LG’s GM750 smartphone is an affordable Windows powered smartphone, boasting some powerful multimedia and connectivity options, but unfortunately also some inconveniences associated with Windows Mobile (WinMo) smartphones. Its almost the same size as the Samsung Star (104 x 53 x 11.9 mm) and apart from the metallic edging on its frame, looks pretty similar as well.
 
Usability
 
Boasting a 3" TFT resistive touch-screen, the GM750 provides you with a sufficiently bright display with an so-so 240 x 400 resolution. It responds well enough when you employ the provided stylus, which annoyingly hangs next to the phone on a cord. But when you employ your finger, the phones screen lives up to its name as a resistive touch-screen, as you sometimes have to press an icon two or three times before the app you''re selecting starts.

The GM750 runs on WinMo 6.5 with the addition of LG’s S-class user interface (UI), on top of WinMo. Unlike newer smartphone operating systems like Google’s Android OS, WinMo 6.5 isn’t very user friendly, as you have to do a lot of scrolling through menus and lists to do even the simplest of tasks. The scrolling process is sometimes a bit on the sluggish side as well, maybe because the Qualcomm 528 MHz processor has to cope with both the phone''s OS and LG’s UI.  
 
The complexity related to the use of the device doesn’t ring true for the GM750’s five megapixel camera with auto focus. The interface is intuitive and easy to use and takes decent photos. It doesn’t come with a flash so taking pics when the natural light is poor. The same is true when recording video, but the quality of videos isn’t too bad.
 
A Windows phone does have its advantages though. Setting up an e-mail account (Hotmail or Gmail, and support for Microsoft Exchange) is simple and Office Mobile is really handy as it allows you to create your own Microsoft Word, Excel, OneNote and PowerPoint documents that you can save in .docx format and attach to your emails. Typing Word documents with the on-screen keyboard can be a difficult affair, since only the portrait QWERTY keyboard is available, not the more spacious landscape one. 
 
Other features
 
The phone''s Internet Explorer browser works well and since it supports HSDPA, plus Wi-Fi, browsing is quick. Connecting to a Wi-Fi network is also made simple using the phone''s Wi-Fi manager which detects these networks automatically. There’s also a GPS , a microSD slot with a 2 GB card included in the box, Bluetooth v2.1 and a secondary camera for when you want to make a video call. With our moderate usage the battery lasted over three days which is good for a smartphone.
 
The integrated FM radio works well and so does the media player on which you can view video or listen to music. There’s no 3.5 mm audio jack, but like the Samsung Star, the phone’s standard earphones can be connected to another headset using a 3.5 mm connection. 
 
Using the multitask icon allows you to see what applications are currently running, allowing you to close or instantly swap between any of these, a very useful feature indeed. So too is the Microsoft Sync software that comes packaged with the phone. It allows you to sync info (such as contacts and your calender) on your PC with the smartphone and is easy to install and straightforward to use. Although there is an icon that takes you to the LG App Store, we recommend that you rather make use of the Windows Marketplace to download apps from.
 
Verdict
 
LG’s GM750 offers some very useful functions from Microsoft such as Office Mobile, but that is within a Windows environment that isn''t on par with Android or BlackBerry OS in terms of easy of use. Our vote for entry level smartphone still goes to the BlackBerry Curve 8520. You can get the LG for a recommended retail price of R4 599.