[product#126]
Overview
I have never been one to keep a secret (…especially in the Gadget world!), so when LG invited us to the launch of the LG Secret (LG KF750), this was one ‘Secret’ which I definitely couldn’t remain tight lipped about.
After a couple of weeks of rigorous testing, prodding and getting grips with this slick new handset I am now ready to reveal all to you on whether the new LG Secret phone can cut it in a world where mobile phones are born every second…
Review
Style
With the LG Secret's hugely popular big brothers, the LG Chocolate and Shine taking all the limelight for the past two years due to their stylish designs, you would think that the LG Secret would have needed to pull off something fancy to achieve a sleek and stylish finish to fit in with the family. Well, I am pleased to tell you that not only does it not disappoint but it exceeds our expectations.
In terms of style, the LG Secret is as 'tough as old boots'. The screen is made from tempered glass and the rear casing is made from a high grade carbon fibre. This will withstand most bumps and bruises allowing you to show off your phone with pride to all your friends rather than embarrassingly hiding it in a leather case.
With a high res 2.4" LCD (640 x 480 pixel) screen surrounded by a shiny chrome and leather textured plastic, it certainly feels like you've picked something up with bags of style. Unlike the Nokia N95, it really doesn't feel like a hollow plastic box but something that is of the highest quality. Even though I knew that the LG Secret was unlikely to be damaged I started to get a little over protective and couldn't help cleaning the phone to make sure that it would look its best at all times.
Its robust nature is not at all compromised by the design of the LG Secret as read on you’ll agree it’s features are pretty impressive for a mobile of this size..
Under the Bonnet…
If you thought that the team at LG have created a mobile 'bimbo', meaning pretty to look at but lacks substance, well think again! Claiming to be the slimmest 5 megapixel camera phone with extra features including 3G, ability to capture video at 120 fps at qvga, motion sensor and a whole bunch of other goodies, it does look as though this lucky bugger of a phone has it all, so does it really do what it says on the package?…
Camera and Video
The slimmest 5.0 megapixel camera phone in the world, it definitely worked like a dream apart from a few niggles such as the camera lagging. With 16x optical zoom (compared to the N95 which has only 10x optical zoom), ability to determine image size, white balance and ISO this camera can happily replace your digital camera.
The video has 120 fps video recording in QVGA or 30 fps in VGA, with DivX support to play files in high quality as well as having a secondary camera for video calling.
Touch Media or Touchscreen
The touchscreen on the phone allowed you to navigate to most of the media features in a breeze. If the Touch Media features are not to everyone's taste such as music, camera, games (M-Toy), documents or radio then the manual does say that you can activate the full touch screen but our pre-release model didn’t have this feature. My favourite part is when you press a key and it sends a small tingling vibration to your fingers. To add that extra va va voom, it comes with neon touch navigation, showing a calming neon ripple effect as you press the buttons. A significant improvement that LG have made is that they have added an ‘OK’ button which isn’t touch sensitive. It’s a great cure for those of you with touchscreen phones who’ll know how frustrating it can be at times where a small brush on the wrong keys can mean you send an unfinished message to the sender accidentally. However, I wish it was slightly bigger though because even with my tiny fingers I couldn’t help but press other surrounding neon buttons and as I did still manage to send a few emails that weren’t finished, but now I’m so used to it I can even blog on my new mobi (this is using the Google package not not a standard program).
I know I keep saying the old worn out phrase, 'LG are Kings of Touchscreen', well I'm going to have to say it again because with the Secret phone they have managed to integrate touchscreen and mechanical keys for those of you who don’t like touch screen very well.
M-Toy/ Motion Games
All I can say is Wow! This is my favourite bit. The phone comes with Nintendo Wii Sports pack style games which include Darts, Magic Ball, Maze, Homerun Derby and Fishing. Just like the Wii, it is not for real gamers but is highly addictive and a lot of fun. The only criticism I can give it is the Magic Ball game liked my friends more than me…but nonetheless it was still fun.
After Nintendo have seen the LG Secret M-Toy in action, it may not be long before we start seeing portable Wii devices. There is no TV-out on the M-toy feature but if it did we could enjoy this feature just like the Wii, I can see this being introduced very soon though. LG have promised more games in the future however in the meantime these should keep you going for a while. Just a cautionary note…don't let go of the phone as it's not the phone that’ll get hurt but maybe some poor person sat near you!
Auto Luminance Control and Smart Display
Another clever feature is the ambient brightness of the screen automatically adjusts depending on the brightness of the environment. A bonus is that it can apparently save battery life by about 20% on average. We would have tested the battery but come on…surely you don't think I’m that sad, so we'll let you be the judge of that!
The phone also comes with motion sensor where the screen adjusts its size depending on the viewing angle of the phone.
Music Player
The phone comes with a fairly sophisticated music player with bags of options of how to organise your music and setting playlists. What I loved the most was the media player on the LG Secret because by using the PC Suite you can subscribe to the latest podcasts and synchronise it with your phone.
Google Package
This depends on your network operator but my phone came installed with Yahoo so I had to install the Java apps myself which was fairly easy to do. As an email junkie, this was perfect to check my mail when I had a spare minute…but it isn’t advanced enough to replace my Blackberry as you have to refresh the page to check for new emails. And if you’re 'captain no sense of direction' then the Google maps might be able to come to your rescue but unlike the Nokia N95 there is no inbuilt GPS on this phone.
Memory
Although it only has a 4GB SD slot, it may be enough for most people but this is no comparison to the 8/16 GB Apple iPhone and 8 GB Nokia N95 for memory. However, this is not a huge limitation because since using my phone I haven’t even come close to using up this amount of memory.
The Gaj-It verdict
Design: 10/10
Usability: 9/10
Features: 9/10
Value: 9/10 (based on rumours that it’s free on contract)
We Say: The LG Secret phone is a real phone with exceptional style, the 5 megapixel camera means you can strike a pose and with the Wii style games the phone is bags of fun and more.
However, with phones like the 8GB Nokia N95, which had inbuilt GPS and the Apple iPhone 2.0, which is proposed to come with GPS shortly, this is what I feel makes the LG Secret fall short off the mark but I agree with LG’s comments that it wasn’t right so we didn’t use it. However, life is about compromises and for a phone of this size and quality you are definitely getting your money’s worth and for that it is likely to continue the legacy of its older black label siblings!
There maybe more to come from the LG Secret in the future but for now the LG’s best kept secret is out so watch this space when it is released in June!
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75 thoughts on “LG Secret LG-KF750 - The Secret's Out Now, Let's Spread the Word!”
@DanDan I have sent a few emails out to try and get the software so I hope your okay holding on. Out of curiosity are you using XP home, XP media centre or XP pro?
@wasil, sorry I’m late but thanks for your comment and I hope your enjoying the phone. I think the camera is brilliant. glad you managed to get the PC suite working too, Whats your response to your other Questions?
@Marjolein, king Gaj is fine ;) but I have to get DanDan the software before I can be renamed. Please do let us know how you get on at the phone house. Sorry it my steps didn’t help you.
@melissa – although I don’t want to accept the blame if something goes wrong you should be fine as its LG software (shouldn’t have any viruses on their so don’t worry), to be safe though create a restore point before installing the PC suite so you can roll-back should something go wrong. Out of curiosity are you using XP home, XP media centre or XP pro?
@Amy, some one above mentioned using it as a storage device to transfer pics. You should be able to move them onto the memory card should you need to transfer them.
Does nobody like the forum this discussion should be in there :( However if you prefer it here then thats okay http://www.gaj-it.com/forums
Hey Gaj, im using XP Home all updated etc hope this helps and im fine holding on, appreciate the help!
Well, the Secret is no longer a secret to this end user anymore:-)) I finally got it to work thanks to Marleen at LG Servicedesk ! (I am glad I didn’t send in the phone as yet….;-)
Despite all errors during installation (Vista and/or XP), I can now safely assume that errors don’t matter: just ignore them. It had to do with a setting in the phone itself. (right…) Selecting connection through USB instead of Bluetooth is not enough to establish contact. Within the USB menu, a different setting is required depending on where you try to connect to (phone/SIM card/Music sync option or storage device (disconnect USB first!) Kinda weird cause music is usually stored on the memory card (?) but hey…who cares once this is clear, right?! Hope this helps other people too. The (dutch/french) manual is very vague on this subject.. Gaj, thanx a lot! Your advice is much appreciated. No doubt your King status is about to come true;-) Cheers! PS 8GB memory card also works great!
Dear Marjolein, i cant select any other options when i go into settings then connectivity then usb connection mode. after this i have the option of mass storage, data service, music sync and pict bridge. What or where is the setting you are refering to as i cannot find any other options. Either way this is not really relevant to my problem as i cant even get the cd to finish installing! But as Gaj is trying to source me a new cd with the LG PC Suite II on i’d like to know the setting your refering to incase i get the same issues as others when i do manage to install the software!
Many Thanks
DanDan
Hi DanDan,
Sorry for the misunderstanding. We’re talking about the same settings. However, apparently the ‘data service’ option transfers to or only shows content on either sim or phone (not the memory card). In my case I stored all music on the memory card (is my dedicated storage area>>for these settings go to the settings menu (=last option in the menu)- memory maintenance (option 0) select preference 1-5) When I connect by using ‘data service’ and then select ‘music’, according to PC suite, there is no music at all:-/ That’s what I meant. Good luck with your software installation! Marjolein
Hi DanDan,
I have managed to digg out a pre-release CD which I can copy and send you, can you send me your address through the forum.
https://www.gaj-it.com/forums/member.php?u=1
If anybody reading these comments does have a working CD then I think I could make it worth their while sending me their CD as I might be able to buy you a little gift to review…
Cheers,
Gaj
i jus gt a lg secret….its all good buh my laptops being dumb and not reading the disc….soo has any1 gt any ova way i cld instal the pc suit???
thnx
Hi Gaj
i have e-mailed you via the contact us link with my personal e-mail address, please drop me a line and i’ll reply with my home address. And if no one else wants a free gift i’ll have it ;-) again manythanks for all your help with this!
DanDan
I just tried to install the software and all I got was a message telling me that windows couldn’t play the installation video. The screen went black and I had to restart. It did this every time I tried. Has anyone else experienced this?
Right, I have followed the instructions on how to correct the usb connectivity problem, but my LG phone still is unable to connect to the computer…
I am trying to put picture files form my phone to the computer…but it just keeps failing connection and I am stumped on what needs to be done
hi, ‘gaj’ ‘s review is very helpful, and i have now decided to buy it :)
i just wondered.. now you’ve had it for a while, is the camera still just as good? and also with mine comes a 8gb free memory card, does this mean the memory card thing has been expanded? and what comes with it.. do earphones? thank you.
i have successfuly downloaded the PC suite and it works but my phone will only successfully connect when it is on music sync and i want to try and get my pictures off it how do i do it. the guide is no help. what setting do i use on my phone?
i need help asap thankyou
Hihi,
I just bought a KF 750. However I cannot connect it to the PC with the LG PC Suite. The OS of My PC is Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 with Traditional Chinese language pack. The error meesages shown in Chinese. It can be translated as “cannot connect to the mobile, please check COM connection port and try to connect from the standby screen.” and “Connection Close”. Please let me know if the version of the LG PC Suite is suitable for my computer. It is becasue it was shown that it was not compatible with my PC during the installation.
I contacted LG, they told me my disk was faulty. I got another one but the screen still goes dead, time for a different phone methinks.
@DanDan,
I have sent you the software but LG have kindly pointed in the right direction of where we can download the software. If you follow this link you can download it…
http://uk.lgmobile.com/web/web.product.manualSoftwareRF.laf
Let me know if the software is there as I haven’t been able to test it to find out. Your looking for the KF750.
If you look on the LG website there is also a phone number that you can call should you be really stuck.
@Lily,
I love the camera, and it did come with hand free, charger and manual. I never got a free SD card, and 8GB will be fine, as far as I remember the recommended is 4GB.
I’ll comeback later to try and answer the rest. Unless anybody else can help.
I’ve tried the instructions for alternative installation as given by Thijs on Jul 10, 2008 at 12:30:31.
However, although my computer now recognises that my phone is connected, it tells me to stop all running programs on my phone first. The Multitasking symbol is on my phone next to the profile symbol… but I can’t find what program is running? Any ideas?
It seems this is the only hurdle to getting my phone to talk to my pc but perhaps after this there will be others!
Thanks, Jo
Hiya got a LG secret a few weeks ago but it playing up with me, having major probs with my phone book memory. Decided to back-up my phone book to my pc before I phone in my phone fault. I manged to get the Lg pc suiteII installed but when I connect to it the only thing it allows me to do is the music option it wont allow me to back up. Any suggestions plese as its driving me daft. Thanks
Hello!
Nice article! I’m thinking about getting this phone but I have some questions. I hope its ok for me to post them here. Here goes:
1. Can you install custom themes on the phone or are the default themes the only choice you get?
2. I read somewhere that there were grammatical errors on some of the message dialogues of the phone. Is this true?
3. Can you customize short cuts so that you can access specific features of the phone such as the SMS editor or your inbox without having to navigate through all the normal menus?
4. Does the phone live up well to daily use or does it start to become problematic after a few weeks/months?
Thanks so much and I’m looking forward to your reply.
Everyone this is becoming way too long so I have continue this discussion in the forum.
https://www.gaj-it.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270
thanks Kat for starting off the convo.
It would be really nice if you could all continue to help each other. I know how frustrating it is when you can’t get something as important as your phone to work so spare a thought for those still experiencing problems – you could make there day.
Thanks everyone and see you in the forum.
(Ohh there will be a few prize giveaways too for those who post in the forum so come on get involved)
I suppose to finish on a positive DanDan sent me this…
KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING KING GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Um……….yeah got the cd but went with the download from the site you sent me instead!!!
all working great! had to a bit of fiddling to get the usb driver workin but thats cos my laptop is shocking!!
Thanks for all your help dude!!!
feel free to post this on the wall from me too im going away for a while now so wont have time!
Again many many thanks!!!!!
DanDan
On that note I will put the crown on display and will see you all in the forums..
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