LG ARENA (KM900)
Discontinued 16th
February 2009
LG gave us a first glimpse of their
new LG ARENA KM900 phone last
week, and now we have the full details of this interesting
touchscreen phone.
We already know a little about the "S-Class"
user interface, which provides a 3D metaphor for using
the phone. Some menu options are presented like a film
reel, others like a cube. The interface is designed
to be very quick and easy to use, and LG have integrated
hardware acceleration into the ARENA to make it as smooth
as possible.
LG also use tactile feedback in some
applications, and say that using the alarm clock and
radio feels almost like the real thing because of the
touch feedback that the ARENA gives.
The touchscreen is a large 3.0"
800 x 480 pixel display, which should be ideal for web
browsing and movie playback. Of course, the screen automatically
adjusts between wide and tall display modes. Compare
this display with the Samsung Omnia HD which has
a 3.7" 640 x 360 pixel panel, although the ARENA's
display is significantly smaller, we think that the
extra pixels are much more useful.
Internal
memory is an impressive 8GB, and this can be expanded
with microSD cards up to 32GB capacity, giving a theoretical
maximum of 40GB of storage. This can be used to store
a variety of files and multimedia - the LG ARENA can
play back H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV, ASF, AVI, DivX and
XviD movies, and also MP3, AAC, RealAudio and Windows
Media sound files. The ARENA has an FM radio, stereo
Bluetooth and a 3.5mm audio socket, and it also comes
with Dolby Mobile sound which promises to delivery very
high quality audio, and there's even an FM transmitter
that allows you to play music through a home or car
stereo system.
On
the back of the LG ARENA is a 5 megapixel camera with
Schneider Kreuznach optics with autofocus. Video capture
isn't as impressive as the Omnia
HD, but the ARENA can record 720 x 480 pixels at
30 frames per second and 320 x 240 pixels at a 120 frames
per second, which is useful for slow-motion playback.
LG seem confident that the camera can deliver quality
similar to a dedicated digital camera.
The LG ARENA comes with A-GPS, although
we are not clear exactly what navigation options are
available. The ARENA can geotag photographs using GPS
coordinates, and it does look like the ARENA works with
Google Maps.
One drawback that the LG ARENA has is
that it isn't a smartphone in the traditional sense,
so software applications might be limited. However,
LG are committed to the S-Series user interface which
might mean that more software will become available.
As it is, the ARENA comes with a web browser, email
client, document viewer and a range of personal information
management tools that should satisfy most users.
At its heart, this is a quad-band GSM
phone with dual-band UMTS support (this varies according
to region), plus WiFi, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity.
The 1000 mAh battery gives a maximum talktime on 3G
of 4 hours with up to 12 days standby time. Despite
the full feature set, the ARENA weighs just 105 grams
and measures 106 x 55 x 12mm.
LG say that the ARENA should be available
from March in Europe in "titanium" and "silver
black" colour schemes. No guidance was given on
price, but don't expect it to be cheap!
LG ARENA Demonstration Video
|
LG
ARENA (KM900) at a glance
|
Available:
|
Q2
2009
|
Network:
|
GSM
850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
+ UMTS 900 / 2100 or
UMTS 850 / 2100 or
UMTS 850 / 1900
|
Data:
|
GPRS
+ EDGE + UMTS + HSDPA +
WiFi
|
Screen:
|
800
x 480 pxiels, 16m colours
|
Camera:
|
5
megapixels
|
Size:
|
PDA-style
device 106 x 55 x 12mm
/ 105 grams
|
Bluetooth:
|
Yes
|
Memory
card:
|
microSD
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
|
GPS:
|
Yes
|
Battery
life:
|
4
hours talk / 12 days standby
(3G)
|
|
|