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LG U880

Guide price: £349.00

Attractive 3G flip-phone. This has an abundance of features, these include two very high quality screens, a 1.3 megapixel camera, with video recording (MPEG4), 80MB of internal memory, video calling, Bluetooth and full mp3 player functions.
I liked the paint finish which was iridescent silver but I did find the feel of the body a little plasticky, although it was extremely solid. The hinges were nice and sustantial and nothing felt flimsy. When closed it is small and slim, open the phone and it is very long but this means it is a pleasure to use for making and receiving calls, as the microphone and speaker are in just the right places!
LG announced at the launch that it is the 'worlds slimmest 3G phone' and this does seem to still be the case. The battery life was also very good as long as Bluetooth was switched off when not needed.
The camera(stills and video) worked well snd as long as you gave it time to correctly adjust the white balance and exposure the pictures were colourful and good enough for quality 6x4 prints. I was also very impressed with the way Bluetooth connected seemlessly to both my computer and portable printer, and this made it easy and enjoyable to use.
As an MP3 player it really came into its own, although playback through the speaker was a bit tinny, the headphones (supplied with the unit) were impressive and produced an exceptional full range sound, and because this phone has controls for next track(forwards and back),play and stop on the front, it was as easy to use as a conventional mp3 player. (mp3, MIDI AND AAC files can be listened to with the Audio player)
Because this is a 3G phone you can access the internet, upload mp3 tracks and view video and the browser was easy and intuitive to use, you do however have to study the manual, (which thankfully is easy to understand and well set out) to be able to use all the features fully.

Hilary's conclusion: A very competent all-rounder and a great business tool with its multimedia(video calling, voice recording) and organiser abilities.

Stop Press: LG have just released this phones successor the U890 with a bigger screen, the latest Bluetooth technology( for use with wireless headphones) better stereo speakers and the camera gains a flash!

Available in silver, black, pink and purple.

Network: 3 (This phone is most likely to be free on a monthly contract)

Call quality: very good

Card slot: TransFlash(mini SD)

Battery life: 4-5 days