Review LG KE970 Shine: True to its name
With approximately 2.5 million units sold so far, LG Shine KE970 is flying off the shelves. True to its name, the handset turns into a mirror for the beauties out there. The new LG KE970 Shine is indubitably the first of the truly glittery devices from the house of Korean manufacturer.
The handset comes with an exquisite Design and a luxurious metal casing that feels good in hand. It's the second mobile phone in the LG's Black Label series and is not black at all. Perhaps, they didn't get time to think of a new series but whatever the series be, LG KE 970 Shine is sure to make the fashion conscious customers drool with its sexy make.
Beauty is not everything at all. So is the case with the Shine. Although it's a beautifully designed handset, it fails to stand tall when we talk about the offered features. LG Shine doesn't seem to be competing with features but with style. The salient specs of the Shine are:
Tri-band GSM phone for 900, 1800, 1900
Bright mirror LCD screen, 2.2-inch 240x320 pixel QVGA display
2-megapixel camera with flash, video capture in 3GP format
50MB internal memory, a MicroSD memory card slot
Integrated music player with support for MP3, AAC, AAC+ and AAC++ file formats
Multi-function scroll key
Bluetooth 1.2 with stereo audio (A2DP) for wireless headsets
PictBridge support and Viewer for PowerPoint, Word, Adobe Acrobat, Excel, and text documents.
Weighing 4.4 ounces and measuring 3.9 inches by 2 inches by 0.54 inch, the Shine enriches the users with its truly urbane metallic look and texture. The chic stainless steel casing looks good in the hands and the handset looks simply a mirror at the first look. I don't like these reflective materials at all. Anyway, underneath the sleek mirrored finish of the Shine, lies a bright LCD screen. The 2.3-inch display offers 240 x 320 pixels of viewing area with 262,000 colors.
The side buttons on the right edge are the volume controls and shortcuts to the en suite music player and camera. A microSD card slot can be found on the left edge but you will have to get the battery out to use that. The camera lens, flash, and the self-portrait mirror are positioned on the back of the phone. The numerical buttons on the keypad are made of plastic and are sized well. The Shine when opened somehow resembles the design that first appeared on the Motorola RAZR.
The very first thing that makes me tight-lipped about the Shine is its exquisite design with a plush metal casing. The built-in 2.0-megapixel camera won't substitute a digital camera or camcorder but it is superior to the Chocolate's shooter as you have the option to take photos at different resolutions. Moreover, the camera is accompanied with a self-portrait mirror and a flash.
The size of the numeric buttons is fine and it feels great to work on them. It won't even create any problems for the people having broader fingers. The multi-functional scroll dial lets us navigate easily through the different functions of the phone. Call quality is quite impressive except for the petite distortion.
The dedicated keys for the camera, MP3 player, for turning on the screen, and for controlling the volume are again a plus point with the phone. One more thing that impresses me is that although it's a sleek slider, it feels robust in the hand unlike many fashionable handsets available in the market.
Well, the Shine comes loaded with an array of useful functionalities but it fails to deliver what we expected from this chic metallic slider. The mirror-like surface of the LG Shine rocks but it is almost impossible to see anything on the monitor under the sunlight. So, you will have to look for the shade time and again on a sunny bright day. That sucks. Moreover, the mirrored surface is not doubt cool but opening and closing the slider leaves the greasy fingerprints there. I doubt if it can remain scratch free for a long time.
The MP3 player is decent and supports MP3, WAV, AAC, AAC+, and AAC++ file formats but features are just limited to an equalizer and a shuffle mode. And yes, don't expect it to throw out deafening sounds.But, thank heavens, you have got the 3.5mm headphones. LG has claimed a talk time of three hours for the Shine and they are very true with their words but I don't think that matches the standard battery power a GSM phone should possess.
Shine's superior status is explained simply by its exquisite design but I don't think those who are more concerned about features should go for one. But, it's the just right thing for the fashion conscious consumers who want to make a style statement wherever they go. Unfortunately, the Shine doesn't spark like its mirrored surface. 6.5 out of 10 will be enough for the glossy LG KE970 Shine.
CNet: Though it wasn't always easy to use, the LG Shine KE970 is a pretty phone with decent performance. We just wouldn't recommend paying full price.
TrustedReviews: The Shine is one of most obvious examples of the triumph of design over usability that I've seen in a long while. It looks stunning, but is simply too difficult to use.
LetsGoMobile: The LG Shine is easy to operate which will be to the benefit of the novices among us who are just starting to use a mobile phone. In short the LG Shine is a real must!
Avecmobile: The LG KE970 Shine camera phone is meant to be seen and not stashed away in a bag. As the name implies, it is a shiny object that looks good when carried by a person who has the style to go with the product.
Thanks: YouTube
