Slow browsing

Without 3G or Wi-Fi to speed browsing along, the KC780's online experience isn't particularly exciting.

The browser onboard provides a run-of-the-mill mobile internet set-up that's limited but does an OK sort of job for mobile-optimised sites. It can be slow to load pages though. Email is among the messaging options, with the onboard document viewer software doing an efficient job at opening attachments in Word, Excel, text, PowerPoint and PDF file formats.

Alongside this there's a regular helping of organiser tools, such as calendar, calculator, memo, convertor, alarms, world clock and stopwatch. A bunch of LG's M-Toy motion-controlled games make the most out of the phone's accelerometer; darts, fishing, baseball, hammer-throwing, a maze and a magic ball are there for the shaking. They're a bit of fun, if of limited interest after a while.

Limited appeal

As well as producing decent imaging, the KC780 does the simple call-making stuff well too. Audio is loud and clear and network coverage appears reliable.

Battery performance is adequate rather than exceptional; LG reckons it can deliver up to 250 hours of standby time or 3 hours of talktime. In real-life usage tests, we averaged an acceptable 3 days standby.

While KC780 owners don't have to worry about potentially battery-sapping Wi-Fi, GPS or 3G connectivity, the lack of these sort of higher-end features makes the non-camera functionality of the phone feel somewhat underwhelming.

It puts in a satisfactory performance within its limitations, but a lot of the attraction of the LG KC780 rests on whether the 8-megapixel camera swings it for you. And whilst it produces very good images for a mobile, the camera's shooting performance didn't blow us away enough to make it a must-buy option over better-featured but lower pixel-count rivals.

Network availability: T-Mobile, Orange, O2

Looks: 3.5/5
Ease of use: 4/5
Features: 3.5/5
Call quality: 4/5
Value: 4/5