BIG SCREEN BENEFITS ON PHONE-SIZED DEVICE

One of the spin-offs of reviewing the G Watch R in my previous post, was I also got to play with LG's flagship handset, the G3.

As I confessed last week, until recently I wasn't even aware LG made phones at all, let alone a whole range of them. After spending a fair amount of time with the G3, I can tell you they seem to know what they're doing.

The G3 is a beautifully elegant thing to hold. The back cover curves to almost nothing at the edges and although it's plastic, the compound and finish LG uses has a metallic feel. Flip it over and you'll be impressed by the way the screen seems to stretch right out to the sides, with very little blank space. This means the overall size of the handset is a little smaller than the Samsung GS5 for example, while the screen is actually a bit bigger.

This is significant, as due to the large display, you'll get many of the benefits of a phablet like the Note 4, while still being able to fit the G3 in your pocket. Another way LG has reduced the size of the phone without affecting the functionality is by moving the home touch buttons off the bottom of the phone and putting them virtually on the display itself. What's more, they can be set to disappear; you just swipe them back when you need them. What's even more, they're customisable. You can change the order and the colour, you can even have 5 if you want, adding shortcuts like Notifications, QuickMemo+, QSlide or DualWindow.

Again, like Samsung's Galaxy Note 4, those last two options are all about making good use of the large display, giving you access to 2 apps on screen at the same time. The stock email app also displays messages in my preferred format, with a list of messages on one side and previews shown on the other.

Given most of the apps I was using worked better in landscape mode, I found it odd the home screen wouldn't display in landscape mode by default. On a phone where almost everything can be customised, strangely I had to download a 3rd party app to get my icons to turn around. Weird, but not a major.

There are two things that really make the G3 unique, but for the life of me, I can't decide if I like them or not. Due to the G3's skinny edges, there are no physical buttons to be found on them. Instead, the volume controls and on-off button have been nestled under the camera lens on the back. While this means you won't accidentally push them while handling the phone, because you use them without looking at them, I often found myself pressing the wrong one or the camera lens itself.

LG's other unique quirk is the Knock Code you can use to unlock or wake the phone. Rather than a pin number, a fingerprint or facial recognition, the G3 lets you choose your own knock, and you just tap the screen with the code.

Amazingly, it worked. Almost always, anyway. When it didn't, I just pushed the power button on the back... after accidentally pushing the camera and one of the volume buttons. I guess some good ideas take a bit of getting used to.

If you've read any other editions of this blog, you'll know I'm obsessed with wireless charging and that I'm perpetually astounded when it isn't installed as standard in any modern device. Thankfully, with the G3, it is. Why Samsung and Apple don't get this, I simply can't fathom.

Ultimately, there's no escaping the fact this is just another high-end Android phone. However, it does what it is supposed to, with a phablet-sized display, on a handset slim enough to slip into your pocket and that's not a bad trick.

SMART WATCHES ARE A REAL THING

Did you know LG makes phones?

Nup, me either.

So the fact they do smart watches as well really came as a surprise. Perhaps the most surprising thing of all is the G Watch R is actually a pretty decent piece of kit.

Obviously the first thing to impress is its appearance. Radically, this watch looks like a watch. The big problem any smart watch maker has to overcome is how do you construct something that works, but doesn't require a wrist the size of a tree trunk to support?

This was my biggest issue with Samsung's latest, the Gear S. Loved the curvy screen and the functionality, but ultimately it's a whole phone strapped to your arm, which isn't quite the fashion accessory most people are looking for.

This factor alone swings the advantage dramatically in the G Watch R's favour. Unlike its square-faced predecessor, at a casual glance LG's new device looks like any other men's diving watch. It ships with a black leather strap which becomes quite comfortable after a few wears, and is interchangeable with any other 22mm band.

While a circular face probably looks better, you've still got the challenge of fitting everything on it. Texts and emails simply aren't round - maybe reformatting them that way would be a solution, but in the meantime, you need a big screen to read them. The popular Moto 360 really IS massive - personally I think the size of G Watch R is a nice compromise.

The display quality is exceptional - I found it crisp, clear and easy to read in almost all light conditions. Frustratingly there's no light sensor though, which means a slightly complicated manual brightness adjustment if you're going for a run in the sun.

Only slightly complicated, because this watch is powered by Android Wear, which means you can literally tell it what to do. Say, "Okay Google," to fire up Google Now, then, "Change Brightness" and that setting appears on screen. It took me a few days to get used to controlling my watch by talking to it, but it worked pretty well most of the time.

Unfortunately, there are always commands you think will do something that just open Google searches on the watch screen instead. This gets a bit frustrating and can result in the disturbing situation of a man yelling at his wrist for no obvious reason. Voice commands aren't the only way to control the G Watch R, but it's quite fiddly remembering the sequence of swipes to do things manually. One very user-friendly feature is the home button being situated where the traditional winder would be, making it extremely easy to find in the dark.

Like the Samsung watches, you still need to pair the G Watch R with a handset, but because it's an Android Wear device, you can use non LG phones to run it. That's a plus, but it also may be the cause of a few issues as well. I was never really clear what my phone was driving and what my watch was driving. The Tizen-based Samsung watches have their own app store, allowing you to load independent apps like timers, alarms and remotes directly onto the device, whereas most of what you see on the G Watch R is actually happening on your phone... but then... not always.

If I set an alarm with the watch, that only happened on the watch. If I set one on the phone, the watch ignored it. What's worse, sometimes the alarm didn't happen at all, causing me to be late for work on more than one occasion. Because there's no specific media controller app built into the G Watch R, I couldn't always access what was playing on my phone, one of the features I find most appealing about wearing a smart watch in the first place. Unlike my Samsung Gear Neo, there's no IR Blaster on the G Watch R, so no chance of turning my telly on and off with it either. In saying that, for some reason Samsung dropped that off the latest Gear S too.

However, I was surprised by how many apps DID appear on the G Watch R's display, even when I wasn't expecting them to. My preferred fitness app, Endomondo worked just as well as ever, along with music played with Play Music and my podcasts on Podcast Republic. I was a little suspicious of the readings from the heart-rate monitor - generally showing much lower rates than what I was used to... unless I just wasn't working out so hard every time I wore that particular watch.

There were two things that really bugged me. Firstly, the strength of vibration notifications was nowhere enough. I'd say I missed about 75% of them. Annoyingly, even getting these notifications to vibrate in the first place seemed to involve setting the phone to vibrate as well, which didn't suit me at all.

Then there's the one overarching factor that puts me off using the G Watch R permanently; you can't make a call with it. How ironic to have a device that's voice controlled, but can't talk back to you. Don't get me wrong, the ability to compose texts and emails using Google Now was much more flexible than the template replies you're restricted to on some other devices, but I really missed being able to take and make calls with my phone still in my pocket.

To finish on a couple of more positive notes, the combination of the divers' watch appearance and its IP67 water-resistant rating made the device feel virtually indestructible, and I wore it with complete confidence when working out, running or gardening. Best feature though; the charging cradle. All smart watches need regular charging, that's just a fact of life. LG's magnetic charger makes it so easy. You can practically throw the G Watch R in the general direction of the charger and it all snaps together in a flash, unlike the Samsung Gears and their cradles, which you effectively have to be an origami sensei to master. I was impressed with how fast it charged too.

Don't be fooled, this watch is still too big for most women to be interested in wearing one themselves (at least not the ladies I asked anyway) but cosmetically, it's definitely a step away from nerd-dom towards fashion. The G Watch R is easy to charge, looks great and does what it does really well - just as long as you don't want to make an actual call!