LG Cookie budget touchscreen phone

From the standby screen, you can tap one of four on-screen buttons along the bottom of the display to access essential mobile functions: a voice-capable numberpad, the contacts list, messaging options and the main menu.

There's a stylus for that retro feel

If you tap the top of the screen, a useful status panel appears, with details of memory, coverage and quick access buttons for Bluetooth and the music player.

On the side of the display, just above the main row of control icons is an arrowed tab, which brings into play the widgets - mini applications for fast access to useful functions. The widget selection is limited compared to the Renoir's, but does include calendar, world clock, memo, analogue alarm clock, music player, image viewer and FM radio.

Tap one of the icons in the toolbar - or drag with your finger - and it pops up in expanded form on the main part of the screen. You can select or drag and drop as many as you like wherever you like on the screen, and for those who like order, a quick shake of the phone will reorder them neatly into grid formation. You can change widgets around as much as you like, dragging and dropping ones you no longer want back onto the open toolbar.

It’s not just app widgets you can pull up onscreen. Swipe your finger sideways across the display and a transition takes you to an alternative home page, similar in look to the first but with a toolbar for speed-dialling up to eight favourite contacts. You can place contacts from your phonebook - with or without associated images - on screen. Pressing the contact enables you to quickly call, send a message or edit the contact details.

The side-facing Micro SD card slot is hot-swappable

The main menu structure is generally familiar from previous touchscreen LGs. When you press the menu icon from the standby screen, a grid of function icons appears along with a vertical sidebar of four control category icons. As you press these category tabs – Communicate, Entertainment, Utilities and Settings – the icons on the main part of the screen change accordingly.