LG KT610 review: Communicator wannabe

KT610 is LG's way of saying the communicator class isn't reserved for insanely expensive high end devices. Packing a large full-QWERTY keyboard and neat and simple looks, the S60 Symbian handset spells business. It might have a few features missing but a frown at the spec sheet may as well melt into a smile at the price tag. Economy class is good enough as long as it gets you there. One particularly exciting thing about LG KT610 is the stark contrast between the touchingly old-school front and the serious stuff inside. So let's open it up and see what we say.

LG KT610 official photos

Key features:

• Full QWERTY keyboard
• 2.4" 262K-color QVGA display inside
• 1.45" 262K-color secondary display
• Symbian OS v9.2 with S60 rel. 3.1 UI
• 3G with HSDPA
• Compact dimensions for a communicator
• 2 megapixel fixed-focus camera
• Built-in GPS receiver with excellent sensitivity
• More affordable than other communicators
• Bluetooth and USB v2.0
• 64MB of internal memory and microSD card slot

Main disadvantages:

• No Wi-Fi
• Mediocre camera
• No image geotagging
• Tiny external display of little usability
• Unimpressive battery life
• No A-GPS
• No document editor out-of-the-box
• No PDF reader or ZIP manager preinstalled

LG KT610 is a blessing for heavy texters who do appreciate the Symbian way of handling messaging. The dream texting skills however come at a price - the multimedia handling has suffered. In addition, cutting corners on cost has affected the preloaded content, which is rather scarce.

LG KT610 in our office

As this stage it should have become obvious that the KT610 is a niche model. It still makes a nice alternative in the full QWERTY Symbian segment, where supply isn't exactly profuse. LG KT610 is rubbing shoulders with a few Eseries handsets and Communicators, and a couple of Sony Ericsson P-line phones. All right, a fact's a fact: the Nokia E90 secondary display is almost the size of the KT610 main screen and the difference in price is hard to swallow. But still, plunging head first in the shark pond sure takes some cojones.

Another tough question is how the lack of Wi-Fi would affect a communicator, no matter how affordable. Well, we are to see about that when the phone spends some more time on the market. As for now let's cut to the chase and start inspecting the LG KT610 exterior.

Before we jump to the next page though, a fair warning is due. We are reviewing a beta unit, so improvements and bug-fixes are quite likely.