LG this week launched a bid to get 3G network 3's customers downloading music - and scratch-mixing the stuff afterward. Punters can even listen to tracks using wireless headphones or out loud through the built-in stereo speakers.

The U400 slider phone is a 3 exclusive and comes pre-loaded with the carrier's own music download and playback application. The handset sports a large iPod-esque scrollwheel - which doubles up as a five-way joypad - on the front ready for controlling playback and for scratching and sampling, LG said. The phone can play AMR, MP3, AAC, AAC+, ADPCM and WMA tracks.

The handset has a two megapixel camera - the first on 3's network - for photography and a VGA job for video-calling. Pictures, songs and videos - encoded in WMV, H.263 or MPEG 4 - can be stored on MicroSD cards.

The U400 sports a 2in, 262,144-colour 240 x 320 screen. The phone weighs 114g and measures a pocketable 9.9 x 4.8 x 2.1cm. LG claimed the U400 offers up to 232 minutes' talk time and can operate for up to 335 hours in stand-by mode. In addition to 3G, the U400 is a tri-band GSM/GPRS phone.

Pricing and availability were not disclosed. ®