it looks impressive, with built-in GPS for navigation and the all-important Wi-Fi connection for mobile web browsing. These are obviously both great assets, but because this is not a high end LG smartphone you do not get the flashy-looking S-Class user interface with its 3D menus and myriad applications. This fact does not have to be a negative one, particularly if you are more interested in the standard functions which most mobiles should provide, along with high speed mobile internet. The operating system is a little bit rigid and you will have a tough time finding any current generation community that is interested in unlocking and fiddling with the inner workings of the phone to customise the experience. Having said that, there are still an army of LG fans out there who will work to produce unique content for the GT500 that will make it feel a little more malleable than you might have thought.

One feature of the LG GT500 that really plays into the hands of those who are looking to personalise their experience is the dedicated Wi-Fi connection. Millions of people have Wi-Fi in their homes and if you lack it there then you will probably have access to it in your place of work or education and if you are still bereft you will definitely find an available Wi-Fi hotspot in the places you tend to do your socialising. The major benefit of having a Wi-Fi connection built-in is that you will not end up having to pay exorbitant data charges to your network provider. Only the most expensive contracts are usually blessed with unlimited internet and since the LG GT500 is not going to cost you an arm and a leg it is unlikely that you will opt for a pricey tariff. Using the web browser you can easily visit community sites, browse wallpapers and even download the images to your phone for your personal use.

If you are interested in creating your own wallpaper for your LG GT500, the process can be quite simple, but a bit of skill and patience is required if you want to make something that matches up to the content produced by the advanced members of the community. All you need to make a basic wallpaper is a simple bit of image editing software and an idea. The standard resolution required for LG GT500 wallpapers is 240×400 and with most programmes it should be easy to set out the size you require, or to crop an existing image down to fit the correct size image file.

Many people start of by taking their own pictures, or ones that they have found online and making them a suitable size for the GT500’s homescreen. It is worth noting that if you are going to be filling the screen with widgets, choosing a simplistic image is best, as it may end up getting obscured and a busy background will look a little messy. You might assume that to get the best results you should probably avoid using something like paint and shell out for Photo Shop, but if you search online you should be able to find some pretty powerful photo editors that are free to use, require no registration and operate in your browser. One excellent example is picnik.com, which fits all of these requirements and has all of the powerful tools that you would expect to find on a paid-for package. If you have a photo stored on Facebook or Flikr that you want to turn into a wallpaper for your LG GT500, then you can use picnik to grab the image file just using the URL, which is a fast, convenient way to get things started.

There is not any particular requirement to get creative yourself if you do not want to, since there are already thousands of unique backgrounds for the LG GT500 online. The popularity of LG handsets means that virtually every website offering wallpapers will immediately begin pumping out snazzy images which are compatible from the day of its release. Exercising a little caution when trawling through these community websites is advisable, as not all will just give away the creations of their users. If you come across a wallpaper you like, but it is stuck on a site that requires registration of some kind, it is worth noting that popular wallpapers will often get spread across the internet and a quick search could turn up an identical image with no attached obligations elsewhere. If you think that you have got the hang of producing content for your LG GT500 then you could start to share your creations online and feedback from other users will help you to develop.

When touch screen mobiles first hit the market, most required the use of a separate stylus to allow better input accuracy and advanced touch features to be fully realised. This was before the resistive screen technology of these originals was superseded by the capacitive touch sensitive screens which the iPhone and the HTC Touch HD2 feature. However, it is possible to argue that whilst capacitive touch screens certainly allow for more ‘intuitive’ interaction with a mobile, it is equally valid to state that ‘intuitive’ in this case could be interchanged with ‘basic’. User-friendliness in touch screen phones requires that icons be made larger, buttons be easier to press and web pages fill more of the screen so that tiny hyperlinks are easier to interact with. This is particularly true of capacitive screens as they only react to the touch of a finger and not to any other object such as a stylus.

The LG GT500 stylus is considered by some to be a bit of an oddity, as even phones which use the resistive screen technology that the GT500 employs have been honed to the stage where styluses are considered to be superfluous. But LG has clearly thought long and hard about including a stylus with the GT500 and reached the conclusion that it was such an important accessory it should be built into the very phone itself. A closer inspection of the LG GT500 stylus is required to see if this was a worthy addition or an excessive and archaic afterthought.

The LG GT500 stylus itself is seven and a half centimetres in length and like previous LG styluses it is telescopic, which means it will slide neatly in on itself when not in use. It is housed at the top of the phone and can be withdrawn from the right hand side when you have the screen facing you. The mechanism that secures the stylus in place is simple, but it feels sturdy and if you like to fiddle with the battery cover catch on your phone you will certainly give the stylus a bit of a workout over the period of ownership. The stylus is constructed from metal, which means it is slightly more durable than the plastic styluses bundled with previous touch screen mobile phones and the tip is small enough to be dexterous without becoming something of a concealed weapon.

So from an aesthetic point of view the LG GT500 stylus is decent and it feels well made, but is it still relevant today? The simple answer is ‘yes’. If you use the GT500 to browse the internet, which you surely will, you will spend quite a bit of time using the stylus. Hyperlinks that are embedded in text on web pages can be a bother to activate, especially if you are using your fingers. You will either spend a few seconds trying to press the link without luck, or have to zoom in closer to make the text big enough to be activated by your finger. However, with the stylus you can make exact presses on even the smallest of onscreen icons and hyperlinks, which will save you time and make web browsing painless. Since the stylus is built into the body of the phone, you will also have it to hand at all times, which will prove to be particularly convenient.

The LG GT500 stylus can also be used for every other touch screen task that faces you. Resistive screens are not capable of detecting multiple simultaneous touches, so typing with two hands can be slightly cumbersome. If you find that you are not getting the most out of the onscreen keypad then you might switch to the stylus, which is again particularly useful for firing off quick texts or emails.

There are large numbers of well specified touch screen phones in the middle price bracket. Indeed, in the past many of these phones have been manufactured by LG themselves. As such any new additions need to offer something fresh and powerful in order to motivate consumers to switch handsets. For the LG GT500 the feather in its metaphorical cap is the built in GPS satellite navigation and the powerful software which accompanies it.

At the heart of the LG GT500 navigation capabilities lies its compatibility with LG’s WisePilot navigation software. The GT500 is at the vanguard of this new program that LG is trying to push across ever more of its GPS touch screen handsets. It is a paid subscription service which you will have to sign up for online. If you do not wish to commit to a long term payment scheme because you are uncertain about its usefulness, you can try it before you buy.

In essence the WisePilot is an advanced mapping system that utilises the built in GPS in the GT500 in order to pinpoint your location. It is available with mapping for your region and continent which you can select when you sign up. The WisePilot will plot routes, calculate detours and even provide you with up to date traffic information if you are using it on a road trip.

The WisePilot is also useful if you are on foot and find yourself in an unknown area. It will give you advice as to which nearby restaurants are recommended, tell you about local events and clubs and even help guide you to a hotel once you have run yourself into the ground.

All of your favourite locations, recommendations and settings are stored not only in the LG GT500 navigation software but also in your personal online WisePilot pages. This is incredibly useful if you want to adjust any aspect of your service and can help to make the process of travelling considerably less stressful.

A quirky yet increasingly popular feature supported by the LG GT500 navigation system is geotagging. For those in the dark about this modern craze, it essentially involves you taking a picture anywhere in the world and then using the GPS functionality to attach exact data relating to your position on the planet. This means that if you are on holiday you can snap away and subsequently use the GPS function when you look back over your photos to work out exactly where you are. Until you have experienced the benefits of geotagging it can be hard to comprehend exactly what it entails, but once you have got used to using it in tandem with the GT500’s excellent 5 megapixel camera you will wonder how you lived without it.

One of the handset’s greatest strengths which complements the LG GT500 navigation software is of course the large 3 inch touch screen. There are some dedicated navigation handsets which lack this near-essential feature. With the touch screen interface you can easily adjust your route on the fly and quickly enter place names and postcodes using the onscreen keypad. Another advantage of the screen is that it is large enough for use in the car. This may seem like an obvious statement, but many older phones with built in GPS would compress the mapping to such a degree that it could be difficult for drivers to use effectively or – more importantly – safely. The GT500 suffers from none of these afflictions, creating one of the best GPS experiences that you are likely to find on a mid range touch screen phone.

Many anticipate the latest releases from South Korean manufacturer LG with justifiable excitement. Their latest mobile phones offer some subtle innovations and some wildly outlandish developments which may shape the mobile phone market of the future.

LG GM750

The GM750 is a mid ranged touch screen smartphone that uses the Windows 6.5 mobile operating platform. That means there are plenty of applications and connectivity options packed into what is a fairly unremarkable looking phone. On top of 3G and Bluetooth connectivity you can also connect to wireless networks to access the internet and download files. Up to 16GB of storage space can be added, although it would have been nice for a heftier built in memory capacity to have been included. The 5 megapixel camera continues to reinforce LGs reputation as a producer of quality camera phones.

LG GW300

The GW300 is a slight departure for LG as a phone that is obsessed with text messaging and emailing more than any other function. It has a full QWERTY keypad and unlike most other new LG handsets has no touch screen or high megapixel camera. The GW300 is designed to appeal to the younger audience and its low price and colourful detailing reflect this fact.

LG GB220

Considering the low cost of this phone there is no lack of functionality. There is a 1.3 megapixel camera and built in mp3 playing software and the clamshell design is available in either pink or silver. This GB220 phone is aimed at the pay as you go market, but despite its budget technology there is nothing to suggest that this is anything other than a quality product for the price.

LG BL40 Chocolate

The BL40 Chocolate is the world’s first fully cinematic phone. This means that the aspect ratio of the display is the same as that in which most motion pictures are shot. This allows you to watch feature films in all their glory without any black bars or image cropping taking place. The BL40 Chocolate is also a touch screen smartphone with all of the associated connectivity and a 5 megapixel camera to boot. The interface is slightly confusing at times and offers too many ways in which to get the same thing done, but overall the widescreen lends itself well to the packed menus of the BL40 Chocolate. In addition this is one of the most attractive and striking phones that has ever been produced thanks to its monolithic, black design.

LG GB102

The GB102 is one of the cheapest phones on the market that still has a colour screen and polyphonic ringtones. It lacks all but the most basic capabilities, but if you want a cheap replacement handset or are not interested in doing anything but making calls and sending texts then the GB102 should be adequate if little more.

LG GT500

The GT500 is the natural successor to the older mid-ranged touch screen phone the LG Cookie. It offers a lot more in terms of connectivity, thanks to Wi-Fi and built in GPS satellite navigation capabilities and also has a 5 megapixel camera which sadly lacks the Xenon flash of other LG models. The GT500 benefits from being extremely thin despite the large 3 inch touch screen display and all of the functions packed into its shell. The black design is simple and subtle, but it is not as well designed as some of its rivals.

LG GT505

The GT505 is to all intents and purposes the same phone as the GT500, except branded for use on the Orange network as opposed to T-Mobile. The GT505 has a slightly better housing with rounded edges and it is the GPS capabilities and built in mapping software which makes it stand out from the crowd. Although the GT505 is not a market leader it is attempting to bring some high end smartphone functionality down in price, making it available to the masses.

LG GW520

This is a messaging and 3G internet phone that has social networking capabilities to commend it. It has a touch screen interface as well as a QWERTY keypad which is hidden beneath the screen for use when writing longer messages. The keys themselves are relatively small compared to other phones of this type, which means that younger users with smaller fingers will be able to get the most out of the GW520. Social networking updates can be accessed live via the GW520 so keeping tabs on what is occurring in your online world is easy. There is also a decent 3 megapixel camera but the lack of software features that could have made this a more useful asset will put some off.