| Review of the LG 6190 |
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For those of us who’ve been using cell phones for quite a few years now, the LG 6190 is a rather odd model number. To us veterans a 6190 is a Nokia phone that started the current feature and menu scheme common in all modern Nokia models. The LG 6190 has nothing in common with the Nokia 6190 however, and I mention this only as a point of interest.
The LG 6190 is available on Telus PCS. Last Updated: 14-Feb-2005 |
Before reading this review, please read Some Thoughts on Phone Reviewing.
RF Performance
RF Sensitivity: I’m going to have to start this
review with some bad news, but this is really the only aspect of the LG 6190
that’s below average. The RF sensitivity barely matches my old
Motorola StarTac
at 1900 MHz, which was once a benchmark phone, but has been bested by many other
phones in the last 2 years. Models such as the Kyocera Blade and the
Sony-Ericsson T206 have blown the StarTac out of the water for pulling in weak
signals.
I also tried out one of the non-activated LG 6190s in the Telus store in Square
One. The signal on Telus PCS is very weak at the back of the store, and many of
their phones can’t hold a decent signal. Compare to other models on display at
the same table the LG 6190 was amongst the worst at pulling in a clean signal,
thus confirming what I’d found with the test phone out in the Hall of Shame.
We also tested 850 MHz on Bell Mobility, and in that regard the LG 6190 was
somewhat better than my old StarTac. However, I’ve never tested the StarTac
against any other phones at 850 MHz (as Bell Mobility has only recently
implemented that in my area) and so I have no point of reference.
Over-the-road Performance: I was very pleased with
the over-the-road performance of the LG 6190. I took the phone through the usual
demanding loop near Square One, where many Telus PCS phone suffer greatly from
the interference provided by a plethora of tall buildings in the area. The LG
6190 kept the interference to a minimum, and if I’d had a
Nokia 3205i with me at
the time I’m certain that the 6190 would have matched it is this performance
aspect.
When audio disruptions did occur they were fairly muted and they didn’t seem to
have a very annoying effect on audio reproduction. In other words, if I’d been
talking to someone for real during the drive through the demanding area I
wouldn’t have been at all upset by the phone’s handling of the RF problems.
Click on this link for a full description of
RF Performance, and how to interpret it.
Audio Performance
Tonal Balance: While the LG 6190 isn’t quite as
well-balanced as the Motorola V710 or the Nokia 3205i, the overall tonal balance
of the phone is very good. It sounds a little harsh on some types of voices, but
for most situations it produces very pleasant sound.
Sound Reproduction: This aspect of the phone is
also very good, with smooth reproduction of most nuances of speech, and very
little sibilance. Unfortunately there is an annoying amount of background noise
present that’s quite audible in quiet environments. Some of it is just plain
ordinary hiss, while other components seem to be caused by the backlight. This
noise MOSTLY disappears when the backlight dims, which means it is only an issue
for the first 30 seconds or so (depending upon your backlight setting).
As with all background noise however, it isn’t noticeable in noisy environments,
so whether this bothers you will depend upon where you use your phone most
often. If you plan to use the phone in a quiet house or office environment, you
might find the background noise rather annoying. However, if you use the phone
outdoors a lot, or at busy shopping malls, you probably won’t hear it at all.
Outgoing sound quality is also very good, with very little distortion caused by
the noise-cancellation when there’s a high level of background din. The phone
manages to knock out much of the background noise with very little damage to
your voice. While it isn’t quite as good as some other CDMA phones I’ve tested
(the Kyocera Slider of Bell Mobility comes to mind), it’s certainly among the
top 5.
Earpiece Volume: The maximum volume of the earpiece
is quite high, and the earpiece itself maintains excellent sound reproduction
even when the volume is high. While the phone lacks the innovative Smart Sound
feature of Kyocera phones, the high overhead available on the 6190 makes up for
it. Even calling the exceptionally quiet Movie Phone number (at 416-444-3456) I
found that the phone had enough volume overhead to make the call audible, even
in a noisy shopping mall.
Click on this link for a full description of
Audio Performance, and how to interpret it.
Support Features
Ringer Volume: When the loudest ringer was the
chosen the phone could be heard when stuffed into a pocket in a noisy shopping
mall or in a moving car. While the ringer isn’t exactly ear-shatteringly loud
(like the Motorola i730 and
i830) it is more than loud enough for just about any
circumstances you might find yourself. Unfortunately only one ringtone even
comes close to this level of performance, whereas all of the rest produce rather
disappointing maximum volume.
Keypad Design: The keypad of the LG 6190 is
different from virtually every other phone on the market at the time of this
writing, in that it has secondary keys for each letter of the alphabet (located
in the spaces BETWEEN the standard keys). I hadn’t expected to be very impressed
with this design, but I have to admit that it works much better than I imaged.
The standard keys are rather flush and difficult to discern, but they have
excellent feel and accuracy, and I had very little trouble with them.
The extra alpha keys will take some getting used to, as there is no specific
pattern to them (they just put the letters onto the keypad in order from
left-to-right, top-to-bottom). Once mastered though, I’m certain that SMS and
email buffs would whip out messages in no time flat. However, the keypad does
beg the question “is it better than a good T9 implementation”? This is a valid
point, and I’d have to say that it’s probably a one of those “yes and no” type
of answers.
T9 works very well when A) the word you type is in the dictionary, and B) the
word is unique, or it is the first one selected. Whenever either of these two
conditions is not true T9 can be a pain-in-the-neck, whereas the Fastap keyboard
will produce the results you want each and every time. On the other hand, some
T9 implementations (though not all) will auto-complete words for you, so you
sometimes don’t have to type all of the letters in the word to get it. Fastap
won’t do this for you, and you have to type all of the letters in all of your
words. In the end though, I’d have guess that Fastap will win out over T9 for
heavy SMS and email writers, but for casual SMS and email users there doesn’t
seem to be much of an advantage.
Headset: The sound quality to my Samsung earbud was
very good, but the volume was disappointingly low, especially compared to the
really high volume from the native earpiece. This makes the phone far less
useful if you tend to use earbuds or headsets when driving (which is a good idea
from a safety perspective).
Speakerphone: Wow, this is probably one of the best
speakerphone implementations I’ve seen in quite some time. It even beats my i730
in both maximum volume and overall audio quality by a perceptible margin. This
speakerphone is so good that it can be used very successfully to carry on
conversations while driving in a car. You’ll have a little trouble hearing it in
a crowded shopping mall or out on a noisy street, but these aren’t locations you
tend to use speakerphones anyway.
Display: The color display looks very good indoors,
but like many such displays it has a bit of a problem with direct sunlight.
Outdoors the screen can be seen, but you’ll have some difficulty, and you’ll
have to angle the phone just right to catch the light well without undue
reflections. The display is about average for color phones these days, and is
neither a disappointment nor a selling point.
Conclusions
If I was in the market for a CDMA phone right now, I don’t think I would
hesitate to buy an LG 6190. I am disappointed with the lackluster RF
sensitivity, but just about every other feature of the phone makes up for that.
The great incoming and outgoing sound quality, the excellent speakerphone, and
the terrific over-the-road performance are right up my alley.
Oddly the guy I’d borrowed the phone from was rather hoping that I wouldn’t like
the phone as much as I did, because for some reason he wasn’t very happy with
it. I can’t say I understand why, as except for the RF sensitivity issue this is
a GREAT phone.
