8MP camera the heart of new LG Viewty Smart

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 20 July 2009 08:24

Mobile devices

Sadly, LG may well have made its best ever camera phone, but has only equipped it with an LED flash, instead of the much preferred Xenon variety, as seen on Sony CyberShot phones, Nokia’s N82 and regular digital cameras.

Again, LG insists this isn’t such a big issue thanks to the maximum ISO setting of 1600, allowing “shots previously considered too dim or dark can now be captured even without a flash.”

Higher ISO levels can introduce more “noise” into a photo, and isn’t a substitute for a real flash when taking “on the town” type photos, but it would certainly help deliver a lighter image than previously possible on earlier LG models, and is naturally augmented when using the aforementioned LED flash.

LG has also added “several new camera features including Multi-Face Detection and DVD-quality D1 video recording”, while carrying over previously available features such as “Touch Shot, Art Shot, Beauty Shot, Panorama Shot and Continuous Shot.”

The “DVD quality D1 video recording” is definitely welcome as it would presumably deliver even better video quality than earlier models, making the decision to film something that much easier, rather than forgoing video altogether for better quality photos.

The S-Class User Interface has also seen an update since its Arena incarnation, now tailored “around Viewty Smart’s camera features with an on-screen dial for instantly switching shot modes and a thumbnail viewer that shows recently taken photos without having to switch to the photo gallery.”

As you’d expect, photos can be uploaded to the Net directly from the phone, and can now be A-GPS geotagged so the “exact spot” a photo was taken can be explored at online mapping sites.

1.5GB of internal storage is included, with a MicroSD card slot capable of taking “up to” 32GB storage, although 32GB MicroSD cards are still due to be released onto the market, with 16GB the biggest option available thus far.

With 6.5 million original Viewty models sold, LG’s Nathan Dunn said that: “Viewty completely changed the way camera phones were viewed. People no longer had to suffer poor image quality for the convenience of using the cameras on their mobile phones.

“Viewty Smart will change perceptions again. It won’t be about having a camera phone that equals the quality of a standalone digital camera. It will be about having a smart camera phone that takes better pictures and is easier to use than a standalone digital camera.”

So, while we’re yet to personally see just how the Viewty Smart will live up to LG’s claims , it does sound like a very welcome upgrade in a sea of super cool competitors. Hopefully the Viewty Smart will also be able to take advantage of LG’s upcoming “Application Store” in the future, too.

Available through Telstra this month, and both Vodafone and 3 Mobile in August, the Viewty Smart will undoubtedly be made available on a range of plans over 24 months and will retail “outright” for AUD $899.

Visit LG’s mobile phone site for more details.