- Handset;
- Charger;
- User’s guide;
- CD with software for phonebook synchronization, connectivity applications and various content;
- USB-wire;
- Travel charger;
- Carrying bag;
- Earphones;
- A remote control with 3.5 mm jack for operating the media player and the microphone;
- Two protective films for the front panel;
- Bluetooth-headset (optionally);
- A trinket with foam-rubber for cleaning the phone, on the other side.
Over the very recent times, LG Electronics has been practicing the policy when potential have no idea of index of an upcoming model, but its affiliation with Black Label series. And the first model coming from Black Label line-up to appear on the European (May, 3rd) and CIS markets (May, 8th and 12th) was a slider. The handset stands out for its fancy design with touch keypad and feature pack.
Before launching the Chocolate Phone into Europe, the manufacturer had been testing it out in Korea, where it turned out to be an overwhelming success – during the first three months more than 300 thousands of these handsets were sold countrywide. To make the scale of its popularity clear, let us turn to the figures and simply say: that amount makes nearly 7% of the entire Korean market. Thus, stirred up with that, the company took the decision to widen audience coverage and expand Black Label’s boundaries from the home market only to the US, Australia and Europe.
Having read or caught a glimpse of available information on the Chocolate product line, you are likely to have no luck with picking out technical specifications – as a matter of fact, phrases like Black Label series, Chocolate and Magic touch are everything you’re going to find.
Black Label – a series of handsets coming in black with glossy, mirror-like finishing, featuring only safe materials and lead-free solder.
Chocolate Phones – phones, appearance-wise reminding of a bar of black chocolate.
Magic Touch – a commercial title of the technology applied to handsets with finger-tip control. The controls themselves are covered with compounds of silver.
Integrating, these mysterious titles attract everyone’s attention. The Chocolate Phone, which is the main subject of this review, is really an eye-grabbing thing, making people wonder whether it is a phone in your hands, and if yes, why it lacks buttons? But once the spring mechanism has revealed the controls, the initial astonishment turns into stupor. And it normal, firstly because this is a handset after all, but the numeric keys are laid out as if it was a chess-board; but secondly! Once unsprung, the flat, glossy becomes an easily distinguishable cell phone, as the controls mounted on the top half get lit up with red.
The efforts of the designers will be estimated at their true worth by anyone, who only grasps this handset. Basically, neither iF Design Award nor Red dot Design Award jury could withstand it, so the Chocolate’s box shows off two medals awarded by these associations.
Nevertheless, it’s time to put the dithyrambs aside and see what caused such sensation and why LG pays so much attention to this series.
The enormously rich standard kit is packed up in an appealing black box, which appears to be made of cloth at the first glance.
When getting a grip on the handset, the very first thing grabbing your eyes is a silver rectangle with rounded corners, since it is the only prominent thing on the front; the top rim, right above the display holds a horizontal opening with black loudspeaker’s grill placed into it.
The handset is switched on by pressing the key found on the right side. In fact this is the first time LG uses a special power button. The phone can be turned on when closed; yet in order to prevent accidental shutting offs in pockets, the developers made it possible to switch the device off only when it is open.
This is the way the phone starts up: at first the greeting screen shows WOWLG portal ad, afterwards the dark-red backlighting gets activated – overall it takes 30 seconds for the handset to become fully operational. Next to the power button you will find a dedicated button standing for Multimedia menu (MP3, camera). Newly developed interface connector, sealed up with a plastic stub, is positioned on the top – it is compatible with USB-cable, charger and stereo-handset. The company has knowingly left out all other jacks, since it does not overcrowd the casing and allows using the released space in a better way in the first place, and on top of that one won’t need to memorize which jack means what. And finally, all future models located in the price brackets from middle to the most luxurious will be carrying exactly this interface, so that all accessories will be interchangeable – be it chargers or headphones.
The opposite side houses another rocker key for locking the phone by double pressing. Apart from this it doubles as scroller, volume key in standby mode (tunes volume) or during a call (voice volume).
The other sides lack any controls or jacks, in light of using the brand new interface connector.
Having looked on the rear you will find it being absolutely flat with only exception of battery cover, which is well-tuned and exposes no gap.
Pushing the top half forward, you will notice that the phone smoothly slides up to the stop with an audible click – the same sound you will hear when closing the phone. On opening the keypad and controls get lit in red, matching the wallpapers, which feature the same black-red color combination.
Source : http://www.mobile-review.com
