Lumigon T2
The Lumigon T2 puts emphasis on design, and boasts the ability to control your telly. We go hands-on.
Mention the 'T2' to anyone and they'll probably think of a floppy-haired Eddie Furlong on a tiny motorbike. But little-known Copenhagen-based manufacturer Lumigon is hoping to change that -- its T2 smart phone features Ice Cream Sandwich, a classy design and the ability to control your telly.
I've been hands-on with the Lumigon T2 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, so these are my first impressions. There's no word on a UK release date yet, but the company told me it will be headed to our shores at some point.
Design
Design is definitely the focus of this phone, and I'm happy to say it looks rather sleek. The sides are constructed from metal, which gives this mobile both a classy feel and a substantial weight. Build quality seems to be high, and while I'm not sure how well it would fare if you dropped it, the T2 feels well put together.
Glass and stainless steel are the order of the day here, and a darker stripe down the middle of each squarish side keeps things looking good. I like the curved sections at the top and bottom of the phone too.
There are discretely hidden volume keys on the right of the phone, as well as a dedicated camera button. One feature I like is a button above the screen that acts as a shortcut key. You can assign two shortcuts to it, triggered by tapping the button, or holding it down for a moment.
With design at the forefront, it's important that the T2 looks good. And it does, compensating for the fact that it's not that slim or light by feeling more luxurious than your average smart phone.
The display measures 3.8 inches on the diagonal. While it looked crisp, I was using it outside on a sunny day, and did notice it was vulnerable to annoying screen reflections. That's not a problem unique to the T2 -- most phone displays struggle with the sun -- but it's something to bear in mind all the same.
Remote control
One of the T2's interesting features is doubling as a universal remote to control your home theatre set-up. There's a remote control app that you'll use to do this, and the T2 has the ability to 'learn' new remote functions.
Point a remote into the top of the T2, where the infrared tech resides, press the command you'd like to save and the T2 will remember it. If you take the time to input commands from your TV, Blu-ray player or speaker system, you could use this phone to control your entire living room.
That has the potential to be very handy, but whether it's a useful feature will depend on how easy it is to input new commands, and whether the remote control app is slick and reliable enough to act as a remote control.
Hardware and software
The T2's key hardware comprises an 8-megapixel camera and a 1.4GHz processor, while it looks like storage will be handled using a microSD card. NFC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity are all on board too, as well as an FM radio.
The good news on the software side is that the T2 is running Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Lumigon has gone to work customising the Android interface, with home screens swinging in from the left and right when you swipe your finger.
Lumigon has gone for a minimalist look for the phone's interface, and has stuck the icon for its own TV app along the bottom of the T2's display.
You'll have access to Android Market though, and the thousands of apps that await you within, which you can use to expand the mobile's usefulness, improve yourself with productivity apps, or just play Angry Birds.
Outlook
The Lumigon T2 is shaping up to be a well constructed phone, and the remote control functions are intriguing. I look forward to seeing whether the design and extra features hold up under review-level scrutiny. Stay tuned for updates.
For more news, previews and hands-on video from Mobile World Congress, check out mwc.cnet.co.uk.