Button location sets LG's G2 apart (review)

The G2 and the G Pad 8.3, the flagship smartphone and tablet from LG Electronics Inc., are great mobile devices that have fantastic screens, top-end cameras and ample processing power.

But making an impressive device is not enough to stand apart from the crowd in the ultra-competitive mobile phone market, which probably pushed LG to make some bold design decisions in a bid to differentiate its G series from Samsung's Galaxy line and Apple's iPad mini.

For the G2, which was released last month in the U.S., LG moved the power and volume controls to the back of the phone. For the G Pad, which goes on sale in the U.S. next week, LG added a full HD screen, a rarity in 8-inch tablet computers.

While these design choices set the G2 and the G Pad apart from 'me too' devices trying to catch up with Samsung and Apple, they might also limit their appeal.

Not everyone will be pleased with having to change the basic habits of smartphone operation. They will scratch their heads looking for those buttons just like I did. The full HD screen display makes the G Pad a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than other 8-inch tablets.

It took a couple of days before my index finger ceased pressing a volume key when I intended to press a power key. But after that, I realized having a power button on the back makes it easier to use a big handset with one hand. The G2 has a 5.2-inch screen.

Galaxy Note 3: Frustrating, overwhelming, but is that part of its appeal?

I have been spending a lot of time with the Galaxy Note 3 as I approach the end of my T-Mobile return period. I am likely going to keep the Note 3 (I will explain why below), but I want Samsung to improve this fantastic product through some software updates and future software design decisions.

The Galaxy Note 3 is the best large display phone currently available and is an amazing device, but there are some things that really bother me so my fantastic HTC One is going to stick around as my SIM jumps between the two. The S Pen integration is fantastic, it's nice to have a removable battery and microSD card slot, the camera performs better than the HTC One in most situations, and Samsung's OLED display looks great.

Issues I have with the Note 3 include random closure of My Magazine, step backwards in Exchange support, Samsung's shotgun approach to apps and services, functions present that don't work reliably, and beta nature of Galaxy Gear connection.