The impending launch of Apple's iPhone 3G in Australia will soon see an explosion of full-touch-screen mobile phones onto the market. LG is leading the charge with its Touch series, headed by the HSDPA-capable KF700. This sleek and stylish slider offers the convenience of a finger-operated interface, but also gives users a slide-out keypad and shortcut dial.
The KF700 is certainly a flashy unit, with a gloss black front and matte black rear broken up by slick, chrome edging. Although both the front and sides of this handset do tend to attract fingerprints, the results are well worth it in the end — this is definitely a head turner.
The KF700 is similar to the iPhone in that almost the entire front of the handset is taken up by the touch screen, but this also slides up to reveal a numeric keypad. For those who dislike on-screen keyboards, this is great. Although the keys are flat, they are reasonably sized and have decent tactile feedback, so messaging and dialling isn't an issue. Our only complaint with the KF700's display is the fact that it's a little small, especially when compared to the iPhone.
A unique addition to the KF700 is the short-cut dial on the right side of the handset. Pressing the shortcut button just below the dial brings up a menu where you can easily select commonly used functions. Simply spin the dial back and forth to scroll through the selections and either tap the display or press the shortcut button to enter the desired menu. It works reasonably well, but it isn't a vital addition on a phone already boasting a finger-operated touch screen.
The 3in display is not very wide but it is rather long, taking up most of the real estate on the front of the handset. Although it's not as intuitive as the iPhone's interface, LG has done a reasonable job. Menus are simple and easy to access. They are conveniently divided into four categories — phone, entertainment, personal and settings. Each menu item is clearly labelled and large enough to effortlessly tap with your finger; we appreciated the vibration response when you tap the screen. There is also a widget-style box on the home screen that offers quick access to three different styles of clocks, a calendar and a notepad. Each of these items can be quickly 'dropped' onto the home screen.
The KF700 isn't one of LG's top-of-the-line models, but it still features HSDPA-connectivity, a touch-screen Web browser first seen in the Viewty (KU990) and Bluetooth with the A2DP profile. The browser is excellent, as you can pan and scroll across Web pages with your finger, similar to the experience on Apple's (though not as polished).
For multimedia, the KF700 is fair, but not outstanding. The included music player supports most file formats and has a nice interface, but there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. The 3.2-megapixel camera with LED flash is fine for happy snaps but nothing more, while a VGA camera is present on the front for video calls over a 3G network. The KF700 also includes video recording and FM radio, in addition to various PIM functions such as an organiser, alarms, memo and a voice recorder. For extra memory, a microSD card slot is located on top of the phone, but there is no card included in the sales package.
