The Incite is LG’s first smartphone.  This cell phone uses Windows Mobile operating system version 6.1.  I’d recommend this phone for those who are looking for the capabilities of a Windows smartphone but wouldn’t mind doing away with a physical keyboard.  This is one of the few phones that fits that bill.

WHAT WE LIKE

Design

A very simple design.  The front face of the phone follows the design of the LG Shine making it seem like an older brother.  The large screen in front gives the phone a nice glossy look.  The ‘call’ and ‘hang up’ buttons are conveniently located in the front where it is expected.  Because this phone lacks a physical keyboard, this phone is slightly thinner than phones such as the Samsung Epix/Blackjack and the HTC Tilt/Fuze.  A full 3.5mm jack is built in so you can use your standard headphones.

Call Quality

I am usually pretty picky about call quality because that is what matters to me most.  This LG phone has very good call quality.  The earpiece volume can be turned on quite high so you can hear your callers loud and clear.  People listening to me when using the phone didn’t seem to complain at all about my voice.

LG’s OS Additions

LG made some additions to the OS to make the phone a bit easier to use when using your fingers.  You can dial numbers pretty easily.  There is a fairly large menu at the bottom of the screen to quickly access features.  Instead of having to press the tiny start menu at the top left, you can just use LG’s interface instead.

Battery Life

Battery life is pretty decent.  For heavy users, I’d expect a day or two at most.  But if you are doing light calling and the occassional wifi usage, then you should expect to be able to last longer than that.

NEUTRAL

Touch Screen

The touch screen is definitely not as sensitive as phones such as the Apple iPhone, Palm Centro, or the T-Mobile G1.  You will need to press a bit harder on the screen for taps to register.  At the same time, you do get used to it.

Tilt Sensor

The tilt sensor is a bit of a mixed bag.  When you turn the device sideways, it will take at least a second until the screen follows your movement.  When the screen is on its side, you can take advantage of the built-in full software keyboard which is a joy to use.  I didn’t really like that the included applications on the phone didn’t expose sensor enough to convey its utility.  Eventually, I chose to disable this sensor because I started to find it annoying when the screen would sometimes stay sideways when taking it out of my pocket forcing me to ‘unlock’ the phone in a sideways position.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE

No Built in Stylus

The phone came with a stylus that is not built into the phone and is meant to attach to your keychain.  Therefore, I decided not to use the stylus at all and use my fingers.  I kind of wish that pressing the small X at the top right hand corner to close applications wasn’t that small.

Charging Port

This is being a bit picky, but I don’t quite like the flap on the side of the phone that I need to pop out whenever I want to charge the phone.

Fingerprints

This phone will definitely pick up fingerprints and the oils from your fingers.  Since the screen is quite large, I would definitely recommend getting a screen protector unless you are extremely careful.

RATING: 75/100