LG G4 ... initial thoughts

photos from: http://live.cnet.com/Event/LG_G4_live_blog
So, just got finished watching the live stream on CNN ... luckily my time table worked out today that I had the opportunity to watch it.

I don't know about you, but I'm wowed.  Okay, maybe not bowled over WOWWEE KAZOWEE, but I'm very impressed.

I have a bunch of jumbled notes, so I'll try to make the most of them in an initial thoughts.

In the beginning they mention 3 aspects this phone is meant to tackle:  Comfortable Elegance / Great Visual Experience / Human Centric UX

Let's see what they did

Comfortable Elegance

This comes from elements like the leather back (or the textured back if you don't want the leather) and the 3000R contour - it makes for a stable grip as well as a 20% improvement in the durability (should it fall).

I'm not as sold on the leather... but hopefully it's not an expensive upgrade if you do want it.

Great Visual Experience

This covers not only the camera, but their display technology

Camera

They mentioned one of my favourite things, that they needed BETTER pixels, not just more.  So there's not only a wider aperture (f/1.8 allows 80% more light than standard f/2.4 lenses, and 11% over the S6's f/1.9) but also a 40% bigger sensor (1/2.6").  The bigger sensor is the coolest for me.

OIS 2.0 - It also includes an improvement to last year's OIS+, where it's now 2 degrees of compensation for the X/Y axis, and includes the Z axis now.

They now include a 'colour spectrum sensor' on the back which will allow for better recognition of 'what's out there' by sensing not only IR but RGB.  This is the first phone to include that.

You can shoot in RAW mode now.  And there'll be options to transfer files from the camera to your computer via WiFi or cloud.

Manual mode looks really awesome, and I love the look of how it's like a dial (really missing my SLR these days).  Manual will let you adjust all the settings, including up to a 30s shutter.

Display

Their IPS Quantum Display (not Quantum Dot display) means there's a 20% increase in colour reproduction.  Plus using a new type of LCD they can have finer control on the polarization, allowing for 25% more light to come through (meaning brighter).  As well, contrast is now improved by 50% to 1500:1.

And for power concerns, the new LCD allows for 7% more efficiency and the inclusion of their Graphic RAM allows for another 4% increase in efficiency.

Human Centric UX

Galleries now are categorized by 'memories' (I'm thinking of like Google+'s stories) as well as allowing you to quickly browse by timeline.

Smart Bulletin is a very quick to see your apps and get at them rather than hunt (waiting to see more info on this).

Event Pocket let's you put items together in a calendar event (they said photos, but didn't say if it also meant files).

Personally, I never really took advantage of it in the G3 as I applied a different launcher, but some items do sneak through.  We'll see how these work for the G4

So... I'm impressed.  Doesn't hurt that they'll be including 100GB of Google Drive as well (tho' they didn't say for how long).

I'm hoping I can get to be one of the 4000 to get their hands on it early!!  I liked how near the end they showed the power off action, I liked that.

I'll digest my notes a little more later on and see what else I can find out for you.

What did you think?

Source:  http://live.cnet.com/Event/LG_G4_live_blog



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