LG Viewty

It is October 2007, and LG has just released a handset that feels like it was designed to be the ultimate ‘iPhone killer’ for people who actually care about their camera. The KU990, better known as the ‘Viewty,’ is a sleek, black-and-silver slab of technical ambition that puts high-end photography at the forefront. In the UK, it is currently being heavily marketed as the first phone to bring ‘Pro-level’ features to a touch-screen device. It’s a 112g beauty with a massive 3.0-inch resistive touch screen and a rear that looks more like a high-end Schneider-Kreuznach camera than a telephone._x000D_
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Technically, the Viewty is a beast of imaging. It features a 5-megapixel sensor with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, manual focus (via a jog-wheel around the lens), and an ISO sensitivity up to 800. But the real ‘wow’ factor is the video. It is the first phone in the world to record video at 120 frames per second. This means you can record a mate falling over at the pub and play it back in glorious, buttery-smooth slow motion. It is a technical showpiece that has every gadget-nerd in the country rushing to their local Carphone Warehouse. The screen is a vibrant 240 x 400 pixel TFT that handles haptic feedback, giving you a little ‘buzz’ every time you press a button to simulate a real click._x000D_
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Under the hood, the Viewty is a full 3.5G (HSDPA) device, offering mobile internet speeds up to 3.6Mbps, which makes the original iPhone’s 2G connection look like a Victorian steam engine. It features 100MB of internal memory and a microSD slot for expansion, which is essential given the size of those high-speed video files. It also features a Google package with dedicated apps for YouTube and Gmail, making it one of the most ‘web-ready’ phones on the market. However, the resistive touch screen can feel a bit sluggish compared to the iPhone’s capacitive glass, often requiring a firm prod rather than a gentle swipe._x000D_
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The user interface is a bespoke LG creation that is surprisingly intuitive, with large, finger-friendly icons and a clever ‘multitasking’ menu. Connectivity is well-handled with Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0, though it lacks Wi-Fi, which is a bit of a sting for a high-end device in late 2007. Battery life is also a concern; between the massive touch screen, the HSDPA radio, and the 120fps video, the 1000 mAh battery is lucky to survive a full day of heavy use. But as a statement of intent, the Viewty is a magnificent bit of kit. It’s a camera first and a phone second, a technical pioneer that proved LG could push the boundaries of what a mobile could actually record.