Review: LG GC900 8MP smartphone classy and functional

A successor of LG Viewty, which sold more than 6.5 million units, GC900 boasts of good looks and offers top-of-the-range features including 8MP camera (that makes taking pictures more fun), thanks to its Intelligent Shot Mode. In this revolutionary mode, GC900 automatically analyzes the subject, background and lighting conditions and adjusts camera settings (the camera has preset settings such as such as Touch Shot, Art Shot, Beauty Shot, Panorama Shot and Continuous Shot) accordingly to ensure hassle-free, picture perfect shots every time. This feature gives great value to those intending to foray into the exotic world of photography and is still rare even on high-end standalone digital cameras.

"This hassle-free mode completely eliminates the need to check settings before taking a photo. It even provides instantaneous feedback, showing exactly how the camera is analyzing a particular scene with real-time indicator bars," LG said in a statement.

However, the Intelligent Shot Mode is not the only thing GC900 has to boast about. The camera phone also has a light sensitivity up to ISO 1600, a powerful LED flash (instead of Xenon flash) for keeping details crisp and vibrant, even in dim lighting, multi-face detection technology and Schneider-Kreuznach optics.

GC900 also has a razor-sharp 3-inch WVGA touchscreen, ideal for viewing high-quality photos and for watching DivX or Xvid movies on-the-go and its 3D S-Class User Interface incorporates a few extra features like an onscreen camera mode selector dial that makes Viewty Smart camera faster and easier to use.

"Viewty Smart is a real digital camera in a really stylish phone. Perfect for those dedicated to fashion and who like to be one step ahead of the technology crowd, LG GC900 allows you to take your best shot and share your photos with friends and family quickly and simply. The Viewty Smart has a gorgeous display and best-of-class user interface. It has the potential of becoming a bestseller as it takes the pleasure of taking pictures to newer horizons," said Anil Arora, head (Business Group Marketing), Mobile Communications, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.

"LG Viewty Smart changes is a treasure trove, giving you pictures that look exactly like what you see. It is the best 8 megapixel camera phone on the market not only because of its specs, but because of the unparalleled user experience it delivers," he added.

But the camera, though the best in its range, is not what makes GC900 a smart phone.

GC900 has a 3-inch WVGA screen that combines capacitive touchscreen technology with haptic feedback (vibrating response to touch) making sure you are always aware of when you have, or have not, successfully made contact with an item for selection on the display.

The GSM quadband smart phone comes with 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network, 1.4 Mbps HSUPA connectivity and Wi-Fi compatibility, which means ones can browse the internet on LG Viewty Smart GC900 at broadband speed.

The phone also has A-GPS geotagging that allows ones to see the exact spot where a photo was taken.

The phone also has 1.5 GB internal memory and has slot for MicroSD cards that offer up to 32 GB, making storing photos, music and videos a breeze.

Other features incorporated in the smart phone are: 3G, Audio Recording, Bluetooth with A2DP, GPRS, accelerometer, FM with RDS, video capture (it has the intrinsic competence to record 720p HD video at 30 frames per second) and loudspeaker.

The phone, however, has a few drawbacks. For instance, it lacks a 3.5 mm audio jack and despite having a 8MP camera, it can never be a substitute for a digital camera though it can come close to being one. The video quality is also okay, but there is ample room for improvement. Also if you want a handset for texting a lot, then the LG Viewty Smart is not for you. The onscreen keyboard is a bit of a pain and sometimes notable lag from pressing the keys to the letter coming up on screen was felt, producing a number of errors when texting.

The phone's 1000mAh battery is also average, offering a standby time of 350 hours and talktime of 6 hours. Frequent use of Wi-Fi or GPS can also drain out the battery fast requiring it to be charged more often.

The smart phone is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor (it weighs just 102 grams and is quite thin at 12.4mm) but heavy on the wallet. Priced at Rs.27,500, LG Viewty Smart GC900, which comes in a brushed metal finish and silver or black color, retails in all major outlets across India and is pitted against the likes of Sony Ericsson W995, the Nokia N86 (8 MP) and Samsung Pixon.