We have reviewed the LG KU990 AKA LG VIEWTY

Phone or camera?

The LG KU990, aka ‘Viewty’ (View the Next Technology), is a successor to the LG KE850 Prada. Resembling Apple’s iPhone, it boasts of great features and style, but at a steep price.

Features: LG has packed the gadget with a massive 5 megapixel camera using a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens. Apart from the regular features available on a compact digital camera, this device lets you set ISO modes from 100 to 800 and also record good quality video at 120 fps directly in compressed DivX format. It also features separate buttons for instant access to the camera, video, playback and image stabilizer functions. However, the image stabilization was hardly noticeable. The phone features a large and crisp 3-inch 256K color TFT screen which makes viewing images and videos or browsing the Internet fun. It has a large screen but it can be easily scratched while being carried around.

An external stylus that can be attached to the phone (at first glance, it looks like a slim lipstick or eye liner) comes in the package. Around the camera lens is a sliding tab which can be used to scroll through the menus, zoom in and out in camera mode and choose volume levels when in call/play mode. The package includes a 1 GB microSD card, travel charger, driver CD and USB cable.

The Viewty has a TV out feature so one can watch videos and photos on the TV, but the package lacks the video out cable (it has to be purchased separately). Additional capabilities include taking photos in panorama (3 images stitched together) or burst mode (takes 9 photos in 4 seconds in a single click). But the images were quite blurry and the panorama was not stitched properly.

Build quality and performance: The KU990 is beautifully built with a sleek design and is loaded with features. The back plate is made of metal which also performs the role of an external antenna for the phone. Sadly the camera does not have a protective lens cover to shield it from dust. The phone performs well when used in music/video playback mode. However, the camera did not live up to the hype around it. When shot using best modes with autofocus in broad daylight, the results were devastating—plenty of fringes, color mismatches and image blurs were clearly visible in the pictures. When used in sunlight, certain areas in the image where the contrast level was visible on bright objects was totally seen in bright purple. Also, there was no proper color depth—red was seen as dark pink, whereas the results were slightly better when clicked in shaded areas. Video playback and recording quality is excellent. The videos are crisp and clear.

Verdict: You can plan on buying this phone to make a style statement. If you need a 5 megapixel camera phone, there are better ones available at a much lower price point.