The Viewty beauty

It’s a touch-phone with style, it’s a camera phone with a flash, it’s a 3G phone with HSDPA, it’s a video camera with action options. All these features are built into one of the best phones yet from LG, the KU 990, or Viewty. STEVEN AMBROSE takes it through its paces.

LG have recently been pushing the envelope in touch-screen mobile phones, making a splash with their first attempt, the exclusive and well-regarded Prada phone. The newly released KU 990 - or Viewty - builds on this platform and tries to be real competition in the touch-screen phone market (read “iPhone competitor”). After spending some time with this phone, both in South Africa and in the USA, I can safely say that this is one of LG’s best phones yet.


The LG KU990 is also LG’s latest camera phone and it is packed with all the latest tech goodies, from full quad-band 3G HSDPA to a built-in 5 Megapixel camera complete with digital image stabilisation and a Xenon flash. Xenon is much better than the average cell phone LED Flash, as its light output is much closer to normal sunlight. The LG also has high-speed, 120 frames per second video recording – one of the first examples of video on a phone that can capture fast-moving action scenes like the kids having fun. The phone also includes a full MP3 Player and a YouTube upload and viewing utility, which works well over 3G, but watch the cost!


The main feature of the phone is the very good 40mm by 66mm touch screen. The only mechanical keys, located on the bottom edge, are the end, send, and cancel keys. The LG is a sleek, good-looking, light and surprisingly well-built phone. It does not feel inexpensive and, despite its weight, feels solid.


How does it fare on the Gadget Five Question User Test? We took it for a ride:

1. Is it ready to use?

Unpacking the LG KU 990 from its well-made box and slipping in your SIM raises no challenges. The entire interface of the phone's software features finger-friendly icons and an attractive layout. Many reviewers have said they found it difficult to tap the small icons, but I didn’t have any problems with them, and I don’t have the smallest fingers around

The large touch-screen cleverly vibrates when you touch it, giving excellent feedback when you have touched the screen. The interface is fast and fairly responsive. I did, however, feel that it was not as good as the current leader in this area, the Apple iPhone.

Dialling and messaging is straightforward via a numeric or alphabetic keypad that works identically to a standard mobile phone keypad, minus the mechanical keys, and is aided by the vibrating feedback feature. The messaging interface also allows for handwriting input, but I found that slower than tapping the virtual keypad. The Sony Ericsson letter recognition system and the speed with which it recognises writing is still the leader in this regard.

The 5 Megapixel camera is very capable and of a similar quality to the Nokia N95's camera. You can adjust the size of images, picture quality, ISO and white balance, among other things.

The digital stabilisation feature reduces blur but don't expect the same level of quality as optical stabilisation.

An optical image stabilizer is a mechanism used in cameras that stabilizes the recorded image by varying the physical optical path to the sensor. Digital image stabilization shifts the electronic image of the frame or video, enough to counteract the motion. It uses pixels outside the border of the visible frame to provide a buffer for the motion.

The KU 990's proprietary Web browser is one of the best browsers I have tried on a mobile phone. Similar to the iPhone's browser, you can view full-sized Web pages at a reduced size and then zoom in on the sections you want to see properly. The inclusion of Wi-Fi would have made this feature even more useful and convenient.

All the standard phone functions worked well. I did, however, find that it took some time to become used to the mechanical back or cancel key on the bottom of the phone, instead of some form of touch screen back button. Once this was mastered, the phone was relatively simple to use.

2. Is it easy to use?

The touch-screen with its Haptic or vibration feedback makes this phone relatively intuitive. The bottom icon-based menu allows direct access to setup functions, phone book, and other key functions of the phone. I found that the camera selection button on the top edge of the phone was a curious throwback to mechanical phones: to change from single shot to movie mode, you have to slide this mechanical switch. All the phone functions, including the surprisingly cool photo viewing application, performed well.

The KU 990 comes with a photo viewer that can display pictures as if they were thrown on a table, letting you flick through them with your finger, or you can just use the standard mode that lines them all up. Other features include an attractive calendar, a fun 3D shoot 'em up game, speakerphone mode and a music player that supports MP3, AAC, WMA, WMV and AMR formats. The music player works well and lets you sort through artists and album art, similar to the functionality most standalone MP3 players.

3. Does it deliver on its promise?

In isolation, this phone would have made a huge impact on the standard keypad based phones out there. It is smooth, slick, good-looking in a minimalist way, and has cutting edge features and technologies. The camera virtually makes a separate camera unnecessary; the MP3 player, with the ability to expand memory using the Micro SD slot, is very good; and the other useful functions make this a great phone in every way. It does deliver on its promise; most people will find the phone easy to use and really functional. The only caveat I have is that there is plenty competition out there and the interface may not suite everybody.

4. Is it innovative?

Once again, in isolation, this phone is a huge step for LG, It is intuitive, the Haptic feedback touch screen and its interface is excellent and makes this a really cool alternative to your normal flip or candy bar phone. It is fast and has all the features that any user may want. The competition from the iPhone, the Nokia N95, and Samsung G600, as well as some of the latest phones released at the recent World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, makes the competition really stiff. The phone is innovative, but in the world of fast-moving mobile phone technology, does not set any new benchmarks for the industry.

5. Is it value for money?

This phone is now available from all the networks on reasonable packages and represents good value. The average street price of the phone of around R4900 is excellent value, taking into account the cool factor and the level of technology built into this phone.

In Summary

There is no doubt that touch is becoming the new way to interface with all your gadgets. The LG KU 990 does a very good job in this regard, and is without doubt the best phone LG has made to date. The ease of use, the smooth form factor, and the functionality, make this a formidable contender in the top-end phone space. I really enjoyed my time with this phone, and found it to be an excellent work companion and really good phone. The camera was very good and the quality of the interface made it easy to use. My advice is: try it; you may find your lust for the legally unavailable iPhone will be sated.

Steven Ambrose

Touched by the iPod Touch

Quietly and secretly Steven Ambrose has been running around the past few weeks with an iPod Touch. Why the secrecy? Simple: iPods, iPhones and the rest of Apple's new lines must be the most hyped products on the market. Everywhere I went, people asked: “Is that the iPhone and can I touch?” The answer was always No and Yes. As a result, I spent far less time with the iPod Touch than I should have.

So out with it already: I have been touched. Simple as that. Apple’s latest iPod is available in 8GB, tons of music, 16GB, silly amounts of music, and the just-released 32GB, amazingly silly amount of music - in fact more music than you could listen to in six months solid, but add a few movies and a whole stack of your holiday pics, and you will appreciate the room they provide.

Specifications aside, it’s the form factor, thin and smooth, with an amazingly clear and bright screen, that first grabs you. Switch it on and the wow really starts. The interface is simply madly good. The actual sensitivity and smooth reaction to your every touch and gesture is smooth and responsive, and makes operating the touch an amazing experience.

Please stop me gushing, but Apple have excelled in this regard: the motion-sensing from portrait to landscape and back, and the smooth way the screens slide in and out, is wonderful to behold. It’s not perfect, but it is so good, so intuitive, and so responsive, it makes all other touch interfaces seem like yesterday’s news.

Just to show you I have not completely lost it over the Touch, I took it through the Gadget 5 Question User Test:

1. Is it ready to use?

Throw away the manual, plug it in, slide your finger along the bottom and off you go. You do need to install iTunes on your PC, and even the latest version is somewhat unstable on Microsoft Vista, this is not a big issue the programme simply shut down on occation and restarted with no problems, but on a Mac it was no problem. On any operating system, iTunes finds the IPod quickly, and transferring music is really easy. South Africans cannot as yet access the iTunes store – shame on you, Apple! – so rip all your legally bought CDs to your computer, and transfer to the Touch. Ready to use.

2. Is it Easy to use?

The Touch itself is a cinch: charge the Touch, switch on, slide to unlock and enjoy. The interface really needs no manual or instructions, and very quickly you will be navigating through the features and listening to music or watching your movies. The back button, or home button, on the bottom of the Touch is the only physical key, and once you have leanred to use it, it makes navigation simple. More technical issues, like setting up the built-in Wi-Fi connection, takes a little more understanding, but even here it is not very difficult. The Touch prompts you to connect, and takes you through the setup very quickly. I did find, however, that unusual wireless setups and old wireless routers did give a little trouble in getting working.

3. Does it deliver on its promise?

The Touch does so in a simple and convincing way: it is a great device to carry all your music, all your YouTube movies and other video files, as well as all your pictures. It is simple and intuitive to use and the Cover Flow interface, whereby you can swipe through your music and picture collection with your finger, is really intuitive and fun to use. The other outstanding feature on the Touch is the fully-fledged web surfing made possible by the built-in Safari Web Browser. Sites render really well and quickly and, best of all, you can navigate and zoom in and out with a few touches and strokes of your fingers; no stylus needed here. The latest software adds enhanced e-mail, Google maps, widgets, little apps you can run on the Touch, such as weather, and a fully customisable home screen.

4. Is it innovative?

The Touch writes the book on innovation, mainly in the interface and in how the Touch makes usage so human and so tactile. So yes, this product is truly innovative and sets the scene for touch interfaces to come on many other devices in the future. If the Touch can be so fully controlled by simple touch, then why not your laptop, your PVR, your fridge … oops, getting carried away again!

5. Is it value for money?

This is always a difficult question to answer, as cost is always relative. The iPod Nano, if all you want is a music player, offers far better value. There are also many other devices from other manufacturers that cost less and have very similar functionality. None, however, have the interface. So even though the Touch, in all memory configurations is costly, for what you get it is worth the money. So the question is not whether it is good value, but rather whether you can afford one.

In summary: I was truly not prepared for the Touch, and I was somewhat dismissive of all the hype around the iPhone and its interface. But Touch one and you will see: it really is great fun to be Touched.

Steven Ambrose

It's all about you: The human touch comes to CES

In our final wrap-up of last month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we look at one of the major trends that will shape consumer technology in 2008 and beyond. STEVEN AMBROSE explores the touchy feely side of new gadgetry and discovers it can be very human after all ...

There was a time when gadgets were the exclusive domain of geeks and enthusiasts, and the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was the ultimate gathering of like-minded geeks and gadget fanatics. Flashing lights and strange boxes that few could understand dominated the show. Well folks, times have changed. The CES, much to the horror of the geek brigade, has gone all touchy feely.

The big news at the 2008 CES was, you guessed it, the human touch. From LG to Panasonic, from Philips to Sony, not to mention Microsoft and Motorola, these diverse companies had one simple message: let’s make it easy to use, let’s make it look good, and let’s make it fun and entertaining. Most companies were finally giving real focus to the natural human interface with technology.
All the big TV's and their companies new technologies were out in abundance, but the overriding impression I gained from the show was that, finally, all the companies were trying to understand how people would best enjoy and use their gadgets.

This took quite a few forms, the first of which was truly lovely TV designs, such as the new TV ranges from LG, Samsung, Sony and Philips. Gone were the bland square grey or black boxes and in were almost sexy, curved transparent and sculptural designs.

LG showcased their new widescreen high definition LCD screens with an ultra thin form factor of only 4,2cm thickness and a really simplified, easy-to-use interface. The technical specs were top notch, as could be expected. However, the wow factor is that most of us would be proud to have this piece of art in the living room.

Samsung were not to be left behind. They unveiled a huge range of new LCD and Plasma TVs, again focusing on design and functionality that make life without a 10-year-old to assist, far easier. The new Samsung range featured ultra slim form factors as well as an innovative new case design, which they boasted came from advanced automotive engineering. The new look featured a translucent rounded glossy look that softens the usually hard look of consumer electronics, and make the new range soft looking in a high tech and very futuristic way.

It is difficult to put in words the way these new TVs looked, save to say they were very stylish and made other products look rather boring. Samsung also released a number of TVs that plug directly into the home network, and offer selected internet feeds to be viewed directly on the TV. A complementary range of organic looking and fully integrated – by this I mean simple to operate off one remote – surround sound and audio systems were also released.

Samsung's HT-X710 Home Theatre in a box System

Philips electronics wowed the crowds both at their booth, and at their impressive press conference, with a new range of audio and video products. The highlight was their so-called green TV, featuring smooth rounded curves, built in backlighting, top notch specifications and the lowest energy usage of any 42” LCD currently on the market. Complimenting these new TVs was a wide range of electronics which seamlessly integrated together, in order to make the overall experience easy and very satisfying for most of us.

Phillips Eco TV

As a confirmed technology geek, I was seriously impressed by the attention to detail in making the new Philips range easy to use, and even easier to integrate into your home. I was not the only one impressed as Philips went on to win CNET’s "Best in Show" award at CES for their power-saving Eco TV.

Philips are making what used to be merely a consumer electronic device, into a signature piece of furniture that helps define your personal style and space. At the core of the new Philips Design Collection are innovative and state-of-the art designs taking familiar objects, like your old square LCD TV, and giving them a new sense of “intimacy”, according to Philips. Their design language has moved away from a 'masculine technology box' to a smoother, more feminine approach that integrates seamlessly into most home environments.

The above products and companies were by no means alone in their quest for the natural human interface. In fact I saw many demonstrations where TV's came to life with gesture technology.
Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, in his keynote, made much of the revolutionary table based Surface Computer interface and voice recognition in the car, while Intel Corporation CEO Paul Otellini seriously talked up the gesture-based interface of Nintendo Wii. In addition, there were plenty of emerging new ideas around interfaces exhibited on the trade show floor.

Natural human interfaces, ones that involve human movement, tend to be incredibly engaging. Take the amazing success of the Wii console, both in South Africa and worldwide, as an example. It's rarely more noticeable than at CES - the crowds nearly always gather around those exhibits that provide some kind of interactivity.

One of the most popular I saw and often could not get near, was the WAVEscape advertising platform, developed by Reactrix and exhibited in partnership with Samsung. WAVEscape is trying to be the Wii of advertising.

CES Attendees play with WAVEscape on a Reactrix-powered Samsung TV
(Picture: New York Times)

WAVEscape is a stereo near-infrared vision system that sits above a television to enable interactions between viewer movement and content on the screen. It uses a stereo 3D vision system to sense the distance of a person from the television,in the same way a person has two eyes to gauge proximity; the computer can get the full shape of everyone's body up to 15 feet away. At CES, Reactrix demonstrated how users could stand in front of a Samsung LCD and interact with several games and information sites, using the movement of their limbs.

WAVEscape was developed by Matt Bell, Reactrix's chief scientist and founder. It is inspired by an earlier product he invented called the Stepscape - a 2x3 metre interactive floor-projected display deployed in shopping malls and other public spaces that can sense a person's presence as they walk over it.

Bell says users are 10 times as likely to recall the message of an interactive advertisement as a static one. "It is a revolution in the way people relate to TVs," he said. "The TV is now able to sense you and respond to your wishes. Gestural interfaces are exciting because they are so natural. We communicate with body language. You get a display that's able to understand body language and that's very powerful."

Touch, feel, swipes, gestures. All very human and that is where we are going. As we move into 2008, we will see more and more of these interfaces and technologies finally come to maturity, to integrated technology, that was previously the exclusive domain of the geek, into our mainstream lives.

All of us at Gadget.co.za have had lively debates about stuff just working; in fact “lively debate” is being polite at times! It was very gratifying to see the major corporations finally getting to grips with the simple fact that technology has to work as promised , and advertised, and become user friendly in a way that almost anyone can get it working, without help from your friendly cable guy, or spending weeks perusing the manual.

Steven Ambrose