LG Renoir Preview

Introduction:

Have you ever thought about how the touch phones came in style? Many consider iPhone as the revolutionary model of the new “movement” but LG keeps reminding us that their PRADA came out earlier. We will not dispute the truthfulness of this statement, but it is a fact that this was the flagship model of the new touch series released on the market by the South Korean manufacturer. Today, we’ll take a look at Renoir KC910, which is the latest entry in the line. As a successor to the Viewty, it is a powerful multimedia device with a top-shelf camera, hence named after the famous French artist.

Unfortunately, the sample unit we've received from LG has some problems, untypical for the model. We'll get another one and now we'll publish a preview, but expect our review soon.

Design:

This particular design attracts peoples’ attention. The consumer is still fascinated with the very idea of a keyless device, which is relatively new and reminds us of a futuristic movie. Design wise, Renoir will not have as many followers as PRADA and Giorgio Armani, but it will be an appetizing bite nevertheless. Although we are not very fond of its overall appearance, we like the separate elements: the “glass” face, the shiny sides and the jagged back, which is made of miniature circles. You can feel those by running a finger across the surface and that pattern adds an interesting light reflecting effect to the phone. The only thing we are not happy with regarding the make of the phone is its weight. The Renoir doesn’t feel too solid in a hand, making it appear cheap. On the other hand, this is very nice when you carry it in your pocket.



Everything has a price. The compact size of the Renoir results in a smaller display in contrast to the competition. Although it is large compared to most phones, the 3” screen of the device is still a step behind the Pixon (3.2”) and the iPhone (3.5”) and that will affect the video watching and the Internet surfing experience. It has a standard widescreen resolution (240x400 pixels) and it supports 262k colors. Nowadays, almost all displays produce a nice image indoors but some of them cannot be used in bright daylight.

The buttons below the screen couldn’t be any better. They are easy to press and feel by touch and look very good. We don’t like their shape, but that’s a matter of personal preference. All other buttons are located on the right side and are very easy to use, except the lock key. It is almost leveled with the surface and has a very short drive, which makes it hard to operate. Its design is intended to prevent accidental activation, but we would have preferred a two-way switch.



Just like in the rival Pixon the lens is protruding from the back and when placed on a table, the phone is thicker than the advertised 13.8mm. The ring surrounding the lens is also used as a closing/opening mechanism for the lid. This is a very good solution, but we still prefer the automatic ones.

Interface:

When introducing the Renoir, LG showcased a few images with only the homescreen visible. We noticed the new Widgets and thought that we were looking at a next generation interface. It actually came out to be a “warmed up” version of the one we’d seen in PRADA, Viewty, KF700 and Glimmer. The idea of having Widgets was introduced in KF700. However, we weren’t very impressed, because we could use only one with limited functionality. It could be that LG has seen what we wrote and has made some changes present here, which now allow the use of multiple Widgets like in the Samsung phones. Their placement on the screen however, can only be modified when you are in the mode to chose which ones to appear and are static otherwise. This lets you add more than those that can fit on the screen and scroll up and down. We think that having Widgets is not very appropriate because of the small size of the screens. Nevertheless, despite of the limited number of applications that can be added, this element has been realized well.


The look of the rest of the interface remains almost as in the previous models. We have four categories of options: phone, multimedia, organizer and settings. We like that and it’s easy to get where you want. There are two themes; a color one with a white background and monochrome icons on a black screen. It’s not much of a choice but it’s better than Pixon where you only have one option.



The multitasking idea has been covered in KF700 and other models of the manufacturer, but in Renoir it has been developed to the next level. Pressing the middle hardware button will take the application you are working on to the background and will show you all active ones. They could be preloaded or additionally installed JAVA programs. On a different tab in this menu you have 9 shortcuts to your favorite applications. Just like in KF700 when you tap on the service line (housing the signal strength, the battery remaining and the time) more detailed information will appear, accompanied by shortcuts for the profiles, music player, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.



Camera:

As we’ve mentioned in the preview of the rival Pixon, despite being ugly, it’s camera interface is extremely easy and should be an example for the rest. Renoir proves that. The “artist” also offers many options, including blink and smile shot but they are much harder to activate. The menus are rather difficult for navigation and the entire system is confusing.

You can still record DivX videos in VGA resolution, and if you choose to shoot in the smaller QVGA, you’ll have the slow/fast motion option. An innovation here is the Noise-free Microphone, which supposedly, will enhance the video sound.



Although this is a preview, we'll publish a few 8-megapixel picture samples. Keep in mind that they were taken on a cloudy day.


LG Renoir sample video at 640x480 resolution
* Note that due to codecs support, you may not be able to play the file.

Mutlimedia:

We hope you remember how we started this review – this is not a cameraphone, but an all-in-one device, claiming to be a powerful multimedia player. It’s obvious that we have the hardware needed, but as we’ve mentioned in our guide for buying a music phone, there are other important factors. One of the key elements is the software and the options it offers. Here, it lets you sort your music by different criteria but there are no sound effects (equalizers). The interface is simple and it visualizes a small album art cover. Renoir is praised to be the first phone on the global market featuring Dolby Mobile, but how much does that improve the sound of the phone, you’ll find out in our review.

The DivX support was one of the key elements in Viewty. In this model, we have XviD added which lets the user play a wider selection of quality videos and they look very good. A cool extra is the option to remove the black frame in case the clip is not proportionate to the screen. The video will be unbalanced but at least you have an alternative.



Internet:

Renoir is equipped with a new Web browser, trying to imitate the leaders (iPhone and the phones with Opera 9.5). There is an improvement, but we are not very impressed. We like the option to zoom in when holding your finger in a specific area, but even though it reminds us of Opera, it is not realized that well. Some elements are good, others not so much but we’ll give our final opinion in the final review.



Conclusion:

Yet another quality model falls in our hands without bringing unique features to the table. The shiny design and pumped up specifications of the Renoir attract the attention, but its software pulls it down a bit, reminding us of previous models. The combination of an 8-megapixel camera and the ability to play a wide variety of videos is definitely cool, so we only have to see how it performs in the other aspects. The rivals Pixon and the slider INNOV8 are not to be underestimated, but does Renoir have what it takes to win the battle with the Samsung models and become the ultimate cameraphone, thanks to its Xenon flash?