Hands-On: LG F7 and F5
Feb 25, 2013, 4:24 AM by Eric M. Zeman
The F Series represents LG's commitment to design and features such as 4G. Variants of these two phones may or may not come to the U.S., but we took a look anyway.
source: LG
LG announced the F Series earlier this month. The series is made of two devices to start, the F5 and the F7.
F5
Though it has a lesser numerical name, the F5 is clearly the better of these two handsets. The design is elegant and appealing, and it has a pleasing feel.
The materials are all plastics, but they are good quality plastics. Nothing about the F5 felt cheap or low-end. It is a simple monoblock slab, with rounded edges and smooth, glossy surfaces. LG had only white devices on display, and it is not clear if the F5 will be offered in other colors. It is thin and light, and comfortable to hold and use. The buttons on the edges all worked well and were easy to find.
The screen is quite good. It measures 4.3-inches across the diagonal and is vivid, sharp, and bright. LG really knows how to make IPS LCD screens appealing. Under the hood, the F5 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The user interface was incredibly quick with the same features as the Optimus G Pro.
F7
The F7 has a larger screen, but comes off as a cheaper, less appealing phone when compared to the F5. It has a blunter design that is less elegant and made of cheaper materials. The overall feel in the hand is OK, but again does not compare to the F5.
It has a larger, 4.7-inch display that is just as bright and colorful as the F5's. Really, all of the LCD panels I saw at the LG booth today were impressive, the F7's among them. It shares the same user interace and basic button configuration as the F5.
What really sets it apart, aside from the larger display, is that it supports two SIM cards. In fact, there's a dedicated button on the exterior of the phone to switch quickly between SIM cards. (Phones that support two SIM cards can have two separate phone numbers.) Such devices are mainly used is Asia by those who need to have work and personal numbers on the same device.
About the author, Eric M. Zeman:Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.
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