LG Revolution Review

by John deGlavina

The LG Revolution is Verizon's first serious LG Android based smartphone and its third 4G LTE phone. It's boasting Verizon's super-fast 4G network, and is in direct competition with the HTC ThunderBolt and Samsung Droid Charge. CPF got a chance to play with the Revolution back in January at CES



Here are the standout features of the Droid Charge:

• Android 2.2.2
• 4g LTE data (translates to 5-12 mbps download & 2-5 mbps upload)
• 4.3" TFT LCD screen
• 5mp camera with 720p HD video recording
• 1.3mp front camera
• 1GHz Snapdragon processor
• 512mb RAM
• 12gb onboard memory - 16gb microSD card pre-installed
• Swype enabled keyboard
• Mobile hotspot capability

The LG Revolution is priced at $249.99 with a 2 year contract and is available now from Verizon. Click Here to get it.

Unboxing
The box reminds me of something I've seen before in black.



Inside you'll find the 4G SIM card in a little paper wallet, the USB cable/charger, and the quick start guide

Cosmetics
The Revolution's body has a metal bezel with a rounded rubberized backing.



The backing was changed a slight bit from the model we first viewed. Grey accents have been replaced with black on the back cover.



The Revolution feels a little bulky and heavy in your hands. It weighs in at 6.06oz. Comparatively the Droid Charge is 5.04 and the HTC Thunderbolt is 6.23oz. It is 13mm thick - one mm thicker than the Droid Charge and one less than the HTC Thunderbolt

Under the snap-on back cover you'll find the 4g LTE card and 16gb microSD card. The battery must be removed to take out the SD card.



The volume buttons, and the covered HDMI port is on the right. On the left you'll find the charger port. The top of the phone has the 3.5mm headphone jack and power/sleep button.



Missing is a dedicated camera button, but it seems this is becoming more common. I'm disappointed that LG chose to cover the HDMI and charger port. It's kind of annoying to dig your finger into the side of the phone to charge it.

A couple notes on the design that I do not like.

• The speaker is very small and doesn't output sound nearly as well as the Thunderbolt or Droid Chage.
• The camera glass is recessed on the back cover. This is just asking dirt to get in there.

Screen
The Revolution's 480x800 screen is the same size as the HTC Thunderbolt and Droid Charge. So in other words, it's pretty large. It's not vibrant as the Droid Charge, but you won't have a problem viewing pics and video.




Keyboard
I didn't enjoy the keyboard as much as the Droid Charge or Thunderbolt. Maybe it's because the haptic feedback isn't as precise. Regardless I'm sure I could easily get used to it.



Software
The Revolution is running Android 2.2.2 (Froyo). LG does have something running over top of Android, but it doesn't do as many changes HTC Sense or TouchWiz. For example, LG includes some cool widgets, but the gallery and music player is stock Android. LG also did something with the messaging app, making it look much like Motorola's message bubbles.

I like the way the LG broke up the application menu into categories. This is something I first saw on the Motorola Droid X2. To re-arrange things, you simply hit the menu button and select which apps you want in each category. You can also add your own categories.



I also like the main applications are stuck at the bottom of the home and application screen.

So far the Revolution is the only phone that comes with the Netflix application installed, although I'm sure that it'll be available for other Android phones shortly. I'm happy to report that video downloads without a problem and the app run smoothly on the phone.



The Revolution includes 4G Mobile Hotspot free for an introductory period.

Just like the Droid Charge I thought was Rock Band was installed, but turned out to be a link to download Rock Band, which then instructs you to enable installations from unknown sources. Then it instructs you to download the large application via Wi-Fi. Even after getting the game installed, which requires around 3 minutes of keeping the screen awake, you still only have the one song Rock Band demo.

Missing is a way to remove the large amount of pre-installed games and other software you do not want.

LG and Verizon chose to make this a Bing powered search and maps phone, which still doesn't make any sense to me. This also means they encourage to use VZ Navigator. Why would you do that when you can just download Google Maps? I don't know.

Four of the seven home screens, excluding the main home screen (the first and seventh are blank)


Browsing & Data
Just like the Droid Charge and Thunderbolt, 4g data speeds are incredible. Even with the slightly slower 4g connection in my area, I'm still able to easily watch videos on Youtube, use the Netflix app, and browse the web with hardly any hiccups at all.



Keep in mind that results may vary depending on your area. I've actually seen reports of much higher download speeds.

Browsing on the Revolution was good, but I did notice some flicker when scrolling on a webpage. This may be due to flash and/or javascript based things running. This isn't as bad as I noticed on the Droid Charge though.



Performance & Battery
The Revolution's 1Ghz Snapdragon processor performs well. I didn't notice any flicking while using application. Some things may be a tiny bit slower to open when compared with the Droid X2.

Here are the quadrant results. The Revolution scored a 1917. In comparison the Thunderbolt scored a 1775 and the Droid Charge a 941. The Revolution appears to be the winner in the performance category.



The battery is large coming in at 1500mAh with a rated talk time of 7.25 hours and standby time of 335 hours. I was able to use the phone heavily all day on a single charge. Is it better than the Thunderbolt's battery life? Absolutely. Is it better than the Charge. I don't think so.

Camera
The Revolution's 5mp camera is excellent, although it's not the 8mp camera that comes with the Droid Charge and Thunderbolt. I was able to take photos pretty fast. The software is definitely faster than a lot I've used.

In my opinion the software is a little clunky though. It works fine, I just thought that Samsung did it better.

Shooting modes include normal, continuous, smile shot, beauty shot, art shot, panorama, face effect, and cartoon. Scene modes include auto, portrait, landscape, sports, night and sunset.

Settings include an auto resolution setting, ISO, white balance, color effects (mono, negative, solarize, sepia, and blue), timer, and focus (macro, face tracking, manual) and options for shutter sound and photo storage. You can also change the exposure (which is a simple way of saying that you can stop up and down). Missing is adjustment for contrast, saturation and sharpness.

The 1.3mp front facing camera is naturally a little grainy. It is easily switched to via an icon in the upper left.

The video quality (720p hd) is also very good! The video camera is accessed by simply hitting an icon in the upper right. Missing is any type of anti-shake feature.

Under the gallery you can easily scroll through your photos taken with the phone as well as Picasa.

Conclusion
The LG Revolution is a solid phone and a great alternative the the more expensive Droid Charge. I almost wish they would've priced the Revolution as the budget 4g phone. Although it scored slightly higher with performance benchmarks, there's not really much that sets this phone apart from your other 4g options. I'm pretty sure that Netflix will be readily available for other Android phones soon. I wouldn't get this phone for Netflix alone.

Why to get the LG Revolution:

• You want 4g and don't like the Droid Charge (and it's price)
• You want better battery life than the Thunderbolt
• You absolutely need Netflix now.
• You want an HDMI port but don't want the Droid Charge

Why get something else:

• You don't need 4g or don't have it in your area yet
• You want 4g but also want faster processor (the Droid Bionic will have a dual core processor)
• You like the software features of HTC Sense or Samsung's TouchWiz

http://cellphoneforums.net/cell-phon...id-bionic.html

Visit the LG Forum to ask questions about the LG Revolution

Buy the LG Revolution