LG Electronics KG800 Chocolate Cell Phone (GSM, Bluetooth, 1.3MP, 128MB)

LG's new phone, the Chocolate, will attract your attention for its high-concept name as much as for its rich looks. While I admired the slick design and amazing sound quality, I was frustrated by the navigational controls.

With its compact form and shiny, piano-black finish, the slider-style Chocolate is certainly eye-catching. The phone lacks the usual complement of buttons on the front, instead offering touch-sensitive controls. The face of the phone features a navigational ring that consists of four programmable buttons for accessing various phone features, plus a fifth button in the center. The front of the phone also presents two additional touch-sensitive buttons; their function varies depending on the phone's use. Controls for the music player, camera, and volume, along with a send/end button, ring the sides of the handset.

When the unit is activated, the center controls and the four navigational buttons (which double as controls for the audio player) illuminate in red, causing the phone to glow. The buttons certainly look cool, but in practice they proved to be a mixed bag. Although the sensitivity of the touch controls is adjustable, I often found myself invoking operations I hadn't intended.

But the Chocolate is no slouch on features. In fact, it's so chock-full of capabilities that I'll start by calling out the one glaring omission: It does not have a speakerphone.

If you can get past that detail, you'll find tons of functions inside. The phone supports Web-based e-mail and instant messaging, and it includes support for Verizon Wireless's high-speed EvDO network. It also has a microSD Card slot; video and audio playback; a 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder that was surprisingly capable even in tricky lighting conditions; and stereo Bluetooth.

While the handset offers some impressive audio (and video) playback features, you will need to purchase extra accessories and services to take full advantage of its capabilities. I tested a basic handset priced at $200 (as of 9/8/06, with a two-year contract from Verizon Wireless). A kit that includes a stereo headset, Music Manager PC software, and a USB cable for transferring tunes costs $30.

If you're interested in using Verizon's V Cast service, you'll have to spend an additional $15 per month, on top of your voice plan. After paying that surcharge, you can download tunes to your PC for 99 cents (from there you can transfer them to the phone for free) or to the phone directly for $1.99.

The Chocolate's sound quality on calls was quite impressive. Generally speaking, I found it to be one of the best phones I've heard: virtually crystal clear, with little noticeable background noise. Unfortunately its talk-time battery life is less admirable. It lasted only 2 hours, 46 minutes in our lab tests, the shortest life span among all standard cell phones we've recently tested.

The difficult-to-use navigational controls temper my enthusiasm for the Chocolate and its far-out design. But its sound quality was stellar, and for that alone I can heartily recommend the phone.

Melissa J. Perenson