Latest phones and cell review

The new LG KS360 is now available in Europe this week. The KS360 featuring a sliding QWERTY keypad, touchscreen for dialing only, 2 megapixel camera and MicroSD card slot.

With the KS360’s slider QWERTY keypad, users can write messages quickly and accurately. Once the full length keypad has been opened, the 2.4″ screen automatically rotates 90 degrees using accelerometer technology. At just 16.8mm thin, this handset has been designed to fit easily into a pocket or handbag, a convenient alternative to lugging a laptop around.

The KS360 is available in a range of colours to suit everyone, including Titanium and bright blue, White and soft pink, Black and red, Black and silver.

LG KS360 specifications:

• Network: GSM 900/1800/1900
• Battery: Li-Ion 800mAh
• Dimensions: 101.5×51x16.8mm
• Main screen: 2.4″ QVGA (240×320) 262k
• Camera: 2 megapixel
• Memory: 15MB
• MicroSD card slot, up to 4GB supported
• Bluetooth: V2.0
• USB: V2.0, Mass Storage
• Ringtones: 64 polyphonic
• Audio codecs: MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
• Video codecs: MPEG4/H.263
• Browser: WAP 2.0
• JAVA: MIDP 2.0
• Messaging: SMS, MMS, IM, Email
• FM Radio

The Second Annual LG National Texting Competition has come to a close, and LG U.S.A. has crowned another victor in their quest for fast and furious thumbs. On July 9, New York City was taken by whirlwind as the fastest texters from all over the country participated in a grueling battle of the thumbs for the second year in a row.

The winning phrase was “Does everybody here know the alphabet? Let’s text. Here it goes…AbcDeFghiJKlmNoPQrStuvWXy & Z! Now I know my A-B-C’s, next time won’t you text with me?” which Schwartz completed in sixty seconds. The contestants used any LG phones that featured full QWERTY keypads including the enV2, enV and Voyager.

In similar fashion to last years competition, contestants were asked to type out phrases on their LG handsets exactly as they appeared on an overhead LG plasma screens without typos or abbreviations. The first contestant to complete their phrase accurately would advance to the next round until Schwartz took home the gold.

The contest took place in the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The competition was free and open to anyone that had an activated LG phone.

The latest eye candy from Verizon Wireless and LG is available today. The new flip style LG Chocolate 3, the third-generation of the iconic Chocolate music phones, supports the latest features including Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music with Rhapsody subscription music service. The LG Chocolate 3 will be available in black or light blue beginning today in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores.

The marquee music phone for the new V CAST Music with Rhapsody service, LG Chocolate 3 allows Verizon Wireless customers to access more than 5 million songs, create playlists and load hundreds of songs on their phones to take with them wherever they go. Designed to be a powerhouse music player, the LG Chocolate 3 sports a built-in FM transmitter so customers can play music through a car or other stereo system, dual speakers, Bluetooth headset for wireless stereo sound, and multitasking capabilities while listening to music. An easy-to-use external front navigation wheel and center select key makes music navigation easy, and the phone will satisfy music appetites with its optional expandable memory using a large 8 GB microSD card.

The LG Chocolate 3 also packs a 2.0 megapixel camera and camcorder and supports V CAST Video and ESPN MVP, giving customers an on-demand link to news, scores and more. The LG Chocolate 3 can be charged via a computer with its micro USB charging port.

The LG Chocolate 3 is the first Verizon Wireless phone to feature Dashboard, a graphically rich portal powered by Adobe Flash Cast technology, which delivers personalized multimedia information and entertainment services directly to the phone. Dashboard features 13 channels - Mobile Web, VZW Showcase, Get Channels and Search, as well nine more to customize the wireless experience. Verizon Wireless customers can select from News, Community, Comedy Central, MTV News, IGN.COM, FOX Sport, Tones & Extras, Sports, ESPN, Music, Entertainment, Weather, Business, and Games channels to appear on their phones.

Additional features and capabilities of the LG Chocolate 3 include:

• Music player that supports .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac and unprotected .aac+ files
• Dedicated music key and preset sound effect equalizer o Create and manage playlists
• Music library - organized by artist, genre, album
• Music only mode (RF off except Bluetooth) - supports up to 24 hours of music playback
• 2.0 Megapixel Camera/Camcorder Features
  • Camera resolutions: 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480, 320 x 240 pixels
  • Zoom: up to 2x o Image editor - zoom, rotate and crop images
  • Video resolutions: 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels
  • Video recording time - 30 seconds (for sending) or up to 1 hour (for saving) depending on available memory
  • Video player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
  • Customizable brightness, white balance, shutter sound, night, photometry o Self-timer: off, three, five or 10 seconds
  • Color effects: normal, negative, aqua, sepia, black and white
• Mobile Email - access MSN Hotmail, America Online and Yahoo! accounts to exchange e-mail
• VZ Navigator-capable - get visual and audible directions to thousands of destinations, locate businesses and other points of interest, get maps of a location and share directions with others
• Media Center-capable - downloadable games, ringtones, wallpapers, location-based services and more
• Mobile IM capabilities
• Chaperone Child-capable - allows the LG Chocolate 3 to have its location shared with family members via the Chaperone Web site, the Chaperone Parent application or Child Zone SMS alerts
• Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
  • Save up to 20 Bluetooth pairings
  • Supported profiles: headset, hands-free, dial-up networking, advanced audio distribution (stereo), phone book access, basic printing, object push for vCard and vCalendar, file transfer and basic imaging
  • Send all contacts and calendar events via Bluetooth
  • Print and send user generated pictures (JPEG) via Bluetooth
• One-touch speakerphone
• Speaker-independent voice commands
• Voice-activated dialing up to 1,000 entries
• Voice recording - 1 minute or 1 hour (standby) up to 1,500 memos
• .mp3 music ringer support (clips from hit songs)
• 27 unique ringtones as well as vibrate and silent modes
• Text, picture, video and voice messaging
• Phone book with 1,000 contacts - each entry stores five numbers, two e-mail addresses and a Picture ID
• Speed dial - 999 entries; one voicemail default
• Calendar, calculator, EZ tip calculator, alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock and notepad
• Flash user-interface for clear images, text and fun animations
• Simultaneous GPS for enhanced location accuracy
• Standalone mode (RF off)
• TTY/TDD support
• Hearing aid compatible = M3
• Headset jack: 3.5 mm
• Frequency: 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA (Digital Dual-Band)
• Data transmission: EV-DO
• SAR: head 1.26 W/kg; body 0.367 W/kg
• Dimensions: 3.87″ (h) x 1.94″ (w) x 0.64″ (d)
• Weight: 3.36 ounces
• Display:
  • Internal LCD: 260K Color TFT, 320 x 240 pixels, 2.2″
  • External LCD: 260K Color TFT, 176 x 220 pixels, 1.76″
• Standard battery: 800 mAh
• Usage time: up to 270 minutes
• Standby time: up to 350 hours

The LG Chocolate 3 will be available for $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

LG Dare is available through Verizon Wireless’ online store since last Friday, it will be available in your local store from July 3rd onwards. The LG Dare has a 3-inch large LCD screen, comes with handwriting recognition, 3.2 megapixel camera with face detection and flash, and photo editing capabilities.

You can find some reviews below

http://www.infosyncworld.com/reviews/cell-phones/lg-dare-vx9700/9545.html

With no buttons to fall back on, the LG Dare can be very difficult to use, due to the way it handles touch input. It’s too bad, because some features, like the camera and the fast Web browser, deserve to be part of a great all-round package. Clearly a lot of effort went into the interface design. It’s unique, intuitive and very customizable. It looks great and the polish extends deep into the phone’s menu structure, making the entire package feel modern. Unfortunately, serious hardware flaws stymie the designer’s efforts, and where the phone should shine, it’s more frustrating than fun.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/25/lg-dare-hands-on/

http://gizmodo.com/5020820/verizons-lg-dare-full-review-verdict-best-iclone-yet

The truth is, the Dare may not be as glamorous or well-priced as the Instinct, but it has a better browser, a motion sensor and some cool software tricks that make it a fine phone for people who choose to remain in Verizon’s walled garden.

http://jenngrover.com/?p=478

The Dare seems to be living up to everyone’s expectations, including mine. I really have not been disappointed with anything yet. Actually, I have been regularly surprised as I discovered new, unexpected features.

Lastly, a long discuss thread in HowardForums can be found here

Features and capabilities of LG Dare include:

• V CAST Music-capable
• Music Player for .mp3, .wma, unprotected .aac, and unprotected .aac+ files
• microSD card slot
• USB Mass Storage mode
• 3.2 Megapixel Camera and Camcorder
• SmartPic technology and manual ISO adjustment for improved image quality
• Face Detection - detects a face when taking a picture
• Panorama, split shot and frame camera settings
• Image Editor - zoom, rotate, crop, add frames and icons and write over images
• Video Resolutions: 640 x 480, 320 x 240, 176 x 144 pixels
• Video Recording Speed: up to 120 frames per second for slow video playback
• Video Recording Time: 30 seconds (for sending); up to 1 hour (for saving) depending on memory
• Video Player for WMV, MP4, 3GP, 3G2 formats
• Bluetooth Version 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Phone Book with 1,000 contacts: each contact entry stores five numbers, two e-mail addresses and a Picture ID
• FOTA-capable - upgrade firmware over-the-air
• Technology: CDMA
• Frequency: 1.9 GHz CDMA PCS, 800 MHz CDMA (Digital Dual-Band)
• Data Transmission: high-speed EV-DO
• Dimensions: 4.1″ (h) x 2.2″ (w) x 0.5″ (d)
• Weight: 3.76 ounces
• Display: 260K Color TFT, 240 x 400 pixels, 3.0″
• Standard Battery: 1,100 mAh
• Usage Time: up to 280 minutes or
• Standby Time: up to 360 hours

The Dare is available for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

As usual, the chocolate family will be available in different colors. The upcoming LG Chocolate 3 will be in blue color too, according to the additional pictures obtained by engadgetmobile.

The new LG Chocolate 3 is a slider phone comes with a music control wheel on the outside and an FM transmitter to play music through a car stereo. The new Chocolate has dual speakers and Bluetooth for wireless stereo sound, and inside is a 1GB memory to store the latest tunes. The expandable memory card slot can support up to a 8 GB microSD card. The new Chocolate has a 2.0 megapixel camera and supports V CAST Video and ESPN MVP. The LG Chocolate 3 will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and available online in July.

More pictures at next page.

via [engadgetmobile]