In a nutshell: The LG Arena is possibly the best phone to
be released in the first quarter of 2009. It's a compact touchscreen
phone with a breathtaking screen, a fantastic new user-friendly
interface, quality looks and a massive array of features: 5 megapixel
camera with autofocus & flash, 3G video calling, music player
with Dolby Mobile, FM radio, A-GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps,
FM transmitter, 3.5mm headphone jack. Oh, and we nearly forgot to
mention the 8GB memory, expandable to 40GB! It really is a stunner!
But beware - don't buy it on Orange!
Review:
March 2009. Last updated June 2009.
What are LG on? They are churning out touchscreen
phones almost as quickly as all other manufacturers put together.
For this reason, we are willing to forgive them for giving their
latest touchscreen phone the same name as the former NEC in Birmingham,
which is now called - you guessed it - the LG Arena!
How to review the LG Arena? It's a brilliant all-rounder.
The list of things it doesn't do is shorter than the list of things
that it does do, so here we go: it isn't a smartphone (LG have yet
to enter the smartphone market and it doesn't have an 8 megapixel
camera. That's all it doesn't do (it doesn't make the coffee or
run you a bath either, but LG are rumoured to be working on this.)
So, regular readers of Mobile Phones UK will know
that we lurve LG touchscreen phones. And we just lurve the Arena.
Is it LG's best phone so far? Possibly. It's a gorgeous phone to
look at. It's quite a bit smaller than the iPhone
3G, which is a bonus, although this does mean that the screen
is slightly smaller - but at 3 inches it's still a whopper. The
brushed metal finish is lurvely too and radiates quality. But the
best thing about the Arena becomes apparent when you turn it on:
it's the drop-dead high resolution screen. With 480x800 pixels,
it's a truly high definition display and is absolutely at the cutting
edge. Readers of our sister website, RecommendedBuys UK, may know
that LG
LCD TV's consistently get the best ratings, and it's not surprising
when you witness the quality of the Arena's display. The Arena is
the first phone to showcase LG's new S-Class touchscreen user interface.
Based on a "cube" idea, which you can see in the photo
above, the screen contains a 3D cube that you can turn around to
reveal one of 4 sides: contacts, widgets, shortcuts and a customisable
home screen. It's kind of fun, but doesn't really add anything.
But the touchscreen UI itself is first class. We've always been
a fan of the LG touch phones, from the Prada
to the Renoir, and the Arena is
at least as good. Watch the youtube video below to learn more.
The Arena may not have an 8 megapixel camera (choose
the LG Renoir for this) but it
is a very well balanced multi-media device. The camera is 5 megapixels,
with autofocus and an LED flash. It's clearly not in the same league
as the 8 megapixel monsters such as the Renoir,
Samsung Pixon 12 or Sony
Ericsson Satio, but it's still a good camera. It records high
quality video too, and you can use the front-mounted camera to make
video calls. The music player can play all popular formats, including
MP3, AAC and WMA, and supports Dolby Mobile for high fidelity virtual
surround sound. A welcome addition is the 3.5mm headphone jack,
which enables you to plug in any headphone with a standard connector.
An FM radio is included too. The Arena also comes with a built-in
FM transmitter, which enables you to play music wirelessly through
a car or home stereo.
When it comes to memory, the Arena delivers the
goods in abundance. Not only does it comes with 8GB of flash memory,
but it also supports microSD cards up to 40GB. This dwarfs the memory
capacity of even the iPhone! LG clearly are wanting users to make
full use of all the multimedia functionality that the Arena is capable
of, so whether you have a massive music collection, or want to watch
full length movies on your phone in high definition, this phone
is eager and willing to do the job.
There are so many features available, we can't
cover everything in this review. We need to mention that the phone
supports assisted GPS with geo-tagging of photos. We also need to
mention that it's connectivity is outstanding - as well as the FM
transmitter and 3.5mm headphone socket, it supports Bluetooth, USB
and WiFi. It's a 3G phone with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps for rapid downloading
of data, and it's equipped with an excellent web browser.
That's the end of our whirlwind tour of the LG
Arena KM900! The touchscreen phone market is getting very crowded
in 2009, and there are some brilliant phones competing for your
attention, but we feel that the Arena is probably the best phone
to be released in the first quarter of 2009, and and it has been
a massive hit. Tech-heads will probably still prefer the Samsung
Omnia or HTC Touch HD though.
Update [May 2009]: it has become apparent that
Orange have done something awful to this phone. They've removed
Google Maps, replaced the web browser and music player with their
own contraptions, and done something to stop you viewing youtube
videos. Most of the bad user reviews below are from Orange users.
The answer's simple: don't buy this phone on Orange, and don't upgrade
to it if you're currently on Orange. Get a new contract instead.
You have been warned!!
Second update [June 2009]: We've been reading the
user reviews for the Arena with dismay, because it's apparent that
many of you guys are having real problems with this phone freezing,
crashing or completely shutting down. We don't know whether this
is simply an Orange problem, or if it happens on other networks
too. Although many users report no problems, there are too many
reports of things going worng for us to ignore, and so we've downgraded
our rating from 5 stars to 4 stars. This doesn't mean that we've
changed our opinion - it just reflects the "risk factor"
that you might end up with one of the dud Arenas.
The new LG Viewty
Smart is very similar but with an upgraded 8 megapixel camera.
Features
of the LG Arena KM900 include:
5 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, autofocus
& LED flash
Love
your mobile? Hate it? Please share your experiences to help other
people choose the phone that's best for them. Please do not review
this phone if you have not used it. This is a review site, not a
forum, so please don't just ask questions. Please do not use swear
words or offensive language, and please, no advertising!
Reviewed by Matt from UK on 19th
Jun 2009
Brought on orange, great phone, still some stability issues, ie,
freezes sometimes, but its a great phone to use and hopefully they
fix it in the next firmware update :-) Rating:
Reviewed by Shugor from England on
19th Jun 2009
I was a Sony Eric fan for sometime until i saw the arena. I got
the phone a few weeks ago and have ben quite disappointed ever since...it
freezes...is slow to respond and hard to see in sunlight. Yes if
i didn't have these problems im sure i would be quite happy with
my investment but sadly trying to keep up with the competition meant
LG simply forgot to make the phone usable. To make matters worse
im out of my 7 day return facility, so now im stuck with a phone
that doesn't work for 18 months....gggrrrrrrr ! Rating:
Reviewed by weardalelad from uk on
18th Jun 2009
had 3 of these phones via orange upgrade, all replaced withing a
2wks as all had faults dropping calls switching off and a nightmare
to get your phonebook to work, have had trouble with it from day
one but now sent it back and will go for the new veiwty lets hope
they are as good as the old veiwty. Rating:
Reviewed by David from UK on
16th Jun 2009
On paper this phone sounds good. In practice, it has so many firmware
bugs and features that just don't work that it is just unusable.
Add to that the fact that there are no applications available for
the phone and it becomes a complete waste of money. Rating:
Reviewed by James Humphreys from United
Kingdom on 14th Jun 2009
I got this phone to replace my trusty Nokia N95 8gig. Unfortunately
it is on orange and their gps Orange maps is sluggish upon use.
It is quote cheap to use but does take time to update. I have found
the music player difficult to use and also some videos have suddenly
become corrupt for some reason. The Dolby aspect of the phone is
good when you are wearing headphones and the speaker is actually
the earpiece also so you get mono sound when you play music externally.
To boot the speaker now distorts music and phone conversation, (a
bit like when you put too much base through a small speaker). Everything
now sounds like a kazoo. It is now enroute to LG HQ to be repaired
after 6 weeks. I think I may revert back to my Nokia as this touch
phone is out of touch. Rating:
Reviewed by Aaron from Scotland on
12th Jun 2009
I have had this phone for around 2 months and I can see all the
good points but in my way is orange. They have completely runied
this phone and I will not be buying another orange product again.
The internet is awful, as is the fact that there is no google maps.
The review by luke further down the page is not true, even if you
do download the google maps they still do not work. The phone crahses
at times when txting and when answering a call you have no idea
who is phoning because it stay black for about 10 seconds and by
that time the caller had hung up! Yes there are some nice features
and the UI is quite impressive, this phone could have been so much
more if LG had taken a bit more thought and time. DO NOT GET ON
ORANGE! very poor network! to add, if you do not get an internet
add on, they give it to you for free without telling you for the
first month and then tell you days before it finishes that you are
now going to be charged £5 a month, so when you phone up you have
to pay for a months service because you havent given then 28 days
notice to stop the service! shocking! Rating:
Reviewed by Richard from England on
11th Jun 2009
i would just like to say to all people on ORANGE handsets dont be
put off by the review. i have just got my lg arena from orange and
was put off by review i had the added bonus of sending back for
different handset after 7 days if i did not like it. i thought i
would give it ago. Yes orange have put there own software on it
but its not that bad. also i went on youtube and could stream every
video i wanted. the battery life is a little rubbish but what do
you expect its better than the iphones. overall dead happy dont
be put off by review. P.S if your upgrading with orange use the
review to your advantage i managed to get a great deal with all
sorts of freebies. took a few calls though but make sure you get
the phone on a 7 day trial just in case you dont like it. Be your
own judge i was and couldnt be happier Rating:
Reviewed by mckenziehylton'x from goodmayes
on 10th Jun 2009
i thought this phonee was really good when i bought it but after
a week it is truly wack,mate. it is sooo unresponsive do not buy
this phone blad! Rating:
Reviewed by michael from Bangladesh
on 10th Jun 2009
LG is going to have us some execellent mobile using experience .
:) Rating:
Reviewed by lynette from scotland on
9th Jun 2009
just got the lg arena 2 days ago and absolutly love it i cant stop
looking at it and playing with it 10 out of 10. Rating:
Reviewed by Rose from UK on 9th
Jun 2009
I bought this phone a few days ago, I have to say it is a brilliant
phone; the touchscreen is very responsive to even the lightest touch
(but not so light that it presses things you dont want it to) and
texting is very simple, especially for people like me who are getting
used to the touch screen. I have only 2 problems with it - the phone
has completely froze (I had to take the battery out which I'm sure
isn't good for the phone) and also it can be quite slow on loading
sometimes. Oh and I find the 3 or 4 menu screens a little pointless
and irritating at times. But other than that.. it's worth buying
if you have a lot of patience :) Rating:
Reviewed by I D from UK on 9th
Jun 2009
Found the phone to have a very good touchscreen and after 3 days
use have found no obvious problems. I got it on a upgrade on Orange
but through a third party so received it with Google Maps etc rather
then Orange's own software (would have done it through Orange if
their Customer Service wasn't so incompetant). The standard software
is ok but I'm hoping to download applications which I'm struggling
to find. Main negative point I found is that you can't add a reminder/alarm
for tasks. It's small things like this that can get irritating!
Rating:
Reviewed by Howard from UK on
8th Jun 2009
Oh I am so pleased I am not alone! I bought this phone a couple
of months back. I have had it replaced twice already - sadly - like
for like. This phone crashes, re-boots, is slow to reposnd. I had
the phone in my pocket, it rang, I go to answer it, and I have to
wait a couple of seconds for the proximity sensor to realise its
out of my pocket so it can light the screen for me to see who is
calling! Tip - Dont expect to see the screen in daylight. Had a
discussion with Orange who refuse to change the phone for something
else as I am outside of my 28 days. I explained that I work abroad
a lot so missed the limit. Had some sycophantic woman on the line
who told me I could replace the phone under insurance... And that
is literally all she repeated to me, I counted six times she said
it before I hung up. Absolutely terrrible phone! Like others - if
they fixed all the bugs, it might be worth keeping hold of. I now
have 16 months left of a very unreliable phone. Such a shame. Please
avoid. Rating:
Reviewed by Withey from UK on
8th Jun 2009
I think Steve below proved the point people were making by telling
people to install 3rd party software. Aren't phones supposed to
work straight out of the box and not crash. I've got music on my
phone that I can't delete from the phone, only my PC. Screen unreadable
in daylight. Oh, and I can't play video shot with my Viewty. What's
that about? I've had some crud phones in the past but this, after
promising so much, looks like the crudiest. Rating:
Reviewed by Charlie from UK on
7th Jun 2009
Looks Great - feels great and if it actually worked properly it
would be a great phone - I have updated the firmware to the latest
available - email freezes - memory menu freezes -it could do with
a rest button rather than having to remove the battery to reset
it - the LG sync software struggles in Visat but it does still sync.
love to hear from anyone who has fixed these issues. Rating:
Reviewed by Sarah from Glasgow on
6th Jun 2009
This phone looks good, but thats about it. I got this phone took
it home and the camera wouldn't work kept going back to the main
menu when i wanted to go on the camera. Took it back to the shop
and they replaced the phone with another arena (which i didnt want)
28 days later...I find myself taking it back to the shop again and
returning it to them to keep! Every time i pressed the screen the
phone switched itself off then would turn itself back on?!?! It
was so frustrating. I have never had trouble with mobile phones
before, and to be sold 'the best phone on the market' was exciting
at the time, but when i got it home it was completely the opposite!
I would rather have a nokia 3310 than have this pile of rubbish!
It honestly is the worst phone ever, everything goes wrong with
it. Maybe if they sorted those problems out it would be a good phone,
but I most certainly will not be buying another LG ever again! I
had the contract on o2, not orange. Rating:
Reviewed by Harishan from Kumarathasan
on 5th Jun 2009
Great Fone Love it, NEED sOME hELP gUYS you know ANy Sites Which
Have Free Gamez For This Fone? Rating:
Reviewed by Simon from UK on
5th Jun 2009
Excellent phone. Had it a couple of months now and it's a joy to
use. The display is excellent and the clarity is amazing, it may
be a bit too reflective in bright sunlight but a lot of screens
are. It has frozen on me twice but my brother has a w910i which
does this about 6 times a day. I wouldn't say it has ever annoyed
me at all. I'll agree the texting is a little difficult at times
but I love the "S-class" UI - it's excellent. I'm on Orange too
and as some people have said it doesn't come with Google maps but
instead comes with Orange maps which is a sat-nav that actually
works. OK it'll cost you £5pm (or free if you're on a £35+ tariff)
but take it over a year and you're paying £60 for a good sat-nav.
How much is a TomTom again??? Plus if you really want google maps
you can install it totally free so I think you gain by getting the
Orange version. Rating:
Reviewed by Den from London on
5th Jun 2009
hate it, hate it, hate it, HATE IT. Rating:
Reviewed by Bethany from UK on
4th Jun 2009
I think that this phone is pretty good. mine does occasionally freeze
and randomly turn off (??) but apart from that, it is easy to text
and the menus are well laid out so i found it easy to get used to. Rating:
Reviewed by Ally from UK on 2nd
Jun 2009
Horrible, Had it two days and the phone would not let me add contacts.
Every time i went to add a contract it would freeze and restart.
But looked a nice handset, apart from the back, it looks to basic. Rating:
Reviewed by Emma from London, UK on
2nd Jun 2009
I use this site all the time and this is the first time I've been
so disappointed with a phone (and therefore definitely disagreed
with the main review) that I've decided to add my own review. First
off - I have owned a new phone every 2-3 months for the past 3 years,
and that's a lot of phones. I like to replace my handset every couple
of months. I have no strong preference for manufacturer, so I like
to think I come to this with no obvious bias. However, the Arena
is just a terrible own goal by LG. Mine thought I was in Russia
when I tried to use google maps (in fact, it never did find me in
London despite rebooting several times and clearing the memory);
and crashed no fewer than SEVEN times during the first 3h of use.
It crashed when I tried to take a picture, when I tried to replace
the display picture, when I tried to insert a picture to an MMS,
when I used the internet - literally every application. The screen
is stunning, and the phone is an excellent size and weight, although
I agree the touchscreen is nowhere near as accurate and responsive
as the Samsungs (Tocco Ultra/Pixon, etc). On paper it has excellent
spec, but in reality this phone is so bug-ridden and unreliable
it's the first phone I've ever had to insist on returning. Am so
disappointed, and would not recommend this to my worst enemy. Very
poor. I had the LG Viewty, Renoir, Prada etc in the past and found
the software on those to be generally excellent - I would avoid
anything running the new S class software until it's on a phone
you can actually use. Rating:
Reviewed by Linni from England on
2nd Jun 2009
I do love this phone but I'm having severe issues with it. I have
had both the handset and sim card replaced so as to try and fix
my problems but it hasn't worked. I only receive around 1/3 of all
my messages and incoming calls. It's not a signal issue as they
don't arrive later either they for some reason just never come.
I have talked endlessly both with O2 and carphone warehouse where
i purchased my phone and they both say they do not know what the
problem is and have no idea as to how to fix it. I'm extremely frustrated
as I spent good money to get the handset and am now unable to use
it. Rating:
Reviewed by Rianne from UK on
1st Jun 2009
Love this phone. Got it on my Orange upgrade. It took me a while
to get used to the touch screen but now I'm used to it and love
it. Only minus points: 1. Freezes occasionally. 2. Is very slow
when typing a response to a relatively long email thread...which
is only text. 3. Web browser is a bit prehistoric, have to zoom
in to click on anything. Apart from that I am really happy with
this phone! Rating:
Reviewed by steve from UK on
29th May 2009
I've had my arena a few weeks on orange as they had the best deals
(£25/m for 200 mins/unlimited texts/1gb internet and have to say
it is outstanding. OK, not everything works perfectly and instantly
straight out of the box but which of today's top phones do ? No
orange maps/GPS - load amaze on. Browser not great - load opera
mini. format music lists and album art - mediamonkey. I'm no tech
expert but within a week I had this done and loaded all 6 star wars
films on as well - video player is great and music with dolby and
your own quality headphones (via 3.5mm jack) is superb. Mine has
never crashed and I get 2 days use from each charge - make sure
you do first charge for 16 hours !! 8gb internal mem + 32gb more
- lovely ! Touchscreen is easy to use and fast. An absolute belter
of a phone Rating:
Reviewed by flory from uk on
28th May 2009
too bad i haven't find you guys before i got my lg arena fron orange.
what a mistake Rating:
Reviewed by McParland from United Kingdom
on 28th May 2009
My first Arena crashed every time I tried to answer a call. This
one has some bugs too. The touch screen is impossible to use on
the internet without expanding to maximum zoom each time. Pointing
devices won't work. Sound occassionally drops to mute with headphones.
The "bass" goes missing when you try and play music via a Bluetooth
device. Music player initialises every time I run it. You can't
make playlists through the phone. I get strange, blank txt messages
rather than information regarding missed calls. Battery life is
great, if you leave it on the shelf. Want to do something and you'll
be lucky to 7 hours out of it. I've taken to carrying round my old
Viewty battery as back up. The automatic lock makes me want to smash
the phone yet, and he's the irony, I've lost track of the number
of calls I've disconnected as my cheek has activated the "hang up"
button. In short this has all the features to make it a fantastic
phone but is let down by one or sixty problems. Whilst this is being
pushed as "the phone" to have I'd say avoid like the plague. I wish
I had. Rating:
Reviewed by Sam from United Kingdom
on 26th May 2009
Where do i start with this phone?, Well it freezes a lot, dead slow
and not responsive all of the time, will not view my files which
i want to view, and when i rang up customer services, all the person
could say we can offer you "like for like", which i didn't want,
so they didn't meet customer requirements, i was very flexible in
saying how id get a lower contract, less text and minutes, even
pay more so i could change the phone, But NO!, If you want to get
a new phone and your looking at the LG Arena, don't waste your money!
And don't bother getting going with dialaphone!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Alexis from UK on
25th May 2009
Great phone - takes a little while to get used to, but truly excellent
overall. Large internal memory, easy to transfer to a computer,
3.5 jack for headphones/speakers. Video is excellent, and camera
is good, but not for fast moving people/objects. But, as so many
have said, DON'T GET THIS ON ORANGE, if you can (Orange is the only
network that works where I live). They disable Google maps and gmail
(you can put them back on, but they don't work 100%), and to boot,
Orange Maps won't work on the phone. No idea why, but Orange now
say that Orange maps does not work with this phone (!). Rating:
Reviewed by Luke from Scotland on
25th May 2009
Anyone who has not yet found out how to edit contacts stored on
the phone heres how- click on a saved contact, numbers will drop
down aswell as a grey bar that will say " voice call, send message,
video call". This grey bar i have just discovered is a horizontal
scroll bar!!! scroll from right to left and the edit contact option
appears!! Rating:
Reviewed by Daniel J from UK on
25th May 2009
A great phone, great build quality and feature packed. The touch
screen is very fluid and responsive and looks fantastic and overall
I'm very happy with the LG arena........ but now the negatives.
Cons: Typing on the qwerty keyboard is impossible at full speed
and it becomes a real pain. The qwerty is just too cramped for full
speed texting/typing and very error prone. Battery life isnt great
and you will need to charge it every night. The phone locking system
is badly thought out. The music player is a real pain in the backside
(although the audio output is fantastic) its badly arranged and
thought out. The cube rotate system is nothing but a gimmick. Zooming
on web pages with the pinch technique is a real pain. Rating:
Reviewed by Dave from UK on 24th
May 2009
WOW WOW WOW! Had this phone for a month now, took a bit of getting
use to, especially with writing text messages. Other than that cannot
fault it compared with my old N82. Picture quality outside is as
good as my pentax camera. The only thing that LG need to do is make
available apps for it like the iphone then it will make SUPERB Rating:
Reviewed by Mathew from Scotland on
24th May 2009
this phone is amazing, all the animations are realy smooth and work
fine. there are a few 'bugs' in the firmware but an update will
sort them out. the screen is really clear and nice and sensitive
and tbh, the web browsers not that bad, its better than any other
phone iv had lol and the textings fine aswell :D Rating:
Reviewed by Muffins from Ireland on
23rd May 2009
Avoid like the plague. If I could I would go back in time and batter
myself to within an inch of my life for even considering this POS.
No streaming of any kind over wifi. Youtube quality sucks, it shows
the videos in 220x176 and they look awful. No DivX over 320x240.
Screen res is 800x480 but the max it can show movies is 720x480.
Music player is a joke. It cant remember the last track played it
cant read ID3 tags properly. Massive loading time between tracks
and it always goes to the top of the list it cant remember where
you were at. GPS is slow lagging and weak. Its pc software is diabolical
and doesn't work properly on Vista. Probably will not have any app
support, and if it does it will probably not take advantage of the
screen res. Phone is prone to crashes and restarts, get friendly
with your battery cover cause you will be taking it off frequently.
Email has a max limit of 1mb for D/L and U/l. Screen is practically
unreadable in sun light. And on and on and on... I was looking at
the HTC Touch Diamond 2, the only reason I went for the Arena at
the end was because it had copious amounts of metal in it construction
and a capacitive screen. My bad Rating:
Reviewed by Luke from Scotland on
22nd May 2009
I am an ex-IPHONE user and for me this phone is SOOOOO much better,
even beter than the iphone 3G! I got this phone 2 days ago on Orange
£30 a month with internet browsing. I will just outline the Very
small and picky negatives as you wll be able to find the positives
anywere! #1 No Google maps to begin with but it can be download
as an app for FREE! #2 Orange maps is pre-installed and has very
good gps functions. However, BEWARE that after the first month of
your contract you are charged for this service (about £7 pm). With
a bit of bargining as i had a previous contract on orange, i got
it for FREE! #3 Fantastic FM transmitter but is lacking in Base,
but tbh it does a very good job ( use a 3.5m jack to jack for better
base). #4 Apparently you cant access youtube or gmaps using wifi,
well thats why you have 3G and a half decent monthly contract that
includes internet browsing!!!! #5 The texting will be frustrating
at first if your not use to touch phones, However i have larg e
fingers/hands and i can type fine. #6 there is a small light sensor
on the top of the phone that seems to cause a few prolems for people
that have phone cases. It is used to save power on the phone, during
a call when you have the phone to your ear the sensor is coverd
and the phone goes dark, when you take it away from your ear it
comes to life again allowing you to end the call! if you have a
phone case that covers this during a call then remove the phone
from the case! #7 POOR battery life YOU SAY? well if your constently
browsing the net, streaming media and watching videos then your
battery life is going to be limited to A DAY!!! this is the same
for every PHONE! #8 Comes with a mini disc so MAC users will need
to download the software from the net. #9 The interface does take
awhile to get use to and navigate, older users may struggle. #10
the browser can be anoying (fiddly) at times but almost every time
it does the job well. #11 the music player has one FLAW, you ca
nt move between parts of a song that is playing ie i cant play a
song half way through then move to the last 10 seconds (start to
finish only :( ) #12 phone autolocks durng a phone call which can
be abit irritating although it only needs to be unlocked once to
stay unlocked for the rest of the call. {{ Ok so it may seem like
there is alot of bad things here but i can promise you the good
points make tha bad seem like nothing! Also remember that it will
take awhile to get use to using the phone as it is fairly complex
to begin with, give it time and you will love it!!! Hope this had
helped potential buyers }} Rating:
Reviewed by Emma from England on
20th May 2009
Ive got to say I absolutely love this phone, the only thing Im not
too impressed about is the instructions manual. I dont usually use
them but am finding it frustrating that I cant figure how to change
the ringtone and text tone as I can't even hear the default settings. Rating:
Reviewed by Craig from UK on
20th May 2009
All these 'outstanding' reviews need a bit of redress, so here it
goes... Touted as a media player. DivX playback will not use the
much talked-about screen res, so mp4's are the only way to use this.
Videos are stored in a folder that doesn't even display the filename
so you have to click on each and every one to find it. The phone
is very slow dealing with large video files, expanding the memory
will more than likely cripple it. The music player will not remember
what track you were last listening to. Gaps between tunes are approx
5 seconds. The FM transmitter sounds horiffic, no bass, and has
no range. I bought it as a media player for the above functions
and it isn't 'outstanding' at any of them, just mediocre or below
average. Other niggles are no wi-fi for gmaps or youtube. The browser
is very slow (install opera mini for your own sake). The phone has
to 'think' about even the most basic of operations, i.e. phone book.
Texting takes two hands and twice the time, don't even bother if
you've had a beer. However, if a firmware upgrade comes along to
solve these issues then it will be a good looking capable phone.
Don't hold your breath though as LG are notorious for not providing
updates. Still, only 17 months left on my contract :-/ Rating:
Reviewed by Loubylou from England on
19th May 2009
Got this phone Sat evening. Got to say I love it - have never used
a touch screen before and has taken a little bit of getting used
to but i'm very happy with it overall. Have always been a Sony Ericsson
fan but i'm defo an LG convert. Great phone just need to get used
to it!! Rating:
Reviewed by Peed off from England on
18th May 2009
This has been doing my head in but at last I can answer this question.
If you are having this problem try taking the phone out of it's
case. Make a call & you will get the "End Call" option, move your
thumb over the sensor on the left of the LG logo, (looks like a
very small camera), & the screen goes blank, move it away & hey
prestow the screen comes back. I guess this is a way of locking
the screen when you have it to your ear. Very clever really when
you think about it, just a bummer, if like me, you use a case. Anth
(poster below) if you try putting your thumb over the sensor you
will see what I meant, you will have NO Red or Green button at all,
thats why I couldn't press them to end a call :-) Now where's my
hole punch....... [Reply by Tom on 19th May 2009: answering your
question. its a light sensor, much like one on a pocket calculator
that is generated by light. its a battery saver.] Rating:
Reviewed by Anth from Newcastle, England
on 18th May 2009
Got this phone on Saturday gone. Excellent little phone, no complaints
except for that of the music player. I've been unfortunate enough
to get this phone through Orange and was unaware of the software
omissions. Why is it, if I'm playing a track, I can't skip through
it? Being a DJ I like to record mixes in a single file format and
upload them to my phone, but I'm finding it quite frustrating not
being able to skip through the file! Is this just a problem with
Orange phones? Otherwise, no real gripes as of yet. Unlike the comment
below I have no problem hanging up at the end of a call. There's
a green button to commence a call, a red one to terminate it. Simplesssh Rating:
Reviewed by Peed off from England on
15th May 2009
In a word to directly answer this thread I would have to say NO.
I have just received this phone & at first I loved it although coming
from using SE's for years I was finding it very difficult to get
used to. The screen get greasy very quickly but i guess this will
be the same with all touch screen phones. I love the FM transmitter
it's more useful than you think. But & this is a REALLY BIG but
when I us it to actually use it as a phone the screen blanks out
& is completely unresponsive. Infact the only way I can termminate
the call is to turn the phone off????? nice try LG very swishing
looking but remember first & formost it's a phone & people want
to make calls with it (& end them). I alos purchased the phone from
Gomobile via the web, I have tried to Email them using the Email
addresses from their website but both the general enquires & the
local branch Email address have been bounced back. Also not very
encouraging. If anybody out there does know how to rectify this
problem let me know & when (or if) I here anythin I will post a
followup. Rating:
Reviewed by Beverley from UK on
14th May 2009
I've had mine for 3 or 4 days and am changing it tomorrow. It is
impossible to text without errors, and suddenly you find yourself
texting in German as the little world symbol is directly below the
XYZ or you have a Cap instead of pqrs.Don't even think of using
the Qwerty unless you are an unfeasibly teeny tiny person. Have
to use finger to tap, not a nail, and sometimes it's too responsive
and goes somewhere you don't want to be in the menu, yet in the
browser it takes several taps to register. I find the browser slow
and even your contacts list takes time to load to load up. Despite
the rather awkward 'favourites' fan display, scrolling through contacts
is tedious, and even typing them in to the search box is awkward
and time consuming and then touch tapping them is hit and miss.
The battery life is poor, but we do understand there are a lot of
pixels to service. I did charge for over 14 hours as suggested for
first charge, but still. Navigating the different screens is hug
ely confusing. Nothing is where you think it might be. The automatic
lock is utterly infuriating if you have to tap in a number while
you're on a call, say, to delete or save in Voicemail. The mini
disc is no use to a mac user like myself, so to get Div X Converter
for my computer was going to cost me an extra £13 or so I didn't
see why I should pay. The LG website might still be in Korean for
its ease of navigation, and it didn't recognise KM900 as one of
its products when I tried to download a manual in the hope it might
tell me how to just scroll back while writing a message instead
of only backspace/delete. (I discovered you just tap where you need
to be, but it's not easy to get to the right place in your script
with the small text.I made the text bigger in one menu then had
no idea how to find that menu again!). I tried to bookmark a website,
but couldn't get it accepted as a bookmark. The only thing I liked
was the very easy to use and excellent quality camera, with i ts
additional internal camera for those cheeky self-portraits. Oh,
and the actual sound reception of phone calls was poor too, not
to mention the weedy ringtones. Thank goodness I can return it.
When I went back to my old lovely Sony Ericsson tonight with simple
one-handed operation I knew I was right to insist on a return. Rating:
Reviewed by Sam from England on
13th May 2009
Great phone once you get used to it. The touch screen is very responsive
and the camera is quite good. However DO NOT get it from phones
4 u. I have been sent 2 LG Arenas so far and both have been damaged.
The first had a dent at the bottom and the second had scratches
on the screen. As l write this l am now awaiting a 3rd phone to
be delivered and l have only been a customer since the end of April.
Be warned. Customer service is also poor as l have lodged an official
complaint and no one has responded. Rating:
Reviewed by Chris from Guernsey on
12th May 2009
This phone is great. I have had it 4 days and have just got used
to using it properly. No problems at all yet and Battery life has
been good so far, especialy as I have been playing with it a lot,
still on it's first charge. The manual suggests you leave it on
charge overnight for up to 14 hours for the first charge, I did
this so maybe it makes a difference. It is easy to navigate (with
a bit of practice) and the touchscreen is responsive. I just need
to get some video downloaded and a couple of decent games now to
show it off! All in all I am really pleased with this phone. Rating:
Reviewed by Mark K from UK on
11th May 2009
Potentially grate phone, but battery life - Noooooo. Lucky if it
lasts a day!! Rating:
Reviewed by Dav from UK on 11th
May 2009
In my experience, Orange have a habit of spoiling good phones by
replacing the manufacturers original software with their own buggy
sw. Look at the poor Sony Ericsson W910i a few years ago.... Anyway,
looks like they've done it again. As for the phone, it is fantastic.
Easy to use and navigate - just a shame the camera is isn't as good
as the Renoir. Still, I'd pick this over the Renoir any day. Rating:
Reviewed by Nathan Thomas from Wales
on 11th May 2009
Really good phone, hard to text as the screen is small but all onsidered
alot better than my n96(disaster) Problamatic software is my only
real concern Rating:
Reviewed by Martin from England on
10th May 2009
Dont worry orange users, if you want this phone just get it from
carphone warehouse, they will do the same deals as orange direct
and they use unlocked unbranded lg arenas. Its a quality phone,
and dosent have any glitches or software issues,maps work fine,
best phone in the world by far. Rating:
Reviewed by Amy from Wiltshire on
8th May 2009
Got the Lg Arena over a week ago on T mobile. Love it but just wish
there was a software update so it would stop freezing. I had the
G1 before and find this handset much more fun to use and easy. I
tried the Iphone too but this is a cheaper alternative, thats nearly
as good. Rating:
Reviewed by Dave from Wales on
7th May 2009
Ok, this is probably the best looking phone on the market, even
above the iphone. And it does have a range of really good points,
such as the very responsive touchscreen, the pretty decent camera
(i had the k850i before and this camera is easily as equivalent
to that), video playback is excellent, music quality great, loudspeaker
is very useful...etc BUT, there are several not so good points.
The phone does have a tendancy to crash, and the only way to restart
it is to remove the battery. The lock function which automatically
kicks in during a call is very irritating, especially if you need
to press numbers on the touch keypad during that call! The phone
really needs a stylus, fast texting with your finger tips is possible
but only with mistakes. and the battery life is pretty terrible!
You have to charge every night or the battery dies! All in all,
despite the issues with this phone i am persevering because i do
like it.The crashing is a concern and no fixes have yet resolved
it, but i guess this happens with most new phones today. If you
are looking at buying this handset then i would say go for it, but
be prepaired for a few problems. Rating:
Reviewed by andi_mir from romania on
7th May 2009
i bought the phone 2 weeks ago! these are my pro and cons: pro:
nice screen, nice appearance, good camera,nice touchscreen, con:
batery is poor max 2 days, software is of own design and is poor
quality+ you can not replace it with another software, player(original
Vodafone user) is flawed for mp3 (jumps only 5 sec and u have to
keep touching the screen), video player accepts mp4 and mpeg and
divx(max rez 240x320 poor), my headphones broke today after i listened
to them for only 3 days(very poor quality)(nice design and sound
quality while they lasted), google maps can't find my location in
any config: it is annoying, the fm transmitter works in close proximity
but it lacks the base( sound is of a poor quality,it's like u hear
it from the neighbor from the opposite side of the street) MORE
TO FALLOW if u want to contact fore more info: ANDI_MIR@YAHOO.COM
Rating:
Reviewed by Dan gordan from Uk on
5th May 2009
Its a great phone and brilliant every day use and a very sleak and
sexy modle for a phone but do not think it is as gd as the lg cookie Rating:
Reviewed by Rakesh from England on
5th May 2009
This phone is Great. At start i wasnt too sure about it... but i
love it now. Im not sure what Edward is on about I find the phone
is flawless, its quick and all the features Edward said.. work for
me! Plus I hear that LG are making an App store. Great phone would
reccomend! Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from UK on 4th
May 2009
Have recently got this phone, my first experience with a touch screen
- i have had sony ericsson for the past few years. It is undoubtedly
a very clever phone with amazing graphics and features, however,
to my annoyance i don't seem to be able to edit existing entries
in my contact list - does anyone have any suggestions or am i missing
the obvious? Rating:
Reviewed by Jo from UK on 2nd
May 2009
Absolutely Brilliant!! Had it a day so far and LOVE IT!! What an
amazing phone!! Endless features! I had the Samsung Pixon and then
the Samsung Tocco Ultra and they were both 8mp cameras - this Arena
has a 5mp camera and it takes much much better photos than the two
Samsung 8mp phones!! Texting is a little bit harder but its just
a case of getting used to it! I'm a fast texter and I haven't found
it tooo much of a bind! It the screen quality is amazing so sharp!
I would highly recommended this phone!!! Rating:
Reviewed by sina from iran on
2nd May 2009
very good Rating:
Reviewed by Tom (Wolves) from England
on 1st May 2009
Had this phone just over a week now and despite the negative comments
below it is a great phone. Very easy to use, smooth touch screen
and great applications on there also. In comparison, this is much
better than the iPhone. Rating:
Reviewed by Edward from England on
1st May 2009
This phone has so many bugs it should never have been released.
Advertised features simply do not work, like wifi, video streaming,
gps, album artwork etc etc. Plus, there are virtually no apps available
for use with this phone. Avoid. Rating:
Reviewed by Dom from England on
29th Apr 2009
I have had this phone nearly 2 weeks and i have to say it is fantastic!
It was my first touch screen phone and it only took me about 2 hours
to get used to it. I like the idea that you can use standard text
keys or QWERTY keys to text with. The camera has 5mp but still produces
brilliant results. The locking system is also good because you can
go on the phone whilst it is in you pocket. You can easily transfer
images and videos to and from the phone to your PC. It is also very
small and light. So i give the LG Arena 5 stars Rating:
Reviewed by John James Peat from Scotland
on 27th Apr 2009
Had the phone for 3 weeks now hated it to start with as I had a
Sony Ericsson always had (SE) never had any other make so this is
a big leap for me and I must say a bit of getting used to. Allot
of people say this phone is rubbish. I don’t think so I have
now installed Opera as the browser and got DivX and MP4 movies to
work also got Skype to install without any problems and work over
my WiFi "Orange wont be happy", now this all was very easy. I also
got Google Maps and GPS software to work. I don’t see what
the low stars are about obviously some people just don’t have
patience. Please take some time to read the manual and get to know
the phone like I did 2 to 3 days is not enough time to get used
to something new and this is new. I give it Five Stars. [Reply by
Tan from UK on 29th Apr 2009: John, Could you please let us know
how you got DivX movies working on Arena? I am still not able to
figure it out!! Also would love to know how did you use Skype on
it? Cheers Tan] Rating:
Reviewed by Nigel (Reading) from uk
on 27th Apr 2009
Dont believe the hype. If I'd have known that it can only play divx/xvid
files after converting the file on my PC I would not have bought
this phone. Unless LG do some real work on fixing video playback
and also the ability for people to create apps/widgets for the KM900
like those available for Iphone this phone will be dust within 6
months. I bought this phone because Im not a big fan of Apple products
although I congratulate LG for making me think twice. Rating:
Reviewed by Andy from UK on 26th
Apr 2009
After my post below about the positives i will now mention a couple
of the downsides to the phone. What i have found with mine is that
sometimes the phone will seem to crash where the phone doesnt do
anything but just constantly vibrates. The way to fix this is to
reboot your phone. Which does sometimes get annoying. Also the files
on your phone (ie movies and songs) do not show the full name, so
basically you cannot tell what the video or song is unless you open
it. As mentioned before the way you cannot put your own picture
on a background is really something i would expect to be standard.
Another slight problem is when vieweing photos, sometimes when you
turn your phone to view landscape it doesnt do it and the only way
to get it to work is to exit to the home screen and do it again.
This is another thing that is annoying However i wouldnlt let these
negative put you off buying the phone. It really is a good phone
and i cannot seeing anybody bringing anything out that is far superior
to this phone for at least a couple of years. Rating:
Reviewed by Alan from UK on 24th
Apr 2009
I received this phone as an upgrade 3 days ago and really wanted
to like it but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Texting is fine as
i'm used to a touch screen but the web browser is pretty bad, very
fiddly trying to tap on links and even when you zoom in it sometimes
takes 3 or 4 taps to click on what you want. I found that when i
scrolled through contacts from the button at the bottom of the screen
it was very jerky. Wi-fi worked well but as others have said you
can't watch youtube on wi-fi and tried watching using 3g and it
was terrible! Not for me this phone although there are some good
features on it. Sent mine back and opted for 5800 instead. Rating:
Reviewed by Andy from uk on 23rd
Apr 2009
Just got this phone on 02. This phone is probably the best out there
at the moment. excellent user interface and so easy to use! It has
8gb storage which comes in handy. I have loaded half a dozen movies
on mine, excellent quality with the option to view full screen.
Wifi is spot on and when you connect to the net it asks whether
you want to connect via 3g or wifi. camera is decent quality only
5 meagapixels though. phone performs like the i-phone, very responsive.
Useful feature on phone if FM transmitter, where you can tune your
home hifi or car radio & play your MP3,s wirelessly! The only thing
i would like to see on this phone is that it would be great if you
could set your own wallpaper on one of the 4 interfaces. If you
want to try the phone out prior to purchasing there is a clever
Arena emulator at lgmobile.com Rating:
Reviewed by Louise from UK on
23rd Apr 2009
I've had this phone 2 weeks now, took a new contract out with 02
after being with Orange for 18 months. Very pleased with this phone,
would recommend it to anyone, might be a bit difficult to use if
your male when texing as the touchscreen buttons are close together
and with bigger fingers this might be an issue, other than that
no problems at all, best phone i've owned so far!! Rating:
Reviewed by Paul from UK on 22nd
Apr 2009
Dont believe the hype about this phone. Its dreadful. Nothing works.
Wifi - Can't use youtube. Divx - Wont play, need a special conversion
first apparantly. Orange Maps - not working yet with this phone.
Email, GPS etc - similar story. LG Customer Service - simply dreadful.
Believe me, you will be disappointed. Rating:
Reviewed by Ray from UK on 22nd
Apr 2009
Good interface but fiddly. can't tap with nail,has to be pinger
so easy to select wrong item. Browser is AWFUL ! Rating:
Reviewed by rob s from leeds on
21st Apr 2009
jus gt this phone nd i am thoroughly impressd altho the orange branding
on mine ruins most of it! orange maps cost to use nd thers no google
maps usin the gps.... th phone freezes when i open th orange music
player... nt gd, am guna get the firmware upgraded to th one without
branding as i kno this cud b a gd phone. i only bought this phone
cos my mate sed it was good n i had a play around with his nd i
loved it. i am willing to look past this silliness of orange branding
- i agree with most of th ppl on here, i dont think they quite get
th concept of customisation... just tryin to squeeze as much money
out of us customers as poss! wifi is pretty gd, nt much to say bout
tht altho cnt access youtube ovr wifi which i hope th next firmware
will allow! i think its a major sellin point to hv youtube stream
over wifi. im a lil bit confused as to whether u can set bkgrounds
on the homescreens? im assumin no but jus wonderin if its another
one of orange's silly branding? overall amazin phone but major let
down frm orange!! Rating:
Reviewed by rob from uk on 20th
Apr 2009
nice phone but alas no good for me with my larger than average fingers!!!!
used it for a day but found texting neigh on impossable but thats
my fingers fault not the phones!! some nice features and impressive
screen so would recommend to people with small/normal size fingers
Rating:
Reviewed by RAS from England on
19th Apr 2009
Great phone, clear crisp screen, fits in the pocket, not to heavy,
nice clean look to it, camera does the job, responsive touch and
crisp GUI - its my first touch screen and I am not missing the buttons
at all :) Rating:
Reviewed by Richard from UK on
18th Apr 2009
I'm a fan of Nokia (easy to use,) but on this occasion thought I
would go for something different and upgraded to the LG ARENA. What's
great about this phone is the picture quality, wi fi and it's overall
style. However I've grown to expect the basics, to make a clear
sounding call, strong reception and to write a quick text without
messing about. These things in my opinion were lacking and for that
reason returned my LG ARENA to T Mobile (who are ALWAYS GREAT to
me!) I am now on the look out for another Nokia, I find Nokia get
the basics right, but yet to be wow'ed ... Rating:
Reviewed by niyamayth khan from india
on 18th Apr 2009
it's a nice phone Rating:
Reviewed by Agi from United Kingdom
on 17th Apr 2009
Bought this phone because it looked great and had wifi capability.
Will be returning it shortly as the wifi browsing is dreadful. LG
have made youtube incompatible with the wifi setting so to use youtube,
and I suspect many other sites, you have to use your networks 3G
connection (at huge expense). Should haveknown better really - if
you want an iPhone, buy an iPhone. Rating:
Reviewed by Robert from America on
17th Apr 2009
A truely amazing piece of work a 5 star phone with a spectacular
breath taking easy way to use. And thats why i recomend this phone
to every 1. Rating:
Reviewed by Jane from Scotland on
16th Apr 2009
Just returned mine after 6 days! Didn't like the orange branding
ie. orange maps etc and it needed charged every day, which was useless.
Camera wasn't great either and music - didn't pick up album covers.
Found it not that easy to use or customise either - given my previous
phone was a LG Viewty came as a bit of a surprise. Wouldn't recommend
- definately not a contender for the iphone. Have a good look at
it before you buy~! Rating:
Reviewed by al from uk on 16th
Apr 2009
This Phone is Brilliant, the 3D menu is so cool, & easy to use touch
screen, This mobile blows iphone out if the water. 5 Stars. Rating:
Reviewed by Matt from UK on 16th
Apr 2009
Great phone, though it does lag when using the keyboard and anything
that's not part of the main UI. Rating:
Reviewed by Phil from UK on 15th
Apr 2009
A great phone - crippled by Orange. The KM900 is not as intuitive
as the iPhone, suffers fairly regular freezes (battery off to fix),
and is hard to input text on. However I can can forgive all that
for some decent media functionality and a very good camera. Hopefully
the bugs and freezes will all be fixed by firmware updates down
the line. What is totally unacceptable is the way Orange have seen
fit to hijack the browser, music and worst of all - the GPS. The
only way to use GPS is to use their Orange Maps app they expect
you to pay £7.50 a month for. Download Google maps, and the GPS
integration is disabled. This is ludicrous and completely out of
touch with what customers expect when buying a phone with a GPS
chip. In addition the browser home page is set to orange world and
can't be changed, Orange world which won't load over wifi. So you
have to abort the home page loading then redirect it where you want
it to go. You also can't get rid of all the useless orange links
cluttering up your bookmarks. I completely agree with David below
- a decent phone ruined by Orange's outdated insistence on you using
their awful products. Am hoping I can wipe the thing and reload
with an unadulterated OS, otherwise this will be a tiresome 12 months. Rating:
Reviewed by David from UK on
15th Apr 2009
Just got this phone and am absolutely gutted. Orange have seen fit
to remove all the google applications from the phone, which means
no access to google maps, search or youtube. Instead I have Orange
maps, which I will have to pay an extra monthly subscription for
and a dreadful Orange browser. A decent phone completely ruined.
Buyers beware, if you want this phone, avoid the Orange version. Rating:
Reviewed by zowie from england on
14th Apr 2009
after purchasing my lg arena todaii i can say i am in love with
this phone.. it does everythng a standard phone would but comliments
with the 4 style widgets on the fast menu.. lve the fact i can flick
through music and photos which i can customise on my lg.. bit annoying
to figure out how to sne da text and adding contacks was a litle
slow but all in all a great phone.. bit too many icons to deal with
but as this phoen immitates the iphone i can not agree more this
phone has amazing features looks great.. feels light.. i also like
the fact you can customise your own font and text symbols to keep
the phone personal..the movie maker is fab adding live or your own
music comes in handy.. the camera is ofgood quality but an 8 mega
pixel would have been great.. just like the iphone it has many apps
on it and everything is clealry placed... it was easy enough putting
music on it jsut take out the memor card and put in an adaptor!
simple!.. really happy with this lets just see how orange doo!!=]
.. would recommend this to anyone who wants a fast stylish phone
! Rating:
Reviewed by eva from United Kingdom
on 14th Apr 2009
this phone is amazin, i havent seen anything like it. the iphone
sucks you get vruses on it i had to put up wiv it for 6months nd
in the end i just gave up nd sent it back to apple nd changed to
t-mobile. anyway back to the Arena it is the best touchscreen on
the market in my opinion nd its really fuun Rating:
Reviewed by Mark from England on
14th Apr 2009
I had this phone for a few days and have returned it, this is due
to the fact that the text funcion was dificult and a bit slow. All
saying it's quite stylish and very light(felt a bit cheap) but i
just don't think i can get away with touch screen phones.i think
i'll stick to a candybar style phone, but if you love toucj screen
abd thing iphone is a bit pricey then this is the phone for you. Rating:
Reviewed by mari from United Kingdom
on 14th Apr 2009
Completely and totally FED UP with Orange's need to brand the phone.
They have completely lost the plot of what user's want from their
mobile phone. We all have different need and habits and be able
to customise your phone as YOU like it and NOT as Orange think you
like it. It is completely silly and old fashion approach Orange
is taken and they WILL see their customers seek other mobile providers.
Also the text facilities - the first text page is 160 characters,
then the following 4 are only 146 characters, and if you write more
than a 5 pages long text, then it registered as mms and you are
charged a completely different rate - which again must suit Orange
very well. I cannot recommend buying this phone on Orange.co.uk
network.. They live in the past and don't see the potential of allowing
people to customise their own phone as they want - without orange
branding - orange music player - orange browser - which you only
can access through 3G paid Orange server, Orange map which doesn't
work on my phone. and this they except their customers to be thrilled
to pay for a contract of 18 months. complaints are being made weekly
from me to them.. regarding this issue, but still I haven't managed
to get to speak to someone who actually don't read up from a script
and know what they are talking about. the phone is okay - but difficult
to judge due to Orange self-imposed promotion.. Rating:
Reviewed by T from England on
12th Apr 2009
Really responsive phone, just got it today. I thought i'd have trouble
with the UI because i had trouble with my friend's viewty, but i
was definately pleasantly surprised. I would 100% reccommend this
phone! Rating:
Reviewed by Rob from Merseyside on
10th Apr 2009
I recieved my Arena a week ago now, and I have to say it has lived
up to my expectations and more! The UI is remarkably responsive
and is precise when navigating or texting, I prefer the qerty style
when texting and my speed is picking up due to the precision of
the touch. The phone looks great and feels light, which is a bonus
when keeping in my pocket. The Wi-fi connection is lightening fast,
and surfs through the internet quicker than my laptop!! The picture
gallery is fun with lots of viewing styles. I just keep finding
little surprises as I toddle along happily with this phone. I did
my research on a lot of mobiles before committing to this phone,
and I can honestly say I made the right choice. Rating:
Reviewed by Adam from England on
9th Apr 2009
I had this phone for a few days but have since returned it. The
main reasons are probably due more to the custom orange firmware
than the phone itself but it was a little misleading. The Orange
version comes without the Google pack so no Maps,Mail or You tube.
Now you can download these but the google maps does not at the time
of writing pick up the internal GPS. Orange also customises the
web and takes over the music player. I found it very hard to text
on and you have to aim above the letters you want, not directly
on them. There is also no option to calibrate the touchscreen like
you can on other phones. The User interface is great and very fluid
indeed. The cube is a little gimmicky and not really needed but
it is fun for a while. I found the bundled software hard to work
with as the Music software kept crashing on my Vista machine. It
is also extremely difficult (or annoying) to add album art as it
would not pick up the stuff from itunes, nor from media player.
Web Browsing was ok and the pinch multi touch works well if a little
slow. All in all it is a good phone but i could not have put up
with it for 18 months. Rating:
Reviewed by ibzy from uk on 9th
Apr 2009
quite a good phone itz pretty much like da iphone. or the closest
2 bein da same. border is good steel. Rating:
Reviewed by Dominic from England on
9th Apr 2009
So.. after placing my order almost a month ago I have finally received
and begun using my LG Arena. My first impressions were not great..
coming from a Motorola Razr2 the build quiality seemed a little
tinny and cheap, but then again living up to the Razr2's build quality
was always going to be hard. That was the end of any disappointment
as since then I have fallen in love with this phone. Now I am no
techhead, and I cant give a review on the intricate technical details
of this phone versus other phones, BUT... for someone like me who
is looking for a phone that also does music, camera, radio, email,
browsing and is easy to use - this has to be a 5 star phone. For
someone who does not want to mess about with Windows Mobile, or
run their office from their phone, or program the phone to the nth
degree... the Arena is perfect. It works, has great features (has
ALL the features), is easy to learn and operate and looks really
really smart. I found the operating system fast and intuiative and
the touchscreen very easy to use. I also have yet to misskey when
typing even fairly lenghty emails. I turned the keying sounds off
almost immediately as they are irritating and the keying vibration
is all I need. I really do feel connected to the UI. I love the
size of the phone. Its not the monster that the iPhone is so fits
nicely into my pocket but the screen is still big enough for me.
Sound quality seems excellent and the camera with flash is excellent
for the amateur on-the-spot snaps its designed for. The screen is
also beautiful. All in all, I have to say this is the quickest I
have learnt my way around any phone and without a doubt the best
phone I have personally owned. Time will tell if any bugs or other
issues arise. Rating:
Reviewed by Scott C from uk on
8th Apr 2009
I have just received this phone and i can honestly say that i like
it very much. The touch screen is very responsive and the animations
flow very fluidly with very little lag. The little revolving cube
is a pointless feature though, (maybe for gimmick purposes?? maybe
some people will like it, some will not...). Build quality is superb
as always with lg phones, and its surprisingly quite light without
feeling cheap. Overall I am already impressed and I haven't used
this phone for long! Lets hope it doesnt let me down! Rating:
Reviewed by AN from London on
8th Apr 2009
I got this phone from T-Mobile as an upgrade from the viewty. I
opened the box to find a black coloured phone instead of the silver
one shown in the media. Quite similar looking to viewty at first
but much slimmer. After charging it, my intial reaction was one
of disappoinment. I found it quite difficult to use and confusing.
The texting was a bit slow. I felt like sending it back to be honest.
But then I remembered that I felt like this about the viewty at
the start. After a few days I got used to it and I have to say this
a brilliant phone. The menu is great. I like the fact that you can
get a full menu by tilting it to the side. This also applies to
other features like text messaging and the camera. The camera itself
is very good quality. Just a shame its not 8 megapixel. The sound
is amazing for a mobile. I also like the S-Class interface, it adds
a nice touch. There are so many other things about this phone but
it would take ages to list them all. Only bad point I would say
is sometimes some buttons are hard to touchscreen as they are small
(like the favourite option on the contacts list). Texting is a bit
tricky. But I am certain these will get fixed in firmware upgrades.
Higly recommend this phone. Rating:
Reviewed by Matt from UK on 8th
Apr 2009
I bought this phone on release day, and I have to say I'm bowled
over by the S-Class UI. To suggest that the user interface is a
copy of the IPhone is a travesty! The 3-D, four sided cube that
displays the 4 customizable screens for contacts, shortcuts, widgets
& multimedia is original and entertaining. Just because the one
single menu screen (out of a total of five) displays square icons
in a grid does not make it a copy of the IPhone - that's like suggesting
that every car with four wheels and a chassis is a copy of the Morris
Minor. Despite the fact that LG are not looking at putting the KM900
in direct competition with the IPhone, this phone beats the IPhone
for me in several ways: - Better camera (5MP + professional optical
lens) - Much more fun and interesting customizable UI - Palm-sized
handset allows for easy usage It has the same features in some departments:
- LG and 3rd parties can make applications for download, like Travel-TV!
- Nice high definition screen! It falls down on: - The fact it's
hard to see the screen in direct sunlight. All in all, this phone
is a 5/5 for me Rating:
Reviewed by Isabella from UK on
8th Apr 2009
This phone is amazing!!!UI is very easy to use.and Thouching feeling
is great! Rating:
Reviewed by nick from UK on 5th
Apr 2009
This could be the phone to challenge the iphone although i think
you will agree, they seem to have copied the UI from the iphone
from some of the screens and video's that i've seen. As robin from
sweden says, hopefully they will allow third party apps in the futue. Rating:
Reviewed by dave from edinburgh on
5th Apr 2009
i think that these are great phones but the call quality is no where
as good as the sony's and so i have a sony as whats more important
than being able to hear someone on the phone Rating:
Reviewed by Iby from England on
2nd Apr 2009
The only phone to offer a UI that comes close to the iPhone's, while
offering the functionality of any 'smartphone' on the market Rating:
Reviewed by Dave from uk on 27th
Mar 2009
Good phone, but to me it has not risen above some of the other high
spec touch screen phones. I have just traded in my Viewty, and i
find that all the new LG`s are just slightly higher spec than that.
I dont see what all the fuss is about with this phones UI, to me
it takes longer to get to certain areas and it is made for looks
more than practicality. Yes the Iphone sucks, but the UI on it is
STILL the best. Rating:
Reviewed by BT from United Kingdom on
24th Mar 2009
Lg are coming into action - IPHONE SUCKS!!! Rating:
Reviewed by Katie from England on
21st Mar 2009
This phone sucks! :) dont buy. Rating:
Reviewed by Robin from Sweden on
20th Mar 2009
It does indeed have a nice UI, I am definitely going to purchase
this. Hopefully they will allow third party programs later too.
However, LG probably have a customer in Sweden at least. ;-) Keep
it coming, LG! Rating:
Reviewed by Arron from UK on
20th Mar 2009
A note to 'John' below - having owned a Samsung Omnia for two weeks,
and operated a demonstration LG Arena for around two minutes, I
can categorically state that this phone is most definitely NOT 'basically
[a] Samsung Omnia'. Apart from both having touchscreens, the two
phones could not be less alike! Rating:
Reviewed by John from UK on 18th
Mar 2009
This is basically the Samsung Omnia, but with a 3.5mm jack port
and FM transmitter. It is a very nice phone, the UI is very good,
with its own OS. Rating:
