When we first saw the Cookie a few months back we thought “neat”. Now we realise it’s a look and form factor that LG has cashed in on and hopes to milk before the idea of a large touchscreen stops appealing to users. If skimming the cream was what they had in mind then the name is most apt. It’s got undeniable good looks with a slick looking two-tone black body along with a red bezel and highlights. The phone is solid to look and solid in hand. The large screen is what causes the bulk, but it’s not a thick handset.

That being said, we feel LG could have pushed in an additonal 0.5-inch to its display if they kept the surrounding bezel to a minimum. The screen is clear and the on-screen menus, while not the best, are clear, sharp and very visible. Below the 3- inch LCD display the call buttons sit amidst a chrome trim that looks tasteful – thankfully LG has not overdone the finery. The joypad is a little iffy to use for navigation but the centre button works well. For such a large display and what is obviously a multimedia phone, the Cookie has a small battery rated at a mere 900 mAh — we would have preferred something in the range of 1200 mAh, since touchscreen devices tend to drain juice faster. The onscreen keypad is a pain to use for messaging and the lack of a hardware keypad doesn’t help. We wish manufacturers would take such things seriously — a large touchscreen is no trade for a usable keypad.

 

View LG KP 500 Video Below

Typing out a message results in frustration, thankfully the number keypad is a little better, but then it’s hard to mess up on that front, and we’d have butchered this phone if that were the case. Call quality is good, and the KP500 has a good antenna as well a decent handsfree unit. It also comes with a few touchbased games that will keep you occupied. The camera is 3.2- megapixels but nothing special in terms of quality of results.

When we first saw the Cookie a few months back we thought “neat”. Now we realise it’s a look and form factor that LG has cashed in on and hopes to...