LG launches posh music phone

If you haven’t heard of Mark Levinson, don’t worry. All you need to know is that he’s a US hi-fi guru and the centrepiece of LG’s latest music-oriented handset, the LG-LB3300.

LG's LG-LB3300: music is central

Also dubbed the Rhapsody in Music handset, LG used audio expert Levinson to help create a number of pre-set equaliser options for the phone, such a pop and jazz - but presumably with better effect than usual. He’s also said to have been involved in the development of the LB3300’s speaker.

The slider handset features an iPod-esque scroll wheel at the bottom to control its functions and to help you sweep though your music collection. While music can also be wirelessly streamed to a compatible stereo, thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP.

A 2in touchscreen sits just above the wheel, which should be enough to display images snapped on the two-megapixel camera, and there’s 1GB of built-in memory for storing all the usual content, such as images, videos and MP3s. But the memory can be expanded up to 4GB.

However, there’s also a USB 2.0 connection for transferring content on and off the device too.

The phone is available now in Korea, for KRW500,000 (£267/€370), but aural ecstasy for anyone outside of the country is a while off yet - the handset’s European release date hasn’t been confirmed.