mobile phone 3G

Just as we’re swooning over 3.2-megapixel camera phones, LG, out of nowhere, blows the whole mobile photography race out of the water with the UK’s first ever five-megapixel handset. Gulp. 3G brings you one of the first looks at this non 3G mobile phone.

If you live in Korea, five megapixels on a camera phone is about as exciting as a VGA camera lens is over here. With eight (Samsung SPH-V8200) and 10-megapixel (Samsung SCH-B600) handsets leading the charge, we can understand the country’s blasé attitude.

But over here in the UK, five is a big deal. Having just recently been bowled over by Sony Ericsson’s impressive K800i 3.2-megapixel Cyber-shot phone and, before that, the optical zoom-loaded Sharp 903, it still feels like quite a step to be introducing five-megapixel camera phones into our lives. But, to our surprise, LG is launching the KG920 in the UK.

We say surprised because when 3G first saw the KG920 behind a locked glass panel at GSM back in February, LG reps said it was unlikely to see the light of day over in Blighty. But according to LG Europe, one man has been a major force in bringing this pixel powerhouse to the UK. Charles Dunstone, head honcho at The Carphone Warehouse, wants to challenge the imaging big guns like Canon, Nixon, Fuji at el. So what better statement of intent than to have the KG920 five-megapixel phone in his Carphone stores from 1 August. 3G managed to snaffle a pre-production sample (please note that no LG delegate was harmed in obtaining this handset) so while our handset worked perfectly, always be ready for last minute tweaks and changes.