Hands on: LG Viewty Smart GC900 review

UPDATE: we've now published our full LG Viewty Smart review

After spending hours with the original LG Viewty, we were excited when the next generation in the family was announced, the even more crazily-named LG Viewty Smart.

Packing an 8MP camera with LED flash and more video editing software than has ever been seen before in a handset, there's a clear angle for this phone and that's mo-phos (mobile photographers... we think it's a name that will catch on).

Looking at the chassis and you see a 12.4mm thick phone with a 3-inch WVGA (800x480) high resolution screen. However the phone is 56mm wide and 109mm long, so the frame around the screen makes it look smaller in comparison.

It's packing the now-standard S-Class interface and the touchscreen appears to have been overhauled to be among the most responsive from LG, something we've been waiting to happen given the superiority of the iPhone and Palm Pre in the touch stakes.

The overall metallic feel of the phone is offset by a fairly light 102g weight, which may not be to everyone's taste as it makes it feel a little flimsy. But there's no doubting that in making a lightweight and pocket-friendly phone LG has excelled.

One major drawback, and one that LG isn't alone in the habit of bringing to new handsets, is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone port. Of course, there's going to be an adaptor in the box, but given the amount of phones with such a socket (including the recent LG Arena) it just seems bizarre that this isn't here.

LG attempted to justify this by pointing out that it 'needs to be seen to differentiate within its devices' and it could have one handset to do it all but then would be cannibalising the likes of the Arena.