LG KF700 vs. Sony Ericsson C510

Style and substance?
Probably the most obvious difference between the two handsets is aesthetics. While LG has employed the best of both worlds (touch and traditional entry) by including a large screen and a keypad on the KF700, Sony Ericsson has opted for a much simpler approach by serving the C510 in candy bar form.

As a result, you get more screen for your money with the KF700 (3 inches compared with 2.2 inches from Sony) but you also get a little bit more weight too. Although the weight difference between the two phones is unlikely to prove a deal breaker as there really isn’t that much in it – the KF700 weighs in at 107g while the C510 is a more svelte 92g.

When it comes to dimensions, there’s really not much in it with the KF700 only slightly wider and thicker than the C510.

Neither handset looks particularly cheap, despite their price tags not being too big, but in our opinion the KF700 does have a slight edge in the classiness stakes. That’s not to say the C510 isn’t classy. It just loses out to LG’s design in this particular scenario.

But looks aren’t everything and what’s inside really does count too. We’re pleased to confirm that neither phone is short of features. The C510, for example, comes with threaded SMS as an option, ensuring you can easily keep track of the conversation.

Google Maps is also present and correct. Although if would have been of more use had the handset ticked the integrated GPS box, which it doesn’t. LG also ticks the Google Maps box and has included a widget-style tab for use on the standby screen, an easy to navigate touch screen interface, with clear, useful menus, in addition to supporting the usual suspects such as Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Blogger and Yahoo! search.

Camera wars
The KF700 features a 3MP camera, while Sony has opted for a 3.2MP snapper with this Cyber Shot handset. While they both may not do much to tempt users who are into megapixel one-upmanship, we all know it’s not just about how many numbers you prefix the camera with.

We’ve come to expect good things camera wise from Sony and its Cyber Shot range. Unfortunately, the C510 was a disappointment. We found image quality to be poor and had no end of trouble with the shutter. The screen was stuck in a time warp that wasn’t in synch with actual picture taking and the shutter lag was a massive niggle.

Trying to take a panoramic shot, which is easy on competing devices, had us pulling our hair out, wanting to throw the phone out the window and head off to the pub. None of which are good things if you want to have a more long-term relationship with your handset.

The flash also left a lot to be desired and the lens cover was flimsy and we had to treat it with kid gloves for fear of it breaking, leaving the lens exposed to dirt and scratching.

The camera on the KF700, however, resulted in good quality, detailed images – that are in focus. And you can take quick shots by getting trigger happy with the capture button rather than holding it down firmly. Flash is easily activated or deactivated and contrast settings are a doddle to adjust.

Not all bad
We weren’t impressed with the C510’s camera, but it’s not all bad news. Once photos have been taken and stored on the phone, you can make use of the Photofix application to enhance them or upload them to your Picasa web album or the likes of MySpace et al. Both the C510 and the KF700 also support video recording so you can capture moving images as well as still ones.

Talking of moving images, the wallpaper and themes bundled with the KF700 make use of flash animations based on Keith Haring’s designs which look pretty nice indeed laid across the handset’s large display.

The KF700 also features HSDPA (up to 7.2Mbps), which makes the web experience much more pleasant when viewing pages. Unfortunately, however. Wi-Fi is firmly off the connection menu, which is a massive shame.

Tuning out
Sony’s decision to keep using proprietary connections for the charger and headphones continues to annoy, particularly given that the C510 doesn’t even include a 3.5mm adaptor either. The KF700, on the other hand, does include a 3.5mm jack, meaning you can use your own headphones if you don’t get on with the ones supplied, with are OK but nothing special.

Verdict
While the KF700 is not quite as high on the wow factor scale as, say, the iPhone, it still comes out better in this head to head than Sony’s C510. Both have their benefits and their drawbacks, but the C510’s camera issues are just one too many niggle to get over, leaving the KF700 as the one that wins this particular battle.

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