Photos: Hands-on with the LG Cookie KP500

Two days ago we brought you news of a new LG phone, the Cookie KP500, but unfortunately LG's press release didn't exactly give us many hard facts to go on. Undaunted in the face of stony corporate silence, we hopped a plane to South Korea, used our insane ninja skills to break into LG's HQ and had a play with the KP500 ourselves. Okay, so they invited us, but the rest is true.

Aimed at giving the masses an affordable touchscreen phone, the KP500 is nevertheless an attractive handset that doesn't feel at all cheap. The first thing that strikes you about the Cookie (after you've stopped laughing at the name) is how similar it looks to the LG Renoir -- but its features are a different story.

On the back of the KP500 there's a 3-megapixel camera, but that's about it when it comes to features -- there's no 3G or Wi-Fi, for example, but what you do get is a cute touchscreen interface that's similar to and, in some respects, even better than the Renoir's.

A series of widgets are on offer, such as an on-screen clock or memo pad, which you can drag on to the KP500's homepage. Brush the screen to the side and you can access shortcuts to contacts and other apps, similar to HTC's TouchFLo interface on the Touch, and something the Renoir doesn't have.

We were told that the KP500 is due to launch in the UK at the end of this month and that it should cost around £100 -- a very competitive price when you consider how prohibitively expensive most touchscreen phones are.

The bottom line is that the KP500 is certainly no iPhone, but if a touchscreen is top of your feature list, it offers a relatively competent experience. There's an on-screen Qwerty keypad, handwriting recognition and an automatically rotating screen -- nothing revolutionary, but more than you get on most pay as you go phones. Click on the next page for more info and pictures.

Update: Our LG Cookie KP500 review is now live on the site.