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LG KC780   

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By Damian Koh
Oct 10, 2008

When LG announced the 8-megapixel Renoir KC910 camera-phone, it said it had another similar resolution handset in the pipeline. Well, here it is--the KC780.

Upside
Unlike the touchscreen candybar KC910, the KC780 is a slider with a 2.4-inch display and a standard numeric keypad. So for those who prefer to punch in their text messages the conventional way, this is no doubt a better option. From the pictures, the keys appear to be reasonably sized and they have a slightly raised convex profile. At the side, you can find the microSD expansion card slot. Despite its form factor, LG managed to cut down the thickness of the KC780 by a hair's breadth to 13.9mm, compared with the earlier KC910 which checked in at 13.95mm.

The KC780 comes with an 8-megapixel autofocus camera module, pitting it againt the Sony Ericsson C905 Cyber-shot, Samsung INNOV8 (i8510), Pixon (M8800) and the company's own KC910. Expect features such as a Schneider-Kreuznach lens module, face and smile detection, high ISO 1,600 sensitivity, image stabilization, onboard image editing and auto exposure capabilities to take centerstage with this camera-phone. It can also record D1-resolution 720 x 480 videos and has DivX playback capabilities.

But what made us sit up and take notice was the Smart Bluetooth connection mentioned in the release. According to LG, this allows the phone's camera to be used as a Webcam via a Bluetooth connection to the PC as long as it's within range (approximately 10m). As far as we know, this is probably the first of its kind on a mobile phone. It also allows users to compose, read and send text messages on the computer via the wireless connection.

Downside
There's not much of a downside to talk about for now because there are still a number of things we don't know about yet, until we get hold of the full specifications of the KC780.

Outlook
The live video streaming via Bluetooth sounds like an interesting proposition, but we can't as yet comment on how performance will fare against a wired USB connection. According to LG, the KC780 is expected next month in Europe, followed latter by Asia countries including India, Thailand, Hong Kong and China.
 
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