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LG Shine KE970 Review - Tour & Design

Richard Baguley Published on April 25, 2007 Comment on this

Intro Making/Receiving Calls Software Other Features

Tour & Design Messaging Battery Life Value & Comparisons

Audio Quality Organizer Connectivity Conclusion

Imaging Multimedia Hardware Ratings & Specs

Front Closed
The major feature of the front of the LG Shine KE 970 is the mirrored screen. As you can see in the photo below, the front face of the case is highly reflective, so the phone can double as a pocket mirror. Behind this reflective layer is the 2.2-inch, 240 by 320 resolution screen.

Front Open


Left
There are no major features on the left of the KE970, although you can see the seams; one for where the front of the phone slides up to reveal the keypad, and the other for the metal plate that covers the back of the phone.

Top

There are no features on the bottom of the KE970; there are no sockets for docks.

Right


Back

On the back of the KE970 is the camera lens. Next to this is a small round reflective surface (used for self portraits) and the small LED flash.

 Battery Out
Removing the back cover of the KE970 reveals the battery, a rather thin 800MAh model. Next to this is the SIM socket, and below this is the slot for the MiniSD card. This means that you do have to remove the back cover to swap out the MiniSD card, but you don’t have to turn off the phone when doing this. This is something of a pain, though, but at least you aren’t likely to loose the rather small MicroSD card; there’s no way it is going to fall out by accident if it is under the cover.

In the Box (5.0)

The KE970 comes with the following items out of the box:
- The phone
 - A remote control for music, which also contains a microphone for headset use
- A pair of in-ear headphones with a 3.5-mm plug that plugs into the remote control
- Manual
- Software CD
- USB cable
- Cleaning cloth
- Screen cleaner dongle

Handling (4.5)
The LG Shine KE970 fits comfortably into the hand, but the handling is far from perfect. For one thing, the only way to slide the screen up to get to the keypad is to use your thumb, and this leaves big thumbprints, CSI-style on the shiny surface of the front of the phone. The buttons are also a little awkwardly placed, particularly the volume buttons. You can just about reach these with the thumb if you are in a call, but it’s awkward and you could end up dropping the phone. We would have preferred to see them further up towards the top of the phone where they would be easier to reach.

Portability (8.0)
The KE970 is a very portable phone: at just under 5 ounces and just 0.54 inches thick, it will fit into a small pocket or bag easily.

Aesthetics (9.0)
There’s no doubt that the KE790 is a stylish phone; it is small, sleek and shiny.

Durability (7.0)
It’s hard to draw too many conclusions about the durability of the KE790; the slider mechanism feels robust, but we don’t know how it would stand up to heavy use. The case also feels tough, but we are concerned about the screen getting scratched or otherwise damaged. The plate that covers the back fits snugly, but we are concerned about how the seams would stand up to the constant assault of dust, dirt, moisture and general unpleasantness that phones have to endure; some of them feel a little loose and could let the nasties into the sensitive electronics inside.

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