LG Shine KE970 Review - Conclusion
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Richard Baguley Published on April 25, 2007 Comment on this |
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Who's It For
Business User - Although it can view business documents, the KE970 would make a poor choice for the business user. The email is limited, and the small keypad makes typing a pain. Those who need to take their business on the road will be better off with a more data-focused device like the BlackBerry 8800.
Budget Callers - The high cost of the KE970 as an unlocked phone will put it out of the reach of the budget caller. When you can pick up a phone from a cellular network for free when you sign up, there’s no reason for a budget caller to consider the KE970.
Chatty Teenager - The KE970 will have a definite appeal for fashionable teens who want to have the latest phone that can double as a mirror for checking makeup. But the cramped keyboard and slow typing mean it wouldn’t work well for the teen who likes to chat via SMS messages.
Media Maven - Those who like to take pictures may like the combination of the built-in 2 megapixel camera and think profile, and the wired remote is great for controlling the music from a bag or pockets. But the awful music player software and the small video playback size make this a poor pick for the media maven who wants to watch and listen on the road.
Conclusion The LG Shine KE970 is a nice looking phone; the mirrored screen and clean design make it one of the most attractive phones that we’ve looked at. It wouldn’t look out of place in the hands of a supermodel on the catwalk in Milan. But, like the supermodel, appearances can be deceiving, and our tests reveal that the KE970 has serious issues under the skin.
The major problem here is the display; the mirrored finish of the cover reflects the sun and means that it’s practically unusable in daylight (see the photo on the right, which was taken on a sunny day with the display brightness at maximum). That may be fine if you’re an all-night partygoer, but it will be a problem for those of us who like to go out in daylight.
The software on the phone is also an issue; the KE970 has a great wired remote and reasonable battery life playing back music, but the MP3 player software is, not to put too fine a point on it, awful. It doesn’t support playlists, provides no way to organize your music and can’t play music directly from the memory card. It’s also worth bearing in mind that this imported phone does not support the GSM-850 standard, which is used by many US networks to cover more sparsely populated areas. It does support the GSM-1900 standard, though and this is what the networks use in big cities. So, like the supermodel again, this phone wouldn’t be at home in the country, but it would fit right in with the big city.
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