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LG KG320

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By Reuben Lee and Glenn Koh, CNET Asia
Sep 21, 2006

The huge worldwide success of the Chocolate phone has clearly prompted LG to continue pushing the envelope in handset design and cellular technology. Its latest candy-bar phone, the KG320, is neither the slimmest nor the smallest cellular offering in the market. But what it is is a simple yet petite mobile that's being touted as a portable multimedia device. At just S$198 (US$132.50) with a two-year mobile contract, the affordable price tag may be the KG320's biggest selling point.

Design
The company touts this as its card bar phone, and quite possibly that's true. Most handsets would look plain chunky when placed side-by-side with this 95.5 x 45 x 9.9mm Lilliputian. The phone is a lightweight 90g, which makes it great not just for tight pockets, but also hung round the neck.

Interestingly, the KG320's display takes up a good half of the real estate. Combined with a streamlined keypad design, the overall effect is to make the LG seem more like an MP3 player than a phone.

At a glance, some users may find the KG320 rather plain-looking, given its minimalist appearance. But pick it up in hand, and immediately the impression changes as you'll find there's much to like about the clean lines, feel and solidity of the handset. In keeping with its minimalist look, there's just one button on the right that serves both the MP3 and camera function. On the left is a covered port.

The numberings on the keypad are huge and should appeal to even the most myopic, and prove responsive and comfortable to the touch. The navigation pad is intuitive and easy enough to access, with our only gripe being the center button. This is simply too flushed with the navi-pad to offer any tactile feedback when pressed.

We certainly like the 176 x 220-pixel display on the KG320 which, as we mentioned earlier, takes up almost half the phone's real estate. Images are also crisp with good color reproduction, thanks to the 262K colors supported.

Like the Samsung Ultra Edition 6.9, the KG320 comes bundled with two batteries. The package also includes a standard AC charger as well as a charging box for standalone battery charging. Audiophiles will be pleased to note that the handsfree headset comes with a 3.5mm audio jack, which means you can plug in your own earphones to enjoy music playback. Other items in the box are a leather case, USB cable, handstrap, user manual and driver CD.

 
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