UK 3G Mobile Phones - LG U970 Shine Review

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Your LG U970 Shine Reviews

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Reviewer: C P Kyriacou - UK
Date: 18th Apr 2008

Looks lovely, but I've had my phone for 9 months & it cuts out on almost every call & switches itself off. To get it fixed is a nightmare as I have to get a number & go to Superdrug in town, which is an hour's trip. Finally decided to have it fixed, Superdrug don't do it anymore which is a blessing as I can now send it away. LG people couldn't be more helpful, even though it's impossible in the Midlands to get a decent signal. Not their fault I guess.

So now I have to dump my images on the PC before I send the phone away. The disc that comes with it is not for XP. Tried to get the XP drivers but I've been downloading from the LG site for 4 hours & still not finished, hopeless. So I decided to email myself each of the images. Need a degree in computer science to understand the instructions on how to email anything to anyone. The instructions are totally non-transparent on anything but the very basics. Why don't they give you a few examples of how to proceed?

So looks great but absolute rubbish. No point in having all these facilities if it's unlikely you'll ever learn to use them.

Also heating up is awful.

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Reviewer: Christine - Australia
Date: 26th Jan 2008

The LG Shine is awesome, though the camera is a bit poor :S.

Other features are great, simple to put music on phone, speakers are pretty good, large memory so you can add many videos to it & for people who especially want to put their message tone as a MP3 tone, & not the rubbish default ones, set your profile as CUSTOMISE & customise your ringtone. Easy. People aren't bothering to read the manual. Read it. It's there for a reason.

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Reviewer: Filip Trajkovski - Kumanovo, Macedonia
Date: 22nd Jan 2008

That one who says that this phone isn't good, he is not right! Especially the gold edition looks great. Congratulations! For the best phone & Thank you.

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Reviewer: Owned - Australia
Date: 17th Jan 2008

HOW DO YOU PUT MUSIC ON IT?

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Reviewer: Fauzul - Brunei Darussalam
Date: 11th Dec 2007

Got this phone last month. Love the picture it takes! But the only problem with this phone is that when you are using a java application, it heats up. The only way to cool it down is by removing the back cover & switch the application off. I gave the phone to my dad & bought a new Nokia 9300i communicator.

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Reviewer: Cindy - New York, US
Date: 4th Dec 2007

COME TO the US PLEASE! This phone is gorgeous.

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Reviewer: Sophie Folwell - Hullbridge, UK
Date: 12th Nov 2007

Can I say on the information IT SAYS IT doesn't TAKE A MEMORY SLOT & IT DOES & I KNOW COS I HAVE BEEN ON the PHONE IN the STORE & IT IS THIS ONE. TRUST ME IT TAKES A MEMORY SLOT. NOT THAT you MIGHT NEED IT but if you did I does. I am thinking about getting the PHONE IN PINK on Orange. THEY ONLY DO the PINK on the Orange NETWORK. HOPE THAT HELPED.

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Reviewer: Dan - Oxon, UK
Date: 26th Sep 2007

Really not impressed with this phone. I was due an upgrade from an N73, & got talked into trying this phone, by 3. My first impressions were founded that this phone initially looks nice, but function prevails with my usage, & this unit failed. It's nice to touch metal case, scratches REALLY easily, & the fact the camera lens is totally unprotected on a tangible everyday item like this is really poor design. Most phones get dropped at some point in their first year, & this phone defiantly looks like it'll come out the worse for it.

All the 'quick access' buttons are on the right side of the unit. Being left handed I found this really awkward to use. You can't charge, & use the headphone socket at the same time as it uses the same port. I couldn't see the screen in bright sunshine, only a 'Shine!' even normal outdoor light made it very dim. It's a lot quieter than my previous phone too.

The PC-to-Phone sync issues seem to be with the supplied disc being for Windows 98/2000? Has anyone told LG that it's 2007, & Win98 isn't even supported by Microsoft anymore? Even XP has now been superseded! The only way I managed to get data on to this phone was via Bluetooth & laptop. I had the link issues on the first LG/3G phone on 3, & that never, ever worked either?

I have returned this phone as unfit for use, luckily it was free. It's a real disappointment that the design aspects almost forgot the functionality of the phone. It's nice to look at, but chances are this unit, as with most phones, will live in a bag/pocket & then be covered with a hand if ever actually used as a point of communication. There are so many phones, that although not as pretty, are far superior in robustness & functionality.

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Reviewer: Nicki - Stirlingshire, UK
Date: 2nd Sep 2007

Well I have come back as promised to update. Have now had this phone nearly a month (YES IT'S the U970) & my opinion on it has not changed its fantastic I cannot believe I nearly didn't get this phone due to some of the reviews. Its brilliant I have found absolutely no problems with it at all the scroll wheel is fabulous now I am used to it.

Contrary to some complaints the volume is really loud for ringtones & easily hearable. Signal strength is the same as my Motorola V3 on Vodafone exactly so no problems there. I absolutely love this phone it was only meant to be an intermediate phone till the new Motorola V9 comes out but to be honest I can't see me giving this phone up & the only criticism I have is I wish it had a memory card slot :0(.

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Reviewer: Bob - UK
Date: 22nd Aug 2007

Terrible phone, where do I start? Can't see the screen in the sun, poor camera, no expandable memory, poor for music, avoid it like the plague.

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Reviewer: Natalie Vezina - Normanton, UK
Date: 16th Aug 2007

Great looking phone with great features. Really easy to use & the format is very similar to using my old Nokia. Only grief with it is that when you receive a text you only get a small envelope appearing & you have to go through the menu to retrieve it, maybe there is a simpler way but I haven't found it yet. Would definitely recommend.

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Reviewer: Chris - Swansea, UK
Date: 14th Aug 2007

Have tried 4 different phones via upgrade, & I must say, I have the best 'feeling' with this phone over all the other upgrade options.

Sending a text is almost identical to the Nokia setup (*/+) to cycle word (0) to insert a space. Very good for me as I have used the Nokia network almost exclusively in my mobile history.

Nice 'heavy' metal feel, brushed metal a definite plus, giving an overall good build quality feel.

Menus are quick, although the central wheel does take a little bit of getting used to.

The camera isn't great in low light, but pretty good in standard/bright light.

Battery life is pretty good. I do live in an area saturated with '3' network masts, so that is a definite plus.

Internet use is really, really good, plus it is very pleasing seeing a 'H' above the signal strength meter signifying a 'HSDPA' (v.fast Internet connection).

The phone has 500+ mb with no card slot. I don't believe this is a bad thing. I have an iPod for music, & a 2Mpix camera will not fill this easily. Plus, as the memory is internal, installed apps will run very quick.

The downside about the phone is that my wife likes it too, so I can expect a couple of weeks of nagging asking if I could trade with her!

You could do far worse than get this phone. I would certainly get this over the Motorola Z8 (one of the upgrade phones I returned) as the battery is far better, & when you close a program, it stays closed, not like the Z8, where it runs in the background, killing your battery life!

Sorry for the long narrative, but I would certainly recommend this phone.

One slight note. Not all the reviews here are for the U970, they are for the older E970 (which has a memory card slot & standard Internet speeds).

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Reviewer: David - UK
Date: 8th Aug 2007

I bought the phone for my wife. As long as it has girly keypad tones, a mirror of some sort & can play music its fine! Thanks LG for putting me in the good books (for now).

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Reviewer: Helen - UK
Date: 4th Aug 2007

Had this phone now for two weeks, wish I never gave up my Samsung. Design is lovely but can't see the screen when the sun is shining so forget about taking a photo on a sunny day, sending messages or doing anything with your phone unless you go inside, battery only last 2 days when all I have done is made 5 phone calls less that 10 minutes received one call & tried to take 2 photos, I will be taking the phone back tomorrow with a faulty battery. Volume on ring tone not very loud, in coming message seems to be louder. It seems to have loads of good features if you can understand them!

I will give another review if I think different once I have sorted out the battery. Yes I do have the U970 mobile if anyone asks!

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Reviewer: Nicki - Stirlingshire, UK
Date: 31st Jul 2007

Having read all of the reviews I could find for the LG shine & confused myself over which to buy between the U970 (3G version) & the KE970 I finally went for the updated LG U970 3G version. I can only give a limited review as I need to play with it first but in the meantime I'll share with you my first impressions.

I was worried about the volume when many reviews complained about the volume but I have found the volume to be far better than my Motorola V3 (which I have loved for many years) the volume is plenty loud enough in fact I had to turn it down this can be tweaked when assigning the ringtones in the profile main menu you click the normal link & click edit & scroll down & adjust the volume for ring tones & for message alerts etc. It gages from 1-7 & is plenty loud enough plus you can have vibrate on at the same time for but it's really not needed. Contrary to what some have said you can assign different tones for the message alerts you have the same list as you have with the ringtones plus you can adjust the volume for that too from 1-7.

The scroll bar is simple to use & does not stick, well mine does not at all you click the left & right button on either side of the scroll bar which aides the device to move more freely around the menu the only slight irritation to this is the weird sound made which I can't seem to turn off :0 (.

The display is crisp & clear & photos look fantastic. The phone has been on all day & I have had a very good play with it & it seems to be holding up fine. I've had no problems with it switching itself off at all.

The actual construction & design is simply stunning it's a solid well made piece of kit & although I can understand the front screen will get finger prints I shall be putting a see through screen protector on the front of it once the original packaged bit falls off :0)

I have sent a few texts & the works very nicely with a nice all on one page easy use format using T9 technology which is similar to Samsungs. I previously had the Motorola V9 & it is just as easy to use. I've not had the opportunity to try the net as of yet or video calling so can't comment on that will post another review once I have played with that & also downloading tunes & pics etc.

The only downside to this phone is the lack of micro card slot & also the signal strength with 3 Network. Which I don't think is anything to do with the phone itself but unfortunately.

All in all a stunning handset very well made, lovely features & easy to use & I highly recommend it :0)

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Reviewer: Nick - Falkirk, UK
Date: 29th Jul 2007

John Hunt, Is this not the review for the other model the KE970? I wish people would leave the right reviews in the right section it makes it confusing the KU970 does not have the 2GB card slot.

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Reviewer: John Hunt - UK
Date: 29th Jul 2007

I bought this phone yesterday for my wife & I am taking it back today, as 'unfit for purpose'. Having spent about 6 hours attempting what should be some very simple operations I have come to the conclusion this phone's software is simply not up to the job & the manual (written in pigeon English) even worse. I have three big issues with this phone.

1) The MP3 player feature is pathetic. This was one of the main reasons for buying the phone but you cannot store any tracks on the unit in folders or albums, just one long list. My (optional) 2 GB expansion card can be used to hold album folders but you have to access the files as external data (not thought the MP3 player) & then you can only play 1 track at a time, having to select each track manually. Unbelievable I know, but you CANNOT play an album of songs!

2) You can only store multiple telephone numbers (such as home & work numbers) for people if you save the data on the phone - I prefer to keep numbers on the Sim so I can swap it to another phone if necessary.

3) the connection / synchronisation software simply doesn't work - OK, I know ALL standard synch software is average at best, but after 2 hours of trying (Win XP) it won't even recognise the phone, the closest I can get is an 'unknown error' message.

There are numerous other small issues such as you can't hear DTMF tones when you press the keys in a call & the scroll wheel is really poor & unresponsive. IMO this phone is of such poor design that despite being a thing of beauty it will disappoint all but the more undemanding of users.

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Reviewer: Amber - Hertfordshire, UK
Date: 13th Jul 2007

How much does this phone cost? Can I use virgin mobile with this phone as well?

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Reviewer: James - Manchester, UK
Date: 13th Jun 2007

Got this phone the other day, must admit I am impressed with it. Only thing I don't like is the lack of expandable memory but 500MB mass storage & 75MB shared is plenty for me & I doubt I'll be using it for more than about 50 songs & some pics and clips. It also supports WMA's which are not mentioned as a supported format & mine are about half the size of my MP3's so that helps on the memory side of things. I've had to get used to navigating a phone via keypad again seeing as I've been using a Motorola A1000 for the last 2yrs, do occasionally hit the wrong button when TXTIN but I don't know if that's 'cause I am still getting used to it or my fingers are too fat LOL. No problem assigning downloaded music as ringtones, I like how I can have pics of whose calling me & assign them their own personal ringtones, did wonder why they were so quiet when someone rang me but then I noticed if I scrolled down a bit more in the menu that that was where the volume was. Cameras not too bad either, only just noticed that if you just lightly press on the camera button it auto focuses (suppose it mentions that in the manual somewhere, which I haven't read) until I did it by mistake but it does become a bit grainy in lowlight even with the light. Games are seriously lacking but I am not one for games on a phone, anyway that's why I have a 360. No PS3 flame wars please. Love the PC software that came with it, makes synching your contacts & managing your files a hell of a lot easier than my previous Motorola suite. Oh 1 last thing how nice is the box LOL think I'll be keeping that longer than the phone. Overall it's not a bad little phone, nice to look at (will be one the wife steals off me, especially because of the mirror thing), functions are plenty if you just want a phone with a few extras. I'll be getting my Prada on Friday so I wonder how that will compare, I am already loving the fact that its touch screen, just hope it functions as well as it looks.

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Reviewer: Madness - Enfield, UK
Date: 9th Jun 2007

I have only had this phone for about a month & it is an excellent phone the features are good & the design is stunning however I only have one problem the amount of internal memory is only 41 mbs which isn't that good. I do recommend this phone 2 other people as I had a p300 before this & I can tell you know this is much beta.

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Reviewer: Helen - Bristol, UK
Date: 6th Jun 2007

I got this phone yesterday & so far have fairly mixed opinions. It looks great & feels good, as the case is metal rather than plastic. I am having some trouble getting used to the menus & functionality after having had a Nokia for some years. A question for those of you who have had this phone for longer, when I get a new text message I just get an envelope in the top of the screen & have to go into the menu to get into the actual message? Is there a short cut for this?

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Reviewer: Jack - UK
Date: 3rd Jun 2007

A lot of these reviews are about the KE970 not the newer U970. The U970 is great, none of the problems associated with the KE version.

Come on, review the right phone please!

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Reviewer: Phatty - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Date: 29th May 2007

I have to agree with those who don't like this phone as it is very poor by modern standards. I have had the same issues with it switching off & having to remove the cover & battery (fiddly) before being able to get it working again. The MP3 function is useless as you can only play one track at a time from the external memory. Me & all of my male friends who have used it find it snags your sideburns (painful) & is very weak in the signal department too. Added to all of these issues, mine has finally given up this weekend & won't go back on, I am using my trusty, robust W800i until I can take it back to the shop & to be honest I am not really bothered about getting it replaced!

Worst phone I've ever had by far! Sorry Shine Lovers.

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Reviewer: Nick - Stirlingshire, UK
Date: 27th May 2007

Lau - Bham, UK

Are you sure yours is the U970 3G Version & not the LG KE970 non 3G the only reason I ask is you mensioned a memory card where as I thought with the newer 3G version there is not memory card slot?

Please can you let me know & if so where did you get it from with the memory card slot?

I have not bought one of these yet but had a fiddle with one in the 3 shop which was switched on. I absolutely love this phone but have been holding off on buying one due to the latest version not having the additional memory card slot to expand memory so thought I'd wait to read a few reviews on it first. The look of the phone is absolutely stunning & contrary to what people seem to be saying I found no probs with the scroll wheel. I was a little confused by the menu but hey would prob sus that if I had longer to try it out. The music when played seemed crisp & clear & the screen seemed bright & clear. Finger prints clearly are going to be a problem :0 ( but I do love this phone I am just not sure which to go for the original KE970 with additional memory card slot or the newer updated U970 with the upgraded OS & download speeds etc & 3G I just wish it had an additional memory card slot?

ANY INFO RE THIS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

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Reviewer: Lau - Bham, UK
Date: 26th May 2007

I got my new LG Shine today, I did have to take the first one back after having it for 4days I realised it was constantly red hot, it wouldn't recognise the memory card id put in, it kept freezing & took about 2 minutes to write a text because of this & also the battery only lasted an hour even after charging it for 10 hours. So I took it back & got my new one today, because I still like the phone! My new ones been working fine, it's not hot which is a good sign. A few people have mentioned poor signal but I haven't had that problem at all. The phone does collect a lot of finger prints but comes with a cute 'screen buffer' that attached (like a phone charm would) which looks a bit dorky but I found very useful. Also there aren't many ringtones on, & I could only for about 12 songs on so I recommend buying an external memory card for the MP3 player. I could set a picture id uploaded onto the phone (or taken with the camera) as wallpaper but I could not set it to display big, it only displays as a small picture in the center which is annoying. This is my first LG phone & I've found it quiet user friendly, the cam takes a good picture, the sound is OK, not as good as my previous Sony Ericsson W800i but when you listen thru headphones the sound is perfect!

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Reviewer: Sharon - Dover, UK
Date: 24th May 2007

This is the worst phone I have ever had. The reception is useless. I am with Vodafone & have never had a problem with reception before but now almost all of the time I have no signal on my phone. The message tones can't be changed other than the $ standard ones which are awful. How out of date is that. It turns itself off & you have to remove the back cover & battery to get it back on. In the sun you can't see the screen because of the mirrored effect. It doesn't accept most music files e.g. WMA format which is very annoying. It's very slow. It doesn't ring very loudly. The list of things goes on. I have never complained about a phone before but this one is terrible I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

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Reviewer: Angel 5 - Romania
Date: 16th May 2007

Ryankk what is your problem?

I have the phone, works very well, no scratches whatsoever.

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Reviewer: Ryankk - London, UK
Date: 12th May 2007

Worst phone ever. Wouldn't recommend. Doesn't work at all! & get scratched to easily!

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Reviewer: Xanthe - London, UK
Date: 6th May 2007

I haven't had this phone for a very long time but so far I am very impressed, it has a really good camera & video camera & good MP3. The memory is quite big & it can store quite a lot of things. At the shop they told me this phone was hard to use but after having it for a few days I disagree, at first it will be hard to use as it is different to most other phone but after about a day you will get it. I would recommend this phone to everyone.



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