LG Secret KF750

The LG Black Label Secret is my first phone in years not to be a Nokia. I got it as part of a free upgrade - I could've had the iPhone but opted for this as I've never got on well with iTunes and so on and liked the idea of having a phone which didn't demand that I converted everything I owned into its own format. I've had the phone for around three weeks, so obviously this review won't give the greatest indication of longevity, but should help with ...
...software disc which includes the LG handling software as well as a DiVX package with which you can convert videos in order to transfer them to your phone.

~~ Hardware ~~

The phone itself was very straightforwards to 'put together' - unlike some of my old phones where you think you're going to snap the back in half to make it work, this is much more robust, clicks in and out of place simply. It's a slide-opening phone ... more

The LG Black Label Secret is my first phone in years not to be a Nokia. I got it as part of a free upgrade - I could've had the iPhone but opted for this as I've never got on well with iTunes and so on and liked the idea of having a phone which didn't demand that I converted everything I owned into its own format. I've had the phone for around three weeks, so obviously this review won't give the greatest indication of longevity, but should help with first impressions.

On first impressions, it's wonderfully presented, packaged neatly with cable, charger, headphones and software disc which includes the LG handling software as well as a DiVX package with which you can convert videos in order to transfer them to your phone.

~~ Hardware ~~

The phone itself was very straightforwards to 'put together' - unlike some of my old phones where you think you're going to snap the back in half to make it work, this is much more robust, clicks in and out of place simply. It's a slide-opening phone which doesn't give you the impression that wear and tear will affect this, and it doesn't slide in your pocket either. The charger slot has a removable clip which again is flexible enough that it doesn't feel as if it'll snap every time. Essentially the point of this paragraph is that it very much feels made to last and suitable for people like myself who've avoided slide or flip phones in the past in fear of the moving parts. It's not the lightest or smallest of phones but it's pretty slimline and fits comfortably into the pocket - I like the fact that it's not that light though as I'm always worrying I've left the phone somewhere! There's no doubt that this is with you XD

The manual that comes with it is well-written, easy to understand and clearly illustrated. A welcome change after some I've tried to make my way though over the years. It features step-by-step guides to just about everything you might want to do, making it comparatively easy to work with and a good choice for the less technical phone user who still wants the technical features.

As to the battery with which it came, it took about two hours to complete its first charge, and promptly ran out about three hours later. Despite knowing batteries need breaking in, and having been playing with the phone all day, I was concerned. The next charge lasted just under a day. Three weeks on, however, and I'm getting a good 3-4 days from a single charge, which, whilst this will depreciate in time, is still the best I've ever had from a phone. This is with moderate use, no more than 30 minutes of calls and a double handful of texts a day, the odd picture here and there. I'm particularly pleased with this.

The USB cable works fine - it took me a minute to realise that it doesn't necessarily connect if you've been using the internet at all so I've had to switch the phone off completely and then start it up again to clear the application so that I don't get error messages when trying to get into the LG uploader, etc a couple of times. It's mildly frustrating but understandable.

The handset is gorgeous to look at, mockcroc and all, and the choice to have a blacklit screen option, rather than a glaring white one is brilliant, gives a very...executive look, for want of a better word. Interchangeable back covers might be nice in a certain way but perhaps that's just my residual teenage self that still wants to cover everything in stickers - no, this is a beautiful piece of design, but it's still very subtle.

The phone provides an interesting combination of touchpad, button and then slide keyboard. I've found the touchpad particularly pleasing although it is rather sensitive and if you're not paying attention you can find you're doing something completely different from that which you think you are, nonetheless, it seems a pretty good system. A shortcut button on the side allows you to enable full touch screen for a media menu - videos, music, photos and games, which is great if you use a lot of those features on your phone regularly as it means you don't have to flip through the longhand menus, nor do you need to slide open the phone.

It has angle sensitivity like the iPhone - if you turn it on its side when looking through photos or videos etc, the image will switch to horizontal, and the fullscreen is pretty pleasing - although it's not the largest of screens the clarity is amazing and there are no irritating icons or tags in the corners, it really is the full screen.

The standard phone has 1GB of memory, I bought a MicroSD memory card with 4GB to add to this, well worth doing as you're less likely to be limited with photos, videos etc.

~~Menu~~

The main menu is straightforwards, there are a few overlaps with locations of media, applications etc and it can take some time to get used to where things are, what they do etc, although some of my hesitation may be from the fact that I'm used to the consistency of Nokia menus. The shortcuts don't seem to be such a shortcut and I'm still working on customising buttons to take me, for example, straight to my contacts list, rather than having to go to Contacts, then Search etc. I'm sure it'll be perfectly straightforwards but I haven't had a chance to sit down and tailor the phone to what I want.

When not in use, the phone can be set to, basically, black out, rather than going into a screensaver or similar. This seems great for powersaving and it's also good for stopping your mates picking up your phone and playing with it in the pub as it looks like it's off. It doesn't take any longer to wake up though.

~~Calls~~

Of course, it is a phone, and pleasingly it works most straightforwardly as a phone. It has autocomplete when you go to dial in a number you've previously used, which is great if you make sure you select the right one, not so much if you accidentally hit the touchpad and select a different one! A little care can be required from time to time. Calls appear to be clear and free of glitches as I've had with some of my Nokia phones - no buzzing or crackling thus far. Voicemail is easy to enable, as is call divert and call barring. Call logs are well detailed and there's a feature which enables you to set up a 'call costs' counter so that you can monitor your phone bill as you rack it up, rather than getting an unpleasant surprise at the end of the month! Alternatively you can see how many free minutes you've used. A nice idea.

~~Texting~~

I find texting far quicker and easier on this phone than I did on my previous phone. Predictive text comes up with words that you want it to, rather than odd combinations of letters of which you've never heard, it's easy to programme in words, the symbol function is quick and easy, it remembers things like emoticons and will suggest those as part of the predictive text, it's great. MMS is just as easy to work with and it's notably quicker to send one than on any previous phone I've had. When receiving texts they're neatly and pleasingly displayed, and you can set up folders in which to store texts you want to keep a hold of. The Sent Items folder will remember, well, at least 100 texts, I haven't sent more than that yet it appears! The Inbox holds up to 500 texts.

~~Email/Gmail~~

Now, I haven't achieved setting up email yet, so I'm afraid I can't pass productive comment on the internal workings of it. I've never had any luck doing this on phones and I'm sure all my settings are right etc, it's something I've done for other people for years, I just, yeah, I think it might be my email! However, as I got this phone bundled with an unlimited web bolton I decided to install the gmail application from their mobile site, which is completely free, and it works perfectly and instantly. It's very easy to then access, read, delete and send emails from a gmail account, should you have one, or you can get other email forwarded through there if you too have any trouble setting stuff up!

~~Web~~

Browsing is pretty good, faster than on my last Nokia, certainly, although it can be a bit fiddly still to navigate the pages, even on mobile sites. This is the one feature that the iPhone seems to come to its own in, but basically all I need to do online all the time is check football results and read the paper and that's absolutely fine on the LG Secret, certainly it's not a chore.

~~Camera~~

The LG Secret features a 5 megapixel camera which takes massive pictures (unless you set it to take smaller ones) in superhigh quality and clarity. You can also take panoramic pictures using the correct setting, a great feature for landscapes and holidays and so on, and the zoom function is great. Half-depressing the picture button refocuses the shot before you take it. The flash is good, although almost a little too good if you're taking a picture of someone in the dark and they're not expecting it - it's practically blinding!

Pictures are saved by default as .jpgs and are accordingly extremely easy to upload to your computer either via Bluetooth or through the USB cable, or directly online if you have access to Flickr/Photobucket etc. There's also the facility to slideshow pictures on your phone, to store them in various folders and so on, and depending on your settings and whether or not you have a memory card there's more than enough room to snap away to your heart's content without fearing you'll run out of space just when you *really* need to take a picture!

The camera also takes videos, but not just crackly, pixellated ones, genuinely useful ones. You could make a Channel 4 short on one of these no problem, and it even has video editing software included on it. YouTube will appreciate this phone.

~~Media, Sounds and Documents~~

Straight off I put pictures for my background, music for my ringtone and a couple of episodes of TV shows I like on the phone, almost like you'd pack a new handbag with things you like to have around with you. You can use anything you like as a ringtone or texttone, and the volume/regularity options are practically infinitely customisable so you can have it ring just how you want it to. Rather reassuring, and no excuses for a tragic or embarrassing ringtone, plus no need to subscribe to those insane ringtone companies.

As before, watching videos on the phone works fantastically well, you can do it right from the touch screen and there are headphones provided which keep it nice and private. The phone has, as most do now, Flight Mode, making it perfect for whiling away even the shortest of flights, if you're like me and hate looking out of the windows!

It comes with a neat little bundle of games and the facility to download more from the provider - the M-Toy games are particularly good as they make the most of the touchscreen etc and are quite sweet, eg the fishing, golf, darts etc. Darts is especially addictive, and I don't even like real darts! Notably the range of games available for download at the moment is pretty small, but that seems like something that might well expand in the future.

The phone has the capacity to handle a range of documents which can be uploaded via Bluetooth or USB and then edited or added to as you travel etc. Great if you need to skim something before a meeting, or even during it, also good for working on the go.

~~Overall~~

I'm thrilled with this phone, touch wood that it doesn't hear me say that and break now! I think I made the right choice in this over the new iPhone, it has enough similarities to phones I'm familiar with and has a good, hardware keyboard, rather than the touchscreen version, yet still has the functionality of touchscreen where it's more enjoyable and practical, with the media and so on. It's so completely customisable that it makes it easy to develop an affinity for the phone, to personalise it and make using it an enjoyable experience, and it doesn't limit you to certain types of media format or require an overdose of computer installation and conversion.

You can install all manner of applications on here, from picture uploading to gmail to gmaps to games and so on, making it easy to integrate aspects of your life into your phone so it genuinely functions as an aide, rather than a tool. The diary, calendar and contacts features can all be set to synchronise with your computer without fuss, great for time management and so on.

It looks great but isn't super flashy, it comes with everything you need but not a great deal you don't, it can be as much or as little as you want it to be. The battery life seems good, it's got a nice weight to it and it's a better digital camera than most people's digital cameras, as well as working perfectly well as a mobile TV, an MP3 player and a diary. I'd really recommend this and I'd say it's worth a second thought if you're not a devotee of Apple products but were contemplating the iPhone.

The LG slogan 'Life's Good' - I remember, before buying this, thinking that was a strange choice of slogan but now I can see where they're coming from - using this phone, it's...gratifying. It also brings to mind another well-known company's slogan - 'Don't you love it when things just...work?' Yes, yes I do. And this does. Shazam! 

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