By CNET Asia staff
24/08/2007
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/mobilephones/0,39050603,62031233,00.htm

Judges: Reuben Lee, John Chan and Damian Koh

When it comes to chic and style, two mobile phone brands come first to mind. Samsung has been strutting ultraslim handsets on the fashion runway, while LG's Chocolates have been simply irresistible. After the initial sugar rush, the latter literally took a Shine to its name. In this prizefight, we pit two fashionable slider phones--the Samsung Ultra Edition 12.1 and the LG Shine (KU970)--in a knockout match to see which will emerge as queen of the ring. We've relegated "world peace" pleasantries to the backstage, and this will be a contest of not just beauty but also brains.

Round 1: Style factor

Initial impressions are like meeting the girl of your dream for the first time, for real. That elusive charm and poise are what catches the eye. Toss all irrationality aside for love is blind and style can be measured only by the drool factor. The jury's ratings are based on a 0-to-5 point scale, which results in a final score of 0 to 15 per round.

	5 Possibly one of the slimmest slider phones in its class, the U700 combines a cool semi-reflective cover with a sleek stylish profile that many mobile fashionistas will find hard to resist.	4 It is a very attractive-looking phone especially with its cool metallic finish and mirror-like display, but it is somehow not as refined as the U700 in terms of style and design.
	4 The shininess of this handset fits well with its design. The slim form factor also does well to make sure it isn't too loud. What's more, when the display is on standby, the screen acts as a mirror. And because of its curvature, this makes you look thinner than in real life. It's like they say, flattery will get you everywhere.	4 With a full metal finish, this phone will turn heads. Like the U700, it has a mirror finish when the display is on standby. It isn't blocky in any sense of the word, but hardly as curvaceous as the Samsung.
	5 I like the sleek and more slender lines of the U700 compared with the LG Shine. Somehow it exudes more class and is somewhat more "gentle" on the eyes.	4 The biggest difference between the Samsung and the LG is the KU970's metallic chassis. In fact, at a glance, the KU970 stands out as more masculine compared with the U700. So it may appeal to a different crowd.
Total	14	12

Round 2: Design

For this round, we delve deeper past a pretty shell. We'll look at the design and appearance of the product, as well as ergonomics, weight and durability. We also look at the placement of the buttons and connectivity ports. A product that scores well in both shouldn't have user fumbling when trying to locate them.

	4 It's thinner, lighter and comes with an eye-catching design that will turn heads for sure. It is surprisingly comfortable to hold, too. Some people may find it a little plasticky, but the U700 still feels pretty solid. Be prepared to constantly deal with fingerprint smudges, though.	3 The Shine may be a tad heavy, but the stainless steel casing gives it a solid build quality not commonly found in slim phones. Overall, a simple yet stylish-looking phone. Like the U700, it comes with only one port for connecting the headset and charger.
	3 The phone slides up and down with a satisfying springy motion. Materials-wise, the back feels somewhat plasticky, and the entire package just doesn't feel very solid. The U700 isn't poorly built, but it just can't beat the feel of cold, hard metal.	4 If you liked the sliding motion of the Samsung, you've love the movement of the LG. The sheer heft of the phone makes sure that opening and closing the handset give an audible snapping sound. Its material does make it a tad heavy, but it sure is solid.
	4 Even though the U700 can't match up with the Shine's metallic casing, its solid build quality--that is, no moving parts, etc.--makes it a very reliable handset. One thing I don't entirely like is the placement of the volume keys which can be blocked by part of the headset when the latter is plugged in.	4 I would think the Shine KU970 is a stylish phone for the men, while the Samsung U700 is more suited for the ladies. Nothing beats holding something solid in the hands. Cold, hard metal? Sweet. The external buttons are all on the same side of the phone, which look rather cramped at first but at least you know they are all there.
Total	11	11

Round 3: Usability

Which is more important? To look good on the shelves or in the hands of a user? The winner of this round has to be user-friendly and the user shouldn't have to wonder about something as simple as sending a text message or making a call. Bonuses are a large, crisp and vibrant display that works outdoors as well as indoors and offers graphical/animated icons, etc.

	3 Like most Samsung phones today, the U700 is rather intuitive for users. The only gripe is the touch-sensitive buttons and navigation wheel, which can be quite frustrating to use.	4 The scroll key navigation can be somewhat awkward to use as you scroll to move up and down, and press two tiny buttons to go left and right. Otherwise, the Shine is relatively easy to use and also comes with a nice, big screen.
	2 Bah! Touch-sensitive buttons are the bane of user interfaces! Accidental keypresses are common, and when you do want to press them sometimes they don't respond until you apply the right amount of pressure. The display matches Samsung's high standards, and the interface, while attractive, can be long-winded, requiring multiple presses to perform simple tasks.	3 Scroll to move up and down, press tiny buttons to go left and right--that's absolutely ridiculous. It doesn't help that the softkeys are right beside the left/right buttons, which make it all very confusing initially. Otherwise, this LG has a decent menu system and good display, though I didn't really like the fonts used.
	4 Overall, it's not difficult to use the phone, though like John has mentioned, it can be a rather long-winded process for something as simple as sending a text message. I, for one, still don't fancy touch-sensitive keys. The tactile feedback with hardware buttons is still my preference.	3 I think Reuben and John have said it all. The scroll wheel, tiny buttons and confusing softkeys are a big downer in terms of usability on this LG. Fortunately, the alphanumeric keypad which is pretty easy to type on helps to alleviate the situation, but still it's a pain to use the main controls on the phone.
Total	9	10

Round 4: Features

You know the drill. Nobody wants a phone with a cutting-edge design that is based on yesteryear's technology. Give us quadband GSM, 3G, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A2DP, and more. No one's going to complain about having more features even though they probably use less than 10 percent of the full capabilities of the phone. More features, more bragging rights.

	4 The U700 is surprisingly well-equipped for a slim slider. It not only sports a higher-resolution 3.2-megapixel camera, it also comes with A2DP Bluetooth stereo support and a microSD card slot. The headset port is proprietary, so unless you are going wireless, you are stuck with the supplied headphones for listening to music.	3 While the Shine sports a larger onboard memory, there are no expandable memory options, so storage space will be limited. It does, however, outshine the Samsung with a wired remote offering music playback buttons and 3.5mm audio jack support.
	4 For such a slim device, the U700 is no slouch in features. It comes with HSDPA connectivity for speedy data connections. To complement that, it has convenient shortcuts to Google services as well as an RSS feed reader. The presence of expandable memory card slot for microSD media is also a welcome feature for multimedia junkies.	3 Features aren't scant on the Shine, but they just didn't match up to the U700. It does 3G and video calls as well, but there is no memory expansion. One thing we did like is that the rear camera is not hidden behind the slider, which makes taking photos more convenient in landscape orientation.
	4 The U700 has a lot going for it, but its main draw would be the HSDPA connectivity and A2DP support. In terms of multimedia, there's a 3.2-megapixel camera, but the images didn't impress us.	3 The lack of an expansion card slot is such a bummer. But if you can convince yourself that you need only 512MB of memory, then you'll probably appreciate the other features of the Shine, such as HSDPA and A2DP. Its 2-megapixel camera also pales in comparison with the Samsung.
Total	12	9

Round 5: Performance

This is where the rubber meets the road. A phone, or just about any other handheld device, which cannot survive beyond a day of use should be relegated to the far reaches of Earth and never see light again. The battery life, voice quality, stability and speed are all considerations for the performance round.

	4 Call quality was generally crisp and loud even on the loudspeaker. However, music playback on the onboard speakers was a tad soft at times. Expect to charge the phone every two days on moderate usage.	4 As with the Samsung, the volume range on the Shine is sufficient for handsfree calls but not for music playback. Battery life is expected to last for, at most, two days or less if you are a heavy user.
	4 Lasting just over two days on a single charge, the battery life is decent for something so slim. Call quality is fine, and the speakerphone is loud enough for use in video calls.	4 No surprises in this aspect for the Shine. It did well in calls, and the battery life was decent as well, drying up after about two days of use.
	3 Contrary to what Reuben and John have said, I actually find the loudspeaker a tad soft and it was worse when I had to do video calls outdoors. I could barely hear the other party's voice. Other than that, the phone's actually pretty responsive.	3 The LG has a smaller-capacity battery compared with the Samsung, though it really shouldn't make a huge difference as both can manage about two days of use.
Total	11	11

The winner is…

Total points
Samsung Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700): 57
LG Shine (KU970): 53