Display & Audio
Editor Rating: 
4.5
I found the display - both its mirror front and its functionality - to be one of Shine's highlights. A 2.2" TFT panel, the display renders 262,000 colors across a 240x320 (QVGA) resolution. While this isn't the brightest screen you'll find on a mobile phone, and it does suffer somewhat in direct sunlight, I found Shine's display to be amongst the most pleasing I've laid my eyes upon in awhile. 4.55
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It could well be that I'm just charmed and mesmerized by the whole "disappearing mirror" thing, or that I happen to like LG's taste in default fonts. Either way, I found Shine's screen to be equally easy on the eyes whether I was reading text, navigating icons, or looking at photos on it. Wallpapers are customizable, as are caller ID photos. Photos can be viewed in portrait or full-screen landscape orientations.
Shine's screen is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. This is to be expected by virtue of its glossy, mirrored finish. Actually, the entire handset is pretty prone to showing fingerprints, dirt, and scratches. But, hey, that's the price to be paid for high fashion.
I tested the tri-band GSM Shine on both T-Mobile and Cingular's network in the San Francisco Bay Area. Voice quality through the internal earpiece was generally quite good. With a few exceptions, I was able to hear people I was talking to, and they me. Note that this is a tri-band phone lacking the US-specific 850-MHz band. As such, check with your carrier to make sure that the 1900-MHz band is supported where you'll be using the phone; I generally had no problems using the handset save for a few local dead spots in which I can't ever get 1900-band reception.
Shine's speaker is on the quiet side, which may pose a problem if you either rely on your mobile's speakerphone or tend to have problems hearing your ringtones. I have pretty good hearing - or am just way too tuned in to phone ringtones - and didn't really mind the quiet speaker. Listening to music through the speaker worked, but isn't really very useful. Bluetooth support includes stereo over Bluetooth via the A2DP profile. I had no trouble pairing a Bluetooth earpiece with the phone, and voice quality with the earpiece was good. Music played back through wireless stereo headphones also sounded good. LG also included a 3.5mm headphone adapter in the retail packaging. Paired with a pair of quality earbuds, the adapter worked well for music playback and handsfree calling via the in-line mic.
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