When the original LG Viewty (now known as the Viewty Lite) hit stores, many saw it as the Korean manufacturer finally proving itself as a genuine force to be reckoned with in the mobile market. Sure we’d seen the high design Prada, Chocolate and Shine, but here was a device that packed far more than just good looks.

It even took the accolade of being the world’s first five-megapixel touch-screen device, with over seven million units sold worldwide since its launch in November 2007. Since then LG has gone from strength to strength, so we were particularly looking forward to getting our hands on the Viewty II, more commonly known as the LG Viewty Smart.

 

Look and feel

 

The LG Viewty Smart has its own claim to fame as it’s (currently) the slimmest eight-megapixel camera phone available. Measuring just 12.4mm thick, the Viewty Smart is also impressively light, weighing in at just 102g and the handset certainly rests comfortably in both your hand and pocket.

One of the reasons LG has managed to keep the phone down to size zero proportions is because it is predominantly made from plastic. That’s not to say it feels flimsy or looks tacky, which can often be the case for plastic based handsets. LG has always prided itself on its phones’ catwalk looks, and the Viewty Smart is no exception.

From the piano black fascia to the silver back, this handset looks and feels high end. Taking centre stage is the three-inch screen, and while maybe not as big as other top-end touch-screen phones (see the Samsung i8510 HD review on page 14 and the Apple iPhone 3G S on page 22), it is still more than ample. Directly below the screen is a thin silver strip that takes you back to one of four home screens. Sadly we felt this bar was a tad creaky and slightly undermined the overall bodywork.

We’ve seen LG’s S-Class user interface (UI) in a few devices now, notably the LG Arena KM900. However, we’ve not seen it as slick as it is in the Viewty Smart. The UI consists of four home screens - Shortcuts, Widgets, Contacts and Multimedia – and Consisting of four home screens; Shortcuts, Widgets, Contacts and Multimedia, and each screen is customisable. You can decide what icons/shortcuts appear on what page. Press the solitary key on the left-hand side of the phone and these four home screens will condense into a 3D cube icon. Spin it around on its axis and then click on the relevant page to maximise it.

It serves no real purpose other than it looks pretty cool, but with Samsung unveiling a similar system on its flagship Jet phone (this one can be flipped vertically as well as horizontally), we’ll have to wait and see how long this novelty factor lasts.

 

Touch-screen

 

The touch-screen is highly tactile with a good haptic vibrating response with each key press or swipe of the finger. There’s still a slight lag from pressing an icon to its menu opening up, but the Viewty Smart is LG’s most responsive touch-screen to date. Something we would have liked to have seen is an actual hard back key as opposed to the virtual one, which appears in the awkward position of the top right-hand corner of the screen when you are in your various menus. When composing texts or entering web addresses, you can rely on the standard T9 entry or turn the device on its side to utilise the virtual QWERTY keyboard. We would have liked these keys to have been a little larger, but with a bit of due care, the keyboard provides a decent typing experience.

The Viewty Smart has some useful browsing skills including the ability to have two windows open at any one time. We’re happy to report that the user experience doesn’t suffer as a result, and maintains an electric pace thanks to the on-board HSDPA. Simply hit the multi-page icon in the bottom left of the screen to alternate between each page.

 

There’s also onboard Wi-Fi to save you a few pennies when surfing the net in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Pairing up to our office connection was a breeze as was the overall surfing experience. However, it’s the phone’s pincer like mechanism that will grab the most attention, due to the inevitable comparison to the iPhone.

It works in much the same way as Apple’s baby, starting with your forefinger and thumb close together simply spread them apart and you will zoom into your web page. Do the reverse and you’ll zoom out. It’s not seamless and, compared with the iPhone, ultimately disappoints. However, with a bit of practice we got to grips with it.

The same process can be used with the powerful eight-megapixel camera, though this proved far more difficult, as it was much trickier to get exactly the right amount of zoom, with over zooming a common occurrence.

It’s also difficult to fathom why you wouldn’t simply resort to the volume keys found on the right- hand side of the phone, which are ideally placed and far more reliable.

 

Eight-megapixel camera

 

Positioned as a camera phone, the LG Viewty Smart is packed with snapping features, and the results are excellent. That said, we’d implore LG to start building phones with lens covers. In the Viewty Smart for example, while the Schneider Kreuznach lens is of the utmost quality, we can’t help but feel with the general wear and tear a phone inevitably endures, a scratch on the glass is only a matter of time. Moan over.

To alter the settings, you’ll have to use the virtual wheel that appears on the left of the screen. Spin it around to select Image Stabilisation, Face Detection (up to three faces), Smile Detection and Beauty Mode (eliminates any blemishes on your subject’s face), all of which worked flawlessly and helped to improve photograph quality.

The Viewty Smart also houses a couple of new additions to LG’s arsenal. The phone is fitted with auto-focus, but you can also adjust this manually or via an innovative ‘spot’ mechanism. This works by pressing the area of the screen that you want to specifically focus in on. For example, you may be taking a shot where your core subject material is on the right of the display. Simply touch the right hand of the screen and the Viewty Smart will focus in before removing your digit and taking the photo. It works a treat and is a great way of utilising the touch-screen.

Although there’s no Xenon flash – seen as a must-have by many camera enthusiasts – the power LED flash is assisted by increased light sensitivity of up to ISO 1,600. Basically the higher the ISO, the more sensitive the image sensor is to the amount of light present. The more sensitive the image sensor, the more capable the camera is of taking low-light photographs. With an ISO of 1,600, the LG Viewty Smart sits right up alongside dedicated digital SLR cameras.

Yet if this is all getting a little too technical for you, then worry not. LG has also included an Intelligent Shot mode, which automatically adjusts the various settings in accordance to your surroundings. It even displays them on screen, so if you care to, you can brush up on your camera taking credentials. There’s also some fun, if slightly pointless, additions such as fog drawing, which involves you blowing into your microphone as your picture clouds up, before being able to wipe the screen clear with a swipe of a finger.

 

Video credentials

 

The original Viewty took much of its plaudits due to its excellent video recording capabilities, and its successor is no slouch either. As well as being able to upload your videos direct to YouTube as soon as you’ve finished recording, you can also record in both slow and fast motion. It works superbly well and with the on-board Movie Maker you can play Spielberg as you edit, trim, and add soundtracks and subtitles to your mini movies. You can even record in black and white or even sepia if you’re after that Western type look.

It’s also quite feasible to watch the real Steven Spielberg’s films on your LG Viewty Smart. Install DivX with the aid of the included installation CD and when sideloading any movie or video content from your PC, it will be automatically converted into DivX format enabling you to watch on the move.

Audio wise, the Viewty Smart rocks surround sound thanks to Dolby Mobile technology, and while there is no 3.5mm headset jack (apparently an intentional decision to distinguish between LG’s multimedia and camera phones), there is at least an adapter allowing you to plug your own set of cans in.

 

A-GPS

 

A special mention needs to be made of the Viewty Smart’s navigational abilities. Picking up an A-GPS fix was near instant and  achieved even when indoors. The signal was consistent and the excellent Google Maps is present to make the most of it. It’s just a shame that there’s no haptic response when using it – an issue that appears to lie more in Google’s court than the manufacturer’s.

 

The verdict

 

The LG Viewty Smart is just that. It looks pristine, has plenty going on inside and has a camera right up there with the best. Although the touch-screen is the most tactile we’ve encountered from LG, it’s still not quite the finished article. It has a slight lag, and the pincer/zooming action needs some perfecting. We also don’t like the fact that there is no way of adding third-party applications in the manner

of the Apple App Store, Ovi and Google Android market. However, if the original Viewty announced LG as a serious player in the mobile market, the Viewty Smart highlights how far the manufacturer has come with another powerful device in
the portfolio.