LG KC910 Renoir preview: First look

LG KC910 Renoir 360-degree view

Just to give you a size perspective, the LG Renoir is about the same size as the LG KU990 Viewty, but about 5mm taller. They even weigh pretty much the same.

The LG Renoir is building on the Viewty cameraphone popularity and adds a number of innovations to the equation thus separating from its roots. The design, feel and overall experience is different - and much better - with the LG Renoir.

Design and construction

Almost the whole front panel of the LG KC910 Renoir is taken by the 3-inch touchscreen display. It has a slight mirror finish but is just the same as the one in the LG Viewty. That means it offers nice picture quality but visibility suffers under direct sunlight.

Above the display there is a video call camera and an ambient light sensor that allows the Renoir to dynamically change the screen brightness.

LG Renoir front panel • video calls camera and ambient light sensor • display in the dark

Below the display there are three hardware keys. Those are the red and green call keys, which share one row with the special shortcut key that opens an application launcher and the task manager.

The designations of the keys become clear only after they light up

The camera centric keys of the LG Renoir are two and they are placed on the right hand side of the device. The shutter key also starts the camera, while the image stabilization key activated the digital image stabilization for low light situations.

The microSD memory card slot and the proprietary LG connectivity port are on the right side of the device. We tested the LG Renoir with a 8GB microSD card and it worked flawlessly. The only thing lacking as far as connectivity is concerned is a 3.5mm standard audio jack, but we are sure one will be provided on the headset remote.

The camera shutter key is on the right along with the image stabilization key and the volume rocker • the left hand side of the Renoir hosts the connectivity port and the microSD card slot

When you turn the LG Renoir over, the impressive looking camera lens is the first thing that draws your attention. The lens has a mechanical cover, with unfortunately is not an automatic one. Sliding the ribbed ring around the lens opens and closes the cover and controls the camera automatically.

Safeguarding the high-quality lens is a really practical decision, but it's implementation might have been better. For example, the ribbed ring provides way too little grip and you can easily find yourself struggling with it to open the lens cover.

The ribbed wheel around the lens commands the mechanical lens cover

Unlike the slide wheel used on the Viewty, you can't use the wheel around the lens for anything else besides opening the lens cover. The manual focus function is not operated with it, but is instead commanded d by a virtual on-screen slider.

As you can see, the LG KC910 easily fits in your hand and as far as we are concerned, it's a pleasure to work with. If you are after a really compact handset, then obviously the Renoir is not your thing.

The LG Renoir design is ergonomical and user-friendly and fits nicely in your hand

Jump on to the next page for a user interface walkthrough and a showcase of some of the key multimedia highlights.