LG G2 Weekly Theme - Usability

Greetings

So the last Weekly Theme in the LG Testpilot program, this time it is about usability. We’ll take a look at some of the stock apps, settings, how comfortable the phone is to hold and a little about the customization options that comes with the phone.

Holding the Phone

First up is an evaluation of how the phone is to hold and handle. I find it to be a fairly important thing, since it, unlike the most of what this post will be about, isn’t something you can change by finding the right app.

When I first heard about the 5,2” inch screen I was nervous about the general size of the phone, but as I’ve mentioned in an earlier blogpost, it’s only a little taller and same width as it’s predecessor, the LG Optimus G.

So, this first concern has been stomped and buried well into the ground, there has been absolutely no problems when operating the phone one-handed. If you have to reach the upper left corner it may be a little tricky if you have small hands. It is however easy to change your grip and/or let the phone slide two centimeter or so through your palm, due to the nicely rounded and smoothly design edges of the phone, and so make all parts of the screen is easy to reach.

When I play games or have to hold a phone for a longer amount of time, I usually have the phone in my left hand, with the thumb pressed against the upper part of the left side. On the LG G2 that is right on the sim-card insert. -_-’ It ain’t that bad, just a bit annoying - and I’ve started automatically placing my thumb an extra centimeter to the right, which of course alleviates the problem.

More on: The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons

Another curiosity about this phone is the design of the buttons, placed on the back of the phone. I usually store the phone in one of the pockets of my jacket, or sometimes in a bag, when I have to get from a to b, while listening to music or podcasts. I hadn’t expected the button design to provide any particular advantages in regard to this scenario, but surprisingly it has! Ok, relax, it’s nothing wild: somehow it’s just easier to press the volume buttons without having to take the whole phone out. I can’t really explain why it’s easier, which probably just makes it all sound a little ridiculous. Maybe it’s just due to not having to balance and fumble with the thin side buttons, while having the phone in a tight place with a definite lack of wriggle room ;-)

Limited Customization

Theres only two themes to choose for this phone, the one called Basic (on the right) is, everything the name promises it to be. So does the other theme, Marshmallow, but in a slightly more… pink-bubbly-childrens-tv-show way.

Then there’s effects for both opening the lock screen and turning the screen off. When opening the lock screen there’s 5 effects to choose from; Ripple, Dewdrop, White hole, Particle or Crystal - each one worse than the other, especially the first and last one. I would like there to be one that was more simple and “stylish”, or weirdly enough “less effect-ish”, these are all way too exaggerated.

The Screen-off effects are, thankfully, better. There is three effects to choose from; the simple Fade Out, the slightly cartoonish Black Hole and the Retro TV. Those are okay, no complaints there.

Then there is the sounds that comes with the phone, it’s a nice broad range that goes from classical music to lasers, so there should be something in there that could appeal to most people.

Then there’s also the layout themes for the messaging app, I guess most of them have been designed by the same person, who is responsible for the Marshmallow theme. I’ve found a setup that I find tolerable, but on the offside it’s then really extremely boring.

There's huge differences in how people want their phones to be styled. Thats also why it would be great, if themes were open for everyone to create. Then LG could focus on all the other thigs, they do so well with on this phone, and let others supply us, the users, with something more interesting.

Being limited to a basic design and something that must primarily be of interest to pre-teen girls with a love for the color pink, just isn't my idea of customization. The Marshmallow theme is probably more due to a cultural difference, many of the asian companies go with this design, that in my eyes are just inspired too much by bubbly-pink-pastel-colour-harajuku-styles and childrens anime.

Was it some of the darker design-styles within those genres I would be completely over the moon, but these, no thank you! I’d rather not even have these kind of styles on my phone.

Harsh words, and admittedly not completely fair, some of the customizations are tolerable, but I really miss something to go with well tailored exterior of this phone.

Apps

There’s of course all the usual suspects; standard android apps for gmail, a calender and so on, which all works great.

There is however a small change to the Alarm/Clock. The Timer-function have a new design where there’s a circle around the countdown, which also graphically represents how much of the time has passed, and how much time is left. No big deal, I just find it to be a neat little improvement.

The LG G2 furthermore comes with a range of rather helpful apps.

Life Square is an app that can be your digital diary/scrapbook. You choose which apps it will be able to gather information from, so you can store logs of calls, messages, photos, videos, voice recordings and also informations from Facebook and Twitter. So if you feel the need to further capture all the interesting things going on in your life this is probably worth looking into.

Task Manager is as far as I can tell just a reduced view of what you can access through the settings menu for apps. You won’t see information about the underlying services, just a list of the current apps running on your device and how many resources they’re using. I think this presentation will be much more useful for most standard-users, and it’s also quicker to open this app, than going through the settings menu.

Voice Mate - meet your new assistant! ;)

Use the voice command “LG Mobile” og “Hello Genie” to get your new assistants attention. Now you’re ready to give commands to e.g. set a timer, call your best friend, open your calendar or search the web for a chocolate cake recipe! It seems to work pretty good, also while watching loud tv-shows *thumbs up*

Quick Remote is great a feature. that makes it possible to control any device that uses infrared remotes, to be controlled by your phone. Really greta for people like me, that have the phone right next to me, but whom can never find the remote when needing it. The app can also be accessed directly through your lock screen.

Guest Mode

Guest mode is an ingenious feature that makes it possible to lend the phone to a friend, a colleague or children without having to worry about them spending money on apps, snooping around in your private messages. Furthermore it makes it all more simple to them, they don’t have to navigate around on your numerous homescreens or your overfilled app collection in general. You choose which apps are to be shown and allowed access through guest mode. You will need a pattern lock in order to enable Guest Mode - keep in mind to make it simple for your guests, and very different from your own lock.

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Wicked Regards

- Nitte von Evil