A Closer Look at the LG GW520 Silver

The GW520 Silver from LG is a neat, if rather unusual phone. The inclusion of a Qwerty keypad has pushed the design towards many of the more businesslike phones available, but the omission of some features including WIFI pitch it much more towards the budget end of the market.

Despite its obvious lack of WIFI, the GW520 is a 3G phone meaning that providing the area coverage is good, connection to the mobile internet is possible. This coupled with the micro USB port and also Bluetooth for connection to other devices means the phone is fairly well geared up in terms of connectivity. When connected to the internet, the load up speed of a page is fairly slow as you would expect, however, anybody who was looking for a phone for serious internet usage is unlikely to opt for this model.

A nice host of multimedia features are incorporated in the GW520 Silver. With regards to audio several playback formats are supported including MP3, AAC and WMA files. These can be accessed via a widget on the home screen if desired. A RDS FM radio backs up the audio player rather nicely, meaning you can keep up with local radio should you get bored of your own music. The lack of a 3.5mm socket however slightly lets this phone down with regards to being a serious music phone. Video Playback is also supported, images appear crisp on the screen and MP4 formats are supported. All of these features require memory, and although the 40MB on board doesn't really cut the mustard, this is easily upgraded thanks to the micro SD card slot.

You will find a fairly basic camera on board the GW520. The 3 million pixel snapper does lack a flash and auto focus but the basic features it does have include timer facility, night mode and a multi shot option. Video can also be filmed but at a slightly disappointing 12 frames per second.

One area where the LG GW520 Silver looks good is in the design department. Weighing 125 grammes and measuring 106 x 53 x 14mm the unit is fairly compact considering a full Qwerty keypad lurks beneath its exterior. The 2.8" screen shows a good quality of image and can display up to 256k colours, however it does feel slightly cramped for web use. Turn the phone horizontally and slide the screen upwards and the full Qwerty keypad is revealed, making the composition of messages and e mails simple.

All in all the LG GW520 Silver sits on its own amongst the handsets currently available. Neat, compact with a slide out keypad however with a lack of WIFIand a really good quality snapper. For its price though it is as good as you will find available.

The LG GW520 Silver and the Samsung Jet White are available now.