Phones.com » Cell Phones » Review of the LG BL40

The BL40 screams sophistication and sleek lines. The body is a glossy black, into which the screen blends in perfectly. The top and bottom have orange detailing, lending a splash of colour to an otherwise dramatically dark phone. There is a line of silver piping running along the sides, taking the phone to new levels of design class. 

The front has the screen, and is unmarred by any aberration on the smooth glassy surface. There is a small camera lens on the top right, but it is barely noticeable as it is embedded under the glass. The left side has a dedicated music button and a microUSB port. The right side has the volume/zoom rocker switch and the dedicated camera button. The back panel has the camera lens and the accompanying LED flash. The bottom has the tiny speaker, while the top has a headphone jack and the power button - which also doubles up as the standby key.

The buttons on the sides are also silver and are incorporated into the lines like blips, creating a rather pleasing visual effect. 

The screen deserves special mention, as it is a whopping 4 inches long. It is also a highly-responsive capacitive touchscreen, with a resolution of 800 x 345 pixels and graphical quality that is truly excellent. It is very fluid and responsive, not requiring a great deal of pressure to operate it. Additionally, it is programmed to support multitouch, for those applications that have that functionality. 

The devices sports the latest LG 3D interface, known as the S-class UI. The home screen is presented as a customizable cube, with multiple faces. The user can drag widgets onto the screen, from a bar that runs along the bottom edge. 

The main menu is divided into 4 horizontal rows of icons, where each row doubles up as a category. The icons can be scrolled through from left to right, and back.

The camera is an adequate 5 megapixels, in tune with the current industry standards. The camera application is well-designed, with controls on both sides of the viewfinder to enable easy two-handed operation. There is auto-focus with the basic other camera controls, like contrast and white balance. Video recording is exceptionally good; as the phone is capable of taking very good quality video recordings. 

Video playback is crystal clear, with audio holding up its own as well. The large screen is a treat for video enthusiasts, as the true aspect ratio is maintained admirably.

The web browser is another application that is a joy to use on the BL40, as in the horizontal view the webpages are visible exceptionally well. There is no horizontal scrolling required at all. The browser also supports multitouch, and the user has the option to zoom in using double taps or the famous pinch zoom. 

There are two onscreen keyboards - the standard alphanumeric one in portrait mode, and the huge QWERTY one in landscape. The buttons are spaced out generously, allowing ample space around each key. 

There is 1 GB internal memory packaged into the phone, and the microSD card slot under the battery panel allows the user to extend the limit by 32 GB. 

The LG BL40 has the usual suspects in terms of connectivity. Although widely believed to have a quad-band GSM, it has the tri-band only. There is of course WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. It has GPRS, EDGE and HSDPA as well. 

The phone is exceptionally quick, with smooth transitioning between screens. The accelerometer is very responsive, and quickly reorients the phone without any perceptible time lag whatsoever. 

The battery holds up for around 18 hours of strenuous use, like music and video applications. 

The uncontracted phone costs a packet, and we suggest waiting for it to come down a trifle. There could have been something a little more extraordinary for the price it is commanding, like a snazzy processor or some interesting integration.