One of the smartest features to debut on a mobile phone last year was the slide-down keypad on Siemens' tasteful SL55. Now LG has fitted the feature on its G7050. Siemens incorporated the sliding keypad to reduce the length of the phone, but LG has employed the pull-down facility as a way of increasing the size of the screen. So in comparison with other camera phones, the G7050's 65k colour, 120 x 160 screen looks like a real winner.
LG has made an effort with the camera, too. It can take pictures up to VGA standard and includes a 4x zoom. Other facilities include voice recognition, Java and colour screen WAP. Disappointingly there's no POP3 email, and, while the phone has infrared, it doesn't have Bluetooth. LG also loses points for a confusing combination of a four-way rocker and two soft keys, which makes it tricky to navigate the icon-based interface.
While not as endearing as LG's quirky 7100, the G7050's neat design and strong features list means it should do well.
