Camera Phones Plaza

LG Mobile (LG) announces the arrival of the slender, black LG L343i clamshell. Featuring the i-mode service exclusive to O2, the LG L343i allows instant access to the internet at the touch of a button.

The dedicated i-mode service, allowing instant access to the internet while on the move, means that booking a holiday, checking out what’s on at the cinema or choosing an outfit for a night out couldn’t be easier. Accessed directly from a devoted button on the phone, the i-mode service also allows i-mail and MMS messages at the touch of a button to ensure friends and family are never out of reach.

Weighing just 86g, the LG L343i is lightweight and compact with an array of features to suit those who live life on the move. Alongside an inbuilt digital camera with flash and 4x zoom to capture holiday snaps and nights out, the handset also boasts a stunning internal colour display to view photos and MMS messages and an external colour screen which displays caller ID without even opening the phone.

Via 3g.co.uk.

The South Korean company Samsung Electronics has started sales of its new cellphone Z230 in France. In addition to GSM it supports UMTS networks.

It seems that the Verizon’s version of the Chocolate Clamshell will not be the same (design wise) to its GSM counterpart, KG810 / MG810, we have already showed (see the images below).Thanks to the first real live photos presented by phoneArena of the VX8600 we can see that its keypad will not have the “chocolate-styled” keys in two shades of gray but an ordinary flat keypad; also the D-pad is not circle one, but in a rectangular form.

On the outside, it seems that the VX-8600 will have a bigger external display than the one used in KG810 and we are not sure if it will feature “the Chocolate” touch keys, dedicated to the music player. The branding on the phone clearly shows the carrier – Verizon Wireless again.

Announced in February during the 3GSM World Congress, the Nokia 6131 is the latest clamshell mobile phone from the Finnish company. It is a quad band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz) world phone with support for GPRS/EDGE networks. Armed with a magnificent 16 million color screen along with a 262k color external display, the 6131 is poised to make quite an impact amongst clamshell aficionados - especially when it also has a 1.3 megapixel camera and external memory card slot.

MobileBurn made a review of this phone and here are some of their impressions.
The 1.3-megapixel camera on the Nokia 6131 is a total disappointment. Although the white balance system gets it right most of the time, photos taken appear grainy and full of noise, especially in poor lighting conditions. Photos also appear out of focus at times, but this is perfectly understandable, as the 6131's camera is not of the auto-focus variety.

The 6131 is capable of taking photos in six different resolutions - 1024x1280, 960x1280, 600x800, 480x640, 240x320, and 120x160. There are three quality settings available - High, Normal, and Basic. Videos can be captured in two resolutions - 176x144 and 128x96. The same three quality settings are also available, and video clip length is only limited by the amount of available memory.

Overall, the pictures produced by the 6131's camera are only good for candid shots and self-portraits. It is quite a shame really, with such glorious screens, Nokia should have done the 6131 justice by equipping it with a better camera sensor.

The conclusion is that the Nokia 6131 is a nice clamshell phone. With a very usable keypad and beautiful screens, it has a lot going for it. However, although the feature set looks extensive on paper, the lackluster camera and poor battery life will be the main deal breakers for the phone. I give the 6131 a Recommended rating, as I just cannot accept the poor battery life - not when this is only an S40 phone and not a smartphone.

If you are on the lookout for a clamshell phone, the Nokia 6131 might fit the bill, but only if you can overlook the camera and battery life. Otherwise, you can also find 16 million color screens on the Panasonic VS series, which have better battery life and a slightly better camera.

Read full review here.

Rarely have we seen a slim phone which leaves such an admirable first impression. The elegantly designed LG KG320 is a handset which doesn't compromise on ergonomics in order to achieve a slimmer form factor, resulting in the inclusion of a high-quality keypad and an excellent display in a wafer-thin form factor.

Advanced functionality is expectedly absent, however, given it's modest battery life. A 1.3 megapixel camera and a useless music player without memory expansion is as good as it gets.The LG KG320 is available in several European markets as of mid-August 2006, selling in the €325 range without subscription.

Features:
- 1.3 megapixel camera, 1280x960 pixels, video, flash
- Java MIDP 2.0, MP3 player, T9, Organiser
- 128 MB shared memory
- Bluetooth 1.0 connectivity with dial-up networking and headset support

Via infosyncworld.