Although this screen tapping works well enough, all these functions can be accessed and used smoothly enough from the regular menu system, so the touchscreen control does feel a bit of an odd add-on - more attention-grabbing gimmickry than must-use technology.

The touchscreen music player and radio control interfaces, for instance, add little more to functionality than you can get with the regular touchpad.

On the plus side, zooming into documents is made easy, and dabbing your way through photos is pleasant enough, but the touchscreen is really not essential to using and enjoying the Secret. And once you've started pressing the display, you do get an urge to prod the screen to control regular functions, even when the Touch Media function is off…

LG's accelerometer

LG has included accelerometer motion sensor technology in the Secret, which flips the screen view between landscape and portrait, depending on how the phone is being held.

As well as changing the display for viewing videos and images, it also switches when the full web browser is operating, and when viewing documents. In addition, LG has co-opted the motion sensor for a spot of motion-controlled gaming, with six M-Toy games that uses handset action rather than button pressing.

Controlled by flicking and tilting the phone, M-Toy activities include motion controlled darts, baseball, fishing, hammer-throwing, a maze, and an odd magic ball.

These are a bit of a novelty to start with, and will probably get you waving your phone around, but they are quite limited and may soon lose your interest. A couple of regular Java games – golf and sudoku - are included too, and more can be added.

Top-quality camera

Touch operation aside, the LG Secret's main 5-megapixel camera is one of its highlight features (there's a secondary low res camera too for video calling, just above the display).

We were impressed by the imaging results from the phone, with shots in a variety of lighting conditions coming out well exposed and crisply detailed. You can get some lovely shots with this cameraphone.

There's a 2-step autofocus system, so you can lock on to the subject you want in a composition (and get auto metering set accordingly), which works as well as you'd hope. A macro mode offers the option to get close in shots sharp too.

With an LED photo light rather than a xenon flash, low-lighting shooting is reasonably illuminated at short distances, but results aren't exceptional. There are also a number of settings options you can adjust, and post shot in-phone editing tricks you can play with images.

A blogging option – you can send pics straight to Blogger accounts – is also included in the imaging software.

DivX playback

As well as high quality still images, the Secret puts in a fine performance for video capture. You can shoot at VGA quality (640x480 pixels) at 30 frames per second, for some smooth looking mobile video footage.

For a bit of extra video fun, you can try the slow motion mode, using 120 frames per second capture in QVGA (320x240 pixels) resolution, or the fast motion option for a bit of fast-forward style playback.

The Secret's video credentials also include DivX certified recording and playback, and preloaded software also gives you the ability to add music and edit videos in-phone. You can also upload your own clips directly to YouTube, using embedded software.

Impressive music player

Tune playing is decent enough too. Whether you go for touchscreen or touchpad control, it's straightforward to use, with the usual selection of MP3 player categories to browse and choose from.