Hands On: LG GM750

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

One of the devices on show at Microsoft's Open House was the LG GM750, which is going to get some special attention here because of what LG has done to Windows Mobile 6.5: it's unrecognizable.

To refresh, the LG GM750 is due on Vodafone in a short time and has the following specs:

  • BT 2.1
  • WiFi
  • 3-inch 240x400 display
  • 1000 mAh battery
  • 5 MP camera
  • GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100)
  • Optical joystick

We all know HTC likes to re-skin the OS with its TouchFlo/Sense UI systems, but LG, in one of its first Windows Mobile devices, has gone way, way beyond what even HTC has done so far. From playing with the phone for some time, it seems that LG has re-skinned roughly 95 percent of the OS — in fact the only thing that I recognized as being Windows Mobile was the Start bar, Mobile Internet Explorer and Start menu, everything else felt like a different OS altogether. E-mail, SMS, settings, menus, contacts, dial pad all felt like they were part of some proprietary operating system, like a "feature phone" on steroids.

A very strange experience, but not bad either. The soft keyboard seemed okay and the 5-megapixel camera was actually quite fast with very good results. Plus the vibrate/tactile feedback just plain works well here.

I wont comment if it is necessarily better than TouchFLO (we'll leave that to you), but considering the devices is running on the MSM-7200a chipset, it actually handled quite well — it was fast, responded well to touch and their layout grew on me after awhile. What was really weird though is how there is no Windows key on the device. In fact, the only keys are those Home/End keys, with the traditional softkeys as touch-only. 

We have to give credit though: LG has brought its game face to the table, doing some quite impressive re-workings of the OS. And considering they're the new guy in town, this is quite remarkable.

Many more pics after the break!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

5 Comments
  • I wonder if the LG Monaco from AT&T is going to have this same UI overhaul. That phone did look interesting, as it was supposed to launch this year, be WM7 compatible, have snapdragon, and have a keyboard. Jason
  • I had some very short hands-on time as well, and was a little suprised that it is not possible to select if you want to use the S-Class interface or the "Standard" Windows Mobile 6.5 interface !?
  • looks pretty good, a little low on the screen res but still. not bad. and gj on doing the reskinning, that whole touch-flo is really such a poor excuse for all its hype. I mean the newer versions are a bit better, but what it was even just a few months ago is just pathetic, it feels as if some programmers wrote it up in a week and shipped it off. in fact i kinda find touch flo is a bit annoying to use
  • Awesome!! Futures, is it available in Australia? Regards,
  • We all know HTC likes to re-skin the OS with its TouchFlo/Sense UI systems, but LG, in one of its first Windows Mobile devices, has gone way, way beyond what even HTC has done so far. From playing with the phone for some time, it seems that LG has re-skinned roughly 95 percent of the OS