Design and Looks
We are happy to say that the GB230 Dynamite is one of the better looking phones. In fact, it is easily one of the best LG basic phones, not just in terms of cosmetics but in features also. However, it would be unfair to dive straight into the features and not talk about looks in detail. As we mentioned before, this phone is a slider and a very beautifully designed one. Available only in dark colours, the phone looks classy and features high quality plastics. The only portion of the phone we feel doesn't gel with the sleek and stylish looks of this handset is the D-pad; it's big and cheap looking and mars what could have otherwise been the best looking basic phone in the market today.
Regardless of this, noteworthy features on the front are the nice steel accents at the borders and dedicated FM and camera keys between the soft and call/end keys. Opening the slider reveals a Motorola-like alphanumeric keypad. The keys here are big, large and flat. While they offer good touch-orientation, feedback is poor. So, it's a 50-50 chance you might not like it if you're an SMS junkie. Despite the relatively flat alphanumeric keypad and sparse features set, the phone is quite fat in the middle. The back is patterned to add more style and a little bit of comfort. It also houses the 2.0MP camera that we will see later in the review.
Usually, Dynamite phones incorporate a 1.8” 65K colours display. This time around, the phone incorporates a nice if not great 2.0” screen that's capable of 256K colours. Pictures are still grainy because the screen resolution is only 176 x 220 pixels. The phone sports a basic media set that includes an FM radio, an mp3 player and a camera. The FM radio allows users to record broadcasts. If you are specific about what you'd like to listen to then you can turn on the mp3 player which offers several equalizer presets in addition to audio playback. Sound quality is good whether you're listening through the headset or through the speakerphone. The 2MP camera sports decent quality in relation to its megapixels count.
To conclude, LG have produced many unreliable low-end sets. But the LG GB230 is not just another pretty face in the crowd- she can also play music and snap photos and do them well. Here's a phone that can put LG back on the mobile map.
Features
- 2MP camera
- Wireless FM radio
- FM broadcast recording
- Mp3 player with memory expandability
- Social networking integration with RockeTalk
