LG KF600
Price: Rs 14,990
Specs
GSM tri-band with EDGE, 240x320 pixel main screen, 3MP camera with LED flash, 1,000 phonebook entries, 1GB micro SD card, Bluetooth with A2DP, 880mAh Li-ion battery, 107 gm
Pros
Dual screen, unique concept
Cons
Slow interface, poor camera
Sold by
LG India
Tel:?1800 180 9999
www.lgindia.com
Touchscreen or slider phones are nothing new, but the latest LG KF600 sliderphone is—and what makes it different are the dual screens that LG has introduced. At first glance, the flat front panel makes you think that the whole surface is touch sensitive, but only the lower panel is. The top display is a regular 2-inch TFT and the lower one is a 1.5-inch touch-sensitive navigation pad. Of course, the whole point of the lower touch display is that it is ‘context sensitive’.
The virtual keys on it change depending on the application you are using. For example, while playing a game, the touch panel shows controls for the game and while viewing a photo it shows zoom and rotate buttons. Move the slider up and you will see a big and stylish keypad that gels well with the phone. You get an external stylus which hangs like an ornament and is only required when you want to use the handwriting recognition feature. The KF600’s feature-list includes a 3MP camera, MP3 player, FM radio and Bluetooth. And the bundled accessories are headphones and a 1GB micro SD card. LG might have really worked hard for this phone, but there are a few issues. For starters, the touch panel is not as sensitive as we would have liked. Especially when pressing buttons, you need to know that it has actually been pressed. The camera wasn’t the best 3MP auto focus camera around; colors were not very vivid and the autofocus was not quick on the draw. Even the videos were disappointing. Though thankfully, there were no issues with voice clarity and music quality. Now, talking about its battery.
This phone has just 800 mAH battery that means you have to keep the charger handy. I think the concept is good, but the execution was a little off the mark. I mean, the Nintendo DS uses dual screens–and it’s a great little device. Buy it if what you’re looking for in a phone is the uniqueness and nothing else. But, if you want to look elsewhere, at the same price, you can also consider the HTC Touch (a full touchscreen PDA powered by Windows Mobile), the Sony Ericsson W910i (if music is your thing) or the Nokia N73 Music Edition (with Series 60 v3 and 3.2 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash) at around the same price.