Saturday, November 10, 2007

Born to Shine

B told me recently that there were new Celebrity Limited Editions of the LG Shine! I have the candybar version (LG Shine Bar KE770) shown above because I couldn't afford the slider. Anyway, I finally remembered to check it out today. When I got my cellphone in Hong Kong, the SA wanted me to get the slider Shine in the Andy Lau Limited Edition version which had some chinese calligraphy engraved on the back. I had no idea who Andy Lau was (now I only know that he's an actor and director), but it was tempting because it looked nice. The picture below is the Andy Lau ad I saw everywhere - I took it while waiting for the MTR in HK.
After looking around online a bit, I found that LG also has the black titanium version:
I think it looks quite masculine.
There's also a luxurious gold slider version, pink slider version, rhinestone version, and the MetalSkin versions:
Hmm.. too cutesy for me.

Shine: Celebrity Editions
LG presents the 2nd concert for these 2 groups:

TVXQ is DBSK's international nameS.H.E. is a suuuuuuper duper famous Taiwanese group consisting of 3 girls.
I saw their faces everywhere in Taiwan.. on juice boxes... in every 711... in the MRT... posters...I was a little disappointed in the TVXQ one. It's nice but I guess I was expecting something a little classier. LG was probably trying to market towards a younger crowd... (I mean, I know 20 isn't old but I just didn't care much for the kiddy background font).

Shine: Designer Edition
This last one is designed by Li Sang Bong, a renowned Korean fashion designer. It has Korean Hangul Calligraphy etched on the back. "It features the original text of a poem [called "Starry Night"] of Yoon Dong Joo engraved at the back of the mobile phone. FYI, Yoon Dong Joo is known as one of the most beloved poets in Korea."
Looks like scribbles to me... but it's a poem! Now that's classy. If only I knew what it said.

A great idea
Don't you think personalized back plates for this cellphone is such a good idea? I think they should make that available for their customers! I don't know much about the technology and production of engraving these things, but if they're anything like the engraved dog tags/necklaces you can get done at the Richmond Night Market within a couple of hours, it should be easy and cheap. Plus, once consumers know they can personalize their own plate, they might consider shelling out the money for the phone! At least I would.

An Honest Mini Review
I seriously bought this phone within 2 hours the day before I left Hong Kong. B and I browsed through phones in Taiwan and Hong Kong but we weren't serious in buying one so we weren't the most informed about them - we just knew which ones we thought looked nice... and the only one I liked was the $1000 Prada lol
So yea - I'm definitely not a gadget girl and I did not research cell phones at all before making the decision to buy it so I was taking a HUGE risk. There's actually not much about my cellphone (the candy bar version) online. It's really not much different than the slider - they're both basically a pretty standard fashion phone with 1GB of internal memory (it came with an extra 1GB microSD card). It's an mp3 player, organizer, voice recorder, video camera, and
digital camera (2 mega pixel with "flash"). I was surprised by how many settings the camera had! The one thing that made me most hesitant about buying this phone is that it has only 2 mega pixels. The fact that it's such a new phone and that the normal mega pixel range for a regular digital camera these days is over 7 mega pixels, you'd sort of expect the mega pixels to be more than 2! So the quality of my pictures aren't that great. Another thing that isn't perfect about this phone is the shutter lag. When I take a picture, I always have to hold the phone super still for at least a second longer or else my picture will be blurry. It's a bit annoying and can be difficult especially since the cell phone is so light! Anyway, besides that, the cell phone has other features that make up for it. You can even view your office documents on it. Oh and the bonus feature is that it can be a mirror when the light is off! No need to carry a compact anymore, girls.
There are so many chunky (rounded) phones out there these days so I thought it was refreshing finding such a modern, slim, sleek and durable cellphone that had all the functions of the chunky ones. However, like all non-flip phones, the screen is vulnerable to scratches and isn't very pocket-friendly (if you want it to keep it lookin' like new). The back is made out of tough brushed steel.
I find it a pretty unisex phone... chic and metropolitanish. The mirror and slimness makes it more attractive for females, but its sleekness and metal casing makes it look impressive on a guy. Like all LG phones and LG products I've tried, it is very user-friendly. Unfortch, LG did not think of people with fat fingers when they made this. The buttons are small and those with large fingertips who have fiddled around with my cell, have found it difficult to punch in numbers. The battery life, on the other hand, is amazing. Sometimes, even when I use it often, I can go almost 4 days without it needing to be recharged! It has bluetooth, wireless, and comes with its own USB cable.
I always have my phone on vibrate so I haven't used the ring tones yet.
The slider (and I believe flip) version is coming to America soon (for about $400 I've heard), but the candybar version won't.
All in all, although the LG Shine Bar is not without flaws, I'm very happy with my purchase and recommend it!

There's a new phone out there from LG - KU990: The Complete Camera Phone that looks like a mix of the Chocolate, Shine, and Prada to me (oOOoo 5 mega pixels!) Check it out HERE.

2 comments:

Nat said...

that's a very long review.. which i am too tired to read.. >< i wonder if my dad was serious about getting me a new phone.

so far, your review seems to be based on non tech things :P which i like. hehe

i posted a long comment in previous post... zzzzzzz

Natasha said...

hahaha!
yes I am a very untechie girl! Don't know much about/don't really care about the technological aspect of things.
and LOL pepper sisters! I actually sat there for a minute really wondering if it was Parrot Sisters... and wondering why I didn't think it was an odd name before. No wonder!

lol nooo not a waste of a trip!
WHOA your mom spent over 70 on a coat! I'm shocked!! Aww.. she can't return it? They shouldn't make leather outerwear in any other colours other than black, brown, cream, and sometimes red... (and I think ppl under 5'2 should only wear long leather coats 'cause it just makes them look shorter). Creamy tuna box? I'd like to see your mom wear that often.

Anyway - you should go research for new prospective phones when you have time!