LG is highly inspired by the Apple iPhone, its bar shaped touchscreen offerings like Prada, Cookie, Viewty etc have been lovely but certainly not iPhone killers. The GC900 is dubbed as Viewty II and probably LG’s best shot at the touchscreen market. LG has been progressive with its offerings and its a good sign. The Cookie (KP500) actually did extremely well due to its low price point. However, the Viewty II is targeted more towards the media centric power users. We find the LG GC 900 quite well priced but against the iPhone 3GS. You got to be dreaming that it stands a chance.
Interface and usability
LG Viewty Smart comes with an S-class UI that revolves around a 3D cube on the homescreen that connects you to different pages filled with apps. LG packs in a capacitive touchscreen here, but it certainly fails to give that swift and fast operating pleasure that the iPhone or the Palm Pre brings in. I might be wrong comparing the LG viewty with the iPhone, but its a full touchscreen with iPhone like structure.
Scrolling through contacts, browsing through the 3D cube to reach out to apps, the slickness of the default apps etc doesn’t appear anywhere near to the iPhone. However, the S-Class UI does have a principled way of improvising on the iPhone’s springboard by making each row of apps scrollable as per category. Instead of browsing through different pages, all filled with dozen+ apps. LG viewty II also allows you to see all the apps in landscape mode as you rotate the device. Thats cool innovation but the overall punch …. 🙁
With both phones lacking a physical qwerty, the competition again goes to the touchscreen capability where the iPhone rules. It’s much more fun to use the iPhone QWERTY.
Features fight
LG Viewty II has a beautiful 8MP camera and excellent video recording capabilities. Something the iPhone 3GS will find very difficult to match, though iPhone 3GS packs in video editing and upload that will surely boost the usage of camera for web-upload purposes. iPhone 3GS still leverages its iPod tag to attract music lovers. Good integration of web in default apps and the breathtaking web browsing in Mobile Safari makes iPhone Internet god.
iPhone 3GS is powered by a 16GB / 32GB memory, GC900 comes with 1.5GB inbuilt and support for MicroSDHC cards. iPhone gives you a 3.5″ viewing pleasure compared to the 3″ on the Viewty II GC900. Even with more pixels packed into the tiny display the Viewty fails to give the brightness and real effect that the Palm Pre or the iPhone gives, that’s something that the entire LG lineup is bad at …
Not to forget that the OPENGL 2.0 support on the iPhone promises some excellent 3D games, even the existing iPhone 3G games cuts through the competition like a knife on butter. Dedicated Google services optimized for the iPhone, 50000 apps and a super charged OS backs the iPhone pretty strong.
iPhone suffers from its default weaknesses like no Bluetooth file transfer, no USB mass storage, no external media slot, no flash in camera etc. But frankly flash in a mobile camera is acceptable only for closeups, rest its a waste in most cases. (not looking to defend the iPhone but that’s my honest opinion about camera phones with a flash).
LG Viewty wins:
- Fm radio
- Camera, Flash, Video quality
- MicroSD support
iPhone 3GS wins:
- iPhone OS, processing power, Graphics
- Usability is UI
- Web browsing
- App Store: Games, Apps
iPhone 3GS vs LG GC9000 Viewty – Specs
| Feature | iPhone 3.0 Pro |
LG GC9000 Viewty
NetworkGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 7.2MbpsGSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900HSDPA 7.2MbpsOSiPhone OS 3.0symbianDisplayTFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inchesTFT capacitive touchscreen,
16M colors
800 x 480 pxls,3.0 inchCamera3 MP, with Video8 MegaPixels,
3264×2448 pxls,
Schneider-Kreuznach optics,
auto/manual focus,
power LED flashEDGEyesclass 12Internet BrowserHTML (Safari)WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTMLMessagingSMS (threaded view), EmailSMS, MMS, EmailFMnoyesProcessorRumored at 600MhzNA BatteryStandard battery, Li-IonStandard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAhColoursblack,whiteSilver, BlackConnectivityWi-Fi 802.11b/g,
bluetooth 2.1
P2P Bluetooth GamesWi-Fi 802.11 b/g
bluetooth 2.0Memory16GB / 32 GB1.5 GB internal,
microSD (TransFlash),
up to 32GB externalWeight133 g102 gramOthers
- Google Maps Audio/video player TV-out
- VoiceOver
- Shake to change music
- Digital Compass
- Spotlight search
- 5 incl. motion-based
- + downloadable games
- TV Out
- MUltitouch pinching to zoom like iPhone
- DivX and Xvid video playback
- Advanced Camera options
Though the Viewty Smart manages to be almost as slim as the iPhone, some good specs, decent features, but the x-factor in the touch controls, web integration, smart apps etc are missing. The killer punch is just not there. For me, the Viewty is a decent touchscreen unit with a good camera, nothing path breaking, nothing out of this world.