Phenom handheld shows its fangs - EXCLUSIVE

LG Electronics (formerly Goldstar) is probably best known for its CD-Rom drives, having been a major force in that market for many years.

Now, the company is determined to break into other areas of the IT market, starting with handhelds.

The Phenom is a Windows CE 2.0 machine and, as such, enjoys all the benefits of this widely used operating system - the most obvious being a familiar interface and a wide range of third-party software.

The device is a little larger than many CE machines, but has a relatively large keyboard which makes typing a little less awkward than with other CE systems. With practice it wouldn't be impossible to work up a reasonable speed on the keyboard. The monochrome, backlit touch-screen measures 7.52in diagonally and has a 16-level greyscale, with a colour version planned for later in the year.

The Phenom ships with a VGA port as standard which allows you to use a standard PC monitor to display at 640 by 480 in full colour. This is especially useful for giving mobile presentations because, as CE 2.0 ships with Pocket PowerPoint, you can simply load your presentation onto the handheld and plug it into a monitor or projector at your destination.

The screen also features a range of hot buttons to provide instant access to common features such as the Email client (Pocket Outlook, in this case), the calculator, the clock, and so on.

The system features a built-in voice recorder but playback quality is pretty poor and even short recordings can take large chunks of memory, it's probably a better idea to simply load up Pocket Word and type in any important notes.

A rechargeable lithium ion battery is supplied which takes about 2.5 hours to recharge but can last up to 20 hours, depending on how you use the machine. The good news is that, if you're caught short with a flat battery, you can simply install a pair of standard AA cells instead.

The Phenom ships with 8Mb of memory (the OS and supplied applications are stored in 16Mb of ROM) which can be expanded by installing a CompactFlash memory card in the relevant slot.

A PCMCIA slot is also available which can be used to house a variety of peripherals, the most likely of which is a modem.

Many people simply won't be happy with a device that offers a fraction of the functionality of a good laptop but is still rather too large to fit in a jacket pocket. However, the VGA port and decent-sized keyboard make the LG Phenom a handy, lightweight, little machine which, in many cases, could justifiably be used in place of a full-blown laptop computer.

SUMMARY: PHENOM

A handheld Windows CE computer that offers more flexibility than traditional PDA's but takes up a fraction of the space of a full-size laptop.

Pros: Better keyboard than most, full-screen VGA output, hotspots on screen offer quick access to common features, long battery life.

Cons: Mono screen is usable enough and saves power, but many people will want colour. Good keyboard but high-speed, accurate typing is still unlikely.

- Price: #499(inc VAT)

- Contact: LG Electronics 01753 500400

- www.lgeil.com.

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