LG's KG920 has become the first phone to hit UK shores sporting a built-in 5-megapixel camera array. At a time when most mobile phones offer around a million pixels (1 megapixel), and some notable bestsellers still have VGA cameras, the release of such a record-breaker is a real technology headline-grabber.

Basically, the more pixels, the more detail a digital picture holds, allowing it to stand closer inspection, and enabling it to be blown up that much further. Previous best-in-class cameraphones have raised the bar to just over three million pixels - but the additional resolution comes into play if you want to print out your pictures. This is particularly so if you are going to crop in on the image before making your hard copy.

In theory, a 5-megapixel image file can be used to produce professional-standard 8x6 inch prints, and should easily be capable of producing an A4 print on a desktop printer. Anyone who has bought a standalone digital camera will already know that five megapixels is less than extraordinary - even some sub-£100 models offer this resolution. And those that watch what is going on in the far east, will know that cameraphones in Korea are already on sale with 8-megapixel and 10-megapixel sensors.

The pixel count, however, is not the only way to judge a camera. It isn't even the most important. Lens capability, focusing accuracy, processing speed and the sophistication in the analogue-to-digital conversion process are also paramount. Ultimately, it is the pictures themselves and the camera handling that count...

Small packages

The first pleasant surprise about the LG KG920 is that it is not particularly big. At 130-odd grams it is not as small as non-3G handsets go - however, compared with some 3-megapixel cameraphones that we have looked at in the past it is reasonably compact. Part of the reason for this, however, is that it does not have an optical zoom (found on models such as the chunky Nokia N93 and the heavyweight Sharp 903) - nor does it offer any onboard smartphone operating system.

However, in comparison to a digital camera it is a likeable shape, and if you like your gadgets to have lots of knobs and buttons you will love the design. The surfeit of controls are designed to give you fast access to as many phone and camera features as possible, without having to delve into menus.

But at first, the array of options does seem confusing. A trigger on the side of the phone is used to fire the camera up and take exposures - but you need to learn which way to twist the phone, otherwise all the buttons are in the wrong place.

The lens/keyboard part of the camera twists, adding to the options to work out. This revolving feature is useful for taking pictures of yourself, but as the movement is limited to 180° it is not a perfect solution for taking high-angle shots, as on other models.

The keyboard itself is rather innovative. The numbers are pushed to one corner, with a joypad to the right and dial keys and softkeys above. It is a neat arrangement, but one that again takes some familiarisation, and one that may scupper users with substantial fingers.

Unusually, you need to use the memory card with this phone, otherwise the camera, MP3 and Bluetooth file transfer facilities are disabled. With top resolution image files using up to 2 megabytes of space each time you press the shutter, it may be a sensible approach, as otherwise internal memory would soon clog up.

But the onboard 8MB of storage does seem rather small - although the fact that LG says it will supply the handset in the UK with a 256MB MiniSD card does make amends. The maximum card size for the handset is 512MB (so you can't use the latest two gigabyte cards).

The camera may make do with a lens with a fixed, wide-angle focal length but you can zoom digitally even when using the highest quality and file-size options. More importantly, the camera provides a full-range autofocus system which allows you to focus so close that the lens practically touches the thing you are photographing. The autofocus works well whatever the light conditions, with the built-in flash providing extra illumination when necessary for the system to lock onto the target.