LG has done something very different, and often very impressive, with the Crystal GD900. Not only does it boast a touchscreen, but also a keyboard that is, well, different.
First things first – the handset is a little thicker than the norm for a slider, but it’s sleek and fits well in the hand. The thickness is due to the pull out transparent keypad (yes, transparent), which is far more than a keypad, it’s also a mouse, and touch sensitive, allowing the user to use it as a control, and alternative to the screen. It should be noted, however, that it also functions perfectly well as a keypad, vibrating when pushed as a confirmation.
If that keypad sounds odd, it is – but it is also certainly something to draw attention and it does work well, if not always perfectly; it is sometimes a little erratic in function. But being able to launch things with keypad gestures is certainly a forward-thinking move. You can even use pinch-to-zoom on the keypad as you would on the touchscreen, with the same effect.
In portrait mode the screen doesn’t show all the icons. Put it in landscape mode and it does – all 32 of them – but they’re very small. There’s an onscreen QWERTY keyboard available, but it’s too small to use with much comfort – and besides, the keypad just looks so much cooler.
There’s no doubt the LG Crystal GD900 will impress, and it’s really a pretty good, if not perfect, phone. But LG is onto something with that keypad. Expect to see it on other models.
