The LG Viewty II (Smart) is due out in the UK next month, but the original LG Viewty - now dubbed the LG Viewty Lite - is still a capable and popular phone.
Which one's best? There's only one way to find out...
Hang on, we can't make two mobile phones fight each other, so instead here's a rundown of each handset's main features...
| Viewty Lite KU990 | Viewty Smart GC900 | Comment | |
| Dimensions (mm) | 103.5 x 54.4 x 14.8 | 108.9 x 56.1 x 12.4 | Viewty Smart slightly bigger and slightly thinner |
| Weight (g) | 112 | 102 | Viewty Smart is slightly lighter |
| Standby Time | 434hrs (2G) 454hrs (3G) | 330hrs (2G) 350hrs (3G) | Viewty Lite offers the better standby time |
| Talk Time | 5.9hrs (2G), 3.8hrs (3G) | 5.5hrs (2G), 4.7hrs (3G) | Viewty Smart offers better 3G talk time |
| Display | 3-inch 240 x 400 | 3-inch 480 x 800 | Viewty Smart offers double the resolution in same screen size |
| Touchscreen | √ | √ | Both feature a full touchscreen interface |
| Wi-Fi | X | √ | Viewty Smart adds wireless connectivity |
| Bluetooth | √ | √ | Viewty Smart offers most up-to-date (v2.1) Bluetooth |
| Camera | 5MP | 8MP | Viewty Smart offers better camera |
| Camera Features | Image stabilisation, manual/auto focus, ISO800/SmartLight | As Viewty plus Intelligent Shot Mode, five shot modes | Viewty Smart has additional intelligent shooting modes |
| Video Calls | √ | √ | Both handsets allow video calling |
| Audio Codec | MP3/AAC/AAC+/AAC++/WMA | MP3, AAC/AAC+ / E-AAC+ / AMR-NB/, WB/WB+WMA/WMAPro, Ogg-Vorbis, AC3 MIDI | Viewty Smart handles more audio formats |
| Video Codec | MPEG4/WMV/H.263/H.264) Plays DivX_ video up to 640 x 480 | H.263, H264, MP4 WMV, ASF, AVI, DivX/Xvid | Viewty Smart can playback more video formats |
| Video Encoding | VGA 30fps, QVGA 120fps | H.263/MPEG4:D1 30fps, QVGA 120fps (upto 2.5Mbps) H.264:QCIF 15fps | Viewty Smart offers more video recording options |
| Internal Memory | 100MB | 1.5GB | Viewty Smart offers relatively large internal memory |
| External Storage | MicroSD 2GB | MicroSD up to 32GB | Viewty Smart can handle much higher capacity memory cards |
| Document Viewer | Text, MS Office | Text, MS Office, HTML | Viewty Smart also handles HTML documents |
| FM Radio | √ | √ | Both handsets feature radio |
| Other Audio | Dolby Mobile surround sound | Viewty Smart features advanced Dolby audio technology | |
| Price/networks | From free on £20+ p/m contracts all major networks or around £100 on PAYG - purple Viewty Lite only on Orange | Orange exclusive, pricing TBC | Viewty Smart handset likely to require upfront payment on lower-priced monthly contracts |
So which handset is the best?
On paper, the LG Viewty Smart has a lot going for it. It's got a better camera with more advanced features, a much higher resolution display, better video capture, larger onboard and external memory, and is a pretty good looker to boot.
Then again, you know you're going to have to pay through the nose to get hold of it. It'll also only be available on Orange, at least to begin with. If you don't mind dropping a few megapixels and gigabytes here and there, the Viewty Lite is still a highly capable handset. It's available for free on cheaper tariffs, and it's not locked into just one network (unless you really want the purple one).
Cutting edge at a price or "was all the rage last year"? It's over to you.
Read more about the LG Viewty Smart or view gallery
Watch our video review of the original Viewty
See Viewty Lite deals at the Carphone Warehouse
I have the olf viewty which I love, one of the best feats for me is that the touch pad screen is usable with the styler pen (or my nails to be totally honest)the LG arena is only heat pad touch, does anyone know if the new veiwty smart is both pen and heat touch screen? Much appriciated if anyone knows.
Hi Amanda, I'm afraid I don't know exactly what screen technology the new LG Viewty Smart is using. Any experts out there... speak now.
GPS?
I like the previous version of Viewty....ie. KU990 Viewty
it doesnt come wih a stylus, cos it dosent have handwriting recognition, but should be able to use a sepafrate one
It is the S Class User Interface
Fantastic phone
I noticed in the spec. comparison it suggests the LG Viewty Lite will only take a 2gb memory card. However I contacted Vodafone and they confirmed it will take a 4gb memory card. Perhaps the dettails for the LG Viewty Lite need to be updated.
Best regards
John
I notice in the spec. it suggests the LG Viewty Lite only takes a 2GB memeory card. However I contacted Vodafone and they confirmed it will take a 4GB card.
Maybe I have misunderstod the spec. but could be misleading.
Best regards
John
Hi ,
I have the Viewty (Non Smart) and its great i love it .... but what is the different between the LG Viewty and The LG Viewty Lite ? how do i tell which one ive got ?