LG held a high-power event and product introduction on the night of November 27, 2007. High-power due to the sheer chutzpah of the roll-out, and the number of special guests who attended the event. The introduction of the LG KU990 Viewty candy-bar phone took center stage, underlining LG’s overall goal of re-affirming their commitment to the local market.

                                             A grand ballroom for a grand occassion.
 

After seeing the actual product and the features it packs into that super-portable frame, it’s no surprise that the event was as over-the-top as it was. The LG Viewty is a full touch-screen device and a 5.0MP camera packed into a gadget much smaller than Apple’s iPhone. That od course gives the Viewty a smaller screen than the iconic Apple product, but not by much – 3.0” diagonal instead of the iPhone’s 3.5”. This doesn’t tell the whole story though.

                                             This sure looks like a camera. A very compact and neat camera.

Over the course of the event, the main focus of the product presentation and main topic of conversation centered around the 5.0Mp camera. Its list of features is short but sweet: lens system designed and certified by Schneider-Kreuznach, a manual focus option with the adjustment wheel nicely integrated around the lens area, ISO 800 for low-light situations combined with Smartlight xenon lighting, and effective image stabilization for those action shots.

                                             When flipped over, the Viety's true nature is revealed.

The specifications by themselves would have been much to crow about, without adding the various pictures on display in the event area of the LG Heroes – more on this later – action shots, night shots, portraits, shots of cars, shots of family. Every one of the shots, although not up to par with pictures shot with an SLR, looked very good, even the action shots – no smearing, blurring, or indistinct features.

                                             One of the models  with a Viewty on hand.

       
This is no surprise, as a certification by Schneider-Kreuznach, a lensmaker with a pedigree stretching back to 1913, is not a casual certification. In fact, Schneider-Kreuznach currently manufactures lenses for Kodak and Samsung digital cameras, in addition to their main company focus on the manufacture of medium and large-format lenses for professional use.

LG’s contribution is in their integration of this certified lens into a package that can take advantage of the fact; image stabilization is eerily reminiscent of Canon’s very well – executed version in its Ixus line, and the 5.0MP rating, while undoubtedly a result of some clever software enhancement, is miles ahead of the cellphone pack when it comes to clarity. Manual focus is also a very welcome addition, as well as ISO 800 (for comparison, Nikon’s popular D70 goes up to a maximum of ISO 1000) that gives the user a flexible tool for those unexpected moments.

                                             The Viewty was circulated among the guests.

The Viewty is basically a camera that you will always carry with you, since it is first a phone, secondly a camera, even with all the attention directed at the latter feature. The concept of the cameraphone is definitely not new, but LG’s execution is definite the first cellphone that can stand-in quite well for a dedicated digital camera.

                                             It's easy to forget that this is actually a phone first, a camera second.

It is not easy to overshadow technology as enticing as full-touch screen on a cellphone, but this is specifically what the on-board 5.0MP camera has done. The “phone” part of the cameraphone was not forgotten though, as we were also shown how the Viewty is able to display DivX video and browse the internet and access the latest communication bands: Edge, HSDPA 3.6 900/1800/1900/2100 are all within reach of this beauty.

                                             Kyla soothed us with her beautiful singing voice.

I have concentrated on the hardware as it is since we are after all called “Hardwarezone”, but I would be remiss not to relate the full-to-the-brim event, where R&B crooner Kyla made an appearance, and True Faith jammed on stage afterwards. Both are stand-alone spectacles which I’d pay to attend; two in the same night can only qualify as high-power. Angel Aquino served as host, while seemingly dozens of models mingled with the crowd either holding a demo phone or simply enjoying the evening. To top it all off raffle prizes totaling around 30 KU250 and KU380 phones and a surprising 7 KU990 Viewty phones were given away to the media and special guests, one of which went to yours truly.

                                             True Faith lit up the night.

LG Heroes are real people with real stories and outstanding abilities who complement the extraordinary features of this breakthrough handset as they capture, enhance and share their lives in an extraordinary way - taken nearly verbatim from the press copy, nevertheless accurately describing these people, which includes National jetski champion and Asia’s Best Rider Paul Del Rosario, Respected sportscaster and Solar Sports top executive Jude Turcuato, Lensman and car buff James Deakin and Philippine Airlines trainor and mom-on-the-go Divine de Gracia.

                                             Three of the LG Heroes, whose photos taken with the Viewty graced the display areas.

The LG Viewty represents the LG’s strongest expression of commitment to date, ever since they brought in the LG chocolate phone and the Prada phone, LG has not truly asserted their position as a serious competitor in the local market. With the release of the Viewty, all that’s changed, a revolutionary phone fittingly heralds the revolutionary entry of a new, high-power competitor in the sizzling local market for cellphones.

More photos to follow.

                                             LG's top management were present for the occassion. Angel Aquino in the middle.

                                            Loud and proud, True Faith grabbed attention away from the Viewty - for a while.