Review: LG's Venus-like KF600

LG KF600

LG KF600

LG KF600

LG KF600

The LG KF600 is a sibling of the North American LG Venus from Verizon Wireless, and represents the company's experiment to combine the touch interface with the traditional button-based interface. Just to add a little twist to the traditional touch-pad, LG replaced it with small touchscreen display that is able to morph with respect to the running applications. Today with this review, we will weigh this new experience between fashion and functionality with the KF600 from LG.

Physical Aspects

The LG KF600 has a minimalistic look that is heavily influenced by the Prada phone. With strong, heavy lines, a chrome rim, and two screens mounted underneath a front face that is absolutely flat. The displays might appear to be one, separated by a band at the lower half, but in reality they are two individual units - the main screen at the top, and a smaller touch-enabled one, which LG calls the InteractPad, located below. The front panel is actually a soft-ish piece of plastic, which is different from most touch-screen devices. According to LG, this was to prevent scratching, and indeed I haven't managed to scratch it by simply carrying it in my jeans pocket for a week. Another plus of the "flexible" plastic surface is that it improves the touch experience when combined with the vibra-haptic feedback; however we cannot help but doubt that such a soft surface is strong enough to protect the screens.

The color looks good on both the main 2" QVGA (240x320 pixel) screen and the 1.5" 240x176 pixel navigation screen below it. The color tone is almost identical, and this is crucial since both displays are to be used at the same time. The screens are sharp and bright, but to our disappointment, their visibility under direct sun is quite poor. This is, I guess, the price to pay for the KF600's sleek glossy front.

The KF600 is definitely not the thinnest slider in the market, but we really have no complaints when the engineers managed to squeeze two screens and a reasonable camera into a 14mm thick design - 101mm x 51mm x 14mm (4" x 2" x 0.5"). On actual handling, the KF600 feels quite sturdy, thanks to the textured plastic on the back that helps with grip. Sliding open the phone might be a little controversial, as you have to place your finger in the middle of the screen to grab hold of it to open the slider. The mechanism is spring loaded, movement is smooth, and it slides into place with a solid thunk. Sliding open the phone reveals a keypad that reminds us of the one found on the LG Chocolate. The keys are well spaced, tactile feedback is good, but the size is a bit on the small side, especially the last row of keys where it is so close to the rim.

Just like the front of the phone, the sides are also minimalistic in design. There are only volume keys and a music shortcut on the left, and the camera shutter key on the right. The handsfree and power connector share the same jack, and the microSD slot is hidden underneath the battery - no hot swapping cards. The 3 megapixel camera lens is left unprotected on the back, between the LED flash and the speaker grille holes.

All in all, the KF600 is well-designed for looks, but we would have preferred the front panel to be a bit sturdier. The glossy surface is also, unsurprisingly, a magnet for fingerprints. There is definitely room for improvement in terms of functionality: for example, LG shouldn't have hidden the memory slot underneath the battery or left the camera's lens unprotected on the back.