Review: LG GW620 InTouch Max

It’s taken a while, but Google’s vision of mobile utopia is coming to fruition. Each month brings fresh reports of new Android-packing handsets and practically every major manufacturer now has an Android entry on the market.

LG is the latest supporter, but unlike rivals Motorola and Sony Ericsson – both of which are making bold statements with their Droid and Xperia handsets – it’s adopted a more restrained approach.

The GW620 – or InTouch Max as it’s affectionately known – is a phone aimed squarely at entry-level users. Like the equally cheap-and-cheerful HTC Tattoo and T-Mobile Pulse, this is Android for consumers on a tight budget.

However, just like those two devices, the GW620 is unexpectedly robust and has one or two pleasant surprises under its unassuming exterior.

Good things come in small packages

The first thing that strikes you about the GW620 is its size: this is the smallest Android-based QWERTY slider we’ve laid hands on.

Of course, to obtain these demure dimensions LG has had to cut corners. The 3-inch screen is a little on the pokey side, which can make navigation awkward.

Like the Pulse and the Tattoo, the GW620 features a resistive touchscreen rather than a capacitive one. Unquestionably a piece of cost-cutting on the part of LG, this move does make the phone feel slightly less responsive than the likes of the G1 or iPhone, but it’s far from a deal-breaker.

The slide-out physical keyboard is one of the best we’ve used, and puts the Droid’s rubberised effort to shame: keys are a decent size and are spaced out so that you don’t accidentally hit two at the same time.

Factor in a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot which doesn’t require you to fiddle with the battery compartment, and the bare minimum of extraneous external features and you’ve got what is, on the whole, an agreeably attractive phone.

Playing catch-up

Opening up the bonnet reveals a slightly different story. The GW620 showcases a variant of LG’s propriety S-Class interface but you can choose to simply have the standard Android menu experience as well, if you so wish.

The trouble is, like so many other phones that boast unique operating software, the GW620 is saddled with the outdated 1.5 version of Android.

Google’s newly-launched Nexus One is packing 2.1, which goes to illustrate the large gulf between the various Android handsets available now.

While manufacturers are insistent that they will offer firmware upgrades over time, the GW620’s seeming lack of over-the-air update capability means you might have to either manually upgrade the phone or take it to a registered dealer.

Putting the unfortunate fragmentation of the Android market to one side for a moment, the rest of the GW620 experience is decent enough.

LG has attempted to factor in some rudimentary social networking features – similar to that seen in Motorola’s MotoBlur OS – but it’s pretty basic stuff and to be honest you’re better off downloading the dedicated Facebook widget from the Android Market.

Given the GW620’s humble background we weren’t expecting it to blow us away in terms of performance but, shockingly, the phone was able to outpace more expensive rivals. As always, one of our benchmark tests involved the brilliant Mega Drive emulator Gensoid, and we’re pleased to report that it runs like a dream on LG’s Android challenger.

Other areas are slightly less impressive. The media player software is the bog-standard version that shipped with the G1 all those months ago, and while it does the job to a near-acceptable degree, it really needs a facelift. The web-browser is also looking a little long in the tooth. Firefox for Android really can’t come soon enough, in our opinion.

But, despite its minor shortcomings, LG’s plucky newcomer is well worth a look if you’re sticking to a tight budget.

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