Anyway, when I eventually did cross over I was envisioning getting some pretty basic stuff to start, so imagine my surprise when our generous editor presented me with the opportunity to review one of LG’s finest, the Stylus 2. I of course couldn’t say no, in fact I jumped at the chance. With that said and without further ado, let’s get to the good stuff shall we.

A phablet with personality

First unveiled at MWC 2016, the Stylus 2 was perhaps overshadowed by its big brother and the much talked about LG G5, no surprises there considering what the latter has to offer. However, with a need to bolster its mid-range and entry-level device portfolios, and with one eye on emerging markets, LG recognised that it needed something as impressive but more affordable. Enter both the X-Screen (also unveiled at the same event) and the Stylus 2 (our focus today). We did mention that it’s a phablet with a lot of personality, let’s find why.

Formalities first

Getting the formalities and technicalities out of the way first, let’s put the spotlight on the specifications of the device for a sec. Spotting a 5.7-inch display with a 720p resolution, the LG Stylus 2 also comes packed with a 13MP rear facing camera as well as an 8MP front-facing snapper, both of which are quite impressive.

The device is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB RAM. Storage wise, the Stylus 2 comes with a 16GB only onboard option that you can also expand via a microSD card which will help alleviate any memory concerns. Keeping everything moving along nicely is a great 3,000mAh removable battery. Yes, removable, a rarity in today’s smartphones but strangely, a welcome and classic feature I liked.

What makes It standout?

Most smartphones these days seemingly all have more or less the same features leaving most manufacturers having to find unique features that will help make them stand out from the crowd, which in this day and age is needed. LG have probably done this better than most, this is thanks to their out of the box and innovative concepts that expand to most of its current product line, from TV sets to the actual smartphones themselves.

The Stylus 2 is no different, being a first time LG smartphone user I was genuinely surprised by the lack of buttons on the sides, instead what you will find is a unique button layout on the rear, quite a nice touch. That complete with how the device felt in hand, with its textured back plate, makes for one attractive package.

But of course, the main feature has to do with the stylus experience. To be honest I’ve never been a fan of stylus pens for phones mostly because I see them as gimmicky, plus what’s the whole point of having one in the first place?

So imagine what my original thoughts were around this device particularly. Safe to say I’m still not mad about the concept however the Stylus 2 has gone a long way to converting me, somewhat. Despite my objections, I found myself enjoying the stylus pen experience every now and then, a solid and faultless feature.

Another cool feature that is available is called Pen Pop. This is a shortcut menu (allows you to add a few user-defined app shortcuts) that opens when the stylus is removed from its neatly designed slot. The cool features don’t end there as there’s also a Pen Keeper, which notifies you the minute your stylus isn’t in its slot.

Final thoughts

From the above its clear to see why the Stylus 2 is a phablet with a lot of personality and for a cool recommended price of only R4260, it would be hard for you to find a better option in the mid-range smartphone category that runs the current version of Android, 6.0. And if you are particularly fond of the stylus pen experience (unlike me of course) but not looking for something too expensive then this device is tailor made for you. The LG Stylus 2 is readily available at all MTN stores nationwide.

Unlike the first two, the third new Alcatel device is a tablet — the 9-mm-thin One Touch Evo 8 HD with 4G LTE that’s powered by a 1.6GHz dual core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. It only has 4GB of internal storage, but it supports cards up to 64GB in capacity. Despite revealing detailed specs, the company has yet to announce the devices’ pricing and availability, hopefully this will be tonight?