Samsung Soul U900 vs LG KF600 Venus

Aesthetics
If you’re going to pick a phone on looks alone, there’s not really much in it to separate the Samsung Soul (U900) from the LG KF600 (or Venus as it’s also known). Both handsets boast a sleek outer casing (albeit in different colours) and smooth sliding mechanism, as well as marrying the art of touch with the traditional world of hard keys and buttons.

The Soul certainly lives up to its name with a slimline (12.9mm) metal physique measuring just 105.9 high and 49.5mm wide and a 2.2-inch, 249x320 pixel screen.

While the materials (metal and rubber) used aid the visual appeal, they add a little to its weight – but at 112g it’s not exactly going to break the scales.

In a similar vein, the KF600 makes use of black casing and a chrome trim to add style and sophistication. While it’s lighter at just 107g, it also shares the same solid build reassurance while in the hand that the Soul offers – which one shouldn’t underestimate as being important in a device that is forever being pulled in and out of pockets and bags.

The twin panel screen malarkey takes a bit of getting used to, with the top half offering up a 2-inch 240x320 pixel standard display, which is just a tad smaller than the Soul's. But look again and you’ll also find a secondary, 1.5-inch touchscreen.

Both LG and Samsung have been quite generous when it comes to the size of the keys on the traditional dial pad. And those with sausage fingers should thank them highly for doing so. 

What happens if I press that button?
As outlined earlier, both the Soul and the KF600 are very similar in their decision to blend a touch interface with physical keys. Samsung has opted for its Magical Touch touchpad to operate the touchy feely aspect of the phone, while LG has opted for its not-too-dissimilar InteractPad.

Both offer context sensitive menus depending on what app you’re after. Both also deliver satisfying haptic feedback. That said, with its dual screen whammy and attempt at something new, LG’s KF600 steals the edge here.

However, we did keep trying – in vein - to tap the non-touchscreen screen part of the KF600 to get it to do what we wanted before finally getting it into our heads that it was us not the handset that was being thick.

Both interfaces are really easy to get to grips with on the whole and both also offer something for those who’re into their themes.

The Soul, for example, boasts something called User Created Skins (UCS) which is big on the whole customisation front, while the KF600 offers an equally vibrant theme menu including a selection of Keith Haring’s quirky artwork.

Snap happy and web tastic 
If we're talking a pure megapixel versus megapixel shootout, Samsung’s Soul has got a much bigger artillery – 5MP to the KF600’s 3MP.

The Soul lacks optical zoom but has quite a few other features up its sleeve to make up for this omission. This includes autofocus, an LED flash, exposure control, image stabilisation and face detection technology to name just a handful.

And, as the list of features would suggest, the resultant images are pretty top notch– with the caveat of getting the lighting just so.

The KF600’s snapper, while a whole two megapixels lower than the Souls, boasts autofocus in addition to a macro mode for close up shots, a flash, and all-important anti-shake. Image quality is pretty impressive, giving the sort of cameraphones it’s competing with.

Despite a long list of plus points, the Soul does let itself down when it comes to connectivity, omitting Wi-Fi and GPS but – thankfully – packing it up to 7.2Mbps of HSDPA action. As a non-3G handset, the KF600 serves up a triband soup of GSM, GPRS and EDGE.

Storage-wise, both handsets offer the chance to boost onboard memory (25MB and 100MB respectively for the KF600 and Soul) through the use of microSD storage, with LG’s offering supporting up to 2GB and Samsung’s a chunkier 8GB.

Battery life is good on both handsets, although talktime faired slightly better on the Soul – offering up to four hours compared with the KF600’s three hours. And those who just want a phone to, er well, call people on, you’ll be pleased to hear that call quality on both the KF600 and Soul is very impressive indeed.

Verdict
While both mobile makers have served up a half touchscreen, half old school treat, Samsung is the one which spoils us that little bit more with a beauty of a handset that is nice to look at, touch and – most importantly – use. Venus, you’re lovely, but the Soul is out of this world.

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