The Multimedia Feel of LG’s enV Touch Phone (Hands-On)

By Sean Captain – Several years on, LG’s special twist on the clamshell phone is still going strong. As always, messaging fiends can fold the latest enV open to reveal a roomy keypad and now enjoy a large (three-inch) internal screen with a generous 800-by-480-pixel resolution. The phone now sports an equally spacious screen on the outside. In place of a keypad and mini LCD, this enV has a roomy full-frontal screen with – you guessed it – a touch interface. Unfortunately, it’s the cheapo resistive-type that requires more of a firm press than a true iPhone- or Palm Pre-style touch.

The resistive touchscreen lets you scroll around large documents in the viewer.

Though the tactile experience could be better, the upshot of any touch screen is that it makes room for a bigger display to highlight this phone’s many multimedia skills. Along with the wonky 3GP video file type, the Touch adds support for films in the ever-more-common MPEG-4 format, which can play for about three-and-a-half hours per battery charge, says LG. Taking up to a 16-gigabyte microSD card, the Touch also has room for plenty of video or music. (A wireless firmware upgrade will enable 32GB cards when they become available.)

The Dolby Mobile equalizer livens up stereo recordings

Both get a big kick from Dolby Mobile. This home theater-in-a-headset tech has been rocking Asia for over a year, and now LG has finally brought it back to the states. Taking movie files with surround-sound audio tracks, Dolby processes simulated surround sound that comes off quite convincing even in a cheap set of earbuds. (The enV Touch sports a standard 3.5-millimeter jack that takes virtually any headphones.) We heard debris smashing all around us while watching a battle scene from Transformers on the LG’s crisp, bright screen. The effect works only if you don cans, though. Sound comes out of the built-in speakers simply as regular stereo.

Dolby Mobile (thankfully) also doesn’t provide any faux surround effects for stereo music tracks. But it does offer seven equalizer presets to emphasize treble or bass, for example.

Resolution can be adjusted on the 3.2-megapixel, autofocus camera

Photos also get a boost on the enV Touch. Its autofocus camera shoots at up to 3.2 megapixels, and the bright Xenon flash lights up anything within a few feet. Here are some sample outdoor and indoor (without flash) pictures (link to Flickr).

Browsing pictures is easier now, using a new pop-up filmstrip that lets you select which thumbnail photo to view at full size.

The enV Touch went on sale at the end of May. And as with its predecessors, it’s an exclusive for Verizon. IT sells for TK with a new contract. Price: $150 with contract.

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Cellphones, Top Stories
Tags: Hands-On, LG