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Introducing Chocolate, and this one does not melt in your hands. However, it would definitely melt quite a few hearts. LG’s stylish, sleek new black beauty is aptly named chocolate for a few reasons, none more then the fact that it actually resembles an exquisite bar of Swiss chocolate that oozes perfection. Coupled with red glowing touch sensitive buttons, a TFT screen capable of displaying up to 262,000 colours, a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash cramped up into a sleek 85 gram slider seems too good to be true. Does the Chocolate really live up to all its hype on paper, or is it just all beauty with no substance, follow us as we take on LG’s Chocolate.
First Look, Design and Usability
We were quite impressed when we first got the phone. It was surprisingly light, and it looked gorgeous from every angle. With dimensions of 95 x 48 x 15,2 mm, the Chocolate is sleek. It fitted quite perfectly in a few hands that we showed it off to, and had quite a few heads turn even when it was just sitting on our test table in sleep mode. Unlike other phones, the Chocolate does not show any signs of activity on the phone till something actually happens.
 
Screen and Display
We absolutely loved the screen. Bright crisp vivid colors that were visible even under bright sunlight. We’ve only seen this kind of clarity from Samsung, and were pleasantly surprised to see the Chocolate utilize it. The display is integrated into the face of the phone (think iPod Nano). Using the screen as a viewfinder to take and view photos were comparable to that of a compact digital camera.
There were no obvious signs of scratching even after some excessive use, something which were at one point worried about. Oily fingers however did leave a mark on the glossy screen, but they were not visible and were easily removed.
Specifications
The Chocolate comes with 128MB of internal memory. It does not come with any memory expansion slots, something which we would have liked to have seen. However, 128MB is still sufficient to take close to 600 high quality pictures on the phone, and store close to 50 MP3’s in standard compressed format.
The phonebook can store up to 1000 phone numbers, and also keep a list of 120 calls (40 called, 40 received and 40 missed). Up to 150 text messages, and up to 100 multimedia messages can be stored on the phone at any one time.
Navigation and Keypad
The navigation system used by the Chocolate is the popular 3 x 3 menu driven system, and is basically very easy to understand. However, you might need a few minutes to get yourself accustomed to the heat sensitive buttons. They are quite easy to use, and once you get used to them, you might not want to use conventional keypads anymore. We were a little skeptical on whether they keys will be responsive, or whether we might end up pressing the wrong buttons at the wrong time, but we never had any problems with the navigation buttons.
The conventional keypad however was a bit of a drawback. It was a bit hard to the touch (maybe we got too comfortable with the heat sensitive buttons!), as we found it a little hard to send out quick text messages. The backlight on the keypad was bright enough to use in pitch darkness.
 
The menu system however was slightly messy and complicated. It takes around 7 to 8 clicks to send out a text message. While we were quite happy to press the heat sensitive navigation pad as many times as we possibly could, it would become a bit of a chore to have to have to go through so many menu levels to send out a text message.
We were also quite disappointed that the Cancel/Hang Up key was not placed on the main navigation panel. It is placed on the right side of the phone, next to the dedicated MP3/Camera button. We think that it was so you don’t accidentally hang up in the middle of a call. Either way, it might just need some getting used to. We however took quite a bit of time to get used to it. Side keys are usually used sparingly, and while the volume and mp3/camera keys suit being at the side, the cancel key which is used quite a lot should have made it to the front panel.
 
Functions
The phone comes equipped with most of the functions you expect to see in today’s high end phones. It has Bluetooth as well as an IrDA connectivity. We managed to get online via the Wap 2.0 browser on the phone via GPRS.
A barebone email client is also made available on the phone, but we never managed to get it to work with our mail server. The phone comes bundled with a USB cable, and software to sync your phone to your PC/Laptop.
Other notable functions on the phone include support for Java™ applications, pre-installed games, calendar, organize, alarm clock and a calculator.
Battery life
We were left a little wanting on the battery life. The specification says that the battery would last for 200 hours on standby and would give around 6 hours of talk time. However we quickly ran out of battery on the unit we received, chalking up around 48 hours standby with a couple of calls sandwiched in between. The games are quite addictive, and with the LCD always on, the battery gets drained even faster (yes, we loved the pre-installed games!) The battery indicator also seemed to fluctuate and not give us a proper display of the battery life.
Camera
The built in camera was definitely something we came away impressed with. The 1.3 megapixel camera takes absolutely clear pictures. Adjusting the settings during the camera mode also was a breeze. Night mode pictures also seemed to turn out very clear for a phone camera.
The video camera function also worked quite brilliantly, with the limited on board memory with no expansion slot being the only drawback.
Audio and MP3 Player
The phone definitely would not qualify as an MP3 player, as the sound while perfect for a telephone conversation was severely lacking as a speaker. Even the loudest settings still was considerably soft compared to some older MP3 enabled phones. However, we have to agree with LG on this one, as having a sleek phone like the Chocolate as a loudspeaker is just very very odd.
Price
We are told that the recommended retail price of the phone would be RM1,499. The price would be expected to drop after a couple of months. The main selling point of this phone would be its beauty and sleek lines. We think the price is quite reasonable considering the number of second glances you will be getting when you flash this beauty around.
Accessories and Packaging
Our review unit did not arrive in a packed box, but from what we’ve heard, the retail unit will comes with a couple of “luxuries” to go with the theme. A black carrying pouch that doubles up as a screen wipe, a handsfree kit, a USB cable and a driver CD.
Conclusion
We loved the phone. LG’s Chocolate is definitely a stylish phone made for those who want a phone to look good. It has most of the bells and whistles you would expect from today’s mobile phones, nothing out of the ordinary to make it stand out, but just enough to get the job done. Make no mistake however, this phone’s main strength is its sleek curves and glossy finish. Just like chocolate, this phone will be hard to resist. LG's design team has put in a lot of hard work to make this phone look sleek and sexy, and its not a wonder that it sold close to 300,000 units in Korea in a little under 3 months.
Pros
- Simple yet elegantly designed. Absolutely breathtaking
- Crisp clear screen
- Heat sensitive touch pad - brilliant
- 1.3 megapixel camera
- Bluetooth and USB connectivity
Cons
- No memory expansion slot
- Hang Up/Cancel button on the side
- Soft speakers
For the latest price, technical specification, downloads and more, please visit LG Malaysia's Chocolate website.
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