The Real Curve: A Personal Review on LG G Flex D958

After much anticipation and much thanks to LG Mobile Singapore, I am excited get a hold on the LG G Flex D958. It has been an honor to win the first curved phone at the media conference lucky draw. With so much competition in the smart phone industry, it takes much innovation and product differentiation for a brand to stand out. Especially when both Samsung and Apple threaten to enter the arena with their own curved display, it is essential for LG to flag off first with its G Flex. According to rumors and leaks, Samsung and Apple will launch their phones with different direction of curvature. The first generation of any new designs may not be that refined or user friendly. However, with recent developments such as iPhone 5's fingerprint technology and Samsung's Air Gesture, LG will have to step up the game.

 

Curve Design

Of course, the unique design of this LG Smartphone is its curved exterior. Being the first curve phone to enter the market, the G Flex will definitely be in the spotlight. Not only does it fit the curvature of your face, it also gives a surround feel when a HD video on Youtube bends towards  and accommodate your sight. The media release claims to increase your speech input by 3.0 dB when you are speaking on the phone, but personally I do not think it makes a significant difference. The biggest satisfaction comes when you are using the phone on the street and passers-by stare at this wondrous contraption.       

Despite the screen size of 160.5 mm x 81.6 mm, I have no trouble reaching the furthest tip of the touch display, probably because of the curvature. When phone display gets too big, users tend to be unable to reach the far end of the screen with a single hand. G Flex owners will not have this problem.  There is only one color - Titan Silver. It is also flexible; it can bend when compressed and recover to its original shape. Before and after:   On one side is the slot for mini-SIM card slot.   Its top and right side are pretty empty, because the buttons have been shifted to the back.   At the bottom is the micro-USB slot for charging or data transfer.

 

During the press conference, a video clip demonstrated the healing ability of the back cover. In the experiment, a metal brush with 750 g of weight repeatedly scraped against the back. In 3 minutes, the scratches disappeared. I am not prepared to scratch my phone, but I am comforted by the idea that if I leave my coins in the same pocket, it will recover from any minor scratches.

Sporting a 6" High Definition P-OLED display, the display is pretty impressive.

KnockON

This is a relatively creative idea. By gently tapping twice on the screen, the phone wakes up or goes to sleep. This greatly reduces reliance on the back button, which probably will be less sensitive after prolonged use.

Swing Lock Screen

The lock screen sports a background which moves as I shift the phone at different angles vertically. It even changes with the weather! However, it lags a little with my motion.

Fonts

Experimenting with the fonts.

Dual Window For many modern IT users, multitasking is a mandatory feature. The G Flex has the ability to split windows, which allow users to use two programmes at the same time. Below shows Youtube and Chrome opened in the same screen.    

'Selfie' with the Buttons on the Back

Another interesting feature is that the power and volume buttons are on the back cover. When you want to take a 'selfie', it is quite convenient to press the button on the back. When you are watching video or answering a call, it is easy to simply press the volume buttons instead of reaching for the side of the phone. 

The main camera is 13.0 MP, which is the baseline for many new camera phones. Below are some sample photographs I took with the camera.

 

Benchmark Performance Along with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, G Flex boasts 2.26 GHz QuadCore Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and Adreno 330 (450 MHz).Using AnTuTu Benchmarking, we can tell LG G Flex currently tops the chart.