LG KU990 Viewty versus Samsung Armani

Two touchscreen tearaways are vying to be poked by your digits.

But which is better, LG’s KU990 Viewty or Samsung’s P520 Armani? There’s only one way to find out… FIGHT!

DESIGN
Both these blowers are handsome devils, but come on, only one comes from the drawing board of a geriatric, perma-tanned fashion legend – and it’s not the Viewty. Yep, Giorgio Armani’s done a sterling job on the Samsung, so if it’s all about the looks for you, that’s the one to go for. It’s also a few millimetres thinner, if size is important.

EASE OF USE
Both mobiles shun physical buttons in favour of touchscreen minimalism, but sadly neither manages to attain iPhone-like levels of user-friendliness when it comes to taking control. The Viewty responds nicely to regular taps but doesn’t like scrolling, while the Armani is just plain unresponsive. The Viewty just edges it though on general use.

WEB-SURFING
No contest here: while the Viewty boasts a lightning-quick broadband HSDPA connection, the Armani isn’t even a proper 3G phone, instead relying on dodgy EDGE “2.5G” for its web fix. Viewty hands-down.

VIDEO AND SCREEN
Both handsets are pretty solid here, but again we’ve got to chalk up another mark for the Viewty. Its screen is 3-inch versus the Armani’s 2.6-incher, and it’s able to handle DivX and WMA videos freshly downloaded from the Internet.

CAMERA
The Viewty’s main selling point is its camera, and by ’eck it’s a corker. There’s a 5-megapixel sensor, powerful Xenon flash, autofocus and a high ISO 800 mode for low light snapping, plus the best video capture of any phone on the market. The Viewty can record slow motion at 120 frames per second, as well as gorgeous VGA video at 30 frames per second. And the Armani? Well, it’s packing a mere 3 megapixels, no autofocus or Xenon flash and its video capture is nothing special either.

VERDICT
While the Samsung Armani is a beautiful piece of design, the LG Viewty has it beaten in every other important category. So if you value performance and a top class camera over looks and size, we’d suggest you opt for the Viewty. If, on the other hand, you want people to swoon and coo over your mobile, plump for the Armani.