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LG KG920
4 out of 5Average user rating :
LGManufacturer :
September, 2006Date :
-Price :
978Hits :
2User opinions :
There has been a camera phone war going on this summer, with the introduction
of the Sony Ericsson K800i, Nokia N73 and N93, and the LG KG920. The list is not
going to stop here, though; we are still waiting for devices from Samsung, Benq-Siemens,
and ASUS. LG showed off its first 5 megapixel cameraphone, the SV550 (also known
as the KV5500 and LP5500) back in May 2005, and since then, its PR mailbox had
been flooded with enthusiastic petitions asking for a GSM clone. It has taken
the company more than a year of hesitation before introducing the SV550’s
GSM counterpart, KG920, outside Korea. This delay is mainly due to the shortage
of suitable camera modules, especially when domestic demand was so high. Production
cost also plays a role, due to both the camera module and the Qualcomm MSM6500
chipset that the phone is based around being so expensive.
After the success of the Chocolate series of handsets, LG hopes to ride on the wave of its suddenly increased brand awareness, and launch the “ultimate” camera phone. Today we will see if the KG920 can live up to the company’s expectations. The KG920’s camera specifications appear top notch on paper: a 5 megapixel CCD sensor, autofocus, and Xenon flash. Before going on to how the photos came out, let’s talk about the camera application itself. Along with the camera functions you'll find a wealth of other options. There's Bluetooth connectivity, an expandable memory, a USB connection and MP3 player. Oh yes, the LG KG920 cares about music as well as photos. So - it'll outperform many of the latest digital cameras on the market. It's a versatile music player. It's a tri-band mobile phone. It's slim. And it looks good. The LG KG920 is an excellent choice for anyone who's keen on photography and wants more than a basic camera phone. Typically, it takes slightly more than 2 seconds for the camera application to start. The camera screen is very informative, but you can turn off all the icons if you find them distracting. The camera menu contains almost all the settings you can find on an average consumer digital camera. You can make use of various shooting modes such as night and sports depending on the situation, and you can pick the most accurate white balance setting from incandescent, fluorescent, sunny, cloudy, or shade. You can also specify the ISO setting, selectable from ISO100, 200, and 400. You can apply frames and filters if you wish. The camera also gives you options for red eye reduction and whether on not the flash will fire. Popular tools such as a self-timer and date stamps are all in place. LG also gives you access to more advanced settings such as autofocus and metering modes (average or centre) if you are into that kind of thing. If you can’t be bothered with all the settings, you can simply set everything to auto. I do need to mention the sluggish response in the camera menus, though, which is the same problem found on the older LG P7200. This has destroyed an otherwise pleasant experience with the well-designed application. The 5 megapixel sensor allows you to shoot at resolutions up to 2592×1944 pixels. The video mode isn’t weak either, recording at a decent 320×240 and at a smooth 30fps. (sample videos here). Depending on the amount of compression you choose, a 5 megapixel photo ranges from 250KB to 2MB. In terms of speed, the camera takes less than 2 seconds to focus, and about 7 seconds to resume to camera mode including saving a 2MB file. The KG920 is a strong performer in terms of Multimedia. The camera quality is amongst the top in the market today. The wide range of music formats supported pleasantly surprises me. Of course, the phone is not without its bad spots: we would love to see some kind of picture editing tools and background MP3 playing capabilities in the future. Key Features:Boasting a 5 megapixel camera (a UK first), autofocus and a Xenon flash, the
KG920 will take photos in breath taking detail. A design suited to it's dual personalityA phone with 2 sides that paint 2 different pictures. On one side, the KG920
could be mistaken for a high quality phone with quick access buttons to it's
music player, schedule and more. However, look at the KG920 from the other side
and it looks like a professional digital camera. BluetoothBluetooth technology allows wireless communication between compatible devices. Talk handsfree with a Bluetooth headset or exchange files with another Bluetooth compatible device. See things clearly with the KG920's vivid colour screenFeaturing a large 240x320 QVGA screen that displays an impressive 256,000 colours.
This high quality screen makes sure you see everything you need to see when
taking photos or shooting video. MiniSD memory card slotIncorporates a MiniSD memory card slot for saving photos, video, music and
more. Music and VideoPress the dedicated MP3 button and the KG920 will launch into music player
mode. Control your music with the key pad or with the inline remote control
supplied with the handset! Portable mass storage deviceConnect the KG920 to a PC using the supplied USB cable and it will become a mass storage device. Providing you have a MiniSD card in the handset, drag and drop files such as music, photos, videos and more straight to the phone and you can carry them with you wherever you go. No software is required for the PC, simply plug and play. Send and receive emails on the move.
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