Knock, Knock. Who’s There? The Sprint LG G2.

For the past few weeks I’ve been checking out one of Sprint’s latest smartphones, the LG G2. I always like playing with new phones, and after checking out the Moto X, I was anxious to check out LG’s latest flagship phone too. As soon as it arrived my tech-loving husband had it out of the box and setup for me with all of my must have apps – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. There are some definite perks to having a “geek” for a husband!

For those who love specs, the phone has an impressive list. A 2.26 GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 800 Quad-Core Processor, large 3,000 mAh battery, 5.2” Full HD 1080p IPS display, and a 13-megapixel camera. What does all of this mean to those who don’t speak geek? The phone has a huge beautiful screen, runs apps fast and takes great pics.

 

The phone also has some cool exclusive software features including the QSlide Function™ for using two apps at the same time, Slide Aside™ for quickly switching between up to three apps, QuickRemote that allows to use your phone as an IR remote control for your TV, cable box, Blu-Ray player and more, and my favorite – the KnockOn™ feature. KnockOn allows you to turn on the display by simply “knocking” on the screen lightly twice. It’s very useful when you want to get a quick glance at the time or see if you have any notifications waiting. (BTW – my geek’s fave feature is the remote control that he set up to play with on day one.)

Another neat feature of this phone is the QuickWindow™ Folio Case. Although I am not typically a fan of phone cases that you have to open and close, the QuickWindow made the folio case really cool. Even when the case is closed, you can KnockOn the screen to check the time and notifications without ever opening the case. Even though I still don’t love the flip case, I did appreciate the cool feature. 

Parents who have kids that love to “borrow” their phones will also love the ‘Guest Mode‘ function. It allows you to set up a separate unlock pin that will restrict your kids to certain apps only, and keep them out of your emails, pictures, or any other files or apps you don’t want them getting into. Perfect for me since I have a toddler who loves to move in and out of apps at will and frightens me when I find her in my email! 

To me one the most important features in a smart phone is the camera. At any given moment I’ll have up to three cameras with me, but the majority of the time my phone is what I have on-hand to capture those special moments with my girls, After coming away disappointed with the shutter lag on the Moto X camera, the LG G2’s 13-megapixel camera did not disappoint. It was able to snap shots quickly that looked great too.

There is one design choice that I don’t love about the phone – the placement of the main button you to use to turn on and off the display. Instead of being located on the side or top like most smartphones, LG has placed the button on the back of the phone which is supposed to make it easier to use whether you are right or left handed, but I found the placement cumbersome to use. And it makes capturing screenshots (holding down the volume and power button at the same time) quite challenging.

CRASH!

Oh the irony. On the day I planned to sit down to write this review, I fumbled with my phone leaving my daughter’s school party and crash. I dropped it. It landed just right to knock the case off, and if you look closely in the pictures you can see that I cracked the screen at the top and at the bottom. 

(I don’t know what it is about this set of review phones, I dropped my Moto X in the toilet!)

When I first brushed off my screen (grumbling at my clumsiness), I thought I would just join the ranks of people who have cracked phone screens. After all the cracks aren’t even that big. But later I attempted to use my phone and discovered something sad — I killed the phone. 

More specifically, I killed the LCD. The phone works fine, but two-thirds of the touch screen are dead. As in you can’t do anything. Interestingly, even the phone knows that there is a problem because when a call came in (and I was unable to answer it with a swipe) a message popped up on my screen indicating that the LCD was damaged and offering an alternative option for answering the phone. So I can answer calls, but I can’t dial, text or anything else.

Yep, my brand new phone is dead. And I am sad. I really thought my LG G2 and I would be friends for a long time.

The LG G2 is a great phone (available from Sprint), and I recommend it without hesitation. I just don’t recommend dropping it.

I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received product samples to facilitate my review.