LG Vu-CU920

LG Vu-CU920

The LG Vu-CU920 is a very high end multimedia phone from LG. It is designed to appeal to the masses, the tech junkies, and the fashion fanatics. Almost like the Apple iPhone. Furthermore, it features a touch screen and a number of nifty functions from a powerful camera to a full multimedia suite of applications built right into the device.

The LG Vu-CU920 was announced in April 2008 as a quad band GSM device. This means that it can be used anywhere in the world simply by switching out its SIM card when you arrive at your destination. Furthermore, the LG Vu-CU920 also supports 3G access via the HSDPA network, though it only supports this high speed data transfer in the United States. You are limited to 2G speeds elsewhere in the world.

Measuring in at approximately four inches by two inches by half an inch, the LG Vu-CU920 is actually pretty small considering the number of features crammed into its candy bar shaped frame. It also weighs only 94 grams, making it both small and light.

However, when examining battery life, it quickly becomes apparent that the battery was likely minimized to shrink the size and weight of the phone. Expect to get a measly three hours of talk time or 250 hours of standby time on a single charge.

The front of the LG Vu-CU920 features a monster sized 3-inch touch screen. The main display is capable of displaying 240 by 400 pixels. Unfortunately, while other manufacturers are offering 16 million color screens, the LG Vu-CU920 is limited to only 262k.

The LG Vu-CU920 also features a built in 2 megapixel camera that is not as spectacular as some of the other cameras on the market, though it does allow video shooting. It also includes an autofocus feature, a macro mode, and a special night shooting mode.

Multimedia features are where the LG Vu-CU920 shines. The video player supports a number of formats, as does the audio player. Also built in are a playlist manager, an equalizer, and various visualizations. You can also watch Mobile TV on the LG Vu-CU920 thanks to a technology called MediaFlo. The built in 120 MB of memory is easily expandable via microSD cards.

Other features include a full HTML browser, Bluetooth 1.2 support, a 500-name capacity phone book, an alarm, a calendar, a unit converter, a clock, a notepad, a calculator, a to-do list, a stopwatch, a number of voice commands, a speakerphone, a voice recorder, and email support.

Pros

Lots of high end features

A multimedia giant

Attractive design

3G support

Cons

Poor battery life

Camera and Bluetooth support outdated

Not much built-in memory

Overall

The LG Vu-CU920 is a great phone with a lot of cool features. However, because it is only offered by AT&T, it puts it squarely in firing range of another phone with even more features, a better touch screen, and an even more attractive frame – the upcoming iPhone 3G. If you have to have a 3G touch screen phone right at this instant, then get the LG Vu-CU920. Otherwise, you may want to hold off until the iPhone 3G arrives in July.