In the Viewty GT, LG has managed to produce a touchscreen handset at a low price, but it's obvious that it has cut corners to do it. First off, the touchscreen is of the resistive type (read cheaper), not the capacitive models you'll find on the likes of the HTC Desire and its ilk. You can of course use it with your gloves on (handy at this time of year) but ultimately it means that using it is not such an enjoyable experience - you'll find yourself pressing hard to get a result. LG has also included a stylus too, which is hidden away at the top of the device.

Touch me

You can manage without that stylus - but don't mislay it, because the device looks somewhat incomplete without it. The good news is that, for a screen of its type, the display is reasonably speedy and responsive. It also has a haptic feedback response, which gives the display the feeling of being even more bouncy than a normal resistive screen. Of course the other thing you miss out on with a resistive screen is multi-touch, so no pinch and zoom for you - instead you have to tap on the magnifying glass icon.

We were disappointed to find there is no Wi-Fi included - a strange omission for a device that offers so many functions that are internet-dependent, such as Facebook and Twitter widgets. There's no GPS, either, although that didn't surprise us.

Music lovers will find there is no 3.5mm headphone jack for connecting your own headphones. Instead you have to use a micro USB slot, which is also used for the charger. There's no adapter, so you are stuck with the supplied earphones.

Looking good

But it's not all negative. The Viewty GT is compact, fits easily in the pocket and is certainly no heavyweight. The chassis is metal-look plastic, rather than real metal, but it keeps the weight down and still manages to look rather stylish. If you want a smaller device than the likes of the iPhone or HTC Desire, this may well do the job for you. Its compact size also means it only has a 3in screen, but it is still very usable.

Picture perfect

The camera is a surprising 5-megapixel version, although it's a shame there's no flash. And once you've taken your snaps, that 3G connection will mean they'll take longer to upload than if you had a wireless connection. We found the browser sluggish too - it took some time to load the Facebook home page, even on an HSDPA connection (that widget by the way, only shortcuts to the internet). However, we were quite pleased with pictures taken in reasonable light, outdoors, for instance. And the device offers a number of editing options to improve your images.

You'll also find LG's S-Class interface onboard. This offers a customisable screen - widgets can be added from the tray at the bottom of the page while you are editing. The tray will usually have a useful set of icons for the address book, message writing, making calls and launching menus. There are three further screens on which you can feature your favourite contacts. It does the job, but is far from outstanding, and the whole operating system is starting to look a little past its sell-by date.

The verdict

The Viewty GT seems to have a bit of an identity crisis - it's not sure if it wants to be a low-price phone, with average features and a high-res camera, or a compact smartphone that has had some corners cut to maintain a low price.