LG Wine II UN430 – basic phone, advanced highlights
For:
The LG Wine II is a lightweight and slim handset with stereo Bluetooth, FM tuner, music player, 2-megapixel camera, spacious keypad, dedicated shortcuts, and dual color display.
Against:
It does not come with preinstalled email app and browser.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
The LG Wine II is based on CDMA2000 1X technology and supports CDMA 800/1700/1900 MHz bands. It supports EV-DO Rev. 0 network as well. The Wine II has 256MB internal memory and a micro-SD card slot for external storage. The supported wireless interface is Bluetooth.
The 1.77-inch display sits on the lid and has 128×160 pixels resolution. The 2.4-inch internal display has 320×240 pixels resolution. The 2-megapixel camera can capture pictures in four resolutions: 240×320, 480×640, 960×1280, and 1200×1600. The video capture resolution options are 128×96, and 176×144.
The 900mAH lithium ion battery has a life of 190 minutes talk time and 336 hours idle standby time. Accessories supplied inside the package are headset, power charger, battery, and user manual.
Razzle Dazzle:
The LG Wine II UN430 has regular shape with curved corners. The back has matte surface for comfortable grip. Our test model had rose color. The Wine II is 3.97 inches tall, 1.97 inches wide and 0.62 inch thick and weighs 3.6 ounces.
Inside Dope:
Not only the LG has manufactured a lot of high-end smartphones including the Expo, but it also provides entry-level handsets to capture the complete mobile market. The company had release the LG Wine for U.S. Cellular last year. It was a good cell phone with a megapixel camera, solid alphanumeric keypad and dedicated shortcut keys. Now, the company has launched LG Wine II UN430 that has glossy plastic shell. It does not remind us of any wine bottle, but still retains a professional folder-type design. The Wine II features dual color display (external and internal), stereo Bluetooth, an FM tuner, music player, and 2-megapixel camera with video recording. It costs $49.95 with two-year contract after a mail-in-rebate of $50. On the downside, it does not come with any preinstalled email app or browser. Also, the Wine II has 2.5mm headset jack rather including a standard 3.5mm jack. We will definitely recommend the LG Wine II if you need an entry-level handset.
Design
The camera lens sits above the external display on the lid. You will find the charger jack, volume rocker and 2.5mm headset jack on the left spine. We will prefer the manufacturer to include the standard 3.5mm headset, especially for a music phone. The voice command key, the camera key and the micro-SD card slot are located on the right spine. You can flip open the phone to access the internal display, navigation array, shortcuts, and keypad.
Display
The 1.77 inches external display has 128×160 pixels resolution that supports 262,000 colors. Not only it displays signal strength, battery, date/time, and photo caller ID, but also works as self-portrait viewfinder for the camera. You can change the clock format and wallpaper for the external display.
2.4-inch internal display of the LG Wine II UN430 has 320×240 pixels resolution that supports 262,000 (18-bit) colors. It exhibits crispy text, colorful and vibrant images. You can change the font size, font color, font style, the color scheme, the menu style, and the backlight time.
Navigation Array and Keypad
The navigation array is underneath the internal display. It has two soft keys, four-way square toggle, a Clear key, and a speakerphone key. You can set the toggle to open the calendar, customizable My Menu, Bluetooth menu, and U.S. Cellular EasyEdge shop. You can add up to 12 shortcuts in the My Menu.
The dedicated shortcut keys are located beneath the array. These are the EasyEdge online store, the photo gallery, the alarm clock, and widget interface. You can add shortcuts to widgets interface including four contacts, the music player, the FM radio, the calculator, the notepad, and the calendar. We like that the interface is visual that makes it very easy to use and access.
The Send and Power/End keys and the alphanumeric keypad are located beneath above shortcuts. The keypad has large and spacious keys that are raised above the surface for easy usage. We could text and dial by feel while testing.
Phonebook and PIM features
The LG Wine II UN430 can store 1000 contacts in its phonebook. Each entry can save seven phone numbers, a memo and two email addresses. You can categorize the contacts into caller groups. Also, you can pair them with one ring-tone, a message tone and a photo for caller ID. The basic feature set includes six message tones, 24 polyphonic ring-tones, a unit converter, a stopwatch, a world clock, an easy tip calculator, a calculator, a note pad, a calendar, text and multimedia messages, a speakerphone and a vibrate mode.
The advanced highlights are GPS with U.S. Cellular Your Navigator, 3G in form of EV-DO Rev. 0 network support, PC synchronization, stereo Bluetooth, and voice command support. We are disappointed that the LG Wine II does not come with preinstalled email-app and browser. However, you can download them through EasyEdge store.
Camera
The 2-megapixel camera of the LG Wine II UN430 is an upgrade over 1.3-megapixel of the Wine. It features digital zoom, self-timer, night mode and video recording. The still capture options are four resolutions, exposure control, brightness, four shutter sounds with one silent choice, nine fun frames, five white balance options, and four color effects. You can record the video clips up to 15 seconds for MMS and one hour for storage. The overall picture and video quality was good. The picture looked sharp with good colors. However, they were not bright in low light.
Music Player
The inbuilt music player features play-lists, shuffle and repeat modes. It supports AAC+, AAC, and MP3 audio formats. The LG Wine II UN430 also has inbuilt FM Tuner, but it requires to plug in the headset. You can transfer the songs through micro-SD card and also stores them on internal memory.
Games and Personalization
The LG Wine II UN430 comes with one game – Pac Man. It can be personalized with available ring-tones, message tones, themes, and wallpapers. You can download more options, browser, email app and games through EasyEdge Store.
Call Quality
We made few calls through the LG Wine 2 via U.S. Cellular roaming. The overall call quality was good. We received loud volume with choppy and harsh sound occasionally. The callers received crispy and natural sound at their end with a bit static. The speakerphone calls were suffered with more echo than on normal calls. The audio quality was below average with low sound on the speakers. We will recommend you using the wired headset for better experience.
Battery Life
The LG Wine II UN430 has a battery life of 14 days idle standby time and 3.2 hours of talk time. Its digital SAR rating is 1.22 watts per kilogram in accordance with FCC radiation tests.
Verdict:
If you need an entry level handset with advanced features with an affordable price, then the LG Wine II UN430. However, if you are looking for a cell phone with preinstalled email app and browser then you have to look elsewhere.
