LG KC910 Renoir VS LG KU990 Viewty

It might be easy when you compare two similar specced phones from two different manufacturers but what if they come from one mother? Atleast your brand loyalty doesn't work here. Here we pit LG KC910 Renoir against LG KU990 Viewty, the much hyped product of last year

Accelerometer
Although the LG KU990 Viewty featured a seamless interface and responsive screen, the KC910 takes this to a whole new level. The device features an accelerometer so the screen rotates automatically when you turn the device around. This comes in handy when browsing the Internet, watching films or using the camera.

Another great use of the accelerometer is the new M-Toy games suite. As on the LG KF750 Secret, you can use the accelerometer to play motion games.

However, a completely new selection of games are available including Snakes and Ladders, a baseball game and wheel-based games where you have to flick the handset to activate a wheel of fortune-style spinner. Like on the Secret, the games become a little addictive after a while.

GPS
Location Based Services are most certainly the most exciting feature to appear on mobiles in the last year or so, which means it's no surprise that LG has integrated GPS and A-GPS into the KC910 Renoir. Sure, you can download Google Maps onto the Viewty, but there aren't turn-by-turn directions or an accurate way to find out where you are like there is on the KC910 Renoir.

GPS also comes in handy for geotagging photos if you really want to know exactly where you were when you took a particular photo.

Eight-megapixel camera
Although Samsung got there first with the eight-megapixel cameraphone, LG appeared pretty soon after with the launch of the KC910 Renoir.

The LG Viewty may have been one of the first five-megapixel phones on the market, but its features were nowhere near as exciting as the camera on the KC910 Renoir. For starters, the sensor is a full eight-megapixel one, unlike on other handsets where photos are super-compressed. Instead of the strobe flash as on the KU990 Viewty, the KC910 Renoir features a xenon flash that is perfect for taking photos in dark conditions.

Extra features on the Renoir include a lens cover so you don't get dust all over your snaps, and an 8x digital zoom. To make the subject of your photos look better, there are a huge array of settings including beauty shot that softens blemishes on skin, smile shot to capture the best happy face and blink detection.

Connectivity
The lack of Wi-Fi was quite irritating on the LG KU990 Viewty. Although it was described as an iPhone killer (like any touchscreen handset released after the iPhone), it couldn't really compete without Wi-Fi.

Now with the addition of both 802.11b and 802.11g profiles, you can connect to any Wi-Fi network. Bluetooth has also been upgraded to v.2 and HSDPA runs up to speeds of 7.2Mbps if your network allows.

Video playback
Although the screen on the KU990 Viewty was tip-top for watching video content, especially with DivX support, the KC910 Renoir supports Xvid too in an attempt to improve video playback even more.

To make you feel as if you're at a cinema (well, as much as you can when watching a film on a phone), there's Dolby surround sound to boost sound whether you're listening using the earphones or built-in speakers. When you activate Dolby Mobile using the speakers, you're quite likely to clear the place.

Read the full KU990 Viewty review