LG GD880 Mini (Just Arrived) $369 No Contract

The LG GD880 Mini is a looker. Quite the way to start really, but the Mini isn’t all about looks. From the hardware design through the high-res screen to the software – everything was crafted by skillful hands. Beauty is function in design – nothing is more complex than it needs to be, but beneath the deceptive simplicity there’s a myriad of functions.

The LG GD880, despite its name, is not a small phone, in the sense of some recent minis (*cough*X10mini*cough*). It is darn small next to the LG BL40 New Chocolate, but by no means tiny.

Indeed, Mini also refers to the design concept – there are barely any hardware keys on the device, and the GD880 has one of the cleanest faces in business.

Minimalism does not mean lack of functionality. The scratch-resistant 3.2” display of the impressive WVGA (480x854 pixels) resolution opens the door to HTML5 and Flash capable browsing over a zippy HSPA connection.

Then there’s the multitasking, the social networking, and the multimedia features. Here’s a list of goodies that make the Mini quite big in terms of functionality.

Key features:
Quad-band GSM support and dual-band 3G
7.2Mbps HDSPA and 2Mbps HSUPA
3.2" 256K-color TFT capacitive touchscreen display of WVGA (480x854 pixels) resolution; multi-touch support, scratch resistant surface
Latest S-Class UI; Flash and HTML5 support
Cool minimalist styling and great build quality
5 megapixel auto focus camera; image stabilization, geo-tagging, face detection, Smile Shot, Beauty and Art shot
VGA@15fps video recording
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with DLNA and built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support
Bluetooth with A2DP and microUSB v2.0 (chagrining)
Hot-swappable microSD card slot; up to 32GB cards supported
Stereo FM radio with RDS
3.5mm audio jack and Dolby mobile
DivX/XviD support
Social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter)
Accelerometer sensor for automatic screen rotation; proximity sensor
Office document viewer