LG U990 3G touchscreen to take on iPhone

LG is taking on the Apple iPhone with the release in October of a stylish touchscreen-controlled phone boasting a 5-megapixel camera and high-speed 3G HSDPA connectivity.

The LG U990, confirmed for release on 3 in the UK, is the first 3G touchscreen phone from LG. It has many of the looks, design touches and the user interface first seen the PRADA Phone by LG. First revealed here back in July, the LG U990 has been slated for an October debut on 3. Although it will be sold through other UK mobile operators too as the KU990.

The LG U990/KU990 features a finger-touch-operated 3-inch 400 x 240 pixel, 262k-colour display. It has a 5-megapixel Schneider Kreuznach optics-equipped camera with manual controlled digital zoom, using an adjustable dial around the lens. This dial also doubles up as a thumbwheel-style control for scrolling through functions if users want an alternative to the touchscreen navigation.

The LG touchscreen phone offers a groundbreaking video camera function too, capturing video at 120 frames per second - enabling super slow motion image playback in top quality.

High-speed 3G HSDPA

The LG U990 offers high-speed 3G HSDPA running on 3's new '3Turbo' mobile broadband service (see separate story) - operating at a maximum 3.6Mpbs. (Though effectively 3's HSDPA will deliver a 2.8Mbps service.) The LG U990 offers support for video and audio downloading and streaming, plus video calling, while the phone also has a full web browser.

The LG phone has full audio playback capabilities too, with a multi-format digital music player onboard. LG has stacked the U990 with 170MB of onboard memory, and this can be expanded with swappable MicroSD cards. Stereo Bluetooth is also onboard, as well as USB 2.0 support,.

Exact pricing details of the LG U990 are yet to be confirmed, although 3 says that it is expected be around the same level as the Nokia N95 on 3's contract deals - that means from free on some high-end tariffs.