Product Description

Combining a touchscreen user interface with the latest technology, the Viewty ticks nearly all the boxes: 5 megapixel camera, 3G video calling, high quality video camera, MP3 player, FM radio, HSDPA for broadband internet speeds and bags of memory, this is one of LG's best phones. Apart from the user interface, the Viewty has several pleasures waiting to be discovered. The camera is rated at 5 megapixels with a high quality Schneider-Kreuznach lens, autofocus and a SmartLight feature that makes after-dark photographs considerably clearer. You can also vary the ISO setting to ISO 800 for improved brightness in low light. In common with many digital cameras, the Viewty's camera incorporates an Image Stabiliser function for minimising camera shake. The Viewty can't match the very best camera phones from Nokia or Sony Ericsson, but it definitely ranks as a good camera phone. As well as a top notch still camera, the Viewty's video camera is also something special. It films at high resolution (320 x 240 pixels QVGA) and at very high frame rates - up to 120 frames per second, which enables special effects such as slow motion filming. There are built-in picture-editing and video-editing tools to make the most of these cameras. In addition, a second front-facing camera enables 3G video calls. The Viewty's music player is nice and easy to use and can handle virtually every music format: MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++/WMA. There's also an FM radio built in. Stereo headphones are supplied in the box, and you can use optional mono or stereo Bluetooth headphones if you prefer. The Viewty's memory is generous, with 90 Mbytes of internal memory and up to 2 Gbytes of additional memory (microSD memory card).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1301 in Consumer Electronics
• Colour: Silver
• Brand: LG Electronics
• Dimensions: 4.07" h x 2.14" w x .58" l, .25 pounds
• Memory: 90MB
• Display size: 3

Features

• 5 mega-pixel camera
• 3G Compatible
• 3 inch TFT touchscreen
• FM radio with RDS
• Bluetooth Compatible

Customer Reviews

Nice for the Price
Just a note before I give my opinions on the LG Viewty Lite, my review does not cover all the functions of this phone, as I haven't tried them all out yet. In fact, there will probably be some I'll never bother with.

I was tempted to buy this phone as my first touch screen phone. For the price I think it is a very reasonable phone. The screen is a good size for viewing photos, video clips and the internet. Photos and the internet can be zoomed in and out to suit the user preference. This can be done either by scrolling the screen via touch or by moving the wheel at the back of the phone around the camera lens. I found using the wheel and scrolling manually to be more precise than the touch screen (although I haven't bought a stylus for the phone yet, which may make a difference). The touch screen also vibrates slightly when it recognises a touch to the screen. I quite like this, although I know some people find it annoying.

Entering text in different areas can be done via the traditional handset lay out (T9 and traditional multi tap functions are available), a QWERTY keyboard (the space bar is located to one side rather than centrally, which is a bit of a pain if you're used to the traditional lay out) or using handwriting recognition.

The camera is 5mp, and takes a reasonable enough shot for a mobile phone. For anything more advanced than that, it's no replacement for a proper camera. Although to be fair, most people wouldn't purchase a phone to do their photos on if they wanted professional shots. Surprisingly I found that the video quality seemed superior to the photo quality when zooming in. The phone has the capability for some editing on videos, such as adding text. There are also a few different photograph functions, like black and white photos, negatives, panorama, macro, timer shots etc.

The phone can also play films in DivX format. Although I have not tried this out yet. But with the nice sized screen it would be handy for using whilst travelling to watch videos, without having to scrunch your eyes up to view the screen.

One downside to the phone is the ability to read office documents but not edit them. Again, the phone is not advertised as fit for this purpose, but I found this disappointing as it was a function I had on my previous phone. It seemed a bit of a waste to be able to view documents but not alter them. There may be software online that enables document editing but I have not found any so far. There is some consolation in the fact that the phone can do voice recordings enabling dictation even though you can't write to a document. Depending on the quality of the recording selected, the duration is roughly between 15 to 30 minutes, which should be adequate for most people's needs. Voice recordings are saved in .amr format. So far I haven't transferred any to the PC so I don't know if it requires additional software to replay on the computer, but I would imagine there would be some available online if needed.

Another downside is the fact that the SD slot is located inside the phone and requires the user to remove the battery in order to access it. Many phones now have external slots for memory cards, so this does seem a bit of a strange choice.

The phone is boxed with headphones, charger and USB cable. Although the USB cable is supplied, a software CD is not. Although some phones can "plug and play" in order to transfer data, the LG Viewty can't. It recognises new hardware added but requires software in order to use it. I assume that the software is available to download online. I prefer not to bother with this if a phone can use a SD card so I haven't bothered looking for the software.

The phone is not supplied with a stylus, although these can be purchased separately and attached to the top left hand corner so you don't lose them. They are available cheaply enough online, so it's probably not too much of a disappointment. However, that said, given that they are available so cheaply, it seems strange to me that one is not supplied with the phone.

Overall I think that this is a very decent phone for the price tag and I've enjoyed using it so far. It is not a replacement for the PDA (not that it claims to be) in the way that some of the handsets out there are, but of course you don't expect to get everything for this price. What it has gained in entertainment capabilities (camera, video, DivX compatibility etc), it has compromised in other functions (document editing, organiser functions etc).

Does what it says on the tin
Had this for a month. I wanted something that I could check web-based email and social networking sites plus read the occassional news when on the go or check train timetables. This does the job. Touch screen works very well. PDF viewer has been useful particularly for downloading maps such as a London Underground map. Pre-installed Google maps is ok but you'll need to tell it where you are.

Only criticism is the scrolling takes skill, accuracy and patience. The zoom is not practical (or I don't have the patience).

I loaded another browser, Opera mini, which worked but doesn't allow use of the qwerty screen, so I don't use it. But nice to know I can load an app onto it.

Battery life is fine. Youtube works smoothly (but mobile version is low res and low quality sound).

A bargain handy and practical touch-screen 3G phone. Recommended but take care when scrolling.

Amazing!!
What a phone!
Well...
basics...
Phone has a clear screen, brilliant camera, and blink detection, which personally, i think is REALLY cool ;)
It is easy to text on (one of my major concerns of a touch screen phone)
It has a loud speaker, and clear video capture..
FAULTS
Well... not alot really, i suppose it slightly annoys me that it isnt touch sensitive, it just responds to being pressed... what i mean is, as for some products (ipod touch) it requires skin-screen contact, this phone just requires being pressed, which can be by anything...
however if you use a stylus then it would be beneficial to have this set up.