LG KC910 Renoir review: Portrait of a high-flyer

The LG KC910 has a moniker that sends out a bold and clear statement about talent. Packing a whopping 8 megapixel camera and top-of-the-line video recording, the LG KC910 Renoir is all about capturing the moment, leaving an impression. While this alone should be enough to assert an identity, the Renoir just won't stop there. With the full touch user interface and the portly 3" display, everything is a mere touch away. Wi-Fi, HSDPA and GPS are all aboard to add the last bits of oomph to the feature-loaded LG Renoir.

The exciting facts and figures from the Renoir specs sheet however won't really give away its real-life performance and this is where we step in. We already had the camera performance of the LG Renoir to bits in our 8 megapixel cameraphone shootout but it's time to move up and look at the bigger picture.

LG KC910 Renoir official images

It certainly took us quite some time to bring this review forward. Perhaps we even pushed it over the peak of your anticipation, but we didn't mean to get you starved so you like the meal better.

Our better-late-than-never department - duly sent to the corner, by the way - has finally prepared a full-featured, action-packed and hopefully eye-opening review of one of the best imaging mobile phones this year - the LG KC910 Renoir.

Key features:

• Tri-band/Quad-band GSM versions, dual-band HSDPA
• 3" 256K-color touchscreen TFT display (240 x 400 pixels)
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera, xenon flash (geo-tagging, face tracking, blink detection, touch focus, manual focus)
• Video recording in AVI format, VGA@30fps, QVGA@120fps, time-lapse QVGA videos
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• Wi-Fi
• GPS receiver with A-GPS support
• TV-out
• 100MB internal memory
• Hot-swappable microSD card slot (ships with 8GB card)
• Accelerometer for auto screen rotate
• DivX/XviD video playback
• Dolby Mobile music enhancement
• FM radio with RDS
• Office document viewer
• Multi-tasking with a real task manager
• Handwriting recognition
• Excellent touch optimized image gallery
• Direct video uploads to YouTube

Main disadvantages:

• Xenon flash is inadequately powered and causes the camera to underexpose
• Fullscreen camera viewfinder doesn't show the entire frame
• No video streaming over Wi-Fi (such as the mobile YouTube)
• No Java connection over Wi-Fi (so Google Maps needs a data plan)
• No voice-guided GPS navigation
• Stylus as dongle only, no stylus compartment
• Design will not appeal to everyone

LG Renoir is among the few 8 megapixel cameraphones that are already on the market and chances are you have been eyeing it big time for this year's holiday shopping - especially if you are into big touchscreens.

It builds on the Viewty popularity but does walk its own path, adding a number of innovations to the equation. The feel and overall experience is different - and better - with LG Renoir.

LG KC910 Renoir all around

We guess we're looking at one of the most obvious rivalries in the game. The main competitor of the Renoir full-featured multimedia package is no other than Samsung Pixon. Both share the touchscreen form factor and will probably appeal to the same kind of users.

Choosing between them is a tough call. The Pixon has more camera-centric looks and is certainly a match for the Renoir imaging skill. Both have similar price tags and, while the Pixon lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, it makes up some with slightly bigger screen estate, better widgets, WVGA video recording and quad-band GSM support (which most Renoirs on the market reportedly lack).

Samsung M8800 Pixon

Now that we have it duly covered, it's only fair for the competition to clear the stage for today's headliner - the LG KC910 Renoir. Jump to the next page for more on looks and handling.