LG's Smart ThinQ Single Oven Range is the first smart range (hands-on)

LG's $1,399.99 Smart ThinQ Single Oven Range is one of the first smart ovens to hit the US market, at least if you equate "smart" with "works with a mobile app." A member of LG's Smart ThinQ line of products and first released in December 2012, the Electric Single Oven Range works in concert with the free LG Smart Range iOS and Android app.

Through the app you can search for recipes and send recipe-specific temperature and time settings to the range. You can also use it to create a grocery list from those recipes for efficient shopping. LG deserves credit for making one of the first connected ranges, but the smart features offered through the app aren't as robust as I'd like. You won't find other oven/range units in this price range with similar smart functions, but I'll withhold final judgment until we've tested its cooking performance.

LG Smart ThinQ Single Oven Range with Infrared Grill turns up the heat (pictures)

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As far as appearance, this LG unit looks like a typical glass-top range; it's basic bordering on dull. The backsplash display is my least favorite part of the design. It's all utility and no polish. You control the glass cooktop from the left side on the display panel, the time and current cooking settings are located in the center view window along with some buttons for the oven. The rest of the oven controls sit on the right side of the display. Overall, LG's trademarked IntuiTouch control panel could use a little work in both design and functionality. Touch pads on GE's new Profile double oven and Samsung's NE58F9710WS range are much more responsive.

The black ceramic-glass cooktop features five radiant burners. The two front heating elements are 9 inches in diameter, the two side rear heating elements come in at 6 inches across, and the middle rear heating element is 7 inches in diameter and reserved for warming. LG claims to have the fastest noninduction dual element for boiling water that can deliver a total of 3,200 watts of power. We'll keep that claim in mind during testing.

The oven has a 6.3-cubic-foot capacity, which is considerably larger than one cavity of GE's 5-cubic-foot double ovens. In other words, you should have no trouble feeding a family or cooking for several guestswith this single oven. It also features a surprising bright blue interior. Since the rest of the range design is so unremarkable, the blue might seem out of place, but it also adds a little pizzazz to an otherwise predictable look.

The oven boasts convection heating, a hidden lower heating element for easy cleanup, and LG's trademarked WideView window so you can closely monitor your food without having to open the door. My favorite feature, though, is the infrared grill system. Infrared heating means no preheating and faster cooking times. According to LG, this system uses the same technology as top outdoor grills so your broiled food ends up juicier than it would using more traditional oven heating technology.

LG's Smart Range app is available for Android and iOS devices. I found the setup for this app unnecessarily complex, especially compared to the GE Brillion app setup. LG's Smart Features manual has two full pages of steps for setup. I set up GE's app in four short steps and I didn't need to refer to a booklet at all.

To be fair, LG offers more features than the GE's double oven. There's a recipes section, provide by the Food Channel, where you can browse by ingredient, course, cuisine, and total prep time. You can also send the cooking instructions directly to the range and it will know to cook chicken Parmesan on convection bake mode at 350 degrees for 32 minutes. The app provides a range of 31 to 33 minutes for chicken Parmesan, so the oven simply defaults to the average estimated cooking time. You still have to press start on the oven, though, where GE will let you turn its oven on as long as your phone and the oven are on the same WiFi network.

LG's other smart features include the ability to start a timer within the app, and a smart diagnosis section that lets you troubleshoot problems and communicate with LG representatives without placing a call. The latter is useful, even though it won't really affect your day-to-day experience. We also wish LG had the same trust GE apparently has in its consumers, and let you actually turn the oven on remotely.

While it isn't the sleekest range we've ever seen, this LG has a host of unique features that make it stand apart from similar models. The app setup may stump you a bit, but the usability within the app is high. If you're interested in a range with average looks and above-average features, this might be right for you. So far, though, we're pretty underwhelmed by the smart functions this LG range offers. If you can send Food Channel recipes to the oven from the app, shouldn't you also be able to press "start" remotely? Stay tuned for the full review of this LG Smart ThinQ Single Oven Range with Infrared Grill, where you'll get more details on usability and performance.