LG KE970 Shine

“The LG Black Label series is highly indicative of LG's determination to establish the brand as not just that of an average manufacturer, but one that is of high fashion and advanced technology. The LG Shine KE970 is a great follow-up to the Chocolate series, and pretty much represents the company at its best. Unfortunately, LG's best is still not on par with the efforts of Sony Ericsson or Nokia, and the outdated software hinders its promising hardware. As a flagship phone, the slow thumbnail loading speed and the lack of background music playback are both unacceptable. The potential of the Schneider-Kreuznach lens is hindered by the over-processing of images, long shutter lag, and the very average video recording capability. The low ringtone volume is also something that we would have never expected on an LG device.With all that, the LG KE970 Shine's stunning design may not be compelling enough to convince some people to pay the price for its mid-level performance. Despite this, the handset is a strong competitor in the fashion phone world, and there is no total deal breaker in the cons list. We look forward to the next Black Label Series, and we also hope LG fixes all these software glitches for it, but until then the Shine KE970 gets just a Recommended rating. Other handsets to consider would be Samsung U700 and Sony Ericsson S500.”