LG KF390

LG's KF390 is the first HSDPA 7.2Mbps mobile phone to feature Telstra's Blue Tick of approval, which means it should have excellent coverage in regional areas without the need for an external antenna.

Gone are the days when phones designed for use in rural Australia were large and overbearing in size. Although the KF390 isn't the smallest phone we've reviewed, its relatively compact shape and design feels comfortable in the hand. It feels reasonably well built and the spring-operated slider is firm and responsive. The handset is finished in a dark, metallic blue colour and has a glossy front. It's an appealing aesthetic, but the front of the handset is a fingerprint magnet and can be difficult to view in direct sunlight.

Slid open, the KF390 reveals a small keypad featuring large, raised keys. Tactile feedback is reasonable and we were able to achieve fairly good messaging speeds when typing using T9. For general navigation, a five-way navigational pad does most of the work, but there are also a number of touch-sensitive keys — two selection buttons, music and shortcut keys. These work reasonably well and are generally responsive, but they don't add much in terms of useability.

The fact that the KF390 is HSDPA 7.2 capable is certainly its most impressive feature. We tested the handset over Telstra's Next G network and were fairly impressed with browsing speeds. Being a Telstra handset, the KF390 offers access to a host of content including FOXTEL mobile, Yellow Pages, BigPond Music and WhereIs maps. For these services, loading times are fairly quick. For mobile Web browsing, however, it's best to look elsewhere — the browser included on the KF390 isn't ideal for rendering Web sites that haven't been optimised for phones.

We weren't able to test call quality in a regional area, but performance in metropolitan Sydney was fairly impressive. Call clarity is good and volume at its highest setting is optimal, although a little boost in noisy environments would have been ideal.

As a multimedia handset, the KF390 is fair but not outstanding. A music player with basic playback support, including repeat, shuffle and a preset equaliser, is the highlight. Unfortunately, the included headphones have a proprietary connection and the absence of A2DP Bluetooth severely limits the music playback capabilities of this phone.

Other features include SMS, MMS and e-mail messaging with T9 predictive text input, a 2-megapixel camera that doubles as a video recorder and a range of PIM functions that includes an alarm clock, calendar, notes, tasks and a calculator. There is also a handy tip calculator (ideal if you are travelling to the US or Europe) in addition to a unit converter, world clock and stopwatch.