LG Incite (CT810) Cell Phone
- Screen Size (Diagonal): 3 inch
- Installed Memory: 256 MB
- Operating System: Windows Mobile
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, WiFi
- Performance: Quad Band
- Design: Mobile
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LG Incite - a suitable replacement for a Palm computer
Pros
Powerful, feature packed and relatively easy to use touch screen smart phone
Cons
Awkward stylus and user interface, camera heats up if left on
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
LG Incite has some design issues, but it is a powerful, useful smart phone. It isn't a Palm, but it does what I need it to, in style.
I've used Palm handhelds for more than 10 years. My last one died a couple of weeks ago. Well, technically it is still working, but it thinks the year is 2003 and it won't sync to my new Vista 64-bit computer. Palm doesn't make PDAs anymore. Everything is in phones these days, so I started shopping around for a phone with comparable functionality: calendar, contacts and notes that would sync to my computer and not require me to pay for a data plan that I simply don't need. Why do I need to surf the web or check email on a 3" screen when I sit in front of 22" of screen real estate all day long. In truth, I am lusting for the Palm Pre, but I would have to change carriers to one I don't like and buy that data plan.
I found the best price at Best Buy. $49 and I get to keep my existing AT&T phone plan if I sign a new 2 year contract. A week later I saw that Amazon.com was selling the same phone for 1 cent on a new AT&T contract, but it was too late for me.
As a Palm user, I'm disappointed in the interface and the clunky Windows Mobile 6.1 apps. This is Microsoft afterall, which I was proud of being able to avoid for so many years. It takes 3 steps for every one on the Palm to do the same things. Sigh.
But I digress. Once I got used to the Windows-like interface, I began to marvel at the phone. Actually, it is a computer. I can't believe all the features they packed into this little thing. In addition to the features I wanted, it has phone, messaging, IM, tasks, express mail, media mall, media net, music player, CV, games, apps (mobile banking), weather, People) pictures and videos, FM radio, windows media, GPS, browser, calculator, voice command, search, stopwatch, backup software, Office Mobile ( Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote), notes, tools (including Mobile Zip, Picsel Viewer, Remote Desktop) camera, video camera, Bluetooth and Wireless.
It has a variety of input methods: 4 types of keyboards and something called PS Note, a little handwriting recognition app, which I find particularly useful. I just jot down anything, even in my terrible hand, and it converts it to text with amazing accuracy. Great for grocery lists and quick reminders. The keyboard app, which has a tiny icon at the bottom center of the screen, also includes this functionality as the "Transcriber", which you can use in any screen that will take input, like Word.
It runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and has the familar "today" screen and a familiar multi-level tabbed interface. Most of the screens are configurable. I didn't need messaging and IM to show up on my Today screen, so I configured it to display the date, time, today's calendar events and missed calls, and my wireless settings.
At the top it shows the "Start" menu option and icons for wireless, connectivity bars, sound, power and task manager. When I hit the start link, the Incite displays the functions I use, including the file explorer, which I find useful for navigating the device.
Along the bottom of the screen are buttons for phone, contacts, mail, favorites and menu (which brings up all the functions I listed above). Below that are links for Calendar and Contacts. I'm not sure why they need two ways to get to contacts right next to each other, but there they are.
There are two phone buttons below the screen. The one on the right powers the device on at the Today screen. The one on the left brings up the phone if the device is already powered on.
The stylus that comes with the phone wasn't well thought out. It tethers to the top left corner of the phone and just sort of hangs there. It gets in the way. To use it, you have to pull the stylus out of its holder, which expands it from about 2" to 3". The tip always sticks in its holder. It is not comfortable in my hand. I'm getting a regular sized stylus pen to replace it. But for many tasks, a fingertip (or tip of a fingernail) are just as effective. The keyboards are all too small for my fingers.
Buttons and ports: on the left side is the charger/cable connector (USB) and the volume control, or what LG calls the side keys. There's a reset opening which they say don't use unless you need to because it resets the whole device back to its factory settings. On the right side are the jog wheel for scrolling through all the menu functions, the MicroSD card slot, keypad lock/unlock key, and camera key. I found that I couldn't pick up the phone without launching one of these buttons, but the little hard case I bought for the device (from daydeal.com) makes it possible to handle the phone without pressing the buttons.
The Incite has some exciting features. The screen has a clear and bright display and switches between portrait and landscape mode simply by turning it either horizontal or vertical. The touch screen works well, though you can't drag and drop like you could on the Palm. But it has a variety of keyboard types for entering data and they all work well with the stylus. As initially configured, the onscreen type is very small, but you can make it larger by going to Start>Settings>System>Screen and clicking the Text Size tab.
The 3 megapixel camera does a tolerable job though image quality is slightly off focus and the colors are a little dark and muddy. A flash would have been nice but is not provided. The camera drains the battery and makes the Incite hot if you leave it on when not in use, so be careful with that. It has a 2x zoom and a panorama feature, as well as various amusing settings. The video is a handy way to capture moving targets and produces a surprisingly good image.
The Incite comes with 256MB ROM and 128 MB RAM memory. I bought a 2GB Micro SD card and moved everything possible to it to speed up the functioning of the Incite and because I like to display pix of my family, which take up a lot of space. It is expandable to 32 GB which would come in handy for storing lots of files, including music.
I'm still exploring and finding new ways to use this device. Even though it doesn't have my beloved Palm interface, it is a powerhouse and a nifty little hand held computer that offered me a lot more functionality then I ever thought I would use. Its performance is a bit sluggish sometimes, with a lag in being able to access the screen between functions, but otherwise I find the LG Incite useful and even fun to use.
I found the best price at Best Buy. $49 and I get to keep my existing AT&T phone plan if I sign a new 2 year contract. A week later I saw that Amazon.com was selling the same phone for 1 cent on a new AT&T contract, but it was too late for me.
As a Palm user, I'm disappointed in the interface and the clunky Windows Mobile 6.1 apps. This is Microsoft afterall, which I was proud of being able to avoid for so many years. It takes 3 steps for every one on the Palm to do the same things. Sigh.
But I digress. Once I got used to the Windows-like interface, I began to marvel at the phone. Actually, it is a computer. I can't believe all the features they packed into this little thing. In addition to the features I wanted, it has phone, messaging, IM, tasks, express mail, media mall, media net, music player, CV, games, apps (mobile banking), weather, People) pictures and videos, FM radio, windows media, GPS, browser, calculator, voice command, search, stopwatch, backup software, Office Mobile ( Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote), notes, tools (including Mobile Zip, Picsel Viewer, Remote Desktop) camera, video camera, Bluetooth and Wireless.
It has a variety of input methods: 4 types of keyboards and something called PS Note, a little handwriting recognition app, which I find particularly useful. I just jot down anything, even in my terrible hand, and it converts it to text with amazing accuracy. Great for grocery lists and quick reminders. The keyboard app, which has a tiny icon at the bottom center of the screen, also includes this functionality as the "Transcriber", which you can use in any screen that will take input, like Word.
It runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 and has the familar "today" screen and a familiar multi-level tabbed interface. Most of the screens are configurable. I didn't need messaging and IM to show up on my Today screen, so I configured it to display the date, time, today's calendar events and missed calls, and my wireless settings.
At the top it shows the "Start" menu option and icons for wireless, connectivity bars, sound, power and task manager. When I hit the start link, the Incite displays the functions I use, including the file explorer, which I find useful for navigating the device.
Along the bottom of the screen are buttons for phone, contacts, mail, favorites and menu (which brings up all the functions I listed above). Below that are links for Calendar and Contacts. I'm not sure why they need two ways to get to contacts right next to each other, but there they are.
There are two phone buttons below the screen. The one on the right powers the device on at the Today screen. The one on the left brings up the phone if the device is already powered on.
The stylus that comes with the phone wasn't well thought out. It tethers to the top left corner of the phone and just sort of hangs there. It gets in the way. To use it, you have to pull the stylus out of its holder, which expands it from about 2" to 3". The tip always sticks in its holder. It is not comfortable in my hand. I'm getting a regular sized stylus pen to replace it. But for many tasks, a fingertip (or tip of a fingernail) are just as effective. The keyboards are all too small for my fingers.
Buttons and ports: on the left side is the charger/cable connector (USB) and the volume control, or what LG calls the side keys. There's a reset opening which they say don't use unless you need to because it resets the whole device back to its factory settings. On the right side are the jog wheel for scrolling through all the menu functions, the MicroSD card slot, keypad lock/unlock key, and camera key. I found that I couldn't pick up the phone without launching one of these buttons, but the little hard case I bought for the device (from daydeal.com) makes it possible to handle the phone without pressing the buttons.
The Incite has some exciting features. The screen has a clear and bright display and switches between portrait and landscape mode simply by turning it either horizontal or vertical. The touch screen works well, though you can't drag and drop like you could on the Palm. But it has a variety of keyboard types for entering data and they all work well with the stylus. As initially configured, the onscreen type is very small, but you can make it larger by going to Start>Settings>System>Screen and clicking the Text Size tab.
The 3 megapixel camera does a tolerable job though image quality is slightly off focus and the colors are a little dark and muddy. A flash would have been nice but is not provided. The camera drains the battery and makes the Incite hot if you leave it on when not in use, so be careful with that. It has a 2x zoom and a panorama feature, as well as various amusing settings. The video is a handy way to capture moving targets and produces a surprisingly good image.
The Incite comes with 256MB ROM and 128 MB RAM memory. I bought a 2GB Micro SD card and moved everything possible to it to speed up the functioning of the Incite and because I like to display pix of my family, which take up a lot of space. It is expandable to 32 GB which would come in handy for storing lots of files, including music.
I'm still exploring and finding new ways to use this device. Even though it doesn't have my beloved Palm interface, it is a powerhouse and a nifty little hand held computer that offered me a lot more functionality then I ever thought I would use. Its performance is a bit sluggish sometimes, with a lag in being able to access the screen between functions, but otherwise I find the LG Incite useful and even fun to use.
