LG Chocolate and Shine take a change in the development strategy; the products of the company no longer look like those of the competitors though they utilize of the same methods - for example, affect the consumer's emotions with an original design and some "legend". The new strategy began yielding fruit: the brand began attracting attention, though, the lack of a well-balanced product range and mass promotion had and still has its effect. As for the former problem the Asian manufacturer tries and copes with it. During the latest three or four months the company has begun to offer quite interesting models, such as KE990 / KU990 and KS20, which differ from their rivals enjoying charisma and a number of nice extras. The company decided not to content their minds with the said gadgets and released a new product - KF600, which is an affordable alternative to the U900 Soul.

Design, ergonomics

LG KF600 is a slider with a soft touch coating and metallic framing. The only color variant available is black, unlikely to get the female part of the audience interested. The build quality is remarkably high, the model doesn't yield to the more expensive U900 by Samsung in this way – the parts are tightly fitted together, the material quality is impeccable and the surface coating is very resistant to mechanical damage – after a month in use, only one small scratch appeared on the front panel.

The sliding mechanism is quite all right though the parts slide a bit too jerky after the initial impulse is applied. Besides, KF600 has disappointed with an easily soiled glossy surface of the screen. It accumulates grease, dust and fingerprints like a magnet - especially the constantly used lower one, which is quite natural of screens powered by the touch technology.

The controls block is entirely based on the touch technology and in fact is a second TFT screen (1.49", 176x240, 256K colors). It is separated from the main one with a thin 'bridge' itself carrying a number of interesting functions (utilized in the user themes for example).

KF600 comes with eight preinstalled user themes, each of them with a unique design feat, all of them animated and making use of the secondary screen. The latter is able to display a part of the content or just some elements transiting from the main screen. It looks cool; KF600 is the first handset with such effect. Even Nokia's similar attempts at interface theme design of the premium segment devices fail pitifully as compared to LG. Let's especially note the two games utilizing the touchscreen goodness, which are one about mastering the slingshot and the other going in for trampoline jumping and such kind of acrobatics. Both utilize of the touchscreen and are really fascinating.

he sensor panel displays an average level of ergonomics; the said U900 Soul still keeps the first place in the competition in this aspect. All the elements are static and have rather limited active area which leads to stray keystrokes; certain inertness can be felt.

Main screen

A moderate 2 inch screen is already habitual for devices belonging to the price category of ?300+. The resolution of 320х240 pixels won't make a revelation either; as a matter of fact, at present it's a standard resolution of many devices in the price category of ?300+. However, there are some positive points here. A small diagonal and high resolution let us speak about no image pixelization at all, it's smooth. On the other hand, the developer shouldn't have himself to blame for a small diagonal of the screen, since the main spice of the handset is the second screen which also takes some space on the casing.

The screen renders up to 262K colors – how many is that in practice? It turns out to be a bit too little, since the Nokia handsets display up to 16 million colors, for example. However, the most important specification to be considered nowadays is no longer the color rendition palette, but the brightness and the contrast of displaying the colors on the screen. As for this parameter it will hardly arouse any reproaches, even in spite of the comparison with the Soul being not in favour of the handset under testing. But it's almost imperceptible unless you are holding both the handsets in the hand and comparing, otherwise you won't understand which of them is better and which is worse.

Speaking of the drawbacks of the screen itself, let's note that the view angles are rather poor and you cannot read the info from the screen if you turn the handset at a 120 degree angle, for example. One more disadvantage is operating the gadget in direct sunlight; the lack of antiglare covering doesn't help you to perceive the information. And the glossy covering adds to the overall glaring effect. As a result you have to keep away from direct sunlight to make out the data and not to go blind at the same time.

Secondary screen

Let's go on to the main spice of the handset now. The secondary touch screen is based off the TFT-technology here, while even Samsung generally stick to OLED. The screen has a 1.49" diagonal; the active area displays various control keys depending on the currently active function. For instance, when the player application is running - the playback control symbols, the games show the management area and the camera application - the navigation symbols. In short, the developer has done his best here. Selecting different functions is no longer bound to keys.

The sensor panel or the so-called InteractPad is doubtlessly the main advantage of the handset. This panel provides for a physical feedback, i.e. pressing the virtual buttons leads to a short vibration in addition to the usual sound effect as if real hardware keys are pressed. Something like that is implemented in the iPhone - we may even thank the Apple company for this feature since their product urged many companies to develop similar interfaces; we reap the fruits (and regarding a number of other companies we are going to reap in the nearest future) enjoying new and interesting devices. Running a few steps forward, let's note that LG KF600 is by no means a competitor to the said "apple device"; it goes without saying.

However, there are some controversial points in the implementation of InteractPad. First of all, you have to put force while pressing the touch controls; otherwise they can just fail to response for they are hard to press. Besides, the screen displays up to 262 000 colors and suffers from the same disease in direct sunlight as its senior sibling placed above does. The screen info goes blind in the sun; one has to get used to the arrangement of touch controls at first. We should mention though that this effect occurs in the sun only. If you are aware of the panel's disadvantages, try and avoid them and you will be able to easily handle it.

Keypad

In spite of the touch panel availability, the handset isn't lacking usual call and drop buttons and two soft-keys; they are put at the bottom of the touch area. These elements are inconvenient as well as the keypad itself for they are put quite close to the edge of the casing.

As for the keypad, it looks interesting because of the unusual pattern, but it's not too comfortable to use. The keys are small enough and are almost on the same level with the casing; the finger slips down the panel especially since it is implemented in the habitual "glossy" style, which, by the way, also collects grease.

One also has to get used to handle the lower row of the keys; the edge of the casing is too close to the controls. All the keys, except for the call and drop ones, are backlit with a white light that is even all over the keypad.

Side controls

Traditionally enough, the side edges host the most interesting elements. Thus, the sound volume rocker-button is put on the left edge as well as the music player call/launch button. On the opposite edge there is the camera launch button that also acts as the shoot button. The charger/data cable and headset slot covered with a plastic flap is found above the said button.

Battery life, memory card

LG KF600 makes use of a Li-Ion battery rated at 800 mAh capacity. As claimed by the manufacturer, it can provide enough charge for 300 hours of standby and 3 hours of talktime. The announced time in real life stands far from being such. The matter is that the two screens under quite light duty (about 15 minutes of talktime, using the camera and seldom Bluetooth) exhaust the battery charge in two ticks; therefore the maximum battery life amounts to two days.

The memory card slot is located under the battery, so the hot swapping support is out of the question. You will find no microSD memory card included into the sales package either. Thus, it makes sense to purchase a high-capacity flash card at once (thankfully enough, a 1 Gb variant is quite affordable nowadays) and never trouble yourself about no support for hot swapping afterwards. The manufacturer claims up to 2 Gb cards being supported by the device.

Sales package

- LG KF600 - wire headset - USB data cable - battery charger - 800 mAh battery - printed manual and software CD

Connectivity

LG KF600 utilizes Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR including the A2DP support. The updated Bluetooth allows you to transfer both voice and data. A phone-to-PC synchronization can be also achieved through the USB data cable. In this case the handset can be used as a removable disk. Among the pleasant things we'd check the ability to recharge the battery while in the cable connection mode. The type of connection can be selected in the corresponding menu.

Software, user interface

Another nice feature of the gadget is the 8 pre-installed interface themes developed by the famous American graffiti artist Keith Haring who has done his job really well. These themes make a graphic interface of the handset completely different, which affects not only the desktop wallpapers displayed on both the screens, but also changes the menu icons. It looks quite interesting and unusual.

The menu of the gadget can be arranged in a 3x3 grid pattern or in a list pattern. Moving the selection between them is done with the sensor panel. Quick access to one or another feature is granted through the active area displaying a number of icons responsible for one or another function of the handset. However, this solution has one disadvantage – it lacks a keypad blocking option.

The software platform underwent a complete revision, though a number of older illnesses persist – you are still forced to distribute files manually between folders dedicated to that certain file type (music tracks can only be stored in Music, graphics goes to the Images folder and so on; you shouldn't mistake, which is not quite handy), this rule affects the memory card storage area as well. You can't select a group of files simultaneously – all the actions should be applied to each file individually, imagine sending a number of photos over Bluetooth one after another or just copying them to the memory card, which effectively stands for a lot of clicking.

Call service

The phonebook contains phone numbers both from the phone memory and from the SIM-card; it cannot be set to show the numbers from only one storage location. The user memory can store up to 1000 contacts, each containing up to 4 associated phone numbers as well as some additional information (5 items).

An individual ringtone and a call picture can be associated with an account. If you stop on any account containing a call image while scrolling the list, the picture will be displayed in a pop-up window. The user groups are supported. 9 quick dial numbers can be assigned to numerical keys.

Messaging

The gadget supports SMS/EMS/MMS and sports an embedded e-mail client. The keypad is utilized for typing a message and sending is done with the sensor panel. It's peculiar to all types of messages except for a voice one.

The MMS editor limits the maximum size of a multimedia message to the usual 300 Kb; should the image exceed the limit, its resolution is automatically modified to fit. The auto resize mode can be switched on/off. As for the E-mail capabilities, they give rise to no serious reprimands.

Camera

The 3 Mpix camera with a quite good photo quality can be considered an advantage of the handset. The developer has approached the image acquisition process with a good deal of care and offers a worthy product.

The camera lens sits on the back panel; no lens guard is provided for. So it can be easily damaged if handling the handset carelessly. The only nice thing is that the lens is slightly sunk into the casing, however such solution will hardly protect against mechanical damage. The powerful flash is found nearby, its effective distance being about a meter and a half. You can launch the camera application both from the menu and with the side button. Traditionally enough, the phone should be positioned horizontally during the shooting session where the index finger rests just above the camera button. The camera unit sports an auto-focus and a macro mode.

The following settings are available:

- Shooting mode (auto, portrait, landscape, sport, nighttime)
- Resolution (320х240, 640х480, 1280х960, 1600х1200, 2048х1536)
- Quality (normal, good, excellent)
- Portrait mode (on, off)
- Flash (on, off)
- Shake reduction (on, off) (something like an image stabilizer; the truth is, there isn't much sense in this feature since it doesn't work)
- Auto timer (off, 3, 5 or 10 second)
- Multi shot (1, 3 and 6 shots)
- AF (on, off, macro)
- Effects (off, black & white, sepia, negative)
- White balance (auto, daylight, glow lamp, fluorescent lamp, cloudy)

In spite of the abundance of settings - the camera is quite ordinary; as a matter of fact, the adjustments don't make much impact upon the quality of images. The quality of shots itself yields to the said Sony Ericsson K800i also equipped with a 3.2 Mpix unit, but the available features are quite all right for a fashion handset. However, one cannot say the same about macro shooting (the focusing is quite long and not always as precise as one might expect) and the process of saving images, which takes about 4-6 seconds. While in the shooting mode, you can utilize of a 4x digital zoom.

Shooting video clips is done with or without flashlight. The resolution is initially set to 320х240, you can also select 176х144. The records result in the 3gp format. The maximum length of a clip is limited to 30 seconds (for MMS) or an hour (provided there is enough volume of free user memory).

Multimedia

The integrated music player is quite good both from the visual and functional points of view. Its interface looks pleasant and allows for displaying album covers (the Album Arts function). The following types of multimedia files are supported by the player (MP3, WAV, WMA, MIDI, AAC, AAC +, eAAC +, RA). All of them can be sorted into playlists, but their number is limited, which is an essential disadvantage. Thankfully enough, all the tracks can be divided into groups by several criteria (by performer, album, etc.); it saves a lot of time while searching for and selecting compositions. 10 equalizer presets are provided for a wide-variety of music genres, though there is no support for custom equalizer presets. The player can run in the background mode.

It's quite surprising that the integrated FM-radio is available. It works while keeping the headset plugged in. The memory is sufficient for saving up to 12 favorite frequencies; you can tune in to a new station using manual tuning and auto search modes. There is nothing very special here.

The volume of sound is high enough and the level of noise is low, certainly, if you don't pay much attention to the overshoot of high frequency signals. It's to the ringtone's advantage though – you will hear a shrill melody in the hustle and bustle of the street.

Videos are shown widescreen, that is the video player automatically activates the full-screen viewing mode.

All files are stored in the gallery; you should handle it carefully for there is no regular copy/move function here. Therefore, if you drop an audio file into the Images folder, alas, you won't drag it out, except for using a card-reader or a PC. And the phone itself can recognize files stored strictly in the corresponding folders.

PIM

PIM is represented by a calendar displaying the list of events viewed by month. Each task event can be given an associated short note of what you have to do; this note can be assigned to a reminder signal. Besides, text notes for storing typed records are also available.

The alarm clock settings include 5 signals of different types, the intervals of repetition and voice reminders. The currency converter and calculator should be mentioned as well as the stopwatch. The habitual world time feature is also in its place.

Applications, performance

LG KF600 comes with the two preinstalled games and utilizes the InteractPad panel in gaming. Well, the idea is interesting enough, the truth is that the panel is not always handy to use. The matter is that some force is to be put while pressing it.

If you install new Java games, you'll deprive yourself of the opportunity to use the touch panel in gaming, unless those are optimized for the element. Such applications are expected to appear at www.lgmobile.com

Browser

The integrated browser allows you to download content from both wap- and web-resources, at that the latter ones are scaled to fit the size of the screen.

You can utilize of the touch panel for scrolling the pictures. There is the opportunity of turning them off, yet no JavaScript support is available.

Settings

Miscellaneous

Market competition

LG yet don't plan such an active promotion campaign for the KF600 model as they did in case of LG Viewty. But the combination of a reasonable price and an original design will provide a quite good demand for KF600 in its class. Currently, the handset isn't going to have any competitors in the foreseeable future. No other manufacturer can offer anything interesting within this price bracket. The gadget will be positioned lower than Samsung Soul, making a nice alternative for those who cannot afford it. Fortunately, the handset has got no serious disadvantages. We'll publish a comparison test of these models in a short time.

SMAPE's opinion

LG KF600 is an original youth-oriented slider attracting attention with its unusual design and reasonable price.

+ Advanced implementation of the secondary screen
+ User themes developed by Keith Haring
+ Reasonable price
+ Good camera
- Non-ideal ergonomics
- Poor file system

Author: Yury Nechaev, editor@smape.com

SMAPE.com

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