Welcome back to part 5 of my LG G3 review.

My G3 is now running the latest firmware v10e. This improved power and heat management, fixed several bugs and updated many apps. Chromecast bugs were fixed as well. But something was changed by LG on the quiet. The colour saturation was turned down reducing ghosting and artefacts that were being reported by some people.

My boss got to see the G3 on Wednesday for the first time. He picked it up. Looked at the screen. And then said. “It’s a beast. This is a real beast” . I cannot disagree either. It’s an amazing phone.

One of the hardware functions of the LG G3 is an Infra Red blaster. This may sound like a useless specification but it does come in handy. When you are watching TV or a DVD, you never have the right remote control, but you always have your phone nearby! The G3 comes with a software package that is quick and easy to setup. It then enables an option to show the basic functions in the notification centre as shown above. I was really pleased that the DVD software options included an eject button. This eject button is omitted on the DVD remote itself and many other software IR programs. As my DVD eject button no longer functions properly this is a godsend.

Another feature of the G3 is smart cleaning. Simply, it makes management and removal of waste a simple affair.

The G3 also has a quiet mode option which you can schedule or leave on permanently. It is able to block the notification LED, alarms and incoming calls. You can select or deselect as required, and on the calls you can set up an auto reply message on blocked calls, allow repeated calls and set up an approved list of callers that can bypass quiet mode.

The G3 comes with smart screen, which will keep the screen on for longer if it detects your face looking at the screen. In terms of customisation, there is even an option for the type of screen off effect. Retro Tv is my favourite. Other options include black hole and fade out.

Other customisation options even include the swipe effect, as shown above. But the single best customisation feature is the on screen button controls. Before you select your button options, you can decide to have them transparent or not. Then you can go into the “hide buttons” option and select which apps to remove them completely. Ideal for many games or apps that display the on screen menu options. With the setting enabled they disappear after 3 seconds are are re enabled just by swiping up. So simple an idea and a superb solution too.

But lets look at the on screen menu options. Typically an android phone has 3 options. Running apps, go back, and home. With the G3 you can change the order of these 3 to suit your preference, and add up to another 2 options. The options are – QuickMemo, Notification Centre, QSlide and Dual Window. I love this option and wish all android phones included this.

LG have not forgotten about the lock screen. As you can see below there are plenty of options again.

And even the home screen has its fair share of options. Additional themes can be downloaded and installed from LG World. Icons can be changed individually too.

All in all, LG have really offered a very comprehensive package of software, software customisations and a fabulous piece of hardware.

On Monday, I will continue my review of the LG G3. Any questions, please ask.

Welcome back to Part 4 of my review of the LG G3. To read the previous parts, just scroll back a few days.

In Part 4 I am covering off the running apps options and multi-window. Tapping the bottom right running app on screen button (its bottom right in my case, but you can adjust it in to any position).

By pinching in or out you can change the view. This feature is not documented in the manual. By default you get the small app previews as show above.

But you can pinch outwards using two fingers to achieve large app previews. These can be swiped away as necessary, or hit the close all option to close all running apps. You can also have an alternative size.

Another feature of the LG G3 is Qslide apps. The choice is rather limited but you can have your chosen apps float above whatever you are working on. These can be resized too.

There is also an option to make them full size, close them and even using the slider as shown in the screen shot, fade them out as required.

Finally you can activate LG’s multiwindow. It has a smaller selection of apps compared to something like the Samsung Note 3, but being a bit simpler is easier to use. You simply select which apps you want on the top or bottom. You can swap positions once on screen, drag one part smaller or larger, or close or expand one half.

You even have the option for multi screen to enable and open when clicking on email links. I quite like this feature.

Tomorrow I will cover off more of the LG G3 smart features.

Once again, any questions, please ask.

Welcome back to the LG G3 review part 3. Don’t forget to scroll back a few days to read parts 1 and 2.

One question I was asked about the LG G3 was battery. Just how much a toll does a 2.5k screen impact the battery. LG have stated the G3 has many battery saving options, that help ensure good battery life. Some are applied automatically and some require user intervention. So below are some screenshots showing battery stats at the half way mark.

So from 6am to 4pm the G3 battery stands at 53%, with another 12 hours remaining and a typical 4-5 hours on screen time. So in essence the G3 will get you through a typical day. My G3 has loads of background processes, push email and other cloud services always running. But what impacts the battery is heat. When the phone detects heat build up you will not be able to crank the brightness slider up to 100%. And when the phone gets hot, the battery may drop faster. However, every phone I have used which get hot, all suffered from a faster battery drain. But what about playing an action type game like Asphalt 8. The G3 has to push 534 pixels per inch, and that does impact the duration of the battery. Nothing can beat the law of physics. However, LG’s methods of boosting the battery do work. So what you get is an android phone with a crazy hi res screen, that has similar battery performance to the majority of the android phones available to date. The G3 does have seriously stunning battery performance when in standby. It sips the battery at a very slow rate! Overall, I always get through a working day and with enough juice until I go to bed. WiFi, Bluetooth and Location Mode are all active. Location services are left in high mode too.

Lets move on to storage. The UK LG G3 is a 16gb storage/2gb ram configuration. I bought the European version which is the same as the UK D855 G3 except you have the option to get it in 32gb/3gb ram. And with all my games and apps installed, this is my storage stats.

As you can see, it feels liberating to have so much space available plus the 3gb ram must make a difference to the overall performance, even if it is marginal. If nothing else, it future proofs the device for longer.

Moving on to some other options with the G3. One handed use is an option in the settings.

The one handed options are useful, but I am having no issues using the G3 normally. I think this is because it fits snugly in the hand and the weight distribution is well balanced.

It is worth exploring the accessibility options in the settings app. As shown in the above screen shots there are some interesting options. The screen colour adjustment allows you to adjust the colour contract and hue. There is also an option for text messages and calls to be announced. The body of a text message is not read out aloud, just who sent the message or is calling. If the notification LED is not bright enough, you can enable Flash Alerts. This triggers the camera flash when you receive notifications and incoming calls.

And the last item to be covered today, is the option to enable shortcut keys on the rear volume buttons.

When the G3 is off, a long press on the volume up launches quick memo and on the volume down launches the camera.

Tune in for part 4 tomorrow.

Any questions, please ask.