With 8GB of memory, a 5-megapixel camera and a super-duper new interface, the LG Arena certainly has a lot to shout about.
What we like
The LG Arena KM900 looks great, boasting sleek curves and polished surfaces. LG has added a sharp 3-inch display that handles colours well, which we appreciated most when watching video clips or films on it. Sound quality is also good, Dolby mobile surround makes a noticeable difference, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can plug in your own headphones.
The Arena’s 5-megapixel camera takes good shots in daylight and in low light the LED photo light was bright at close range — just don’t expect the same levels of illumination as a xenon flash. Other noteworthy features that we enjoyed using are GPS that we used with Google Maps and the ability to copy and paste text, which came in handy when writing texts and emails.
What we don’t like
The Arena’s S-Class interface is fiddly to use and you might be a bit baffled as to how it actually works initially. Although the interface is promoted as being cube-like, you can’t move the cube up or down — the screens only go from side to side. The Arena just doesn’t feel as intuitive as the iPhone, which it will inevitably be compared to.
You have to press the power button to unlock the screen after you have left the Arena inactive for around a minute, which we found particularly unintuitive. Due to its unlocking system, handling the Arena can be bit tricky at times and we wonder why LG couldn’t have implemented a system similar to the iPhone — where you simply slide your finger across a small section of the screen to unlock it.
Conclusion
The Arena looks good and packs a lot of features. This is the type of phone that will please many people looking for a touchscreen phone but if you’re a connoisseur then you’ll soon be annoyed by its shortcomings. Until LG can refine its touchscreen offerings more and offer an apps store, then phones such as the Arena will put certain smart phone fans off.
Specification
| OS | Proprietary |
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