Though overshadowed in volume by regular mobile phones, PDA-phones and handhelds have always had the latest and greatest when it comes to technical features. Unfortunately, most of them lack a crucial element--style. That's a factor which is becoming a major consideration even among techies who used to just focus on the features. That's why brands like LG are a welcome addition to upcoming handhelds. The company has a reputation for making some good-looking mobile phones, and that's something it will bring to the PDA-phone world with the KS20.

Design

At just 12.8mm, the KS20 is the slimmest Windows Mobile 6 handset with a touchscreen you will be able to find. It's just a hair thinner than the Samsung SGH-i780 which has a depth of 12.9mm. The chassis of the KS20 is modeled after the Prada phone, which was well-received because of how good it looked. With its uncluttered facade and pocketable size, this handheld is definitely one of the prettiest you can find without a keypad.

The front may be uncluttered, but the right side of the KS20 is quite crowded.
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Not only is it thin, the KS20 is also very light. Everyone who handled our review set was amazed at how weightless it seemed. At just 92.5g, this handheld is even lighter than the HTC Touch which tips the scales at 112g. While most users will be happy with that, some may lament that it feels too much like a toy because of the same reason. While we admit that the chassis is a little plasticky, the fine construction on this LG ensures that it doesn't come across as cheap. The black and silver glossy finish does invite fingerprint marks easily, so using it with a case is advisable.

Although its front surface is pretty clean with only the call and hang-up keys along with a directional joystick below the display, there are quite a number of shortcut buttons on the right side. One of those is the power button, while the other two activate the browser and camera applications. We would have liked one more button to act as an OK key so minimizing applications can be done much faster. A microSD card slot is also found there which supports cards up to 2GB in capacity.

On the left side are the volume control keys and a cover connector port for headsets and the charge/sync cable. This is a proprietary LG connector so you'll need to use the charger and sync cable found in the box and not the standard mini-USB one most users are accustomed to for Windows Mobile handhelds. An upside is that an adapter is also included in the standard retail set, which allows you to plug in a 3.5mm audio connector so you can use your own headphones when listening to music.

Most likely in an effort to cut down the size, the battery of the KS20 does not sit behind a cover like most other devices. This means the back of the battery is also part of the chassis of this PDA-phone and can be removed by pressing a button at the base. Mobile phones that employ this design aren't common these days, partly because the battery gets loose over time and may cause unplanned resets. This may be a problem for those who keep their mobile phone for a few years, though not so much for those who upgrade regularly.

The stylus of the KS20 has the same color as the sides, i.e. silver. This is an extendable one found on the bottom left corner of the device--a strange place because it's almost impossible to retrieve when holding the handset in the left hand. So, on this rare occasion, left-handers are advantaged.

Features

Connectivity features are plentiful on the KS20. These include HSDPA for high-speed data transfers over the cellular network and Wi-Fi for use at hotspots. It also has a tri-band GSM radio, good enough for roaming to most parts of the world and, of course, Bluetooth 2.0 which supports the A2DP profile for streaming music to a pair of wireless headphones or speakers.

Notice the large buttons below the regular Today screen meant for use with a fingertip.
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Another bonus feature is the inclusion of an FM tuner. Though not unique, it's not one that's found in every WM6 device and could be a deciding factor for those who need their morning radio programs when commuting.

With so many Windows Mobile devices out there, software customization is the defining factor that sets one brand apart from another. LG has made a few modifications to the Today screen, adding a toolbar with large icons on the bottom to allow quicker access to common functions like the browser and messaging. Included is also a grid-style menu that puts the applications in a tabbed format so you can get to them more conveniently. Unfortunately, third-party applications we added do not appear here, so going to the default Programs screen is still a necessity.

Standard with every WM6 Professional device, Office Mobile is offered. What wasn't included was a PDF viewer, so a third-party one will need to be downloaded. Compared with most other handhelds in this category, LG did not bundle many extra programs. That could be ideal for those who'd rather not have their device cluttered out of the box, but it also leaves out useful ones like namecard scanner and support for Asian languages such as Chinese and Japanese.

Text input also relies solely on the default Windows Mobile ones. None of these are suitable for one-handed input (see TouchPal for a good example), an important consideration for such devices which do not come with a numeric keypad. Hopefully, these are things that LG can pay more attention to for its next handheld.

Found at the rear of the device is a 2-megapixel camera with autofocus. This gave reasonably sharp images. There is even an LED for shooting in poor lighting.

Performance

The 1,050mAh battery doesn't seem extraordinary, but LG has managed to make the KS20 very energy-efficient. It is rated for 4 hours of talktime and, in actual use, we managed to go for more than three days on a single charge. This may vary for different users according to usage patterns, but we expect that it should definitely not require daily charging for the majority. Voice quality during calls was good, and the speakerphone performed fine in a quiet environment, good enough for use in a car.

With 128MB RAM in total and about 40MB free when not running any applications, the KS20 didn't feel sluggish in our tests. It is powered by the Qualcomm MSM7200 processor, the same one found in the HTC TyTN II. Like that PDA-phone, LG has not licensed the use of the ATI Imageon drivers for graphics acceleration. So if you have been disappointed with the graphical performance of the TyTN II, don't expect much better from this LG. We can say that for all daily requirements, it meets our expectations for speed and responsiveness. Video playback was mostly fine but we found scenes with fast action a little jerky. So if you're planning to watch movies and anime while commuting, the KS20 may not be the best solution, though soap operas and dramas shouldn't pose a problem.

Conclusion

The lack of bundled applications and addons has a positive side effect--a lower price. The KS20 costs just S$888 at retail, a bargain for an HSDPA-enabled PDA-phone. With an operator contract, it goes for as low as S$298 (price from StarHub Web site at time of review)--a no-brainer if you are looking for a replacement for your aging keypad-less model like an old Dopod 818 Pro or O2 Xda Atom. But take note, you do have to factor in paying for some extras like a better text input method and Asian language support (if you need that).

Other similar devices like the HTC P3600i and upcoming MWg Atom V do have the added advantage of built-in GPS navigation. But from a design and value viewpoint, the KS20 is an amazing proposition even though it doesn't come with all the bells and whistles of competing models.