The Shine is without a doubt a design-first phone, and LG has no qualms about pushing its beauty. In all seriousness, it really is quite lovely. The slider phone's polished-metal exterior gives it a sophisticated, posh look, and the stainless steel case gives it a sturdy, solid feel in the hand. It’s enlivening to see something so crisp and fresh.


At 3.9 inches by 2 inches by 0.54 inch, it's a little wide for our tastes, but it slips easily into a pocket. A quick press of a button will cause the large 2.25-inch (240x320 pixels) screen to appear underneath the mirrored face. Like the phone itself, the display is quite brilliant with an eye-popping 262,000 colors and richly detailed graphics. You can change the dialing font style, the brightness, and the backlight time, but be advised the changes apply when the phone is open. The menu interface is simple and easy to understand, and it's available in two styles. Just below the display is the Shine's thoroughly unique navigation array. Instead of a toggle or a joystick, the KE970 features a scroll bar set between two buttons. The scroll bar is used for up and down navigation, and the buttons move you side to side. LG KE970 Shine comes with tri band technology which works over GSM 900, GSM 1800 & GSM 1900.


The music player's design is very minimalist, but it does the job of delivering tunes for short stints. It supports MP3, WAV, AAC, AAC+, and AAC++ files, and we like that you can save files as ringtones. On the other hand, features are limited to an equalizer and a shuffle mode. Getting music on your phone is exceptionally easy. You don't need any software or special tools, instead just connect your Shine to your computer as a mass-storage device and then drag and drop your tracks into the phone. 3.5mm headphones is included and you can use them to make calls and even navigate through your contacts list. The headphones come with an adapter, so you can use your own headphones with the Shine's proprietary connection.

The 2.0 megapixel camera outshines (no pun intended) the Chocolate's shooter in many ways. You can take photos in a selection of resolutions, from full two megapixels (1,600x1,200 pixels) down to VGA and below (320x240 pixels). Other camera features include a self-timer, three quality modes, four color effects, an adjustable white-balance setting, a choice of shutter sounds, and a multi-shot mode (available only at the lowest resolutions). The Shine's camera also comes fully equipped with a self-portrait mirror and a flash. The camcorder shoots videos with sound in two resolutions (128x96 or 176x144). It also includes a set of editing options similar to the still camera, and you can use the zoom. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at eight seconds; otherwise you can shoot for as long as the available memory permits.