TechRadar Verdict
The LG Viewty Snap GM360 isn't badly made, nor is its software dreadful. But similarly priced Android-toting handsets offer far more features for a similar price.
Pros
- +
Good battery life Good camera Sleep timer on FM radio Handy app switcher Small and neat design
Cons
- -
No Wi-Fi No 3G No GPS No apps store Resistive touchscreen
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you're buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
LG's crop of lower priced handsets is plentiful and each has its own little pinch of LG-style stardust to make it seem a bit different from the others.
The LG Viewty Snap GM360, for example, is available from as little as £80 on pay as you go and free on £10-a-month contacts. It boasts 5MP Schneider-Kreuznach optics and something LG calls an 'Optic-all' zoom as its standout features. Don't get too excited, though – the latter's not an optical zoom. We'll come back to that in more depth later.
Still, however it's dressed up, you can't really expect top-notch results from an £80 phone. So the question here is whether you're getting a good quality handset for your money, or if you'd be better off opting for a low-priced smartphone, such as the Alcatel OT-980, instead?
Certainly with neither Wi-Fi nor 3G onboard, the LG Viewty Snap GM360 will have to work quite hard to earn our favour.
In form, the LG Viewty Snap GM360 is a fairly small phone. At 108 x 53 x 12mm it should fit neatly into most pockets. Yet it still manages to pack in a 3-inch screen, with 400 x 240 pixels on offer, that's touch sensitive. It's fairly good in terms of viewability, but the screen is a tad small for some media-rich activities.
There's a trio of buttons under the screen, two of which offer Call and End functions, while the neat centre button opens up a tabbed shortcuts area to running and favourite apps. The End button doubles up as a back button as well, so you can quickly leave the app you're using and get back to the home screen.
Build quality is reasonable for a phone at this price too. There's even some fake brushed metal on the button area at the bottom of the front fascia.
The long edges are well detailed, with a thin silver strip against the black plastic that forms the bulk of the chassis. The right-hand edge of the handset houses thin volume rockers and a camera shortcut on this strip, while the left-hand edge has a micro USB charger sitting under a hinged cover.
On the bottom, there's a thicker silver trim and no connectors, while the top edge houses the on/off button and a 3.5mm headset connector.
