LG KE500 review: Silver slider

Adaptive headphones

For quite a long time the music player was unjustly suspected of being unable to play in the background. It was an accidental press on the shutter key when the player was on, that cleared all suspicion. Yes, pressing the camera key minimizes the player. The supported formats are MP3, WAV and AAC. Tracks are arranged by name, disregarding ID3 tags and you may create your own playlists. The player offers two skins, six equalizer presets, along with shuffle and repeat mode.

The music player has two visualizations • you can create as many playlists as you like • available equalizer presets

The standard inclusion headset was a real cheer. The 3.5mm jack adapter is always welcome. Aside from the volume control, the wired headset also features a mouthpiece and a pad for answering calls. The headset, which ships with the phone, offers passable sound experience but is a bit uncomfortable and fell off my ears ever too often. The 3.5mm jack adapter however will resolve that issue, making the LG KE500 compatible with any headphones. The Bluetooth-enabled KE500 supports the A2DP profile.

 
LG KE500 accessories • the headset offers a 3.5 mm jack adapter and a remote control pad

The music capabilities of LG KE500 are enhanced by the FM radio. It stores up to 12 stations upon auto scan. The radio doesn't feature RDS and can't be minimized to play in the background. A simple video player adds to the media tally. It supports 3GP and MPEG-4 formats. Videos can be fast-forwarded, but can't be stretched full screen.

FM radio offers twelve memory positions • playing video

LG KE500 offers a single preinstalled Java game - Sudoku. It's up to the users to expand their Java content.

The only game available is Sudoku

jBenchmark applications results:

• jBenchmark 1.0: 6220 points
• jBenchmark 2.0: 449 points

With EDGE on the web

Data transfer technologies featured are GPRS è EDGE, both class 10. The old-school CSD connectivity is also available. Data can also be transferred via Bluetooth and using the enclosed data cable. When the handset is connected to PC, two working modes are available: Phone mode and Mass Storage. The phone is charging when connected. The retail package offers a CD with software: for PC sync, for using the handset as a modem and for transferring music.

Middling Browser

LG KE500 has an integrated WAP browser. It offers bookmarks and the option to disable images. Up to 12 lines of text are displayed on the screen when browsing. Upon closing the browser, you'll always get a count of the data transferred.

Browsing GSMArena.com with LG KE500

Affordable and decent

LG KE500 leaves quite a positive impression. This affordable device offers discreet style and reasonable multimedia capabilities. It seems a proper choice for balancing neat looks and affordability. LG KE500 is miles apart from the extrovert and glamorous Shine, and for some people this is a downright advantage. The accessories are quite pleasing too, especially the 3.5mm adapter. There seem to be enough competitive handsets to offer extra features like voice commands and email for the same price. Still, the LG KE500 should be enjoying a good enough demand. If you are really on a budget you may also consider the Samsung E250 which offers pretty much the same functionality (music player, FM radio, memory card slot, nice menu system, decent battery life) but with poorer quality displays and built-in VGA cameras.