LG Doubleplay (photos)

The LG Doubleplay has excellent features for a midrange Android smartphone, but its bizarre design is not for everyone.

Nicole Lee

Nov. 4, 2011 4:39 p.m. PT

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Josh Miller/CNET

LG Doubleplay

The LG Doubleplay is a unique midrange Android smartphone for T-Mobile customers. It has a disappointing bulky form factor, but what's even weirder is its unusual dual screen and split keyboard.

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Josh Miller/CNET

Display

The 3.5-inch HVGA display on the Doubleplay is enough to make us forget its heft. It's really sharp and vibrant, with rich graphics and crisp text. It ships with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread along with LG's own user interface. Even though it's not vanilla Android, we don't mind it--it's simple and uncomplicated.

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Josh Miller/CNET

Luxe materials

T-Mobile says that the rich, dark brown color of the LG Doubleplay is called "Truffle," as if to imply luxury, and we have to say it feels that way. We also like the silver edges and the oval strip of brushed metal on the back.

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Josh Miller/CNET

Surprise: Sub display plus split keyboard

The biggest surprise to the Doubleplay is its unusual slide-out keyboard. It's split in two to accommodate a 2-inch subdisplay. It's used for multitasking and toggling between different actions, but we can't help but feel it's a little too weird for most people. The keyboard takes some getting used to as well.