LG KE970 Shine - Expert Reviews

Pros: The LG Shine KE970 cell phone is certainly attractive. It also has decent call quality and a great camera.

Cons: The LG Shine KE970 has a flat, poorly designed dialpad, unintuitive Talk and End keys, and an average speakerphone. Battery life was somewhat low, and the mirrored front catches fingerprints easily.

Verdict: 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.

Review summary: LG must have known it was on to something when it launched its VX8500 Chocolate cell phone last year. By the time the pretty phone with the touch controls made its formal debut with Verizon Wireless in August, it had become one of the most anticipated ...

Pros: The LG Shine KE970 cell phone is certainly attractive. It also has decent call quality and a great camera.

Cons: The LG Shine KE970 has a flat, poorly designed dialpad, unintuitive Talk and End keys, and an average speakerphone. Battery life was somewhat low, and the mirrored front catches fingerprints easily.

Verdict: 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.

Review summary: Looks aren't everything, but they can sure shift a mobile phone. The Shine, then, has all the hallmarks of an instant classic. Its stunning silver looks are sure to grab attention - and the first question isn't 'what can it do?' but 'where can I get ...

Pros: Mirrored and brushed metal design, Fine 2-megpiaxel camera array, Swappable memory

Cons: No 3G, Video playback is average, Mirror attracts smudges

Verdict: A very capable sliderphone, and its few flaws are likely to matter little once you've been seduced by its good looks

Review summary: LG's Shine is a sleek 3G fashion phone with a polished-metal body and a large reflective LCD.

Pros: Looks gorgeous, 512MB internal memory, Solid construction will withstand knocks and drops, Small scroller makes menu navigation and texting a chore, Mirror quickly gets grimey with fingerprints, Memory not expandable

Cons: Small scroller makes menu navigation and texting a chore, Mirror quickly gets grimey with fingerprints, Memory not expandable

Review summary: LG proves that all that glitters is not gold.

Verdict: 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.