Price Range:

Chocolate 3G with touch sensitive music controls

Using the design cues of the stylish icon, the LG Chocolate, comes the U830 clamshell 3G handset. Featuring a slender body, a luxurious black and silver glossy finish, a hidden exterior screen and hidden touch sensitive music controls the U380 is the handset for people who value style and require the latest features. Open the handset to reveal a large, well laid out keypad and a highly detailed colour screen.

The U830 is an HSDPA-enabled phone — our test sample was a 3 branded model — with two cameras — one internal VGA for video calling, and a higher quality 2-megapixel external camera for photographic use. The phone has 184MB of available memory for storage, which initially seems very generous, until you realize one of the key omissions on the U830 — there’s no external memory port whatsoever, so the 184MB you’ve got is all you’re going to get. The primary LCD is a 240 by 320-pixel, 262K TFT screen, while the smaller external screen is a 128 by 160-pixel, 65K TFT. A2DP Bluetooth is supported for those with stereo Bluetooth headphones.

A 2.0 megapixel camera is on board to capture life going by, and viewing your photos is a pleasure thanks to the 2.2″ QVGA TFT internal display. LG has included 185MB of on board memory, but this only goes a short way to alleviating the need for a memory card slot. The device is already being sold through network operator 3 in Italy, Hong Kong, and the UK, but so far no other markets have been announced.

The camera has also been hiked from 1.3 megapixels to a more respectable two and despite occasionally suffering from over exposure, the photo quality is decent enough.

Key Features:

Network WCDMA
Form Factor SHELL
Message Email
MP3 Player yes
Bluetooth yes
Ringtone 64ch
Internal Memory 128MB
Standby time(h) 180
Java yes
GPRS yes
3G yes
USB yes
Color Black
TV yes
Video Camera yes

Specifications:

Dual cameras
Dual colour screens
Wireless connectivity with Bluetooth
Multimedia at your fingertips
Video telephony
Flight mode
Maxisim
Email

Price Range: $589.99 - $659.99

The KG245 features an internal display of 262,000 colours (TFT) with a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels.

65,000 colour OLED external display with a resolution of 96 x 64 pixels. This allows you to use your phone in most countries so you can take your KG245 with you on your travels.

The KG245 may be an entry level phone, but at first glance this isn’t really apparent. The phone sports a sleek two-tone colour scheme with an attractive gloss black front complemented by a brushed silver back. Weighing 83g and with a discreet clamshell design, the KG245 is also fairly light on the pocket. LG has included a good quality 262,000 colour internal screen which is beautifully crisp, though perhaps a tad small. A 65,000 colour external screen is also a welcome addition, particularly when using the camera with the phone’s lid closed. These factors all combine to give the look and feel of a more expensive handset.

The KG245’s camera only provides 640×480 resolution, so images are best displayed on the phone’s screen rather than printed out. Despite the resolution limitations, images are colourful and bright and look quite good. LG also include a ‘flash’ on the exterior of the phone, which is basically just a small, white LED. It’s surprisingly bright but not as effective as we’d like. It is also described by LG as a ‘torch’, but we think this is perhaps getting a little carried away.

Key Features:

Embedded Java technology
Speakerphone
WAP 2.0
MMS support
Integrated digital camera with built-in flash
Bluetooth technology
64 Polyphonic MIDI technology

Specifications:

Network GSM
Form Factor SHELL
Message MMS
MP3 Player yes
Bluetooth yes
Ringtone 64ch
Internal Memory 8MB
Standby time(h) 200
Java yes
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Color Black

Price Range:

Take pictures with the built-in VGA digital camera. Capture the moment with the multi-shot feature giving you up to 9 consecutive shots. View pictures taken as a slide show. 4x digital zoom, 5 image size options, colour effect, brightness and white balance control. Send pictures as you take them with the easy to use menu option that is displayed after each picture or multi-shot session is saved. (refer to MMS Support) Pictures taken can be set as wallpaper on your phone.

The LG L1100 is capable of surfing the Internet with the built in browser of the phone. With this phone, you may also send MMS, or Multimedia Message Service. The phone is also able to use EMS, or Enhanced Message Service. On top of sending messages, the LG L1100 is equipped with intelligent t9 typing, which allows you to easily type text messages without pressing each key upto 4 times for the correct letter.

Take the two display screens, for example. The external display is a monochromatic one that is 96 by 64 pixels in size. To be sure, the caller identification, time and date information shown on it is easy to read from just about any angle. The internal screen on the LG L1100 shows 65,000 brilliant colors and is a TFT type that measures 128 by 160 pixels.

Price Range:

The U8380 features an outstanding built-in 1.3 megapixel digital camera. This offers a high resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels providing you with high quality still and moving images. 180 Degree rotating screen allows you to capture images and video at practically any angle. Built-in flash and options such as brightness or white balance. 2x digital zoom.
Multi-shot and timer mode are other useful functions that are included. View pictures taken as a slide show.

Send pictures as you take them via Email, MMS or Bluetooth with the easy to use menu option that is displayed after each picture. (refer to MMS Support)
Pictures taken can be set as wallpaper on your phone.

The internal screen comes with a TFT type display which provides a 176 x 220 pixel screen resolution with 262k bright colours. The user can also view information on the phones external display which is a TFT 65k colour screen. The phone comes with a dual camera feature which allows the user to take part in video calling. The U8380 has a 1.3 megapixel camera complete with built in flash feature to ensure that photos can be taken in duller conditions. The user can use the second camera which is a VGA camera to record themselves as part of the video calling experience.

The U8380 is evolutionary and looks very similar to previous generations of LG 3G phones. It’s an attractive silver clamshell phone which is stylish (apart from the external aerial) but rather heavy. It has the usual features that you’d expect from a high-end 3G phone: a 1.3 megapixel camera, a high-quality video camera (0.3 megapixels), video calling, a music player, expandable memory and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. In addition the U8380 has 3D sound from stereo speakers, which is a welcome improvement over previous models, and it also has an improved external display using a bright TFT screen which can be viewed much more clearly in bright light.

Specifications:

Network WCDMA
Form Factor SHELL
MP3 Player yes
Bluetooth yes
Ringtone 64ch
Internal Memory 8MB
Memory Slot microSD
Standby time(h) 175
Java yes
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
3G yes
USB yes
Color Blue
Stereo Stereo
Video Camera yes

Price Range:

The U8360 features an outstanding built-in 1.3 megapixel digital camera. This offers a high resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels providing you with high quality still and moving images.
180 Degree rotating screen allows you to capture images and video at practically any angle.
Built-in flash and options such as brightness or white balance.
2x digital zoom.

Multi-shot and timer mode are other useful functions that are included.
View pictures taken as a slide show.
Send pictures as you take them via Email, MMS or Bluetooth with the easy to use menu option that is displayed after each picture. (refer to MMS Support)
Pictures taken can be set as wallpaper on your phone.

The LG U8360 comes with 3G technology which provides the user with a fast & efficient mobile phone. The user can connect to other devices using a USB cable which allows the user to transfer data using a wired connection. The user can use a Bluetooth® wireless connection to connect to any Bluetooth® compatible device including a headset, printer, PC or laptop. The user can access the internet using the WAP Internet browser which is fast due to the 3G technology on the U8360. The phone works over GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900 networks & the phone will automatically swap between network bands without the user knowing.

The camera seems to work fine, but night mode isn’t that great. Images can be taken up to a resolution of 1260 x 960 pixels, which is very good by today’s standards. The mp3 player is easy to use and sounds great. The Mpeg4 video’s are shown vibrantly and fluently. PC connectivity is good, and files transfer quickly. I own the black version and the design is cool, but the antenna and more than average weight is not to good. Overall, the LG U8360 is a great mobile phone with lots of features, and I would recommend it to everyone who wants lots of features and who is not to fussy about weight.

Key Features:

TransFlash External Memory
65,000 Colour CSTN external screen
MMS support (video)
Enriching sound with 72 Polyphonic MIDI technology
262,000 Colour TFT screen
Embedded Java technology
MP3 Player
Video Calling
Audio and Video Streaming

Specifications:

Network WCDMA
Form Factor SHELL
MP3 Player yes
Ringtone 64ch
Internal Memory 32MB
Battery Capacity 1000
Standby time(h) 165
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
3G yes
Color Silver, Orange
Video Camera yes