LG introduce full-touch GT500 and QWERTY smartphone GW550

Two new LG handsets debuted at the CommunicAsia expo, held in Singapore this week. The fully-touch operated LG GT500 is designed with a focus on in-car GPS navigation, while the LG GW550 is targeted at heavy texters on a relatively low budget. Along these two, the already announced LG GW520 got some specs update.

LG GT500

LG GT500 is a touchscreen bar that comes with a 3" 16M-color WQVGA (400 x 240 pixels) display. It builds on the Korean company's experience with dedicated car navigation systems (mostly in the Asian market that is) to provide a seamless navigation experience.

The LG GT500 will come with WisePilot navigation preinstalled and quite naturally a built-in GPS receiver. Unfortunately the navigation license will be free only for the first month with a purchase necessary if you are to use it after that point.

LG GT500

We are glad to know that LG GT500 will run the S-class UI that we came to know and really liked since the LG KM900 Arena. The other interesting features of the newly unveiled handset include Wi-Fi, quad-band GSM and 3G with HSDPA connectivity and a 5 megapixel camera.

The LG GT500 will be available exclusively in the UK through orange as LG GT505. Subsequent launch in other markets will come after evaluating the market reception. Unfortunately no information about the pricing is yet revealed.

LG GW550

LG GW550 comes in the QWERTY bar form factor and will run on the Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard OS. It will feature a 2.4" landscape TFT display of QVGA resolution. As customary for the class network connectivity is perfectly covered with quad-band GSM and 3G with HSPA on-board.

LG GW550

The other noteworthy features of the GW550 are a 3 megapixel camera, USB and Bluetooth as well as stereo speakers. A microSD card slot will also be onboard to allow expanding the built-in memory.

At this stage, LG have been hesitant to reveal any information about the availability or the pricing of the GW550.

LG GW520

The LG GW520 has been around for a while now but its specs were unclear for the most part. Today LG decided to lift the curtain a little more and pretty much eliminate all uncertainties.

Specs-wise, we are looking at a 2.8" TFT display, capable of showing up to 262K colors, quad-band GSM support and dual-band UMTS (900/2100 MHz) with HSDPA. Targeted at the younger audience, the LG GW520 comes with threaded SMS, extensive social networking integration and a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard (think LG KS360).

LG GW520

The LG GW520 will also sport a built-in accelerometer and some of those cool motion-based games. Unfortunately it's not all good news as the microSD card support is confirmed to only go as high as 8GB and not 16GB.

The LG GW520 will start shipping before the end of this month, but it seems that its price will be revealed only when it actually hits the shelves.