Review: LG Ally
The Ally supports multiple Gmail and Exchange accounts, SMS, MMS, IM and social networking. In other words, if you want to reach out to someone, Ally offers pretty much any way to do so.
Supporting multiple Gmail and Exchange accounts is something that will most likely only be used by business users, but it is a welcome feature of the platform. Not only does it sync emails right away, but contacts and calendar information as well.
The unified inbox means all your email accounts are lumped into one giant inbox. You can choose to employ different colored labels for your different email accounts, and this helps you sort them out visually in your inbox. This unified inbox supports both Exchange and POP/IMAP. Gmail works in the unified inbox, too, though it is restricted to IMAP and doesn't offer all the features that the separate Gmail application offers.
SMS and MMS conversations are threaded. From the message composition screen, pressing the menu key lets you insert smileys, manage threads and attach files.
Google Talk is supported out the box and works very well with Gmail contacts. If you want AIM, Windows Live or Yahoo IM, you're going to have to search the Android Market for them.
The Ally comes pre-loaded with Facebook, MySpace and Twitter apps. For each, simply enter in your username and password and you're good to go. The Twitter app is the new, official Twitter app from Twitter. I've used this application sparingly. While it covers the basics and looks pretty doing it, I find both Seesmic and Twitroid to be more useful.
The Ally also has a new app called Socialite. Socialite ties together the status updates from Twitter and Facebook into one console. If you want to see what your friends are all up to, but don't necessarily want to open both Facebook and Twitter, socialite condenses everything into one app where users can see and post updates. It's not as elegant or refined as HTC's Friend Stream or Motorola's Motoblur, but it cuts down on the number of open apps if you care about that sort of thing. In my experience, I found it to be extremely slow and not as rich as the individual Facebook and Twitter apps.
Hands On: LG Ally Android Phone
Samsung Refreshes Galaxy S Series with S Pen, New Cameras
iPhone 14 Plus Offers a Big Screen For Less
Qualcomm Taps Iridium for Satellite Connectivity
Hands On with the Motorola edge+ (2023)
LG Ally / Apex / Axis
