LG Cookie Plus GS500

Overview

Not in the League of its Rivals

LG Cookie Plus GS500 Design and Build Quality

Made out of rubberized plastic, the LG GS500 Cookie plus has a candy bar style design. A three inch WQVGA resolution screen uses resistive technology. This type of touchscreen is usually undesirable because you must press harder for inputs to function. There are three buttons below the screen, a microUSB port, and a 3.5mm jack on the top of the device. Overall, the build quality comes out at very good average.

User Interface and Comfort to Use LG Cookie Plus GS500

LG has refreshed the interface by allowing for some colourful themes that younger users will enjoy. There are three pages to setup your home screen. You can place widgets, a live square, or a favourite contact right onto the home screen.

Telephony and Phonebook

You can search for people in your contact list by their first, family name, or telephone number.

Messaging and Emails

SMS, EMS, MMS, and email are all supported on the GS500. The accelerometer will allow you to switch easily from alphanumeric and QWERTY layouts with a delay. The QWERTY keyboard should help with your text and email messages, though the keys are on the small side.

Gallery, Photo Viewer and Video Player

The gallery for your saved pictures give you a basic interface. MP4 and H.264 videos will play rather well on the GS500. MPEG-4 is not supported and the resolution of the video must not exceed 240 x 320.

LG Cookie Plus GS500 Music Player and FM Radio

A nice surprise on the GS500 is the audio quality. Using a pair of headphones, the audio experience is more than satisfactory. In addition, the loudspeaker will produce a nice, clear bass sound. There is only 30MB of internal memory so you will need to rely on a microSD card to play your own music. MP3, WMA, and AAC files will all play on the music player. An FM stereo with RDS will allow you to listen to and record local stations.

LG Cookie Plus GS500 Camera and Image Quality

With only a 3.2 MP camera, you would hope that the snapshot quality would be fairly good despite the low resolution. LG refreshed the camera user interface to make it easier to navigate and use. However the image quality comes out washed out and poorly detailed. The frame rate count is around 9-10 frames per second, which is like a century on the camera.

Video Camera and Video Quality

There is a video player that will record with QVGA resolution at 12 frames per second.

LG Cookie Plus GS500 Connectivity Options

You can connect to 2G GSM networks in 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 bands. In addition, there is support for 3G HSDPA 1700, and 2100 bands. If you want to transfer files to other devices, you can choose between USB 2.0 or Bluetooth 2.1 support. Wi-Fi support is not available.

Web Browser and Applications

The browser on the GS500 will make surfing the web rather comfortable.

Google Maps and GPS

There is not a native GPS feature on the GS500.

Distinctive Features

A native Facebook client will allow you to integrate your device to the social network.

Verdict

In-call quality on the GS500 performs well above average. There is not a problem with echoing and the sound will be clear. The battery will deliver a little over a three and a half hour talk time, which is disappointing. Looking at the portfolio of devices in the GS500's category, there really isn't a compelling enough reason to choose it over others.