KentFKruhoe...

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Close to Perfection

May 20, 2009

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: excellent camera module, compact design
Cons: loudspeaker and MP3 player volume
Opinion:
After a good year and lots of great photos with the LG KU990 Viewty, I was excited to upgrade to the Renoir and jumped on it when it finally arrived in china last month. What I did not know, and in hindsight, would probably have been a deal-breaker, is that there is a 'dumbed down' version of the KC910 Renoir being sold in China, and perhaps elsewhere, which carries the model designation KC910e. The 'e' must stand for economy, as it has neither wi-fi nor 3G :-(

Based on what I have learned about the issue, China mobile service providers demand that wi-fi be removed from all mobile phones sold in mainland China - in order to make more money on their mobile service contracts I guess - i.e., they don't want people using free wi-fi hotspots - How GREEDY is that for a business model? Imho, it will backfire, as I will NEVER upgrade to a 3G service plan as long as I live in China. They can choke on it.

And this WARNING: Do not buy a mobile phone in China if you want wi-fi. Better to shop in Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong, where they understand the meaning of a free market.

After getting over the initial disappointment of not having wi-fi or 3G, I have begun to explore the other, more positive aspects of the Renoir.

Unboxing: the box itself is on the small side, but so is the phone, and everything you need is in there, including 2 batteries - WOW! and a small table charger. Great move, LG is listening. The heasdset is also an improvement, with soft ear-buds in 3 sizes. There's a stylus in a small leather carry case - I guess it's stylish but I don't use it :-) and a nice leather carry case as well, although I would have preferred one that attaches to the belt for convenience. There's also a plastic adhesive screen-cover to protect the screen surface, but I opted not to use that as well. You also get the typical stuff you would expect to find in the box; user's manual, USB cable & charger, CD, etc.

The most outstanding feature of the Renoir, as would be expected from the specs, is the 8 megapixel camera module. The interface is smooth and intuitive, and the customizing options are excellent. The Schneider_Kreuznach lens is, in a word, awesome. I've taken a few photos with it this week which are posted in my gallery at Flickr, which you can look at here http://www.flickr.com/photos/bangkok_in_focus/

From a design standpoint, the Renoir is cleverly built, with an emphasis on maximizing space, i.e., it is small and compact and has a solid feel to it, despite the use of plastic. i.e., The back cover is made of plastic, but locks snugly into place and has an etched, glossy surface, which makes it look rich. The screen itself is smooth and flush with the front surface, but is also a magnet for fingerprints. In bright sunlight, however, it is not so hot.

The web browser is an improvement over the Viewty's but still not as simple or effective to use as Opera Mini. At the moment, I'm using both Opera Mini 4.2 http://www.opera.com/mini/ and BOLT's new mobile browser, available without registration here http://www.getjar.com/products/25910/BitstreamBOLT

As the Renoir is not yet listed on GetJar.com, you can download the version made for the KU990 Viewty - it works fine.

On the downside, the MP3 player and loudspeaker volume are both underpowered. I grew up in the 70ies and like to crank up my tunes. Although the DOLBY sound adds superb bass and an overall richness to the quality of music, it is 10 notches short of what I would consider to be an adequate full volume. The volume slider goes up to 20 - it needs to go up to 30 :-)

Other than that, I have no major bones to pick with LG this time around. I am very satisfied with the camera and am happy to see that LG is listening to their customers. It will be interesting to see how the new Viewty Smart compares.