There’s some good quality video player functionality on this device too. The KU990 supports DivX video playback - DivX converter software is supplied on a CD. The large screen is a good platform for playing movies or video clips from a card or copied over from a computer. There's a TV-out mode too, but you'll need to buy the cables separately.
The web browser on the KU990 does a pretty good job. It can optimise full web pages for display on a mobile screen, enabling you to scroll down the page in portrait or landscape mode. You can also see an overview of the page and select a portion to zoom into. The jog dial on the lens can be used to zoom in and out of pages quickly. The scroll bar issue can crop up here too, but generally you can get a pretty good - but not desktop-like - web experience.
Packed with features - and 90MB of memory
The KU990's other features include a regular selection of organiser applications – memos calendars and suchlike - plus currency converter, calculator and world clock features. There’s also a good-looking touchscreen shoot-‘em-up game, Space Commando.
With all the headline-grabbing stuff going on with the touchscreen and camera, it’d be easy to miss out the phone functionality. Here LG hits the right buttons. The virtual keypad and contacts list are easy to negotiate, and the call performance is perfectly good - we had no problems making or taking calls.
It's no surprise that the battery life on a phone that offers 3G and a large display isn’t the best we’ve seen from a handset. You should be thinking about refuelling every two days if you’re making regular use of the add-on features. More frugal usage will extend that – LG quotes battery life at up to 454 hours on standby or 5.9 hours of talktime on a full charge.
Verdict
There’s plenty to be admired about the KU990. On looks alone it will wow many would-be buyers, but the imaging functionality in this device offers an unusually rich variety of shooting and editing options in-phone, both with its five-megapixel stills capability and 120fps video shooting trickery.
LG might have considered adding a Wi-Fi connectivity option to aid fast video uploads as well as browsing, but HSDPA will take care of most users’ connectivity requirements. There are a few usage quibbles – the focus ring, and the consistency of touchscreen scrolling, for instance – but this high-end cameraphone certainly delivers an impressive performance.
LG KU990 Viewty cameraphone
COMMENTS
Just my 5 cents worth
A phone is still a phone but it is of cos much better than many with numerous built in features of a camera.
It would be a pain for those who need to access wifi daily
I try to convince myself it looks good but I'm only happy when I dont look direct at the front only at the side. It looks cheap sigh...
UI is simple and easy to access but scroll thru the touch screen with your fingers take some experiment and patience. I finally found how to use it, press on it with some pressure, dont let go and at the same time slowly slide it will do the trick. Alternatively, just use the not so user friendly jog dial behind around the lens if u still cannot get it.
The Calendar is basic and quite a few features are missing like for example there is no options for you to key in when you want the alarm to sound for an appointment entry, the only choice you have are all listed for you to choose.
Sucessful syncing to the pc is not consistant, sometimes it fails to connect and worst, it doesnt gel with outlook.
Let me explain, most contacts do have multiple phone numbers like office, mobile or home. But when it is sync, it doesnt register all the different numbers into one contact but you will see the same name many times cos it splits up the different phone numbers of one single contact.
It also doesnt captures Email address during syncing.
Called LG support apparently they need to investigate and come back to me.
BTW, cant sync it on Vista OS yet only WinXP.
Image quality is nothing fantastic so dont expect alot from it. I'm more confident using my P990i camera even though it is a 2mp phone. At least I dont have to worry about blur image if there are some slight shake.
it's amazing...
120fps video recording... it's amazing!
does it use sony's image senser?
Phone with no Stylus ??
Hey... I'm stateside, where we are always last to get the newest gadgets (except the whyPhone).. I've had my AT& T Tilt for 2 weeks noe. (its's a reBranded HTC Kaiser II) ... Touchscreen and I only use the stylus when I forget I don't need it. Having been a Palm VX, M, and E2 owner I'm a habitual sylist...
Greg
Shame no voice dialling
With current legislation, any hi-end phone in my view needs voice dialling, so you can use it with a bluetooth headset in the car. My N73 does this, and I use it every day.
I suppose my next phone will have to be an N95....
Was thinking about it
Was thinking about getting one of these instead of a W960 (when it eventually comes out). However, the no WiFi is a bit of a let down, the no place for a stylus seems kinda stupid, but the biggest concern will be applications. Lots of applications for Nokia, Symbian, PPC, but a propriatery OS (yeah I know, java, but it's still limiting and slow), nah, maybe not....pity, looks nice and 120FPS video sounds like fun 2 play with.
