LG Viewty

LG Viewty / CYON 뷰티폰
ManufacturerLG Electronics
TypeSmartphone
Availability by regionOctober 2007
December 2007 (KOR)
Compatible networksHSDPA, GSM / GPRS / EDGE Tri-Band (900/1800/1900)
Form factorCandybar
Dimensions103.5 × 54.4 × 14.8 mm (L × W × D)
Weight112 g
Memory100 MB
Removable storageMicroSD
Rear camera5.0 MP, video 30 FPS or slo-mo video 120 FPS, strobe flash
Front cameraVGA video call
Display262K colour TFT touchscreen, 3", 240×400 (WQVGA)
ConnectivityBluetooth 1.2, USB 2.0
LG Viewty showing the menu screen and its stylus

The LG KU990 or LG KE990 (known and marketed as the LG Viewty) is a 3.5G touchscreen smartphone by LG Electronics, announced on August 23, 2007[1] and then released in Europe and Asia.[2] A high-end model at the time of its release, the Viewty had a resistive touchscreen and was specially marketed for its camera due to its powerful camera features.[3] The Viewty had a high gloss black look similar to the previous LG Prada,[4] although it was also released in many other colours. In South Korea, it was known as the Beauty Phone (Korean: 뷰티폰).[5]

Features

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Camera

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A key feature of the LG Viewty is its 5-megapixel digital camera with Schneider Kreuznach optics, Xenon flash, autofocus, and a digital image stabilizer. It features an ISO 800-equivalent High-Sensitivity mode for night scenery shots and "Smart Light" for bright and clear images in the dark. It allows capturing of MP4 VGA video at 30 FPS, and QVGA at 120 FPS for slow-motion playback. According to the manufacturer, the camera's frame rate is high enough to film a balloon bursting.[6]

The Viewty also has a front camera, designed for 3G video calling.[7]

YouTube

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In addition to being able to view YouTube videos, the LG Viewty also featured the ability to upload videos directly onto the platform.[4]

Applications

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The device supports Flash Lite 2 and MIDP Java 2.0. There are a few built-in system applications like Office and a PDF document viewer, movie and photo editor, and Obigo web browser.

Sliding disc

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The rear camera has a wheel that physically rotates, which can be used for scrolling in menus, zooming in and out of webpages or changing the volume.[8]

KU990i

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An updated model, the KU990i, was later released, but only in European markets. It features a new camera module, always-on flash mode and automatic smile and face detection. However, the strobe flash is replaced by an LED, and it does not include image stabilization nor Schneider Kreuznach optics.

Limitations

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The organizer in the phone could only store 100 calendar events[9] and is not officially listed on the compatible list with the popular GooSync,[10] which helps sync phone calendars with Google Calendar (though it does work by using instructions for LG Arena).

Model differences

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The KU990 was the original Viewty model. The KE990 was released in 2008 and lacks 3G (HSDPA) support, but does have a camera cover.[11][12] In South Korea its model numbers were LG SH10/KH2100/LH2100.[13]

Sales and reception

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Mobile Phones UK praised the device, calling it a "souped-up Prada" and commenting that the Viewty "ticks all the boxes" in terms of features.[14] TechRadar in its review wrote that the device was stylish and praised its camera and HSDPA connection, but criticised the lack of a lens cover and the "fiddly" rotating disc.[8]

LG reported sales of 310,000 units in Europe in the first five weeks.[15] A blog entry by UK mobile phone reseller Dial-A-Phone suggested that the Viewty was outselling the Apple iPhone in the region, citing anecdotal reports of sluggish sales and Apple's reluctance to publish figures for the iPhone in the region as evidence. The pricing and featuresets of the two phones were used as an explanation.[16]

In January 2009, LG reported that the Viewty had sold 5 million units after 14 months on the market.[17]

It was succeeded by the LG Renoir in 2008.[18] A number of newer Viewty phones were then released: the Viewty Smart (GC900) in 2009, which was similar to the LG Arena but with improved camera capabilities,[19] and two budget phones in 2010—the Viewty Snap and the Viewty Smile.

Specification sheet

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Feature Specification
Form factor Candybar
Operating system Proprietary LG OS, with Adobe Flash user interface, Java MIDP 2.0
Network HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE, GSM 900/1800/1900, WCDMA 2100
Dimensions 103.5 × 54.4 × 14.8 mm
Weight 112 grams
Display 262K colour TFT Touchscreen, 3.0", 400×240 pixels (Dot pitch: 0.1634 mm) with Mobile XD Engine
Camera Frontal VGA video call and rear Sony 5.1 Megapixel camera module with Schneider Kreuznach optics, 16× zoom, xenon flash, AF, MF, image stabilizer, ISO (100-800), Smart Light
Baseband Qualcomm 3G baseband
Video recording VGA (640×480 or 640×384 cropped to wide) up to 30 frame/s, QVGA (320×240) up to 120 frame/s for slow motion playback, QCIF (176×144) up to 15 frame/s
Ringtone MP3, AAC, WMA files, video ringtones, WAV and AMR voice, 72-chord/voice polyphonic
Internal memory 120 MB
CPU 140 MHz ARM9
Multimedia processor Zoran APPROACH 5C Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine (268 MHz)
Memory card slot Up to 4 GB microSD
Email SMTP, POP3, IMAP4 (SSL not supported), and APOP
Bluetooth 1.2 + A2DP
Data cable support USB 2.0
Radio stereo Philips stereo FM radio with RDS
Audio player AAC, eAAC, MP3, WMA, m4a, WAV
Video player 3GP, MP4, DivX (Up to 720×480), AVI (Up to 640×480), H.263, H.264/AVC
Battery LGIP-580A (1000 mAh)
Talk time up to 200 minutes (WCDMA), up to 160 minutes (GSM)
Standby time up to 330 hours (WCDMA), up to 270 hours (GSM)
Additional Google services (including YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, Blogger and Google Search), handwriting recognition/handwriting editing, DivX mobile profile, TV out, document viewer

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "LG announces 'LG Viewty' camera phone". phys.org. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  2. ^ "LG celebrates 5 million Viewtys in 14 months". Yahoo Finance. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  3. ^ "LG Viewty Smart GC900 Preview". 18 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b "LG KU990 Viewty: The YouTube phone is unveiled". CNET. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  5. ^ "LG 뷰티폰 간단 개봉기". 사진은 권력이다 (in Korean). 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  6. ^ LG KU990 – LG KU990 Viewty Features Archived 2007-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Anna Lagerkvist (2007-11-15). "LG KU990 Viewty review". TechRadar. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  8. ^ a b Anna Lagerkvist (2007-11-15). "LG KU990 Viewty review". TechRadar. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  9. ^ GSM Arena review
  10. ^ GooSync Supported Devices
  11. ^ "LG's Viewty KE990 is downgraded KU990, destined for China?". Engadget. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  12. ^ s.r.o, 24net (2008-04-04). "LG KE990 Viewty: bez 3G, zato s krytkou fotoaparátu". mobilenet.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2023-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ LG전자 (2007-12-11). "LG전자, '뷰티(Viewty)폰' 한국시장 출시". LG전자, ‘뷰티(Viewty)폰’ 한국시장 출시 - 뉴스와이어 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  14. ^ "Should you buy the LG Viewty KU990? Read our LG Viewty KU990 review plus LG Viewty KU990 reviews by users and find the best buy in the UK (Free LG Viewty KU990 / LG Viewty KU990 pay as you go - 3, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three, Vodafone)". 2007-12-06. Archived from the original on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  15. ^ LG press release
  16. ^ LG Viewty Outsells Apple iPhone in Europe
  17. ^ "Say cheese: LG Viewty camera phone hits 5 million sales worldwide". TechCrunch. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  18. ^ "LG launches the Renoir in Europe". CNET. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  19. ^ "LG GC900 Viewty Smart review: S-class act". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
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