Last night I was invited by LG to take a look at their new device line-up, which included the brand new LG IQ, better known under the code name Monaco. While the IQ is not currently on sale, it will be available from Telus before the end of the year. If you consider that it would be incredibly stupid to release a phone 1 week before Christmas and miss the majority of holiday shoppers, then you could assume that the phone would be available in the next couple weeks. LG would not confirm anything more than “before the end of the year”.
So what’s so special about the LG IQ? Well, it’s running Windows Mobile 6.5 and sports LG’s S-Class user interface, which made for a really nice and finger friendly navigation. The S-Class interface was fully customizable allowing you to change which icons are displayed along the bottom and appear in the expanded menu. LG also allows you to turn this off and use the standard Windows Mobile 6.5 interface if you would rather use that. The device has a 1500 mAh battery, 5 mega pixel camera, MicroSD, and a Snapdragon 1 Ghz processor. The finger scanner on the front of the device works as your navigation and authentication to unlock the device. When it comes to navigation, I found the finger scanner worked really well. It was very much like a touch pad on a laptop. Swiping your finger from top to bottom would cause the page to scroll. The S-Class home screen allows you to swipe left and right to alternate “desktops”.
The IQ has a neat little accessory – the Pico projector. You simply remove the battery door and clip this bad boy on. It then allows you to project the screen of the device onto a table top or wall. It’s not as powerful as a full on projector of course, but it’s more than enough to share pictures or video’s with your friends over a round of drinks.
I’ve included a couple pictures that I took. Unfortunately, it was rather dark in the venue so the pictures didn’t turn out anywhere near as I nice as I would have liked. 
Not to worry, LG is going to try and send us a review unit once these become available. So we’ll post many more pictures then!
Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ – http://tinyurl.com/yklopr6
Oh my! All I got from that was “Snapdragon”!! Wow, that is going to be a fantastic device! Did you get a change to try it or was a hand-off deal? Did it feel pretty darn fast?
The Snapdragon with a 1500mAh should give a very solid days use even with significant use.
Also, its hard to tell for sure, but the size of the unit looks fantastic! Is it pretty thin? How well does the KB work? Looks decent.
Sorry, I’m a bit stoked by this unit.
RT @MobileJaw: Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ – http://tinyurl.com/yklopr6
RT @mobilityminded: RT @MobileJaw: Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ – http://tinyurl.com/yklopr6
RT @MobileJaw: Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ – http://tinyurl.com/yklopr6
RT @MobileJaw: Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ – http://tinyurl.com/yklopr6
Did u manage to get any shots of the Pico projector in action. Does it come with the device ? ( I am thinking no )
@Darren – I had plenty of time to play with the device. It was pretty fast, but not what I would have expected from a 1Ghz processor. In terms of size, it was very comfortable, not overly large or thick. It was almost the same thickness as the LG Eve.
The keyboard has a really good feel to it. I would have liked to see an offset keyboard, but even without that, it was good to type on.
@1800PocketPC – The lighting in the venue was pretty poor which made it really difficult to get and good shots of the Pico Projector. I should have snapped a shot with it attached to the device.
The Pico snaps on the back of the device as a replacement battery cover. It has its own focus dial so you can dial in the image. In terms of thickness, it’s not thin. Have you seen the spare battery on an original Moto Q? It’s larger than that. It’s not something you would leave attached to the phone all the time. Rather, just attach it when you wanted to use it. The Pico is not included with the device. It will sell for $150.
It’s highly possible that while it has a 1GHz processor it is dialed down, perhaps to 740 MHz or so. While you won’t get the full experience of the snapdragon speed it may mean some good battery performance. We’ll see.
thanks for clearing that.. looking fwd to the full review when u get a hold of the device..
I just purchased a LG IQ and the manual that you download from the telus site is horrible! There are so many things I’m not sure how to execute. Do you have any idea if there is a more specific manual available?
A couple of examples: How do I take a pic and have it fit as my wallpaper? Any ones I’ve tried are cut off. Also, how do I use voice command?
Thanks!