LG KG920

By Damian Koh, CNET Asia
Nov 9, 2006

For a while, 3-megapixel camera-phones were the craze. There was the Sony Ericsson K800i, the Nokia N73 and Samsung Ultra Edition 12.9. Even before the dust had a chance to settle, LG fired up the megapixel race with its 5-megapixel KG920. Nokia, too, didn't let up with its fresh-out-of-the-oven 5-megapixel N95. If this is an indication of what's to come, we'll soon be seeing even higher-resolution camera-phones hitting the market. Before that happens, we take a look at what LG has to offer with the KG920.

Design
A cursory glance at LG's KG920 brings to mind the image of a nondescript mobile phone peppered with numerous buttons. With limited real estate, this phone is not for those with larger digits or the text messaging crowd as the numeric keypad is packed within a 24 x 21mm footprint--an area which could easily be overwhelmed by a thumb. While the keys provide tactile feedback, the miniscule size and laggy performance bug the unit. More on that in the Performance section later.

This LG is reminiscent of the Nokia 3250 and Nikon Coolpix S10/S4. You can twist the upper-half of the candy bar 180 degrees to face the opposite direction. The swivel design is a big plus for those who take self-portraits often, or want to shoot from waist level. Unlike the Coolpix S4, you won't be shooting overhead on the KG920 since the lens rotates in only one direction.

The KG920 is one of the few camera-phones designed like a camera and, fortunately, works like one, too. On the left edge of the unit, beside the 2-inch 260k-pixel screen, are dedicated buttons for zoom, flash and timer functions. You can also switch between taking videos and stills using the three tiny circular blobs above the numeric keypad between the call buttons.

When taking a picture, you hold the camera-phone like you would with a digital camera. The shutter button is on the right corner, like most digicams, and there's a distinct feel between half-priming and actually taking of a shot, which we like. There are minor issues, though. Unlike the conventional LCD monitor on the left (when held in camera mode), our right thumb inevitably occupies a third of the screen. There's also a fair amount of chance for the left index finger to creep into your shots due to the proximity of the lens at the corner of the unit.

The back of this phone is Zen-like, compared with its front, and this is where you can find the battery, speaker, camera lens, and built-in flash unit. Over on the right edge, you'll be greeted by a row of connectors for the earpiece, external portable charger and memory card, all protected by individual pieces of equally tiny plastic doors.

In our hands, the KG920 feels very solid. It's definitely not the lightest, nor the slimmest phone around. But from a digital imaging perspective, which is possibly one of the strongest features of this phone, a firm grip usually helps in taking pictures. No one is going to stop you if you want to hang this camera-phone around your neck and you can do so by looping a lanyard on the top-left corner of this LG.

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