Photos: Hands-on the LG KS360's Qwerty keyboard
If you're a textaholic and you prefer tapping away on a Qwerty keypad to calling your mates, the LG KS360 could be the phone for you
As much as some people love the iPhone, serious textaholics think that not having a mechanical keyboard is social suicide -- so LG has come up with the KS360, a texter's idea of heaven. When it's closed you assume it's another slider phone, but pop the keypad open et voila: a full Qwerty keypad for your texting enjoyment.
It's not the best Qwerty pad we've ever typed on, but it is usable and provides a quick way of typing out instant messages, emails and text messages. Oddly, the screen on the front can be used as a touch-sensitive keypad, but only when you press a button, and it doesn't work as a touch-sensitive screen anywhere else.
Other features on the LG KS360 include a pretty basic 2-megapixel camera, with no LED photo light or flash, a music player -- but alas no standard headphone jack -- and a basic Web browser. You can download Opera Mini if you want, and we really think you should.
If you're a messaging maniac and you like the look of the LG KS360, you'll be able to pick one up at the end of this month. Pricing has yet to be announced, but we assume it will be free on a monthly contract. If you're looking for a phone with more punch, you may want to check out the HTC Touch Pro, which is about to come out in the UK, the BlackBerry Bold or the Nokia E71 -- all of which come with excellent Qwerty keypads and heaps more features. Click through for more pics. -Andrew Lim
Update: We have been informed by LG that the black and red LG KS360 shown in this article won't be available in the UK, only a blue or pink version will.
Update 2: Read our full LG KS360 review here.
For a phone with a full Qwerty keypad, the LG KS360 isn't that chunky and fits into a pocket quite comfortably. As you can see, there's a microSD slot on the side, so you can add extra memory if you need it.
The LG KS360's camera is definitely not worth writing home about. There's no flash and it's fixed focus, but it'll suffice for MMS messages.
The KS360's keypad is quite packed together and the keys aren't the best we've typed on, but it works well enough.