Slim and lightweight, the LG Sentio is a decent mid-range touchscreen phone. While we're not big fans of its looks, it does offer a solid set of features, along with capable multimedia talents.
Physically, the slim design is very noticeable, easily making it one of the thinnest (0.5 inch) and lightest (3.3 ounces) touchscreen feature phones around. Wrapped in a smooth plastic shell, it grips well and fosters an ergonomic feel.
Out front lies a 3-inch resistive touchscreen, with a 240 x 400 resolution. Display looks sharp, vibrant and colorful, with decent performance outdoors. The UI is similar to other LG phones, so it's pretty good. Touch interface is fine, but not the most responsive.
As a phone, the LG Sentio made for very good calls. Voice sounded clear, with loud volume and just an occasional hint of static. Same quality was reported by those on the other end. Speakerphone offered noticeable echo, but was usable. Battery is rated at six hours of talk time, which should last this a good day or two of normal use.
Text input on the phone is accomplished via an onscreen QWERTY. The keys are well-sized and spacious. However, that also means very limited space for the text you are typing. Browsing is fast with support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA, with little to no buffering when streaming YouTube videos. In the US, it can also access T-Mobile's suite of streaming services, making for a robust multimedia device.
It has all the requisite phone features, including a 1,000-contact address book, standard messaging and Bluetooth. In addition, it offers support for more advanced messaging (IM and email), an HTML web browser, aGPS (with Telenav Navigator support), a basic but intuitive music player and Social Buzz, an all-in-one manager for various social networking sites. The 3.0 megapixel camera offers a good range of editing options, with above average photo captures.
Overall, the LG Sentio is a solid midrange offering. If you like your phones slim and light, with a good collection of messaging and multimedia features, it's a great purchase for the $69.99 price (with a two-year contract on T-Mobile).
