The KE770 is the second phone in the Shine series from LG. It’s a candybar; “sleek and shiny” is the best way to describe it. At 9.9 mm, it’s slimmer than the Motorola L9 phone (on which it is modelled). Built from stainless steel with no moving parts, the KE770 exudes the built-to-last feel. When the display is in inactive mode, the mirror-finished display screen can be, well, a mirror.

The well-lit, flat keypad is a joy to use, with distinct tactile feedback. The navigational keys are well-spaced-out and free from the glitches you’ll see on the KE970. The Call End button is placed near the top and to the side; it also acts as a Power Down switch-strange placement, we’d say, but effective for one-handed operation. The volume control buttons, Camera / MP3 button, and USB connectors are on the same side. Internal memory is 70 MB, which can be increased via the microSD card. The memory slot is placed below the  battery, and it isn’t hotswappable. The 2MP camera with the photo-assist  light and self-portrait mirror is on the back of the phone. The camera is similar to the one on the KE970, and the performance is similar, too. Indoor shots lack tonal accuracy, and are often overexposed.

Outdoor images retain tonal accuracy but lack crispness. Music quality is not really great, but given that it isn’t touted as a music phone, we’d say the music capability is reasonable. There are  no external playback controls. MP3, AAC, AAC+, 3GP, and MPEG4 are supported, but files need to be copied to the right folder on the phone-else the media player can’t search through to them. Video playback is just about okay-it is seriously limited by the screen size. The phone has a good bundle of applications: MS office file viewers, PDF  readers, a health chart, and a data wallet. The phone also support the Lost Mobile Tracking System (LMTS). You’ll also find regular applications such as the clock, calculator, games, and more. Signal reception was good, but voice clarity could do with a lot of improvement-especially that of the speakerphone. The volume is too low, and it crackles as well. Flight mode figures, and that’s a plus. Battery life is around a day and a half with nominal usage. A price of Rs 7,990 means the KE770 is a good buy if you are looking for a sleek, cool-looking phone. If you’re planning on using multimedia features on a regular basis, we’d suggest you look elsewhere.

The LG KE970-also known as the Shine-is aptly named, because the first thing you notice about the phone is the brilliant shine from the brushed stainless-steel body. Even the main display is mirror-finished, and when the screen is inactive, you can actually use it like one! This tri-band phone is based around a slider design. The slider mechanism feels smooth; opening the phone takes just a nudge. Build quality is good, and the phone is comfortable to hold. The (largish) 2.3-inch high-resolution display looks brilliant indoors; however, it pales outdoors this can be attributed to the glossy screen.

The volume control buttons are on the right  along with the shortcuts to the camera and music player. To use the memory card slot, you need to remove the battery cover, but it is hot-swappable. The phone’s 50 MB of internal memory can be augmented using microSD cards. The keypad is flat but easy to use because the individual keys are large. The navigation keys aren’t the best we’ve seen, though. The rocker in the middle scrolls though the

menu and can be pressed to activate the menu. The adjoining keys allow horizontal movement but they are small and tight  uncomfortable, we thought. The 2-megapixel camera, though good, can’t match the ones on entry-level Sony Ericsson models such as the K550i.

The auto-focus system requires delicate use of the dinky shutter release key; a little clumsiness, and you’ll see blurred, washed-out photographs. Tonal accuracy isn’t that great either; the photos are generally overexposed. Outdoors, the camera fares better, and the colours are more natural. Video recording is strictly okay; it is limited by the resolution and fps. Music on the KE970 was good; the phone handles MP3, AAC, and AAC+. The Inline control with 3.5 mm jack allows you to connect different pair of earphones, though the bundled pair is okay.

With our reference Bose in-ear phones, the volume level was good and the quality crisp, but there is still room for improvement. Photo ID, Bluetooth, mobile e-mail, USB mass storage, and a document viewer for MS Word,

Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF are some of the other notable features. On the performance front, the phone is snappy, with no apparent lag in the user interface. Signal reception is good; however, voice clarity could have been better. With nominal use, the phone goes two days before the low battery alarm pops up. The LG KE970 is a stylish phone, and is reasonably priced at Rs 11,990-if you can put up with the operational glitches and the extra bling

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