The new LG LU7000 LCD TV was launched at IFA back in September 2009 and we’ve had the 22” version on long term test for 6 weeks now, so how’s it performed? Read on and find out……

First Impressions

The LU7000 is finished in a very classy looking piano black, has a DVD player tucked away in its sloping stand and looks a million dollars. A thin transparent section below the frame finishes the TV off nicely.

The TV can be mounted on a standard bracket or you can use the inbuilt stand. A small base plate is slipped on to the slopping DVD to make the bottom flat when using the stand. This keeps the TV looking neat when it is hung from a wall.

The viewing angle from left and right is good however, as usual; it’s not so good from below. The LU7000 isn’t full 1080P HD and isn’t 720P either it’s the rather unusual, for TV at least, 1360×768. It does produce some damn good pictures though.

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Back in August we reported on the new Sony TX1 digital camera and its innovative add-on, the party shot base.

We’ve now had a week to run both devices through their paces so read on to see what we thought.

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We recently got our hands on one of LG’s first Windows Mobile phones (in the UK anyway) in the form of the Vodafone exclusive GM750. Read on for the full review…

Overview

The GM750 is a mid-range smartphone with a 240×400 pixel resistive touch screen. It’s shown here with an Apple remote to give some sense of scale.

In the box you get a UK power adapter, telescoping stylus and earbud/headset.

The headline specifications are:

• Windows Mobile 6.5
• 240×400 screen
• 5 Megapixel camera
• MicroSD expansion
• 256MB on board memory
• A-GPS
• Video calling
• Bluetooth/Wifi/3G/HSDPA

In use

LG have skinned Windows Mobile with an approximation of the  “S-class” UI found on their other phones. I’m in two minds about this skin – there are elements of it I like (such as the home screen) but on the whole I think I prefer the bare bones Windows Mobile look and feel. Luckily you get the choice so swapping between them is a matter of flipping an option in the settings screen.

There are dedicated buttons for call start and end, volume and camera as well as one to bring up the task manager screen. The Camera and task manager buttons can be reassigned to other tasks if you prefer.

The 256MB on board RAM can be supplemented by a MicroSD card which is accessible without pulling the phone apart – handy for quick access to photos and mp3s.

The center “button” on the face of the phone can be configured to act as a rather neat optical mouse or a 4 way “D-pad” (operated by swiping your thumb in the appropriate direction). I liked the D-pad option, it worked well and to a certain extent overcomes some of the limitations of the resistive screen.

The touch experience

LG make some superb capacitive touchscreens but sadly the one on the GM750 is a rather basic resistive model. It’s not the most sensitive of screens – it seems to respond well to the included stylus but finger (or fingernail) taps often don’t register.

That’s a shame as the design of the phone means there’s nowhere to store the stylus so you may well find yourself relying on fingers. The stylus is quite a chunky affair and while the size makes it quite comfortable to hold, it also makes it impossible to fit into the phone (or any phone come to think of it).

There is an on-screen QWERTY keyboard available if you want it – I’m not a fan of touchscreen keyboards in general but the GM750 does give you the option of using a “phone keypad” style interface with T9 which works well for all text input except URLs.

Extras

The phone includes tilt sensors which certain applications (Internet Explorer being the obvious one) use to automatically adjust their layout when you turn it sideways. It also has an onboard GPS which seems responsive and accurate.

You can use the phone as a bluetooth modem to a laptop – a nice bluetooth interface makes this fairly intuitive to set up.

Outlook contacts and calendar appointments sync up quite happily and you can download applications from the marketplace. In short, you get the full Windows Mobile experience.

WinMo is taking a beating in the popularity stakes at the moment with competition from Apple and Android but I have to admit to liking it – given that I use a Windows PC, the integration with the phone works for me.

Conclusion

The GM750 is a light, pocketable Windows Mobile phone which doesn’t have much direct competition. It’s free on a £25 contract with Vodafone at the time of writing which, for a decent WinMo smartphone, is pretty cheap.

The new LG GW 520 touch screen phone arrived for review a few weeks ago. First impressions are good and the neat slide out QWERTY keyboard feels very solid and doesn’t wobble once exposed.

LG are aiming their new phone at social networking types in much the same way as Vodafone are with the 360 Samsung H1. The GW520 packs LGs LiveSquare visual alert system which displays the contacts you actually interact with as characters on your home screen allowing you to quickly call or text them.

So how does it feel after a month of use?

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Sony are bringing back the “Walkman” brand quite aggressively with various new models at different price points and capabilities. Today we take a look at one of the entry level models, the Walkman B series.

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The LG BL-40 Chocolate has caused quite a buzz with it’s sleek lines and widescreen form factor. I’ve been using one for a week now so it’s time to give some thoughts…

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I’ve been using this unique combined power strip and powerline HD adapter for some time now so it’s about due a review. Read on to get the low-down…

What is powerline?

Many readers will already know what Powerline is all about (in which case, you can skip this bit) but if you don’t: Powerline is a way of using the existing mains cables in your walls to make a network. You just need two free plug sockets - plug an adapter into each one and voila – network!

Unlike wireless, thick walls and long ranges are no impediment to powerline transmission and as far as the PC is concerned, the adapters are just standard Ethernet ports.

The standard for powerline is called “Homeplug” and it comes in different flavours – effectively high speed and low speed. The high speed version is branded as “Powerline HD” and this is what I’ve been testing.

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Fans of the flight simulator genre don’t have too much choice when it comes to joysticks – Saitek, Logitech and CH Products are about all you have. Unless you’re building your own cockpit anyway, but for most of us that’s not an option!

So if you’re looking for a relatively cheap joystick to get the most out of your flight sim of choice the Saitek Aviator (or AV8R) is a good place to start.

The Aviator is unique amongst PC joysticks in that it has two throttle controls which can be independently assigned. You also get the usual twist rudder axis and 12 programmable buttons.

Ergonomics

The joystick action is smooth and provides enough resistance to give you some idea of where you are in the motion range. Inputs don’t spike and the throttles are well damped so fine adjustments are possible.

The second throttle axis doesn’t have to be used to control engines either - I find that mapping it to elevator trim makes long flights a lot more manageable.

Programming

The Aviator is programmable via the Saitek SST software (pictured). This software essentially redirects button presses of the joystick to emulate keyboard and mouse strokes, meaning you can assign long complicated keyboard sequences (“Switch radar mode and select weapon” for example) to a single button press. You don’t need to use it if you prefer to set up your joystick via the in-game menus, but it’s nice to have the option.

The software is quite intuitive, making what can be a fairly complex task quite simple.

The large red control at the back of the stick actually switches the joystick into one of three user programmable modes – in this way each button can have three different functions, depending on the position of the switch. Typically I’d have one position for general flight and takeoff/landing and use the others for special scenarios such as combat.

Conclusion

For £20 online you can’t go far wrong, take a look at this if you like (or like the idea of) flight games.

Some of us can remember the original Sony Walkman – a revolution in it’s day but the world has moved on since then and Sony were slow to jump on the MP3 bandwagon, letting a certain Cupertino based company steal the show.

The “Walkman” brand has been used on various devices since then (most commonly phones) but the new X series marks Sony’s most recent attempt to get back into the portable music player business. Read on to see what we think…

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As regular readers will know I picked up an Arena at an LG event 5 weeks ago. First impressions were good but I promised to write a full review when I’d spent some time with the phone. I’ve used the Arena in place of my Sony Ericsson W980 and now it’s time to tell you what I think of it. This is one feature packed phone and so I’ll limit myself to talking about the highs and lows of the phone rather than get bogged down in too much detail. The full specification and feature list can be found here.

Touch screen and User Interface

The S-Class User Interface is one of the Arena’s major selling points but is it any good? LG have done a great job with the touch screen UI and it’s almost as precise and responsive as the iPod Touch which is high praise indeed. Yes the rotating cube is a bit gimmicky but it does at least give easy access to the four shortcut screens and can also be used to impress you mates down the pub.

The screen is bright and clear but in common with most colour screens it can be difficult to use in bright sunlight. Touch the status bar at the top of the phone screen and a neat shortcut menu drops down giving instant access to: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Alarm, Music Player, Calendar items and Phone Profile functions.

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