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LG GW300 Qwerty Keypad on a Budget Handset
15 Nov 2009
There is currently something of a boom in the market for mobile phones which target a younger demographic. Relatively simplistic handsets are being released by a majority of the major manufacturers which focus on the function that teenagers and young adults are likely to use most: namely SMS texts. In the past most youthful phone owners would wear their thumbs to the bone using alphanumeric keypads and predictive text. But this is the age of the full QWERTY keypad, borrowed in part from business phones and now available on pared down handsets such as the LG GW300
The LG GW300 keypad has all of the keys that you would expect to find on a standard computer keyboard. That means it is designed specifically to make typing SMS texts and emails far easier and quicker. There is a bit of a learning curve for using the LG GW300 keypad if you have not previously used a mobile QWERTY keypad. The individual keys are fairly close together and at first you may find yourself making quite a few mistakes. Luckily, once you get the hang of it, things become a lot more straightforward and since it is aimed at younger users whose supple minds and nimble fingers can adapt to changes in technology at a pace, this should not prove to be a problem.
The design and layout of the LG GW300 keypad is suspiciously reminiscent of the BlackBerry Curve and the keypad is virtually the only noteworthy piece of technology included with the GW300. However, you will get access to a built in email client which you can sync with any existing account in order to send and receive emails directly to your mobile. Many other phones have offered this for some time now, but there are few other low-priced devices of this kind which have the QWERTY keyboard.
There is also a built in Facebook application as well as a web browser. The main issue with both of these inclusions is that they are somewhat hampered by the lack of a high speed 3G connection. However, the LG GW300 keypad does at least make it easy to update your status or type in search fields when browsing, even if the individual pages will take longer to load than you might like.
The LG GW300 keypad itself makes the phone broad and pleasing to look at, with plenty of detailing on the keypad highlighting the subtle colour scheme which is offset by the predominantly black fascia. Some may be slightly put off by the size of this device, but usability comes at the cost of portability in most cases. LG already has a phone with a full QWERTY keypad in the LG KS360, though in this case the keys are tucked away beneath the screen which has to be slid sideways to give the user access. Overall the LG GW300 keypad is easier to use and more durable than the other mid ranged texting alternatives, although some texting buffs may prefer the more simplistic design the hidden keypad on the KS360 affords.
For all intents and purposes the GW300 is a lightweight business and social networking handset that takes its technological and design cues from handsets released over a year ago. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it does at least represent value for money. The GW300 may see some stiff competition from the Samsung Genio QWERTY as their feature sets and keypad layouts are very similar. The GW300 does, however, have slightly more grown-up styling and the keypad does not feel as tacked-on as it does on the Samsung model.
There is currently something of a boom in the market for mobile phones which target a younger demographic. Relatively simplistic handsets are being released by a majority of the major manufacturers which focus on the function that teenagers and young adults are likely to use most: namely SMS texts. In the past most youthful phone owners would wear their thumbs to the bone using alphanumeric keypads and predictive text. But this is the age of the full QWERTY keypad, borrowed in part from business phones and now available on pared down handsets such as the LG GW300
The LG GW300 keypad has all of the keys that you would expect to find on a standard computer keyboard. That means it is designed specifically to make typing SMS texts and emails far easier and quicker. There is a bit of a learning curve for using the LG GW300 keypad if you have not previously used a mobile QWERTY keypad. The individual keys are fairly close together and at first you may find yourself making quite a few mistakes. Luckily, once you get the hang of it, things become a lot more straightforward and since it is aimed at younger users whose supple minds and nimble fingers can adapt to changes in technology at a pace, this should not prove to be a problem.
The design and layout of the LG GW300 keypad is suspiciously reminiscent of the BlackBerry Curve and the keypad is virtually the only noteworthy piece of technology included with the GW300. However, you will get access to a built in email client which you can sync with any existing account in order to send and receive emails directly to your mobile. Many other phones have offered this for some time now, but there are few other low-priced devices of this kind which have the QWERTY keyboard.
There is also a built in Facebook application as well as a web browser. The main issue with both of these inclusions is that they are somewhat hampered by the lack of a high speed 3G connection. However, the LG GW300 keypad does at least make it easy to update your status or type in search fields when browsing, even if the individual pages will take longer to load than you might like.
The LG GW300 keypad itself makes the phone broad and pleasing to look at, with plenty of detailing on the keypad highlighting the subtle colour scheme which is offset by the predominantly black fascia. Some may be slightly put off by the size of this device, but usability comes at the cost of portability in most cases. LG already has a phone with a full QWERTY keypad in the LG KS360, though in this case the keys are tucked away beneath the screen which has to be slid sideways to give the user access. Overall the LG GW300 keypad is easier to use and more durable than the other mid ranged texting alternatives, although some texting buffs may prefer the more simplistic design the hidden keypad on the KS360 affords.
For all intents and purposes the GW300 is a lightweight business and social networking handset that takes its technological and design cues from handsets released over a year ago. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it does at least represent value for money. The GW300 may see some stiff competition from the Samsung Genio QWERTY as their feature sets and keypad layouts are very similar. The GW300 does, however, have slightly more grown-up styling and the keypad does not feel as tacked-on as it does on the Samsung model.
