Have you heard of the LG G2 smartphone?  I’ll admit, I didn’t expect much when I had agreed to review it.  I hadn’t heard much about its features, and honestly, how different can smartphones be these days?  I’ve quickly come to the conclusion that I was wrong to dismiss it so easily, and am now entirely smitten with this sweet little phone!

LG G2 Smartphone - Front of phone.
LG G2 Smartphone

I surprised both TheHubs and myself when I made the decision to make this android Jelly Bean (4.2.2) smartphone my main go-to tech for my communication needs, especially since I had bought my then-current phone just over a year ago.  The LG G2 simply outshines it.  That’s not to say its not without any quirks, but for the moment, this is the phone you’ll see me with.

Just to give you an idea of how powerful it is, this baby has:

  • 2.26GHz Quad core CPU – For instance, it doesn’t take very much to turn on/off or restart this phone.  Have you ever had to stand there, holding your phone’s power button for like… ten seconds, before it realises you want it to wake up? That doesn’t happen with the LG G2.  I’m actually still not used to the phone turning on immediately, which may sound weird, but I’ve had it for a few weeks now and the speed still surprises me.
  • 1920×1080 Full HD IPS Display, 5.2″
  • 2GB RAM
  • 32GB hard drive
  • up to an LTE network
  • amazing battery life, as I can go 24 hours without charging, and charge quickly when I need to (I’d guess it takes only an hour to recharge to a full battery)
  • 13MP OIS (Optical Image Stabilizer) Camera, which makes beautiful pictures
  • 8x Digital zoom
  • Full HD 60fps Recording/Playback

As fabulous as this phone is, it’s not without a learning curve.

Here Are 5 Tips & Tricks to Get the Most Out of Your G2

  1. Above all things, you need to purchase a screen protector the same day you purchase your phone.  Do not wait and grab one later, because the screen is extremely sensitive and will scratch easily. All of my previous cell phones (and there have been many) have only had an odd scratch here or there, and that really didn’t come from diligent protection.  I think the last time I purchased a screen cover was when I was carrying a Samsung Galaxy S, which was quite a few years ago.  Since then, I haven’t been necessarily careful (in fact I’m known for dropping my phones multiples times in some circles,) but I’ve gotten away from not having to spend an extra $20 to protect the screen ’cause phones with screens that are able to withstand my daily use without issue was a selling point for me.  Not so much unfortunately for the LG G2.  It needs a protective cover or you will scratch it up, even if you are particularly careful as to how you handle your phone.  I’m sad to say that I’ve got at least three major scratches after only a few weeks of usage, that I hope will not affect the usability too much (and I don’t have a protector on yet. #MyBad)
  2. The one thing that took me a while to get used to, but now expect from every phone I touch is the double-tap “wake-up” for the smartphone screen.  Instead of pressing the power button (which is oddly at the back of the phone,) you just have to quickly tap the touch screen twice for the phone to light up and be ready for use.  Occasionally I would hold onto the phone while walking from point A to B and find the screen open at some point, because I’m really used to keeping my phone gripped in hand. Otherwise, this quick tapping feature is really cool and has helped me when I need to access my phone one-handed, such as when using my phone to read a recipe online while elbow deep in flour or you know, when my nails are drying. 😉
  3. I love to organize android apps with folders, and its done a little differently on this Jelly Bean OS.  I was used to finding the “Add folder” in the edit settings, but to create an organization folder on this phone, I simply have to pick up and move one app icon over another, and a folder will magically appear all on it’s own to group the two together (as sort of shown in the image below.) LG G2 Organize Android Apps With Folders

    LG G2 Organize Android Apps With Folders on Home Screen

  4. Screen capturing is done by holding both the power button and the down volume button at the same time. It’s not the easiest task as the buttons are essentially connected, and not readily accessible by trying to push both buttons at once with two fingers. However, once you figure out that sweet spot and have committed it to muscle memory, it becomes easier to handle.
    Tips and Tricks for Your LG G2 Smartphone: Screen Capturing
    How to create a screen capture.
  5. Guest Mode – THIS is quite possibly the best invention ever.  Give your kids their own unlock key and they will have their own screen that has extremely limited access to your phone’s capabilities.  Don’t want them messing with your email? Simply, don’t let them have access to it! How about ensuring they can’t get into the play store directly? Again, just don’t let them have access to it!  If you give them access to a game that can purchase upgrades in the play store, they will still potentially be able to purchase through the app, but only if you’ve given your kids your Google Play password (or if you told Google Play to stop asking for your password at checkout time, which honestly, don’t DO that!)  This is what Guest Mode looks like on my phone right now.  These are the only five apps I’m willing to let my nephew play with, with limited supervision. He can’t move away from this page, there is literally nothing he can touch to access the rest of the phone and the important apps that I don’t need him playing with. While its refreshingly restrictive, its also quite easy to add and removes apps as you wish (like that moment, where you have to ground them for a week?  You can switch out the apps to all things educational until their grounding is done.)
    Tips and Tricks for Your LG G2 Smartphone: Guest Mode
    Guest Mode

Okay, here’s a BONUS tip… get yourself a stylus pen. The LG G2’s Quick Memo function is so easy to access from the pull down menu and is fabulous when you need to jot that super important info down (like when someone offhandedly mentions a Twitter party, with date/time and hashtag during a quick convo at your latest social function. You need to write those deets down somewhere ASAP!)

Tips and Tricks for Your LG G2 Smartphone: Quick Memo
Quick Memo is all kinds of *AWESOME* 🙂

Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you master your LG G2! If you have any questions about the phone, or have your own tips to share, I would love to hear them in the comments below!

Also? If you’re a TELUS customer, why not take advantage of their free one-on-one TELUS Learning Centre sessions to personally see everything the LG G2 can do, and how to use it easily.