The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds
85%
LG Vu

LG Vu 5in Android phone-tablet review

Samsung's Galaxy Note 2 meets its Tegra 3-powered match

  • print
  • alert

Agentless Backup is Not a Myth

Mercedes vs BMW, Boeing vs Airbus, Asda vs Tesco: the world is full of directly competing commercial entities locked in a bitter struggle for market share. In Korea, Samsung and LG go head-to-head in much the same way, so it's no surprise that LG has cooked up a rival to Samsung’s Galaxy Note.

LG Vu

The LG Vu doesn't seem so odd at an angle...

Called the Vu, it's one of the weirdest devices I've ever clapped eyes or laid hands on, thanks to its highly unusual 5in, 1024 x 768 screen.

That large screen naturally has an impact on the Vu's physical size so while it may not be remarkably heavy, tall or thick it is very wide. At 90.4mm across the Vu is almost a full centimeter wider than Samsung’s already broad Galaxy Note 2.

LG Vu

...but face on, it doesn't quite look right

The Vu isn’t impossible to hold comfortably to your ear for prolonged periods - I managed and hardly have the hands of a navvy - but the width is a factor you should keep in mind if you plan on using it in a primarily telephonic role and are a bit dainty in the prehensile extremity department.

And unless you have the thumbs of an orangutan, using it for most other things will often be a two-handed affair, just as it is with a 7in tablet. The reverse side of the coin is that the width of the display gives you a huge amount of room to play about with.

LG Vu and friend

Sense of scale: LG Vu and chum

LG hasn’t really done anything to take advantage of the extra screen width so the Optimus 3 interface overlaid on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich looks very much the same as it does on the LG 4X HD. It only ranges four icons across the display despite the fact an extra one would easily fit.

LG Vu

Will your thumbs reach across?

Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

Next page: Aspect ratiocination

Anonymous Coward

Re: 1024x768?

Probably more along the lines of; we've got 2M industrial 5" 4:3 IPS screens from a cancelled order, no one wants them, what shall we do with them?

5
0

Don't hurry. 700 quid laptops will still be x768 for another decade.

<gets off hobby horse>

5
0

Deal breaker for me is the fixed battery, from the look of the charging cycles thingy it will be fooked in just over a year of daily charging.

4
0

More from The Register

 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
Apple said to be 'exploring' 5.7-inch iPhone
Who's the copycat this time, Mr. Cook?
Review: Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock
Missing Mac ports reunited, for a price
 breaking news
Australian 'Apple tax' repealed for MacBook Air
But the new MacPro is priced at a premium