Hands-on review: AT&T's LG Quantum

LG has a pair of smartphones set to run on Windows Phone 7, but the only one headed to the United States is the LG Quantum. Here's our initial hands-on review.

The Quantum takes a stand as it is the only Windows Phone 7-based device with a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. The keypad doesn't slide out as fast as lightning, but hopefully it is only sluggish when first out of the box.

Typing on this keypad is much easier than others given the large frame of the phone to start with. (For reference, the Quantum sports a 3.5-inch display.) The only commonly-overheard complaints with the Quantum's keypad was the odd Shift key and the lower placement of the Delete key (where you'd normally find the Return button, which is now a bit lower than usual too).

[Image Gallery: Hands-on with the Windows Phone 7 smartphone collection]

The DNLA-enabled LG Quantum has a slightly different design on the bottom. Most of the WP7 mobile devices are operated by the touch screen only, with a few buttons on the side. The Quantum has a distinctive home button at the very bottom, which isn't really a good or bad thing. It just is, and maybe that will be more appealing to certain consumers, but I can't see it being annoying.

As far as the operating system goes, all of the loveliness and few qualms that exists with WP7 are fairly standard across the board. Beautiful interface, fast loading (with few exceptions), a bit clunky on the home screen but still a revolutionary user experience over all.

AT&T will start shipping the LG Quantum this November for $199 on contract.