LG’s StanbyME Go is the most Inspector Gadget-esque product I’ve ever reviewed: It’s a 27-inch touchscreen TV housed (and protected) in a large, military-grade briefcase, with an integrated sound system, HDMI connectivity, and the same webOS software that runs on the company’s regular TVs.
In theory, you could take it anywhere, but at 28 pounds, the StanbyME Go is far from light luggage, and it’s a stretch to call it portable. It’s fine for road trips, but I wouldn’t dare bring it on a plane. First, I didn’t want to go through TSA with this Mission Impossible-like gadget in my hand. But a briefcase is too wide to meet most airlines’ carry-on requirements.
But this is… very unique. And that’s what I’ve felt over the past few months testing the awfully named StanbyME Go. This briefcase TV can be taken on a tailgate. It can be taken camping. It’s a mobile entertainment and gaming solution for you and your kids when you’re traveling somewhere. You have friends who say they’d be happy to use something like this in place of a projector in rooms where a permanent TV isn’t welcome. But when it’s time to pick it up, that excitement often fades.
Good stuff
Unique and surprisingly fun. Plenty of entertainment options between webOS apps, HDMI, and AirPlay. Speakers are actually good.
bad person
Very heavy. Display specs are not great for the price. Battery life is an issue. Not waterproof. How to rate and review products
Weight aside, the biggest drawback of the StanbyME Go is ultimately the $1,200 price tag LG is asking for a fairly mediocre 27-inch LCD panel. It’s a 1080p screen with decent viewing angles and 500 nits peak brightness. I found it adequate for indoor viewing and for most outdoor use as long as it’s not in direct sunlight (the display’s anti-reflective coating helps a lot in this regard). But if you were to judge this product on the display specs alone, paying $1,200 for this is insane. I’d love to get a 4K OLED version of the StanbyME Go, but that would push the price into the $2,000 realm. The niche nature of this product is one of the reasons it’s more expensive than many people would like.
The display has a peak brightness of 500 nits, which is fine even in the shade or on cloudy days.
The Dolby Vision HDR support is ridiculous, given the display’s limited brightness. The same can be said for the four-channel “Dolby Atmos” speaker system, which surprised me with how rich the audio is, as it’s pumping out of drivers unconventionally built into one side of the briefcase. And the sound is clear, even though the speakers are positioned behind the screen when it’s raised. Don’t expect much in the way of immersion or surround tricks, though. If you want more impactful sound for your tailgate party, you can always pair a larger Bluetooth speaker.
The StanbyME Go weighs about 30 pounds, making it a pain to carry around.
To understand the value of the StanbyME Go, you need to understand the total value of its parts. This mean screen is mounted on a very sturdy articulating arm, which lets you use the display in three different ways. You can lay the screen flat for touchscreen games like chess or when playing music through your phone’s speakers. Simply pull the screen up and position it in landscape or portrait mode, the latter being handy for mirroring your phone to scroll through your TikTok feed or give a presentation on the go. I barely used portrait mode, but the versatility is great.
Basically you can go anywhere.
The 27-inch screen is 1080p and doesn’t have local dimming, but it still looks good enough when you do have something to watch.
StanbyME Go is smart enough to automatically turn off the display and power down when the briefcase is locked. The hard shell is sturdy enough that LG claims it passed 11 different durability tests. I didn’t purposely try to subject LG’s review unit to its own rigorous testing, but it did take a few knocks over the course of a few weeks of testing, and even a light drop when the case was open and the screen was up. It held up just fine. But ruggedness has its limits. StanbyME Go isn’t waterproof, so you’ll want to be careful if you use it poolside or near a lake while camping. That’s the big difference between this product, a TV you can use outdoors, and an actual “outdoor TV” (which costs a lot more than StanbyME Go) that can withstand the weather and get bright enough to compete with the sun.
StanbyME Go makes a fun travel gaming station, and it also offers LG’s signature low input lag.
Inside the case is a dedicated cradle for the remote control, which can be removed to reveal a section underneath to store the power cable when not needed. The power input is covered by a protective flap, as are flaps protecting the HDMI/eARC port, USB-A port (for media on external drives) and a switch that lets you turn the battery off to conserve power when you’re not using the TV for a while. LG says the battery life on the StanbyME Go averages around three hours. In my experience, you can get another hour by enabling webOS’s power saving features, but that usually comes at the expense of brightness, which isn’t all that impressive to begin with.
There are several preloaded games that take advantage of the touchscreen.
Can your OLED TV play bar games this well?
The actual experience of this briefcase TV is similar to other LG models. All the standard picture and sound modes are there, but most LG sets don’t have touch screens. If you don’t have a remote handy, you can control it with smartphone-like gestures. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go home, or swipe up for quick access to brightness and volume controls.
There’s one HDMI port and one USB-A port where you can connect a media drive.
LG includes some very simple games, including the aforementioned chess and bar games like Photo Hunt. But the novelty of those quickly wears off, and you’ll need to plug in your console to play any real games. Of course, this means you’ll need to power whatever HDMI device you’re using, which can be difficult when you’re on the go, especially outdoors. In situations like these, a portable power source can come in very handy.
All the popular streaming apps are available in LG’s store, but if you want to watch from a cabin or tent while camping, you’ll often need to tether to your phone for an internet connection.
A four-channel, 20-watt speaker system is built into the top of the briefcase.
The briefcase is large, but easy to store away when not needed.
I have a weakness for unusual gadgets, but we don’t see many of them these days. Most of the big tech brands play it too safe and only release products that will gain mainstream support. In that light, kudos to LG for not only doing something a little different, but also something very unconventional. If the StanbyME Go was a few hundred dollars cheaper, I’d recommend it for reasons other than its uniqueness. It’s heavy, but the design is well thought out. It’s an attention-grabbing device that will definitely get people asking questions when they see you using it.
I’d like more weird gadgets like this.
But the TV stuffed into this briefcase is average, and even more average for the price. Hopefully the StanbyME Go isn’t too niche that LG won’t try again, because this first attempt is unique and often just plain fun. But at $1,200, the simple reality is that most people will be better off with a more traditional tablet or portable monitor until LG gets the formula (and price) right.
Agree to continue: LG StanbyME Go
Now, to use every smart device, you must agree to a set of terms and conditions. No one actually reads these agreements. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze them all. But given that most people don’t read them and they’re non-negotiable, as we review devices, we’ve started counting exactly how many times we have to click “accept” to use them.
By setting up your LG StanbyME Go, you agree to two mandatory agreements:
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy
It’s technically possible to get around these agreements, but doing so will mean you won’t be able to install apps or updates via LG’s webOS store.
You also have optional permissions you can grant, including a Viewing Information Agreement that allows LG to collect information about how you interact with StandbyME Go. Another option is an Interest-Based and Cross-Device Advertising Agreement, which allows LG to personalize apps, services and other content to your interests and use that information to personalize what you see on your other devices.
Final total: 2 mandatory contracts and 2 optional contracts.
Photo: Chris Welch/The Verge
