Product Review: LG DoublePlay™ from T-Mobile

By Ariel Nishli

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™. All opinions are 100% mine.

Maybe it’s the double screen. Maybe it’s the raging fast 4G that powers up the social networking features. Perhaps it’s that sentient jolt you feel upon hitting a soft key. Whatever it is, the new LG DoublePlay™, available exclusively at T-Mobile, is a smart phone with a sweet personality. The DoublePlay™ is, overall, a cutting-edge, bewitching gadget. In tween terms, the iPhone might be cute and popular Taylor Swift, but the DoublePlay™ is sassy and boisterous Avril Lavigne.

To ensure this is a typing-friendly gadget, LG implemented Swype® text input software. It allows you to enter words by sliding your finger from letter to letter. Swype® guesses words with unmatched accuracy and prompts you to enter unrecognizable words into its dictionary – a feature aimed directly at solving one of its competitor’s most glaring weaknesses.

The most defining feature DoublePlay™ offers is its second tandem-use screen. Slide up the main 3.5-inch touch display, and a 2-inch touch sub-display is revealed, flanked by two halves of a QWERTY hard keyboard. The split takes some getting used to, but proves very handy for composing lengthy emails without having to fix chubby-finger typos.

The second screen aims to be a multitasker’s dream come true by enabling you to use it for select features while simultaneously running the main screen. For example, while sobbing through The Notebook on the main display, you can shoot your girlfriend a ☹ emoticon sans interruption. It’s worth noting, however, that the sub screen is only configured for built-in software, precluding its compatibility with any downloadable application.

Social networking is the phone’s true strength, seamlessly integrated into the phone with the help of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). I’m not the most aggressive social networker, reserving status updates mostly for controversial news stories, shameless self-promotion, or a scathing restaurant review. In fact, I rarely clock in more than 10 hours a month. However, given this phone’s ability to share content directly from any application or feature on-the-go, my virtual soapbox activity has increased significantly. Moreover, the UI is totally customizable, allowing you to create home screen shortcuts for often-used contacts, widgets for Facebook and Twitter feeds, and one-touch navigation for posting text, pictures, video, and location check-ins.

Since getting the phone, my messaging activities, in particular, have increased. Although merely an average texter (roughly 500 messages per month), I’ve found myself reverting to text more and more in lieu of calling and emailing – finding the enhanced user-friendly interface a pleasure to use.

Cloud Text™, an additional messaging feature that allows you to send and receive texts from a PC or tablet, is convenient but fairly unnecessary given email and Facebook (which do the same thing without incurring potential carrier messaging costs). You also have to add or dial your contacts’ phone numbers manually on your computer, a non-starter for most people.

Group Text™, however, is fantastic. This little gem allows you to easily create a group chat session. You can text attachments, your mapped location, and even create a group icon using any picture.

The 5-megapixel camera is another one of DoublePlay™’s boasting points. Equipped with LED flash and 720p HD video recording, you can capture high quality pictures and videos, then easily share them via messaging, email or Facebook within seconds – potentially making your standard digital camera or camcorder obsolete.

As far as general cell phone features go, the DoublePlay™ may not be the lightest phone around, clocking in at 192 grams, but the weight certainly isn’t a reason not to buy it. The seven home screens can be a bit overwhelming for the minimalists among us but beneficial for those who want to easily swipe through all their apps and widgets. Battery life is perfectly adequate as well. You can enjoy a full day’s worth of media and data-intensive use without having it die.

If you’re looking for exceptional social networking in a smart phone, this is one of the more powerful choices on the market. How much time do you spend interacting with your social network from your phone? Are you looking for a more efficient way to do it? The DoublePlay™ is the answer. Priced at $99 with a two-year contract, it’s also one of the best deals around this holiday season.

Ariel Nishli has a big apple in his heart but moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry after graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2007. He started in the motion picture literary department at ICM before moving on to feature film development at Parkes/MacDonald Productions. Ariel’s wardrobe has steadily devolved from designer suits to worn out slippers, as he now focuses on screenwriting and freelance writing.