LG KU990 / LG Viewty Preview

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24th August 2007
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LG have given us a preview of the LG KU990, also with the somewhat silly name of the LG Viewty - a 5.1 megapixel camera phone with a Schneider Kreuznach lens and advanced imaging capabilities. The front of the LG KU990 has a large touchscreen, similar to the LG Prada.

The full technical specifications of the KU990 Viewty will be announced at the end of the month, but so far we know that the 5.1 megapixel camera comes with a flash, electronic image stabilisation, photo editing and single-click uploading to YouTube.

Video capture on the LG Viewty is up to 120 fps (frames per second) - this is twice the frame rate of an HDTV and frankly why anyone needs this kind of frame rate is a mystery. We're not sure what the video capture resolution is on the KU990, but it will need to be at least 640x480 pixels to compete with the Nokia N95.

Schneider Kreuznach are the people who make lenses for Kodak, so that's a promising start when it comes to the KU990's optical credentials. Combine this with the 5.1 megapixel camera, and the KU990 Viewty looks very good indeed.

The "U" in KU990 should indicate that this is a 3G device, and you can reasonably expect to see a multimedia player, web browser, email client and all the usual features. You can safely assume that the KU990 / Viewty will be competing directly against the N95, where the LG has the advantage of a touchscreen but is unlikely to have GPS. To be honest, we'd sooner have the LG's screen for day-to-day use.

More details on the LG KU990 / LG Viewty should be announced at the IFA show in Berlin in a few days time.