LG GW300 review: No-frills messaging

Gsmarena have posted a review of the LG GW300. Here are the phone's key features, main disadvantages and their final impression.

Key features:

* Quad-band GSM support
* 2.4" 256K-color TFT display of 320 x 240 pixel resolution
* Four-row QWERTY keyboard
* 2 megapixel fixed focus camera
* Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
* Standard 3.5mm audio jack
* 15 MB internal memory
* Hot-swappable microSD card slot (supporting up to 16GB)
* Standard microUSB port and Mass Storage mode
* FM radio
* Live Square communication manager
* Facebook integration
* Multi-tasking with a proper task manager
* Smart dialing
* Affordable and easy to use QWERTY messenger

Main disadvantages:

* No 3G or Wi-Fi
* Camera has no auto focus or flash
* Video recording no good at QCIF resolution
* No DivX/Xvid video support
* No office document viewer
* Facebook is the only available social networking app

If we have to describe the LG GW300 with only a few words, then maybe we'd start with that: what you see is what you get - no more, no less. This is just an affordable texting handset with access to Facebook. Yes, it also packs some other features but all of them are cut down one way or another.

You get a camera, but it is only capable of taking low-resolution images and MMS-fit videos. You also get a web browser but it's actually unusable. The only extra feature that we were pleased with is the music player, which is accompanied by a nice user interface, stereo Bluetooth and, most importantly, a standard 3.5mm audio jack. However, the phone lacks some substantial connectivity goodies such as Wi-Fi and 3G support.

On the other hand, it does very well where it's supposed to. Its QWERTY keyboard is very comfortable and we've been enjoying texting on it since day one. And when it comes to Facebook, it's been integrated in a great way. The Facebook app isn't just a link to the site but is actually a fun and useful application allowing access to your account as well as the ones of your friends. And browsing image galleries works like a charm.

And when it comes to the competition, there are only a few other devices of that kind. The only direct GW300 competitor is the Samsung B3210 CorbyTXT which feels like a GW300 clone. Save for the exchangeable back covers, the rest is almost the same. Well, almost - the B3210 CorbyTXT display is of lower resolution and the battery of lower capacity.

There are two more devices sharing GW300's form factor and price range, namely the Nokia E63 and perhaps the BlackBerry Curve 8520. Both sport Wi-Fi and the E63 even comes with 3G support. But what is even more important, both handsets are smartphones and cost only a bit more than the GW300.

When it comes to affordable messaging devices, there are few more names that we can think of. Of course, we mean handsets that have a slide-out QWERTY keyboard such as the LG GW520, the Nokia 6760 slide, the Samsung B5310 CorbyPRO or the Samsung B3410. The main difference between them and the LG GW300 is actually their greatest selling point; namely, the keyboard which - thanks to the form factor - tends to be more spacious (read: more comfy).

The LG GW300 is limited in many ways, but it does the job it was made for. So if you can live with the flaws we've mentioned and the price suits you, then perhaps all that's left is choosing the paintjob.