LG has never been shy of making phones that are a bit, well, strange. After the LG Shine and its mirror, there was the LG Cookie and its ludicrous name. And now the LG Crystal GD900 has rocked up with a transparent keypad. It claims to be the first of its kind. But it’s not just about looks. The tempered glass pad offers basic number dialing on top of slick gesture control and and functional fingersweeping.
Rather than standard raised buttons, numbers are flush on the LG Crystal’s glass, glowing when you stick your digits near them. That doesn’t hamper speed texting though, as we were able to tap out missives at a rate that’d impress teenage mobile addicts everywhere. Numbers are large and visible too, unlike some keys you’ll find on certain Sony Ericsson efforts.
The LG Crystal’s touchpad isn’t just about maxing out your SMS allowance. Sweep your fingers across and it acts as a double for the phone’s touchscreen. That means you can flick through the interface easily without smudging the screen with your thumbs. You can also pinch to zoom in on your snaps and the web, as well as using your finger like a cursor when you’re surfing using the bundled browser. It all works surprisingly well and crushes any chatter that this is purely a gimmick.
Read our LG Viewty Smart review
Likewise, the LG Crystal’s gesture control tech is cool and handy. You can assign gestures to up to nine different apps. Simply write an M on the touchpad for messaging and you’ll have instant access to all your texts. A neat idea and one that’ll have your mates green with envy down the boozer.
Specs aren’t lacking either. LG has ensured the Crystal packs in HSDPA, Wi–Fi and even an 8MP camera which is right up there with the one nestled on the sharp LG Viewty Smart. There’s only 1.5MB of on board storage, but that can be beefed up via microSD. If you’re after something leftfield but with enough tech to keep your credentials intact, the LG Crystal is the ideal phone for you.
