Tuesday, April 22, 2008

New LG-KF700, a touchscreen phone for touchscreen haters


LG KF700 mobile phone with touchscreen
LG have launched the new LG-KF700, a new touchscreen mobile phone that comes with no less than three different input methods. In case the touchscreen wasn't enough for you, you can also use an alphanumeric keypad or a shortcut dial. Which, if you think about it, is a bit odd. If the touchscreen is up to scratch, you shouldn't need the other two forms of input. It's like adding a high-tech Tiptronic gearbox to a car, and then bolting on both a manual and an automatic gearbox just for good measure!

LG's reasoning is that not everyone likes a touchscreen. We realize that touchscreens are a wonderful advancement, but they are not the solution for every problem or every user," said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. "We looked beyond just touch when designing the LG-KF700 and studied how people actually use their phones. The LG-KF700's three separate input methods provide unmatched convenience and mean that users don't have to give up anything to gain a touchscreen."

But surely the idea of a touchscreen is that you give up the older forms of input becaus ethe newer one (the touchscreen) is actually much better? In other words, you're not actually giving anything up, you're gaining an enhanced experience. Just ask an iPhone owner. No matter what you think of the Jesus Phone, its touchscreen interface is almost universally loved (at least for standard numeric input and menu navigation).

Forgive me for being cynical, but this seems a bit like a tacit admission by LG that its toucshcreens aren't all that good, and are a bit, well clunky.

But enough of the cynicism. More details of the LG-KF700 after the jump.
(more...)

No comments: