In the shops: LG KG810

By Andrew Lim on 05 September 2006, 11:42am

At an LG event earlier this summer, we saw a beautifully designed clamshell phone that looked like the Chocolate phone from the outside. At first we thought it was the Chocolate II, but nobody seemed to know whether it was or wasn't. All we had to go on at that point was a name tag with the words LG Son80 written on it.

After a few weeks, we wondered where this phone had gone and why LG had been so secretive. Then we found out that the handset was called the KG810, not the Son80, that it wasn't part of the Black Label Series, and it isn't the new Chocolate phone.

The new Chocolate phone was shown to us by John Barton, UK sales and marketing director for LG mobile phones. According to LG, the Chocolate phone and Black Label Series are different because they are internationally available, while the other LG phones may not be.

Confused? We were, and we still don't know exactly what's going on, but we do know that the LG KG810 (pictured) looks very much like a Chocolate phone, even if LG says it isn't, and it's called the KG810, which is only one digit off the Chocolate's KG800 nametag.

The KG810 features glowing red, touch-sensitive music buttons on the front alongside a small colour screen, a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 262k colour screen on the inside and Bluetooth connectivity. The phone is currently available exclusively for one month at Phones4u on an 18-month contract with Orange for £35 per month. It will be available from other retailers and networks later on in the year. -AL

Update: LG has announced that, contrary to its original information, the LG KG810 will be part of the Chocolate phone range. It has also revealed that the KG810's Bluetooth connectivity will be stereo (A2DP), and the phone will also feature an FM radio.

We now have a full review of the LG KG810 live in our Reviews channel.