LG KP500: Full Touchscreen and Cheap?

LG Mobile wants to bring touch-screen phones to the mass market so it’s introducing an “affordable”, full touchscreen handset, the LG KP500, sometime end of October. But where’s the catch?

Guess what — no WiFi or 3G capability. The 3-inch display (240×400 resolution) can display webpages in EDGE network only.

The 3.15 MP camera (2048×1536 pixels) can also do videos but only at 12fps. It has a built-in accelerometer to allow shifting between vertical and horizontal orientation. The on-screen keyboard only appears during horizontal position, but it can do handwriting recognition which is complemented with a stylus.

Aside from the FM-tuner, 8GB storage via microSD card and Bluetooth there’s not much else to expect from this phone. Well, at least it’s very slim at only 11mm and they come in 4 colors. But that’s it.

Why a crippled touchscreen phone though? My guess is they want the general mobile user to get used to their Flash UI and eventually upsell them later on. Or at least, people who crave for expensive touch-screen phones but can’t afford them can do so now.

If LG is pitching this as the most affordable touch-screen phone never “offered before”, they better price it below Php15,000USD 256INR 21,669EUR 243CNY 1,862.