LG Viewty Smart (GC900) review

The next-generation of LG camera phone, not an iPhone-wannabe.

LG Viewty Smart GC900
The camera is the Viewty Smart's main selling point

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Typing in information can be a chore. Holding the phone upright, the Viewty Smart provides you with an onscreen numerical keypad and familiar T9 assistance.

LG viewty smart

SCREEN TYPE: In the normal portrait mode, you type using a virtual numeric keypad (with a little help from T9 predictive text.)

Turn the handset sideways and the Viewty Smart's built-in accelerometer detects the change of orientation. It subsequently flips the screen into a landscape view, replacing the keypad with a roomier virtual QWERTY keyboard.

This isn't as good as the iPhone's equivalent keyboard. But it's still better for typing out long text messages and emails. And the text entry system includes cut, copy and paste functionality as standard. No OS update required.

Calls

With so much going on, it's easy to forget this the LG Viewty Smart is a mobile phone first, 8MP digital camera, video recorder, music player, web tablet and FM radio later.

LG viewty smart

CALLING: Calls can either be made manually via the virtual keypad or by tapping on one of your contacts.

All of the calls we made and received were suitably clear, but this will ultimately depend on what network you're on and what the coverage is like where you're using it. There's also an option for making video calls (but does anybody really bother?). A small, front-facing VGA camera is hidden away at the top right of the 3-inch display.