Dial-a-Phone review of LG KF600 Venus

It's all Apple's fault, because for a phone to be taken seriously as a high-end model these days, something on it has to be activated by touch, with no cheating heat-sensitivity either. There's no denying that touchscreens look cool and when done properly, actually work rather well, but when they don't they spoil the entire phone user experience. LG's Prada has one of the best touch interfaces on the market, so when their Chocolate replacement was announced with a touch panel, we had high expectations.

Known in the US as the LG Venus and in Europe as the rather less attractively titled KF600, it approaches the touchscreen system rather differently from other models, as the touch part is a separate screen below a regular 2" 240x320 display, but thanks to the mirrored frontage, retains an all-in-one look. As you press the touchscreen, it beautifully morphs to show new options, but when you come to dial a number or compose an SMS, you slide the entire front up to reveal the familiar Chocolate-style keypad. Although this is not the first time its been done, this combination of touch coolness and good old keypad user-friendliness makes the KF600 perfect for anyone not convinced by an entire touch operated phone.

At first glance, it's easy to dismiss the KF600 as a confusing mix of elements unsure of what it wants to be, but the little touch screen operates so logically – it shows menus that are only relevant to what's on screen – that confusion never sets in, in fact the whole thing feels far more revolutionary than a full touchscreen model. The menu system and plentiful array of animated themes looks similar to the Prada and other recent LG's, making it a pleasing phone to use everyday.

The KF600 is pretty to look at and although the soft battery cover doesn't feel as good as it should, the build and other materials used seem to be of a high quality. Measuring 101x50x14 and weighing 107 grams, it's no tiny, delicate flower, but it is curvy and solid enough to sit in your hand comfortably whilst looking amazing! Flipping the Venus over reveals an uncluttered rear panel, as all that's there is a speaker and the lens for the camera; this is a 3MP item complete with autofocus, a flash and the ability to record video too. The other major function of the phone is its excellent music player, which along with the camera integrates perfectly with the touchscreen, making function access quick and simple with no need to slide open the phone.

Anyone wanting to use the music features of the Venus will be pleased with the inclusion of stereo Bluetooth, a MicroSD slot which supports huge 8GB cards, an FM radio and that loud external speaker. You also get the expected organiser, document viewer and 1000 entry phonebook, plus GPRS and EDGE support; in fact, the only thing missing is 3G. With standby quoted at a massive 480 hours, there seems little to fault the new LG, but unfortunately this is not quite the case. As we said earlier, when touchcreens work well they are great, but when they refuse to recognize each input, every time, they become an irritation and the LG KF600 does require a little practice to get right; new users will be pressing buttons a few times before getting the desired response. Even the haptics get confused, saying they know you have pressed a key, yet doing nothing about it! Get past this learning stage, understand where to touch the screen and the Venus is a gorgeous model combining everything that is great about conventional and touchscreen phones, ensuring you'll never want an ugly D-pad on your phone again!

LG KF600 Venus specs and features:

* Tri-band
* 3 Megapixel Camera
* FM radio and MP3 player
* Features InteractPad to offer a more dynamic and optimised interface to users. Located below the main screen, the InteractPad adjusts to whatever function is being accessed.
* 25MB internal memory
* microSD Card Slot (TransFlash)
* Document Viewer
* EDGE and GPRS
* Dimensions: 101.2 x 50.7 x 14.1 mm
* Weight: 107 grams
* Standby Time: Up to 480hrs
* Talk Time: Up to 4hrs

[www.dialaphone.co.uk]