These days, the newest mobile phones seem to be developing specialities to appeal to niche markets. Some aim for the young, while some aim for music lovers. The LG Renoir KC910 seems to be targeting those who take their pictures seriously (aptly, since it’s named after an artist).
A touchscreen phone, the Renoir boasts a mightily impressive eight megapixel camera with its own shutter key, and a stout lens cover. Shooting video, even in slow motion, is a snap, and the camera comes equipped with both smile and face detection, a small but very neat bonus. GPS means pictures can be geo-tagged if the user wishes. Given the emphasis on pictures, though, it would have been good to see a stronger flash
This mobile phone also offers playback of movies downloaded from the Internet (with both Wi-Fi and 3.5G, download speeds are very good indeed). However, before going into that it’s worth doing a little research; while most of the main movie formats are supported, the reach doesn’t extend to them all.
It seems a waste to have Dolby on this LG mobile phone, but no 3.5mm headphone jack to take real advantage of it – a definite omission. Indeed, outside pictures and video, the LG Renoir KC910 is disappointing, especially given the company’s high standards in other handsets. Both the touchscreen and the interface itself, vital components on any phone, are disappointing.
The Renoir might well find fans among photo buffs, but if LG had integrated these camera features into one of its top touchscreen models, then it would have been a much better experience.
