It was handsets like the original Chocolate that put LG on the map. But simply playing with the big boys was never going to be enough. It takes creativity to outsmart and outdo some formidable rivals. LG never shied away from experimenting and have been repaid more often than not. There’s Black Label and Prada, some great cameraphones and a host of capable touchscreen devices to prove it.

But that was then. The New Chocolate is new and it means it. The “Black Label” simply sticks on the BL40 but this phone seems to hold a higher purpose. It’s not merely the next of the Chocolates – it’s in touch with its times. And it does great justice to a portfolio where Viewty Smart talks to Renoir and Crystal walks with the Arena.

The LG BL40, the New Chocolate, is thin, classy and sexy but the one word that does it justice is unique. You really won’t find another phone like it out there, and only a few others have the same kind of impact.

LG BL40 New Chocolate New Chocolate official photos

You won’t see a designer or watchmaker’s signature on the BL40 but it definitely looks like an exquisite work of art. However, neither its price tag nor its feature set will let you think of it that way. We don’t mean it’s cheap or even affordable to many, but its all round skill puts most of the boutique handsets to shame. There are only few things the New Chocolate can’t do.

Key features

• One-off touchscreen bar design
• 4.01″ 16M-color capacitive touchscreen of 21:9 aspect ratio
• Quad-band GSM support and UMTS with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• S-Class Touch UI with pinch zooming and gesture controls
• Accelerometer for screen auto-rotation
• 5-megapixel autofocus camera, Schneider-Kreuznach certified optics, LED flash, VGA@30fps video recording
• 1.1GB of internal memory, microSD expansion (up to 32GB)
• Wi-Fi with DLNA
• GPS receiver with A-GPS support and WisePilot satnav app
• Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, microUSB port, TV out
• Standard 3.5mm audio jack, Dolby Mobile sound enhancement
• Stereo FM radio with RDS, FM transmitter
• Full-blown multi-tasking with a decent task manager
• DivX/XviD video player
• Motion-based games
• Smart dialing
• Office document viewer

Main disadvantages

• Single-handed use not too comfortable due to the extra long form factor
• Video recording output is pathetic
• Piano black surface is a fingerprint nightmare
• Memory card slot is under the battery cover
• Web browser has no Flash support
• No video streaming over Wi-Fi (such as the mobile YouTube)
• WisePilot satnav app is only a trial version
• No sign of any social networking integration

Unlike some other fashionable handsets out there, the LG BL40 New Chocolate beauty is not just skin deep. This stunning looker has all the hardware a modern high-end gadget should have. And though technically not a smartphone, the New Chocolate’s S-class user interface offers convenient multitasking and is polished to match the sleek exterior.

LG BL40 New Chocolate live shots

The LG BL40 New Chocolate comes with a brilliant 16M-color capacitive touchscreen enabled for multi-touch input. It also sports TV-out, Dolby mobile, FM transmitter and DixX/XviD support out of the box. All this sounds a promise for an unmatched multimedia experience. The New Chocolate display has the 21:9 aspect ratio of cinema screens.

And we are just touching the surface of the spec sheet. Next up are the 5 megapixel autofocus camera and the full range of connectivity options, followed by the useful task manager. So, it’s got the looks and it’s got the brains. Will its extravagance bring it to the top or make it a flop?

Before we delve into the colorful S-Class UI of the LG BL40 New Chocolate and start revealing its features, we’ll spin it for you and share our impressions of the design and ergonomics. Prepare for the jump!

Introduction

It looks like LG have been playing their own version of will it blend. There’s no need to tell you they’re not playing for fun - they’re rather trying to squeeze some more cash off a couple of hot-selling handsets. So, here’s the deal. Get your blender, throw in an LG Arena and a Cookie and set the speed to “budget”. And there you have it - an LG GD510 Pop - ready to be served to the happy masses. The “pop” LG are going for is definitely “popular”, as opposed to the “popstar stuff” some of you may have hoped for.

You can go ahead and call it the new Cookie, or the low-cost Arena, but the LG Pop is quite obviously keen to have its own purpose and personality. The optional battery cover fitting a solar panel and the all-round eco-friendliness are one way for it to stand on its own two feet as a phone.

LG GD510 Pop official photos

Apart from that, the Pop is just another midrange touchscreen. And this is by no means a guilty verdict. The LG Cookie used to be just another touchscreen too. Certainly not now - over 5 million units sold later. The Pop is perhaps setting its hopes high as well. Let’s see if the classic unisex design, the feature mix and the affordable price tag can do it for it too.

Key features:

• 3.0″ 256K-color TFT LCD touchscreen display (240×400 pixels)
• 3.15 megapixel fixed focus camera, QVGA video @ 15fps
• Quad-band GSM support
• Bluetooth with A2DP and microUSB v2.0
• microSD card memory expansion
• Standard microUSB port
• FM radio with RDS
• Widget interface and LiveSquare homescreen
• Accelerometer sensor for automatic screen rotation and turn-to-mute
• Landscape on-screen QWERTY keyboard
• Office document viewer
• Smart dialing
• Nice battery life
• Optional solar panel battery cover
• Allegedly affordable price

Main disadvantages:

• No 3G support, no Wi-Fi
• Display has poor sunlight legibility
• No DivX/XviD video support
• Camera lacks autofocus and flash
• Video recording maxes out at QVGA@15fps
• No standard 3.5mm audio jack

There’s something about the styling of the Pop that might misguide users to expect Arena-like functionality. In fact, the only Arena stuff inside is the S-Class-styled main menu - the rest of the interface is like on the LG Cookie. The important features for the mass user are there but the expected price bracket doesn’t really imply high-end specs.

Many people might miss the camera autofocus and 3G support. And yes, some would have been delighted to get Wi-Fi support on the spec sheet. To us, the most important omission - given the potential target audience - is DivX/XviD support. Anyway, the reason for all that is more than clear: specs are sticking to the basics to keep the price tag comfortably low.

LG GD510 Pop live shots

We guess, there’s no reason to construe the GD510 Pop as an upgrade to the LG KP500 Cookie. The Pop is simply the next LG handset to try and tap on the demand for basic affordable touchscreens. An inevitable response to what Samsung are doing with the Star, the Preston and the Corby. To set it apart from the Cookie, the Pop was given some of the LG Arena styling, an optional solar panel and has taken an altogether greener stance.

We praised the Cookie for its handling and style, and the Pop has quite a lot to live up to. The first impression is promising enough though. The Arena-like looks and absolutely minimalist exterior may receive a warm enough reception.

More on the LG GD510 Pop coming up after the jump. We can safely say the LG Pop looks above its class but let’s see how it handles.

It seems that the LG GW620 just got outed (exclusively in Canada for the time being) as the LG Eve. We guess Eve will just be a regional naming obviously inspired by the fact that the GW620 is the first Android-powered phone by LG.

The American version of the LG GW620 a.k.a LG Eve will have tri-band HSPA support 7.2 Mbps as opposed to the single band variety prepared for Europe. That (and the name, of course) is the only difference between the European and American versions of LG GW620.

Rogers Wireless have prepped several pricing options for the LG Eve: