The Optimus may not be a top-end device, but you wouldn’t know by looking at it. Slightly less wide than the iPhone 4, it fits snugly in your hand, and the brushed-metal effect on the battery cover and sides of the handset give it a pleasingly high-end look. The phone feels solid too, and the layout of the buttons is good, although different to that of most Android handsets. The search button is mounted on the side, for example.

Unfortunately, the premium feel doesn’t carry over to the touchscreen. The Optimus uses a resistive, rather than capacitive, touchscreen. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, resistive displays aren’t as sensitive to touch input as capacitive screens, and, secondly, they don’t support multi-touch.

LG is really walking a knife edge with these resistive touchscreens it places in its smartphones. First the GW620, now the Optimus. The 3″ panel in the GT540 is definitely one of the better resistive screens we have used, but the experience can by no means be compared to that of the increasingly popular capacitive displays. Anyway, at least the image quality is very good, not only because of the utilized HVGA resolution, which works great on that screen size, but also thanks to the very rich and saturated colors. We even wondered if it is not AMOLED at one point, but once we looked at it from an angle, we realized we were dreaming.

The South Korean manufacturer has utilized both touch-sensitive and physical keys for the control scheme of the LG Optimus GT540. Right below the display you have resistive menu and back keys, while below them are situated the physical send, home and end buttons. Thankfully, they are all nice and easy to use. The same goes for the search key and camera shutter on the lower right, but the volume rocker, which is situated on the left is just a bit on the harder-to-press side. That is in case you don’t use your fingernails to press it. The back only has the 3MP autofocus camera with no flash.

LG Optimus GT540 specs:

• 3.0? screen @ 320×480 pixels
• Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz CPU
• 130MB internal storage
• up to 32GB via (2GB included)
• 3G/HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 3.15MP autofocus camera
• FM Radio w/ RDS
• GPS w/ aGPS support
• Android 1.6
• Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery

LG Cookie Fresh GS290 will be launched from the end of this March in Europe, Asia, Latin America and 50 other countries. User interface of this phone is shaped cartoon style, and connected to Facebook, Twitter and also avatar for Live Square. In addition, the LG Cookie Fresh GS290 is also equipped with 3-inch WQVGA display touchscreen, FM radio, Bluetooth, and 3.5mm headset jack. But, unfortunately LG Cookie Fresh handset has no 3G network and only a 2-megapixel camera.

For good or bad, the LG Cookie Fresh GS290 is the typical affordable touchscreen phone, in terms of design. Its appearance is by no means breathtaking, but it’s not bad either. LG plans to offer it in a plethora of color variations, trying to suit as many consumer tastes as possible.. The plastic, from which it is manufactured, feels fairly cheap, although not unpleasant to touch. It has smooth curves, which make the LG Cookie Fresh GS290 feel natural in the hand. We are somewhat annoyed at the battery cover that can be removed way too easily and it’s not unlikely that it falls off while you carry about the cell phone in your pocket.

The screen measures 3 inches and has a resolution of 240×400 pixels – standard for a budget touch phone. It guarantees a lot of pixelization, so that’s not the best-looking display ever. Still, looking through the preloaded pictures, we found it to be a worthy competitor to every other phone in the same class. As it is resistive, using it will be flawless for female users with longer nails, while the rest will have to put up with the inconveniences this technology provides. The screen utilizes resistive technology, meaning you will either have to press it with your fingernails and put up with the inadequate response or exert extra force to get things done.

Features of LG Cookie Fresh GS 290:

• 32 MB Internal Memory
• Extendable upto 16GB through Microsd
• Talk Time of 5 hours
• Touchscreen with 240x 400 pixel resolution
• FM Radio
• Audio Player
• Video Player
• Supports playback of MP3, AAC and WMA format
• Playback of MPEG4 videos also possible
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• 2 Mega Pixel Camera
• Oxford Dictionary

LG makes some of the most practical, feature-specific phones in the market. We saw that with the LG KU250 and the LG KP500 targeting a single specific feature at an affordable price. The LG KS360 is an attempt to take full qwerty messaging to the masses.

Before we talk about the highlights of the phone, be reminded that the KS360 is somewhat an entry-level phone and thus do not have all the bells and whistles one would expect — there’s no WiFi, no 3G or GPS inside, just Bluetooth — so you can stop right here and move on to the next page if those are a must for you.

The phone has a built-in FM tuner and MP3 player. The audio quality is decent and loud enough but still in mono so it doesn’t have that umph. The speaker is found at the back just above the camera. The music player looks nice and loads/plays the songs in a jiffy.

The camera is 2 megapixels (1600×1200 pixels) and doesn’t have autofucos so I don’t it expect to capture any good photos.

The LG KS360 is labeled under the fashion category and like the LG Cookie, it’s targeted to a specific segment, probably teens who are crazy about text messaging and/or chatting. It’s obviously not for people like me who require connectivity features but it may attract those who are looking for very affordable qwerty phones.

Key features

• Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Large 2.4″ TFT display of QVGA resolution
• Full slide-out QWERTY keyboard with screen rotation
• Touchscreen dialing
• 2 megapixel camera
• Stereo Bluetooth
• FM radio
• microSD memory card slot (up to 4GB)
• Threaded SMS
• Attractive 3D image gallery
• Office document viewer

The X110 is a stylish new netbook from LG, which offers stylish portability and optional 3G wireless for internet access anywhere you might venture. It is offered in three color schemes, including pink, white, and black to best fit your wardrobe or personality. LG claims the wide keyboard on the X110 reduces errors and gives the user a more enjoyable typing experience.

Many notebook and netbook manufacturers are switching towards very glossy designs but the LG X110 seems to take it to another level entirely. LG used automotive quality paint on the exterior shell of the notebook, top and bottom, that is incredibly smooth and soft to the touch. The black gloss is contrasted with the bright white frame, keyboard, and screen trim. The finished look is classy without standing out too much and really helps to set it apart from other netbooks. The flip side to the think glossy paint is the decreased plastic clearance on items like the battery case and rails, which lock the battery in place. Fingers were injured trying to pry the battery out leaving a screwdriver with padding to prevent scratches as the only option left.

Another change is a small ‘lip’ on the lid’s top edge that helps make the netbook easier to open up, revealing the re-styled interior. The power button now has a blue LED surround rather than the star-shape of its predecessors, and the curve has gone from the palm-rest, which is now even. The power and battery indicators have also been enlarged so that they’re visible when the lid is closed, which is a useful touch.
As for the colour scheme, we’re not overly enthusiastic about the white and off-silver ‘champagne’ combination. Thankfully, other options are available including black, white and pink. Despite sporting a high-gloss finish on the outside, our model’s white exterior means fingerprints are only visible from certain angles – a good thing since no cleaning cloth is provided.