LG FM37 review

LG FM37 Review

Reviewed by: Nate Lanxon

Reviewed on: 26 April 2007

LG's FM37 is one of the most seductive-looking players we've seen this year. With a large touchscreen navigation system, support for high-quality video playback and a ravishing design, we have high hopes for this splendid little beast.

It isn't cheap -- it will retail for £129 for the 2GB version and £159 for the 4GB when it goes on sale in June -- but is it worth the price premium?

Design
There's no secret here: the FM37 is as beautiful as its cellular cousin, the LG Shine. The brushed-metal finish attractively reflects and scatters light at all angles, and is complimented by a smooth, seamless silver edging.

Seamless and gleaming: LG's FM37

The screen is of average dimensions for a device this size, but with the complete lack of buttons on the front face, why not make it bigger? Although the minimalist, 'less is more' style is effective, a larger screen could've put this player leagues ahead of the competition.

Features
The main menu screen consists of six option icons displayed like the numbers around a clock face. A simple touch of an icon starts an animated transition into that option's sub-menus. It's a very refreshing way to navigate an MP3 player.

The touch-sensitivity is very responsive, but navigating the sub-menus can get a little tedious as the icons are small and a little fiddly. It's possible to change the icon-based main menu into a list format, if you prefer.

The main menu is arranged in a circular grid

You can also use 'gestures' to control playback. For example, to increase the volume when playing a file, you can rub your finger around the screen in a clockwise motion, as if following the numbers round on a clock face. Or, to skip to the next track, you can run your finger from the left- to the right-hand side of the screen. A glowing trail is left behind your finger on the screen to show which operation you've selected.

Your music is sorted by artist, album or genre. For some reason, although artists and albums are sorted alphabetically, so are album tracks -- completely ignoring album structure. Videos are sorted in the same manner as music.

Text can be dropped into a folder from a PC and viewed comfortably on the high-resolution screen -- a great way to store train schedules, song lyrics or even addresses if necessary. There's also a voice recorder for when you just can't bring yourself to attend a university lecture in person.

We would have liked to have seen a built-in radio in the FM37. LG has, however, bundled a couple of fun colourful games, both of which require you to poke the screen à la Nintendo DS.