The LG "Cookie" - the cheap touchscreen phone (LG Cookie KP500)

Member Name: Stephoohla

Product:	LG Cookie KP500
Date:	20/08/09 (194 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to navigate, ability to open up different functions at once, built-in stylus

Disadvantages: Unhelpful manual, texting is difficult, terrible camera

After having a typical candybar style mobile for a long time and all the hype of the iPhone coming about, I decided I wanted to upgrade my calling device and get something a bit more fancier.

The main problem was, I was severely on a budget. I definitely wasn't interested in going on contract, and I wasn't looking to spend more than £100. Considering the iPhone cost nearly £500 just for the handset without contract, my hopes were crushed, until I saw the LG Cookie / KP500. It was a touchscreen phone, that proclaimed to be the "student's version of an iPhone". I was doubly excited when I saw the price tag of £98 in the Carphone Warehouse.

I brought the phone in pink (I am a girl after all). My initial response was how cool it was. I'd never experienced a touchscreen phone before, so it was really exciting to be able to use one, and it being mine.

As I had never used one before, the first thing I did whilst it was charging was consult the manual. What a mistake. The manual was poorly written, not put together in categories very well, and didn't seem to explain the basic functions of the phone, only advanced features. I didn't let this phase me however and just turned my attention to the phone.

It seemed fairly simple once I figured out what the key buttons did. There were three actual buttons at the bottom, one for turning on/off and ending calls/functions, one call/dial button, and one button which, when pressed, brought up the functions (such as New Message, Photo Album, etc) that were already open on the phone so you could flick through them. I think that's one of the features I did like on this phone, you could open different things at once and it was easy to navigate around them.

I'll go through the basic features first. Calling. On a regular phone with buttons, making a call is incredibly simple as you type in the number and press dial. It was a similar case on the LG Cookie, instead you have to press the on-screen call button to bring up a number pad. You then type in the number, press call, and you're off. Simple. To hang up you press the end call button.

Texting. Something I LOVE to do. Unfortunately, this phone made me deteste it. I used to cringe whenever my text alert would go off, knowing I'd have to reply and struggle to send a message that does say "dfd fasklj ssjfd djkfljd love steph". I'm one of those people who's parents always say "how can you send a text so quickly". I've had a lot of practice. Which is why I was stumped when I realised how difficult it was to select the keys on a touchscreen phone.

The keys are a little bit bigger than the buttons would be on a regular phone, except 50x more difficult to press. I found that when I first started using the phone I'd be pressing the wrong keys all the time. Of course, there is a way around that, and this is a feature that is really good: the built-in stylus pen. If you have a Nintendo DS you'll already be familiar with this tool. A stylus is in the form of a pen, with a plastic nib that can be used safely on touchscreens. You may find it easier to use this on the LG Cookie as it is very difficult to send a message just by using your fingers on it.

There is an MP3 player on the Cookie, which is fairly basic but the sound quality is surprisingly good. The phone doesn't come with a memory card so you won't fit many songs/pictures on it, but you can buy one. I always like to have loads of pictures and videos on my phones, so I brought the highest one I could for this phone, a 4gb. I managed to fit a few whole movies (in MP4 format) on the phone, at least 10 albums and lots of photos, with spare still to spare. I recommend getting a big memory card as it's best to have too much space than not enough if you like listening to music/videos on your phone.

The ability to watch videos on this phone was very cool. I downloaded an MP4 version of Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back and the quality was excellent on the phone. I know it's small, but it still looks good and is a great way to wile away the time if you're travelling on a train or as a passenger in a car.

The screen is stunning. I think it's a 262k quality, but it look so good and bright, and if you upload pictures taken off a proper digital camera onto it, they look fantastic. One thing I really don't recommend about this phone however is the camera. It's absolutely rubbish. It's only a 2mp camera, so I wasn't expecting a lot, but considering how cool this phone is I thought there would be some special feature on the camera to actually make it a bit impressive. Well I suppose there is, in the form of being able to edit the pictures on the phone, but it doesn't help when the pictures are rubbish to begin with, which unfortunately they are. In the right lighting, you might be lucky to have a half-decent picture.

The games are pretty good, as there is a sensor in the phone so it can tell how you're holding it, so there are some cool games such as Snakes and Ladders where you shake the phone to roll the die, etc.

There are the usual functions of a regular phone, calendar, alarm, etc, which are all easy to use.

I think the best thing about the phone is the web browser. It's really cool, easy to use, easy to access any internet site, and because it's a touch screen, you aren't limited to which buttons you can select on an internet page, you can basically do whatever you like.

Overall, it's not a bad phone if you're not really into texting or taking photos, and just want a good-looking phone to make calls. Unfortunately I love texting and taking photos, so I quickly got rid of this phone on eBay and got a standard button phone again.

Summary: I don't think I was ready for new technology it's safe to say!

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