Syabas, makers of the Popcorn Hour A110 and C200 network media tanks, have announced yet another streaming device called the Popbox. Unlike previous offerings the Popbox has no internal hard disk and relies on streaming video from external sources such as; USB devices, a local network and the Internet.

The Popbox supports a number of content providers (see screenshot above) however due to copyright some services, such as Netflix, are unlikely to be available to UK users.

According to Syabas the Popbox uses much of the C200’s hardware and is just as proficient with audio and video formats. One notable difference though is the interface which looks a lot more professional than the C200.

On that note Syabas are also promising a much improved and Flash based UI for the C200 early in 2010.

The Popbox will feature an App store allowing the user to download and install applications to the device. The Popbox is due in March 2010 priced at a very reasonable $129 although there is no word as yet on the UK price or delivery date. If Syabas run true to form expect bulk deliveries to be patchy for the first month or so.

Audio/Video outputs:

• HDMI v1.3a (up to 1080p)
• Component video (up to 1080p)
• Stereo analogue audio
• S/PDIF audio

  Interfaces:

• 10/100 Ethernet interface
• 2x USB 2.0 ports (1 front and 1 rear mounted)

via Digitalera

The new LG LU7000 LCD TV was launched at IFA back in September 2009 and we’ve had the 22” version on long term test for 6 weeks now, so how’s it performed? Read on and find out……

First Impressions

The LU7000 is finished in a very classy looking piano black, has a DVD player tucked away in its sloping stand and looks a million dollars. A thin transparent section below the frame finishes the TV off nicely.

The TV can be mounted on a standard bracket or you can use the inbuilt stand. A small base plate is slipped on to the slopping DVD to make the bottom flat when using the stand. This keeps the TV looking neat when it is hung from a wall.

The viewing angle from left and right is good however, as usual; it’s not so good from below. The LU7000 isn’t full 1080P HD and isn’t 720P either it’s the rather unusual, for TV at least, 1360×768. It does produce some damn good pictures though.

Setup and Menus

As with almost all modern TVs the first time you switch it on it automatically scans for both analogue and digital TV channels including digital radio. All very simple and clear so far but how about the menus that are used to tweak the TV after initial setup?

I’m pleased to report that LG have used a very simple and clear icon based menu system allowing you to easily make adjustments to settings on the TV without the need to move closer. As always inputs can be labelled to make selecting the correct input a simple operation.

One pointer to the intended audience are the clock settings that allow you to specify an on and off time along with a channel and volume level making it the perfect alarm clock for the bedroom.

Integrated Freeview

The integrated Freeview picture quality obviously relies on the quality the channel transmits at. Overall the LG handles Freeview well and the resulting picture quality is bright and sharp with only the occasional artefact.

The EPG is clear and simple and the only real negative is the slight pause when you switch between channels. The LU7000 is not Freeview HD compatible but then there aren’t any other TVs out there at the moment that are either.

Integrated DVD

The integrated DVD player is built into the TV stand and has a novel sliding door mechanism rather than the more usual side mounted slot loader. DVDs are upscaled to 720P and look sharp, bright and vivid. The DVD player isn’t region free and despite searching I couldn’t find a hack to unlock it. Obviously I’ll update this post if I find one.

MP3s and JPGs are handled well although unfortunately DIVX and XVID videos can’t be played. Response and loading times are pleasingly fast and the DVD mechanism is very quiet in operation, you can hardly hear it even when the TV is on mute.

The blue lights around the disc flash on loading and ejecting but fortunately are left off during playback.

HDMI picture quality

The picture quality when using an HDMI source is simply gorgeous whether playing videos or gaming. For reference my source was an Xbox 360 and I couldn’t detect any obvious motion blur during games or video playback. The Xbox correctly identified the 1360×768 resolution of the TV. 

Sound

In common with most with most flat panel TVs there are no obvious speakers on the front and LG use Invisible Speaker technology to achieve this. Sound through the invisible speaker system is good without being great although it is a small TV so this is understandable and there’s an Optical Digital audio output if you want to connect to a more serious sound system.

ECO function

The remote has a dedicated ECO button that allows you to set the level of power saving from minimum through to screen off if you’re listening to music. Also available from the same button are picture mode, sound mode, audio mode, aspect ratio, sleep timer and USB eject as appropriate to the input you’re viewing.

Connections

The LU7000 sports a plethora of connections which is especially impressive considering it’s a relatively small TV. 

Rear connections

• 1 x RGB in PC plug and play.
• 1 x Audio in (for RGB in).
• 2 x HDMI
• 2 x Scart (1 full)
• 1 x Component
• 1 x Composite
• 1 x Optical Digital Audio output.
• 1 x RF Antenna In.

Side connections

• 1 x USB 2.0.
• 1 x CI slot.
• 1 x 3.5mm Headphone socket.

The connections make this an ideal student TV as it can be used as a PC monitor, Freeview TV and games console screen with inputs to spare. When using the screen as a PC monitor the resolution is detected correctly and results in a very usable PC display.

Pros

• Integrated DVD.
• Stylish looks.
• Connectivity.
• USB input.
• Front loading DVD is neat and saves scrabbling around the side for the more usual slot loader.
• Nice remote.

Cons

• No DIVX/XVID from the USB or DVD.
• Slight pause before a Freeview channel is displayed when stepping through channels.

Conclusion

The LG LU7000 LCD TV is a very competent all rounder with excellent connectivity for digital and legacy equipment making it the ideal student TV. It’s also well suited to smaller rooms such as kitchens and bedrooms.

On the negative side it’s a shame that it doesn’t handle DIVX or XVID files like the LG TVs launched at the same time as the LU7000. It is rather a lot to expect from a TV of this size and price though.

All in all if you’re after a TV in the 19 to 22” size range then you should take a serious look at the LU7000. Expect to pay around £300 for the 22” and a little less for the 19” version. 

SPEC

• Size 19 and 22” widescreen (16:9).
• Built-in DVD player.
• Invisible speakers, 10W.
• 1360×768.
• HD ready.
• Digital Audio Out.
• SRS TruSurround XT.
• Freeview.
• USB 2.0 (JPEG/MP3 Playback).
• Energy Saving Recommended.

Back in August we reported on the new Sony TX1 digital camera and its innovative add-on, the party shot base.

We’ve now had a week to run both devices through their paces so read on to see what we thought.

Specifications

The Sony TX1 is a compact 10.2 megapixel camera with a large screen and no optical viewfinder. The headline specifications are:

• 10.2 Megapixel “Exmoor R” CMOS sensor
• 4x optical zoom
• 3” touchscreen
• 10fps maximum shooting speed (burst for 10 shots)
• Optical image stabilisation
• “Sweep panorama” mode
• 720p HD Movie mode

Apart from the expected battery charger and USB cable Sony also include a wrist lanyard, TV connection cable and CD with PDF manual in the box.

In use

The lens of the TX1 is covered by a sliding door – opening this turns the camera on and gets it ready to shoot. The whole camera has a solid, well built feel about it and the smooth sliding action on the lens cover reinforces that.

All camera operations are controlled via menus presented on the 3” touchscreen. There are a variety of manual options possible, for example you can set the ISO and shooting parameters or tap the screen to select a focus point. In practice though the most useful setting is the “Intelligent Picture” mode which is what I left it on for the majority of the review.

This fully automatic mode is very impressive. The TX1 analyses the scene in front of it and selects one of its built in shooting programs, which it displays on the screen so you can see what’s going on. Wave it around outdoors and “Landscape” is chosen, move to a dimly lit building and you see “Twilight” mode selected. All very painless.

Optical image stabilisation works as advertised and you can choose whether to have it active all the time, or only as a photograph is taken. Having it active all the time means you get a steadier image on screen as you frame a shot but it does impact battery life. I’d leave it on because it does make a dramatic difference when zoomed in – if it worries you, you can always carry a spare battery.

The “Sweep Panorama” mode also seems to work well – you just press the shutter and turn around in a circle until the camera stops taking shots. A couple of seconds later you have a seamless panorama in your photo collection. It certainly beats spending hours stitching photos together with Hugin!

The photo on the right attempts to give a sense of scale by showing the camera against an Apple remote. It also shows the battery/memory stick door and tripod socket – an unexpected bonus and handy if you have a GorillaPod or other small travel tripod.

Picture Quality

Subjectively, picture quality is very good from what I could tell and the camera does better than most at low light/high ISO settings. Unfortunately mother nature conspired to make it difficult for me to get out and take any photos during my testing period so the gallery is a little bare – I did get a representative sample of the panorama mode though. I can’t spot the join!

Party-shot base

Available as an optional extra, the Party Shot base is a robotic moving platform that enables the camera to spin and tilt, taking photographs automatically.

When plugged into the base the camera enters a fully automatic mode using its built in smile and face detection features to scan the room looking for pictures of happy, grinning people. When it finds one it takes a photo.

You can control the degree of freedom that the base has to rotate (90, 180 or 360 degrees) so you can put it in a corner and not have it take photos of the wall. You can also choose how often it takes photos and one of 3 different criteria to determine how “smiling” people should be before they’re included. Its all fully automatic so you can just turn it on and walk away.

That’s the idea anyway. In practice I found a few hiccups – firstly, it seemed to have problems recognising people wearing glasses. Given that 4 out of the 6 people in my sample group had glasses on it meant that the camera seemed to single out 2 people obsessively and keep them in the frame! Not always admittedly, but it certainly seemed to have a preference for the naked face.

Secondly the position of the party shot in the middle of a table made for some unflattering photos – the camera is effectively looking up peoples’ noses!

To be fair the party-shot has a tripod screw thread in its base so you do have a lot of freedom in where you position it – a table top tripod would probably have made things look a lot different.

I’d say it works as advertised if you have a need for that sort of thing (I can imagine it being a fun addition to the table cameras at weddings) but in practice it would be hard to find a use for it in everyday life. 

Conclusion

I liked the TX1 – the small size and good automatic mode means it’s easy to just drop it in your pocket and take out for quick photos without thinking about settings. At an RRP of £299, Sony aren’t giving it away though and you’re undoubtedly paying a premium for the technology.

That said, the TX1 does its job well so if you want a stylish, pocket friendly digital camera with a good range of features you should put it on the shortlist.

OK, I’ll admit to being a sucker for the whole “Guitar Hero” genre so this appeals to me probably more than it should.

The YouRock controller from Inspired Instruments looks to be the latest in a variety of “real instrument” controllers that can be used to rock out to a video game with more authenticity. Its a MIDI compatible electric guitar (yes, real frets and strings) which can act as a guitar controller for your favourite music game.

The console compatibility is handled via an optional converter so you buy the guitar + whatever interface you need for your console (Wii, PS3 and XBox supported).

$179 (USD) isn’t cheap for a game controller, but for a real musical instrument that can be used as a game controller it doesn’t seem too bad to me.

If all goes well Inspired Instruments should be demoing the YouRock at CES and shipping next year.

We recently got our hands on one of LG’s first Windows Mobile phones (in the UK anyway) in the form of the Vodafone exclusive GM750. Read on for the full review…

Overview

The GM750 is a mid-range smartphone with a 240×400 pixel resistive touch screen. It’s shown here with an Apple remote to give some sense of scale.

In the box you get a UK power adapter, telescoping stylus and earbud/headset.

The headline specifications are:

• Windows Mobile 6.5
• 240×400 screen
• 5 Megapixel camera
• MicroSD expansion
• 256MB on board memory
• A-GPS
• Video calling
• Bluetooth/Wifi/3G/HSDPA

In use

LG have skinned Windows Mobile with an approximation of the  “S-class” UI found on their other phones. I’m in two minds about this skin – there are elements of it I like (such as the home screen) but on the whole I think I prefer the bare bones Windows Mobile look and feel. Luckily you get the choice so swapping between them is a matter of flipping an option in the settings screen.

There are dedicated buttons for call start and end, volume and camera as well as one to bring up the task manager screen. The Camera and task manager buttons can be reassigned to other tasks if you prefer.

The 256MB on board RAM can be supplemented by a MicroSD card which is accessible without pulling the phone apart – handy for quick access to photos and mp3s.

The center “button” on the face of the phone can be configured to act as a rather neat optical mouse or a 4 way “D-pad” (operated by swiping your thumb in the appropriate direction). I liked the D-pad option, it worked well and to a certain extent overcomes some of the limitations of the resistive screen.

The touch experience

LG make some superb capacitive touchscreens but sadly the one on the GM750 is a rather basic resistive model. It’s not the most sensitive of screens – it seems to respond well to the included stylus but finger (or fingernail) taps often don’t register.

That’s a shame as the design of the phone means there’s nowhere to store the stylus so you may well find yourself relying on fingers. The stylus is quite a chunky affair and while the size makes it quite comfortable to hold, it also makes it impossible to fit into the phone (or any phone come to think of it).

There is an on-screen QWERTY keyboard available if you want it – I’m not a fan of touchscreen keyboards in general but the GM750 does give you the option of using a “phone keypad” style interface with T9 which works well for all text input except URLs.

Extras

The phone includes tilt sensors which certain applications (Internet Explorer being the obvious one) use to automatically adjust their layout when you turn it sideways. It also has an onboard GPS which seems responsive and accurate.

You can use the phone as a bluetooth modem to a laptop – a nice bluetooth interface makes this fairly intuitive to set up.

Outlook contacts and calendar appointments sync up quite happily and you can download applications from the marketplace. In short, you get the full Windows Mobile experience.

WinMo is taking a beating in the popularity stakes at the moment with competition from Apple and Android but I have to admit to liking it – given that I use a Windows PC, the integration with the phone works for me.

Conclusion

The GM750 is a light, pocketable Windows Mobile phone which doesn’t have much direct competition. It’s free on a £25 contract with Vodafone at the time of writing which, for a decent WinMo smartphone, is pretty cheap.

We spoke via twitter earlier today with with Richard Palk from Sony. Richard is the General Manager, Content & Services, Digital Reading Business Europe and gave us some of his time to talk about Sony’s Reader products:

@SonyEurope Hi, thanks for your time. Can you describe the e-book and e-reader concept for people who aren’t familiar with it?

@GadgetsCoolest Reading digital books on devices with special screens- much more like reading on paper than a PC or smartphone offer

@SonyEurope  Your main competition seems to be Amazon – What are the main differences between the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader?

@GadgetsCoolest Reader lets you enjoy eBooks from multiple shops, libraries & other sites, unlike Amazon. Sony also has a touchscreen model

@SonyEurope This year has seen the launch of the Pocket and Touch editions. What can we expect next year?

@GadgetsCoolest Can’t reveal company secrets, sorry! But expect continuing innovations, and more access to content that people want to read

@SonyEurope Moving onto the devices, What makes using e-readers different to reading books on an iPhone or netbook?

@GadgetsCoolest 2 big differences are specialised non-backlit screens that don’t strain eyes & batteries that last for weeks between charges

@SonyEurope People may have heard about Amazon deleting purchased books from users’ Kindles. Is this possible with the Sony products?

@GadgetsCoolest Our US ebook stores policy is that after purchase you own the book & keep it! Our European partner stores have the same view

@SonyEurope Good to know! Are Sony’s Readers DLNA compatible, or are there any plans to make them compatible in future?

@GadgetsCoolest Until we have a clear user benefit in mind that DLNA would enable for Reader owners, we won’t be focusing our efforts there

@SonyEurope The US gets the Reader Daily Edition this year. Are there any plans to launch that in in Europe?

@GadgetsCoolest We’ll launch a wireless Reader in Europe when necessary elements are in place to offer users a great wireless experience!

@SonyEurope Has Sony got any plans to open up its API for third party developers?

@GadgetsCoolest This is definitely on our roadmap, although we can’t share specific timings or other details right now

@SonyEurope Will Readers be able to view RSS feeds and can users save feeds, or is it all overwritten automatically?

@GadgetsCoolest We’re currently looking at what our customers want from automated RSS updates. No news to share yet, but stay tuned…

@SonyEurope Last question – How do you anticipate the market for eBooks developing in 2010?

@GadgetsCoolest It’ll grow strongly overall – the rate will vary by country. Expect fast growth in available books and places to get them

@SonyEurope OK, I think that’s all the questions we had. Any final words?

@GadgetsCoolest That’s ok, many thanks for your questions. We hope it’s been useful.

@GadgetsCoolest Thanks again – ‘Reading is for life as well as for Christmas!’

@SonyEurope – Just one more ereader question: Do the devices work on Windows 7 / Snow leopard?

@GadgetsCoolest The devices already work on Win7 (you may need to update the PC software first) and they’ll work on SnowLeopard before Xmas

The new LG GW 520 touch screen phone arrived for review a few weeks ago. First impressions are good and the neat slide out QWERTY keyboard feels very solid and doesn’t wobble once exposed.

LG are aiming their new phone at social networking types in much the same way as Vodafone are with the 360 Samsung H1. The GW520 packs LGs LiveSquare visual alert system which displays the contacts you actually interact with as characters on your home screen allowing you to quickly call or text them.

So how does it feel after a month of use?

Touch screen and User Interface

The 2.8” touch screen is very bright and clear but feels quite clumsy in use in that you sometimes need to prod it a couple of times before getting the desired result. LG do include screen calibration from the phone setting options and although this improves things when you’re trying to open the useful shortcuts menu it can take a number of stabs to persuade it to open.

LG are using a simplified interface on this new slider and I have to say it isn’t quite as slick as the S-Class interface found on the Arena and Chocolate. You move between the widget and LiveSquare screens by swiping a finger to the left or right on either screen.

LG supply a number of useful widgets including the usual clock, calendar, weather, music player, etc. In line with the current fashion a FaceBook widget is also included that opens up the supplied FaceBook app. The 520 also supports a Push Email app that can be started from the strangely named “Good” widget.

LiveSquare

I’m not quite convinced by the LiveSquare visual alerts. On one hand it populates your home screen with all the contacts you actually interact with which is arguably better than pre-selecting your favourite contacts but on the other hand it insists on displaying them as cutesy animals or cartoon like people. The more you interact with a contact the more extras they get. What they get depends on whether you choose the Park or Zoo theme. These themes seem to be aimed at the teen market as the over twenties I let loose on the phone found them a just little too cutesy for their taste.

Touching a contact on LiveSquare selects it and starts the shortcut buttons at the bottom of the screen vibrating showing you what actions are possible with the contact. Typically you can call, look up or text the contact by touching the appropriate vibrating shortcut. Selecting multiple contacts allows you to send the same text to all of them without selecting each contact separately.

LiveSquare is very nearly there and with a more grown up theme it would be a very useful speed dial type feature although I think we could safely loose the; Zebra, Anteater, Giraffe, Duck and Bluebird.

Social Networking and Messaging

The FaceBook application is very neat if a little small to comfortably use with fingers. Of course being a resistive screen means that you have the option of using some form of stylus for better accuracy. A standard plastic pen lid works just fine if you don’t want to buy one.

Although the screen size means that the FaceBook app is not ideal it does suffice if you’re on the move and without access to a netbook or PC. One notable deficiency is the ability to upload photos, however as there’s no Wi-Fi on the GW520 it will at least help keep your data charges down.

The 520 packs both normal email and push email meaning you never need to be out of touch. Email setup is extremely simple with; Hotmail, Google Mail, Yahoo, AOL and generic Internet email setups options available. The push email application works well and new messages appear in your inbox within a minute or so of being sent.

Multimedia

Music playback is hindered somewhat by the combination of cheap packaged headphones and a proprietary connector. I know a single connector for charging, syncing, listening and speaking is cheaper and I know you can buy a cheap headphone adaptor and use your own buds but I just miss just being able to plug in standard headphones.

The audio player does a good job with your music and has all the usual functions we’ve come to expect. The built in speaker’s nothing to write home about musically but it’s quite loud and more than adequate for speakerphone calls.

The screen’s bright and clear and perfect for watching video clips on. It is, however, a little small for comfortably watching movies on.

Camera and Video

The 3 mega pixel camera has no flash or autofocus and so is of limited use indoors but used outside and at a distance it produces reasonable quality photos.

The video camera is similar to the camera giving reasonable outdoor shots but not really suited to indoor or badly lit situations.

Battery Life

With light to medium phone use you’ll need to charge the 520s standard 950mAh battery every three or four days. This is with practically no video usage and minimal time with Bluetooth turned on. Either of these would seriously reduce the battery life.

Conclusion

I have to say that using the LG GW520 has been somewhat of a mixed bag. On the plus side the LG is a well built touch screen phone with some nice UI ideas and a good sized slide out keyboard. It’s a solid workman like phone and should last well.

On the negative side it’s let down by the cutesy LiveSquare interface, fiddly resistive touch screen and a proprietary headphone jack. For some reason the screen seems to be more of a fingerprint magnet than usual.

Available from the Carphone Warehouse, T-Mobile, Three and Orange from free on contract and as little as £130 for PAYG.

Update: Three are currently selling the GW520 in a Christmas Special promotion for just £99.99 which includes free Skype to Skype calls and Windows Live Messenger.

Pros

• LiveSquare is nice idea although it’s a bit too cutesy for grown ups in its present form.
• The slide out keyboard is good and very comfortable to use.
• Feels solid and well made.
• External Micro SD slot.
• FaceBook app.
• Threaded messaging.

Cons

• No 3.5mm jack.
• Low quality headphones.
• No Wi-Fi.
• The touch screen lacks accuracy when using your finger but is better with a stylus.
• No Flash or autofocus limits the usefulness of the camera.

Specification:

• 2.8” touch screen 240×400 262K, TFT resistive with Haptic feedback.
• Dimension: L x W x D (mm) 106.9 x 53 x 15.9
• Slide out QWERTY keyboard.
• 3 Mega pixel camera.
• Video camera.
• Weight with Standard Battery 125.5g
• Battery: Li-Ion, 950mAh
• Standby Time: up to 500 hours
• Talk Time: up to 4.5 hours
• 3G: HSDPA 7.2
• Bluetooth : V2.0 with A2DP
• USB.
• Internal Memory: up to 40MB
• External Memory: Micro SD (up to 8GB)
• Threaded text messaging.
• Email and Push Email.
• LiveSquare visual alerts
• Java (MIDP 2.1)
• FM Radio
• MP3 player
• Internet Browser.
• Document Viewer

I’ve had the press release for this sitting in my inbox since summer and I still can’t decide if it’s a wind-up or not. Ignoring the name (which is the sort of thing I’d choose if I was trying to get a reaction out people), the idea just seems… crazy. It’s a sheet – which you pull over yourself and your laptop so you can see the screen.

Or you could work out of a pop up tent, which seems about as usable to me.

If you feel like ordering 10 of them (that’s the only quantity available in the online store) head on over to www.laptopburka.com

We’ll be speaking to Sony next week about eBooks in general and their Reader products specifically and we’re looking for questions. Time’s a bit short – if you’ve got anything you want to ask, send it to tips@coolest-gadgets.com before the end of play on Thursday.

The interview will be conducted via Twitter so keep the questions short!

LG recently gave us some hands on time with a few of their new and upcoming handsets including the as-yet-unreleased GW-620 Android so I thought I’d post a few first impressions. (click on the photos for larger versions)

First up we have the GD510 POP. The unique selling point of this slim touchscreen phone will doubtless be the optional solar panel back cover that promises to keep the phone charge topped up without needing a mains adapter. Sadly production problems meant we couldn’t see that version so we were left with the standard model.

It’s simple to use – there is only a single button for making/ending a call with the rest of the functions being handled by the touchscreen. Specifications include a 3 inch “frameless” touchscreen (it doesn’t quite come to the edge of the phone, but it’s close) and dedicated applications for facebook and twitter. It should cost around £100 from carphone warehouse on PAYG.

Next we have the BL-520 chocolate 2. A smaller sibling of the BL-40 chocolate we recently looked at, the 520 is also endowed with the “Black Label” branding and bucks the current trend for touchscreens by using a slider design with physical buttons.

The BL-520 includes a 5MP camera with LED flash, is 3G capable and has a nice set of glowing touch sensitive navigation buttons to control the various functions.

We have a review handset in testing at the moment so we’ll post a more detailed assessment when we’ve had a chance to run it through its paces.

Moving into smartphone territory, we also have a sample of LG’s first foray into Windows Mobile in the shape of the GM750. Again we’ll be posting a few more thoughts when we’ve had a chance to run it in but the highlights are:

• Touchscreen only (no physical keyboard)
• Windows Mobile 6.5.
• Currently exclusive to Vodafone in the UK
• Includes a GPS and optical mouse.
• 5MP Camera with LED flash
• MicroSD expansion

You’re looking at about £15/month on contract at the moment with the phone free – a good deal for the full WinMo experience.

Last but not least we have the star of the show, LGs first Android handset. It currently goes by the model number GW620 but may end up with a different name in the UK once it’s released over here next year.

LG have skinned the usual Android UI with a version of their own “S-Class” user interface concept, although this can be removed if you prefer the vanilla Android look and feel (I do, so it’s good to have the choice).

Unlike the current crop of Android handsets, the phone looks “normal” – which is a good thing. It has a 3” touchscreen with 320×480 resolution and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard is a full 5 row affair so no need to go hunting for the function key when you want to type numbers.

Being Android it will run any application available from the marketplace and is compatible with push email. It’s also DivX and MP3 compatible and has a standard 3.5” headphone jack so you can can use it as a media player. A 5MP camera with LED flash rounds out the multimedia functions.

Pushing the social networking theme, LG have included an integrated contact manager that links facebook and myspace accounts to a contact, the idea being that you can always see what your friends are up to from one location. A nice idea if it works but not something we got the chance to see in action.

In use the device seemed responsive – more so than most Windows Mobile devices – and we look forward to using it more once it’s released in January.