LG Shine KE770 mobile phone review

Written by me for ComputerActive magazine India

Specs:
Screen Details: 1.7 in TFT display 176 x 220 pixels at 262 K
Network: GSM
Camera: 2-megapixel with autofocus, digital zoom and LED flash
Memory: 70MB internal memory and External memory up to 2GB using MicroSD or TransFlash
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB, EDGE, GPRS, A2DP
Media: MP3 player, with sound and video recording facility
Stand-by: Up to 200 hours
Talk time: Up to 3 hours

“Born to shine”, as the tag line of Black Series says, it delivers. An all body metal finish and a TFT display screen with mirror effect, a hallmark of Black Label series is coherent with KE770 Shine model too. This GSM Triband in all metal silver body and slim dimensions feels very good in hands.

The metal provides a solid yet compact feel to the handset. The battery cover is easy to slide in in place and firm. The candy bar design and flat keypads makes it very convenient to use. The handset, just 1 cm in thickness (or thinness should we say!) and weighing just 80 g is set to redefine the term ultra portability. The silver framing with matching key pads seems exclusively metal and the luster is just magnetic. Over all, this phone looks great if anything and the in-hand-feel is an icing on the cake with the grip optimum.

The silver colour of the keypad perfectly harmonizes with the metallic luster that the body carries. Aligned below the mirrored LCD display are the soft menu keys and navigation buttons. The alphanumeric keypad is a light touch and feels good to use. The right hand side panel accommodates battery charger jack besides quick access keys to MP3 player and camera and the scroll keys.

The simple ingenuity of the design has flown into the user interface and functionalities as well. The interface is very lucid and even a novice can easily scroll through the menus and custom settings. The hidden tabs are eliminated and the required functions are very easily found without much hassle.

Besides the chic looks and stylish elegance, it incorporates a host of useful and interesting features like Lost Mobile Tracker (LMT). Unit converter and Health chart are also included besides the regular applications. The phone comes with an internal memory of 70MB and expandable external memory up to 2GB using MicroSD or TransFlash. It can store up to 300 messages and 1000 contacts with the in-built memory.

On the multimedia front, it has good sound and MPEG video recording quality. MP3 player with inbuilt graphic equalizer presets supports all the popular audio formats and delivers optimal performance. Sound quality is distorted at high volumes in speaker mode, but with in the acceptable range. KE770 supports both polyphonic and mp3 ringtones, however it lacks a FM radio function. It has EDGE supported internet access with email and comes with an integrated WAP 2.0 browser. However, it does not sync with PC and the default memory is phone memory and not the micro SD as it should be; so data transfer is a bit of hassle.

Camera lens with LED flash are accommodated on the back panel. Camera quality is decently good 2 mega pixel with digital zoom and custom features features. Image editing customs doesn’t match up to the Sony Ericsson cybershot range, but then in terms of style and user functionality it is head and shoulders above others in its price range. LCD display is bright and the colour contrast is pleasing to eyes, however, few added pixels would have done better on resolution grounds.

To sum it up, this metal slim-set is best in its class as far as styling and built is concerned. Besides it includes good multimedia and 2-megapixel camera with decent image quality and some interesting application. Just go and grab one if you are looking for something like this one, an all round performance.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

We say:
Good:
Style, metal body, looks
Good build
Easy interface
Good multimedia and connectivity

Bad
Lacks FM radio
176 x 220 pixels at 262 K display, could have done with some more pixels