LG KC550 is a new mid-range cell phone with top-of-the-shelf photo capabilities.
Intro:
LG KC550 has plenty of multimedia functions along with the standard phoning capability. The handset has 10 equalizer presets, excellent video player, built-in accelerometer for gaming but the emphasis has been put on great camera functionality. So, the LG KC550 has a very good Schneider-Kreuznach certified optics and plenty of settings thanks to which it can take really pretty photos.
LG KC550 pros:
+ 2.4″ 262K-color display of QVGA resolution
+ Auto screen rotation in image gallery and video player
+ 5 megapixel autofocus camera with Power LED flash
+ WVGA video recording at 30 fps
+ TV-out port
+ Google Search and Mail pre-installed
+ Six games
+ Office document viewer
LG KC550 cons:
- 12MB of internal memory
- Poor sunlight legibility
- Awkward file manager
- Only tri-band GSM support
- Glossy front panel is a fingerprint magnet
The design:
LG KC550 measures 96.9 x 51.4 x 14.9 mm and weights 110 grams. The phone looks impressively smooth and efficient, although I wouldn’t call it a beauty queen. The front of the cell phone features the 2.4″ 262K-color display of QVGA resolution, a D-pad and rocker-styled controls. All the buttons and controls are comfortable and responsive. At the back is the lens with lens cover and a Power LED flash. On the left side you will find LG universal connectivity port, whereas on the right side of the phone the volume rocker, dedicated two-step camera button, and the microSD card slot.
Performance:
LG KC550 offers a very good sound quality on both ends, but this phone has a lot more to offer. First of all the digital camera with 5 megapixel (2592 x 1944 pixels). The phone has digital image stabilization, a Power LED flash and settings thanks to which you can adjust the white balance, color effects or ISO. Photos taken with LG KC550 are of very high quality. Along with many picture settings you have a photo browser and editor where you can resize, rotate, add text or some special effects to the photos. The phone can of course record also videos in WVGA@15fps and VGA@30fps.
The multimedia player in LG KC550 is also of very good quality and easy to use. There are several visualization options, album art and 10 equalizer presets. Unfortunately you cannot modify, or add new equalizer presets.
LG KC550 renders websites quite well, however navigation is somewhat unpredictable and might be annoying with more complicated sites.
Menus / ease of use:
The phonebook in LG KC550 can store up to 1000 contacts with a few fields for information about each contact. You can add 3 phone numbers, e-mail address, a photo and a ringtone to each contact. The contacts stored on SIM and phone memory display simultaneously in alphabetic order. There is no option for contacts to be ordered by first or last name, as there’s only one name field.
Unfortunately the menu system in LG KC550 is quite complicated. There are designated folders for different types of files and if your file is not in the right folder it won’t be opened. There is also no copy/paste option so you can inly move your files. Apart from that and sometimes awkward settings placement the menus look nice and when you get accustomed to the minor flaws they work fine.
All in all, LG KC550 is a very good phone for its price range especially if you want a phone to make good quality photos with.
Selected LG KC550 specs:
General
2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Announced 2008, May
Status Available
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors
Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall
Call records 40 dialed, 40 received, 40 missed calls
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory
- 12 MB user available memory
Data
GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps
HSCSD No
EDGE Class 12
3G No
WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes
Others
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Yes + downloadable, order now
Colors Black, Gray, Pink
Camera 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Schneider-Kreuznach optics, autofocus, flash, image stabilizer, video(720×480@30fps)
- Java MIDP 2.0
- MP3/WAV/AAC++/WMA/RA player
- MPEG4/H.263/H.264/RV player
- Photo editor
- FM radio
- Voice memo
- Speakerphone
- Organiser
- Built-in motion sensitive games
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 900 mAh
Stand-by Up to 450 h
Talk time Up to 6 h
Source: LG.